Trader Joe’s has a few different varieties of jarred pestos, sold near the pasta sauces. The first jarred pesto I had tried was the standard classic, basil pesto, Pesto Genovese, which I found decent. They later came out with a red version of that they called “pesto rosso” which was just OK for me however I see it’s popular and sometimes even sold out, so people seem to like it. Here’s another one based on olives.
If you are a fan of olives as I am, you may like this latest addition to the pesto’s they have. This new addition is called “Olive and Basil Pesto Sauce” with olives as the first ingredient. You get more “olive” than “basil” flavor so basically I say think of this as an olive tapenade with a hint of basil. Its a chunky paste of chopped olives plus other ingredients and its just chock full of umami. I tasted it on a spoon right out of the jar and thought this is like a tapenade and liked it.
I tried this olive pesto first just mixing it into cooked spaghetti and thought that yes, just mixing this with pasta will make a decent tasty pasta. I added some fresh garlic too and that of course this made it even better. Finish the pasta with some good olive oil too while you are at it (I suggest adding both the garlic and EVOO) Finally top with fresh grated cheese (Parmigiano, Pecorino, or Grana) and voila, you will have a very easy and quite tasty dish.
Next I tried this olive pesto as an ingredient with other things. I mixed a few generous tablespoons of this into some fresh tomato pasta sauce I had made and found it made it even tastier with the extra umami boost it got from olives. If you are using a jarred sauce you could just put a spoon of this on the finished pasta too. You could also put this on say fish or shrimp or grilled chicken to jazz it up a bit. As this is an olive tapanade and made for bread, I tried just putting this on good bread and of course it was quite good that way too. This will work great for making bruschetta, put a nice amount on some lightly toasted bread. This is decent olive tapanade, especially if you add in fresh garlic and EVOO. Chop up some fresh basil and you will really be going in the right “homemade taste” direction. The label has that this is a Product of Greece, where of course they have lots of olives.
TJ’s Olive Pesto is $2.49 a 6 oz jar. Its quite useful to have in your pantry. I would buy it again.
“Trader Joe’s Green Onion Pancakes are like what you might get at a traditional Dim Sum meal…quickly fried, these savory disks become crispy and flaky. Eat as a snack or part of a meal. Try using them in place of a naan or a tortilla to wrap meat or vegetables” (from the package)
Trader Joe’s Taiwanese Green Onion (Scallions) Pancakes are a very popular Trader Joe’s product… and for good reason. These are quite tasty, easy to make and pretty inexpensive. Made simply and eaten As-Is these can be quite tasty. But these Scallion Pancakes are also easy to “hack” and turn into something more.
Just add an addition or two and you can make them into something a bit better and more substantial. For instance, the easiest hack could be as simple as “put an egg on it”. Just add a egg, fried or scrambled on top.
(Here is what my pancake looked like after cooking. Golden brown and delicious!)
VEGAN – PRODUCT OF TAIWAN
Honestly if you’ve never tried these before, run over to Trader Joe’s right now and get some. That is if you can find them! These sometimes get SOLD OUT, because as mentioned they’re quite a popular item, and at $2.49 for a package of 5 pancakes, let’s face it, these are one of the more affordable frozen items at Trader Joe’s. Basically just fried dough with some green onions but yummy.
TJ’s Scallion Pancakes make a pretty quick, pretty easy appetizer, snack, side dish, lunch. With some tweaking, they can become the platform of a complete dish, depending on how you serve them and what you eat with them.
How easy are Trader Joe’s Scallion Pancakes to make? All you have to do is take a frozen pancake and put it in a pan with a little oil. Let it cook for a 4-5 minutes until browned. Turn it over. Cook another few minutes.
In Chinese, these pancakes are called Cong You Bing (蔥油餅) which are savory pancakes made from a wheat dough, oil (or better still lard!), green onions and salt. Often sold from street vendors. Cheap and very popular. I’ve eaten these made fresh in front of me from Chinese street vendors or stalls in Flushing, Queens.
Naturally one can’t quite compare TJ’s pancakes to one handmade in front of you. However, these are still tasty, not to mention very convenient for whenever the mood strikes.
I do have one complaint about Trader Joe’s “green onion pancakes”. These don’t have nearly enough green onions. Not by a long shot. There should be a ton and these only have a small handful.
Authentic Chinese / Taiwanese scallion pancakes are made with a ton of scallions, and these Trader Joe’s pancakes skimp on the green onions. Probably to keep them cheap. However this is easy to fix and correct. Just add some chopped scallions when you serve them.
Ideally I suggest whenever you are going to make these be sure to also get a package of scallions ($1.29) too so you can scatter a handful of chopped scallions over your pancakes, and/or put them in your sauce. Personally I love fresh cilantro with these as well as well as extra scallions.
The simple way to enjoy these is to just make them as directed and eat with some kind of a dipping sauce. I’ve put an easy recipe for a basic Asian sauce further down. But in a pinch even just mixing up a little soy sauce, garlic, ginger and Chinese black vinegar (or rice vinegar) can work. Or even easier, use some Asian Trader Joe’s sauce you like such as the: “Gyoza Sauce”, “Sweet Chili Sauce”, “Chili Crisp” and a little soy sauce.
Recently my wife and I ate these for dinner (picture above). We added a fried egg for extra protein. Along with the pancakes we ate fried rice. That combo is great. I happened to have fried rice which I had made the night before. You could use a frozen Trader Joe’s versions, for example their popular JAPANESE FRIED RICE.
HOW TO MAKE TRADER JOE’S GREEN ONION PANCAKES:
STOVE TOP METHOD – (Cook right from frozen) Pour 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a nonstick or cast iron pan, set to medium heat. After a 30 seconds of heating, swirl the oil, then add a pancake to the pan (be careful, it can spatter). Try to resist the urge to touch or move it for a good minute or so, after which you can check the bottom gently using a spatula to lift it to see the underside. You want to let it get all nice and Golden Brown. (see my first picture). You can rotate a pancake to get even browning.
The first side might take about 3-5 minutes (from frozen). Cook till it looks “*golden brown and delicious”. When your first side is done just flip it over carefully., to let the other side cook.
Don’t press hard with the spatula to keep them flaky. Keep an eye on it. The second side which will take less time to cook as its no longer frozen. When the second side is done (two minutes?) and looks golden brown, remove it and put on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
Keep pancakes warm (cover with towel, or put in oven on Low or Warm)
If making more than one, now get the next one cooking. (TIP – Each disk is about 7 inches in diameter so if you want to make a few at a time, you might to use 2 pans or a griddle.
When you are ready to serve them, you can cut them up into eights or quarters. Enjoy asap while they are warm and crispy, along with your dipping sauce (recipe below)
AIR FRYER – I’ve seen people online say these can be cooked in one.
Microwave? No way, they need to get crispy and browned! Thats not an option with these.
Now while these are perfectly fine just naked and “As-Is”, as mentioned, you can add things. For example, as I mentioned you can top them with a fried or scrambled egg. You can fold the pancake like a taco with the egg in the middle and eat it like that (in a paper towel) which is actually a typical way one might get these served on the street in China or Taiwan. So instead of Naan or a Tortilla use these.
Pancakes topped with sautéed shitake mushrooms and seasoned ground pork
You can be as inventive with these as you like. For example, use these as a base and add toppings.
Cooked seasoned ground beef, pork , chicken, mushrooms or tofu? Maybe left over rotisserie chicken pulled into shreds? Perhaps some grilled shrimp. Or grilled tofu. Grilled portobello mushrooms. You can even put cheese on them for a cheesy Chinese pancake.
Here’s one easy HACK / combo I came up with: SILK ROAD PANCAKE WITH KEBABS. These pancakes matched well with TJ’s Middle Eastern Beef Kebabs for a “Silk Road” combination which is perfect with these. Add a cooked kebab to a pancake,, then eat folded up like a tortilla. Add your favorite sauce (garlic spread, greek yogurt, chili oil…)
Typically these pancakes are usually served with a dipping sauce. You can easily make an Asian dipping sauce (see below for a simple basic recipe). Any store bought sauce you like can work too. Say TJ’s “Soyaki” or Gyoza Sauce or Sweet Chili sauce or the like. TJ’s Chili Onion Crunch, of course too is a great too. My favorite real deal addition for these pancakes is the original chili crisp, Lao Gan Ma, to which I have a serious addiction (If you don’t have any Asian markets here’s a link to it on Amazon : Lao Gan Ma )
BASICASIANDIPPING SAUCE:
2 tbl TJ’s Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 tsp Chinese black vinegar (if you don’t have it you can use rice vinegar or even balsamic)
1 lg clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp brown sugar or honey
Optional – Fresh grated ginger. A drizzle of Sesame Oil (if you like spicy mix in some Chili Crisp or Lao Gan Ma)
Add chopped scallions.
Checking the Nutrition label 1 pancake contains 330 calories.
Trader Joe’s GREEN ONION PANCAKES, $2.49 (five pancakes) I would buy this again.
Need some ideas to use these as a starting point for something ….? Check out these ideas…..
Those may be even better but are different. Korean PaJeon have lots of scallions and vegetables. So they cost a bit more but are terrific and may even be easier to find in stock. I think the Taiwanese scallion pancakes seem to have gotten so popular they get sold out kind of fast as some people buy 5 or more packages (you know who you are, so please leave some for the rest of us!)
UPDATE-1 (Winter 2023) – Haven’t seen them for months. Sold Out / Out of Stock at two different TJ’s I go to. Beginning to wonder if these are too popular for their own good?!
UPDATE-2 (Mar 2024) – FINALLY! Seeing these back in stores! Yeah! Hopefully you find them.
PS – Believe it or not I’ve actually made these Scallion Pancakes from scratch a few times. Sure, it’s a bit of work but frankly these are not very hard to make yourself. Of course they are even better, so think about making them. All you need is flour, scallions and oil. Check out these recipes (links) and think about giving it a try one day!
This is a good “new” spice blend TJ’s has recently introduced. It’s two spices, a blend of Spanish smoked paprika (aka “Pimenton”) they’ve carried for some time and added Chile to that to make a spicier Pimenton. The blend is carefully balanced with just enough of chile to make a not too spicy version of the smoked paprika (aka pimenton). Spanish smoke paprika is a fantastic spice, which I’ve always loved and when I tried this version I really liked it as well…. This spicier blend was delicious on many things. For example super tasty sprinkled generously on chicken breasts sautéed in butter with garlic and parsley (a variation on Jacques Pepin’s classic chicken “persillade”, see link below).
This seasoning blend would be perfect on Trader Joe’s ARGENTINIAN RED SHRIMP. Or steak or pork or burgers of any kind. Or probably even tofu.
TJ’s says: “Made with just the right ratio of smoked paprika and chile powder to create just the right ratio of smoke to heat, our Smoky & Hot Chile Powder is super handy for making savory soups, sauces, and stews, and nearly indispensable when creating homemade BBQ rubs and Cajun-style seasonings. It adds a remarkable depth of flavor when sprinkled over scrambled eggs, roasted veggies, or grilled seafood, and can take snack foods like popcorn and potato chips into an entirely new dimension. Here’s a hot (and smoky!) tip: try mixing it with sour cream to make a fun and fiery crema for topping tacos.”
Trader Joe’s SPICY HONEY; it’s honey with chili, so obviously sweet and spicy. Make that Quite Spicy!
Now back in 2010, I had first heard of something called “Mike’s Hot Honey” . It created a bit of a buzz in the NYC food scene when it came out. I actually first tasted Mike’s Hot Honey on a delicious pizza from Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that Mike had come up working there doing pizzas. His Arugula Pizza with Honey was Mike’s hot honey drizzled over fresh arugula on the pizza after it came out of the oven. The whole thing was just terrific. Also the place (if you can, go try a Paulie Gee’s pizza). Mike was marketing his hot honey (his was made with a Brazilian birdseye chili). Hot Honey began to catch on with chefs. Hot honey became a thing. Other vendors came out with similar products. Trader Joe’s jumped on the hot honey bandwagon too a few years ago. They came up with what they call “Spicy Honey”. TJ’s spicy honey is quite good. It’s quite spicy as I said so you use it sparingly, just drizzles of it at the end on something. Interestingly I just realized as I had a bottle Trader Joe’s first sold it in an 8 oz container and the sold it for I think $3. Recently they increased both the price and the size. Its now 12 oz for $5. It’s Organic too I think. This is really Terrific if you’re into Sweet and Savory. I drizzled some on my Japanese Curry Rice last night, perfect addition.
“From something as simple as a baked sweet potato to something as rich as a slice of New York Cheesecake, a drizzling of Organic Spicy Honey Sauce instantly gives anything it’s added to an extra element of complexity. Try it on sandwiches, pizza, or shrimp tacos for an elevated everyday eating experience. Give it a go over pan-fried Gnocchi, roasted carrots, or barbecued meat skewers for a bit of gourmet experimentation…”
“Delicate flakes of Kosher salt perfect for finishing steaks, seafood, and veggies”
You may wonder as I did, why is Trader Joe’s selling huge boxes of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt? Well if you’ve watched The Bear or seen any chef cooking on TV or Youtube you may have noticed almost every one seems to use – and specify – Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in their cooking. Its the “Go To” salt for most professional cooks and has even gotten trendy now. It may be on THE BEAR but my Grandma (and probably yours too) used it for 70+ years.
If a recipe specifies “1 tsp Kosher Salt” please know you that is you put that amount of regular table salt, it will be too salty. The bigger coarser grains take up more room than a fine salt if you are measuring it. Now I haven’t bought Diamond Crystal for a few years and when I saw this at Trader Joe’s the other day I got sticker shock seeing how much Kosher Salt seems to be now! $8.99 for a 3 lb. box?! ($3 bucks per pound!) Wow, I am pretty sure the last time I bought a box a few years back I paid about $5 so it’s really gone up, probably thanks in part to becoming Trendy via social media.
By contrast Trader Joe’s sells their regular Sea Salt (fine) for about $2 for over 1 1/2 lbs. However I am seeing “kids” (to me that is) buying the Diamond Crystal at Trader Joe’s recently. I was able to find a 1 pound box of kosher salt for about $2 on Amazon. (But it’s Morton’s brand not Diamond Crystal and you can’t just use the same amount, use less)
You pretty much can’t go wrong with TJ’s PINEAPPLE SALSA. It’s one of Trader Joe’s best selling salsas and not for nothing. It hits all the right notes to make a good all around salsa. For one thing it’s not spicy. They say Mild to Medium (I say Mild) so this salsa is good for folks who say they don’t like it too spicy. Me I like spicy but I still like this too and can add something spicy to up the heat if I want. The Pineapple Salsa gets a nicely balanced subtle sweetness from pineapple blended into a tomato based salsa. The subtle sweetness adds a nice touch and counterbalances any spiciness. I add a few Sweet Hot Jalapeneno‘s on top if I want spicy. Another good thing about this is that it’s the cheapest salsa they sell as it’s only $1.99 and all the other ones cost more now. It has no preservatives and no artificial ingredients. Tasting wise, it was quite nice on tacos and quesadillas and some black bean burritos with cheese. You can use it for things other too. TJ’s says try it with cream cheese and crackers. Interesting. I would buy this again.
You will find this stuff mentioned all over Instagram, TikTok and Reddit. Its quite good, maybe one of Trader Joe’s best New Items.
They took TJ’s incredibly popular Unexpected Cheddar cheese and made it into a spread like a pub cheese by adding things like butter and whey to make that hard cheese now spreadable. What a great idea, no?
Trader Joe’s says: “Our supplier combines our crumbly Unexpected Cheddar with salted butter and whey to create a superbly savory, creamy Cheese Spread that’s ready to enhance sandwiches and glorify grazing boards with the simple flick of a knife. Spread this pub-style cheese on a Raisin Rosemary Crisp, and you’ve got one classy snack on your hands. You might also add it to an appetizer of puff pastry topped with chopped figs to bring out its subtle fruity notes. No matter how you use it, it’s guaranteed to be a real crowd-cheeser.” (ok a groan for the bad pun)
Search around you you’ll find pictures using this spread to make the trendy fancy “cheese boards” which are all the rage on Instagram. Here’s TJ’s idea to make one with this spread, nuts and honey
Remove cheese spread from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to assembly to help soften.
To a medium-sized cutting board, use a butter knife or spoon to spread the unexpected cheddar over the entire board, leaving a small outer rim exposed. Use your utensil to make swooping motions as you spread to help create nooks and crannies.
Top with chopped pecans, thyme leaves, and a drizzle of honey.
Traeder Joe’s has these cans of SMOKED PAPRIKA, which is Spanish Pimenton. Smoky, mildly sweet and flavorful. This lovely paprika is really nice in so many things and matches well with chicken, fish, shrimp and especially well with pork. I frequently make Pork Tenderloin Filets, cut into thickish slices (tournedos) coated very liberally with a lot of smoked paprika, crushed garlic and salt and pepper, for a super easy dish which takes about 5 minutes. Just sauté the “tournedos” in a good amount of Olive Oil till golden brown but still pretty rare on the inside. Remove and add a little stock, wine or even water to deglaze the pan to make a pan sauce with a few knobs of butter. Easy, fast and delicious. TJ’s SMOKED PAPRIKA is $2.49 a tin.
(Update: These seem to have sold out very quickly!)
Trader Joe’s FLOR DE SAL, like French Fleur de Sel, is a naturally harvested sea salt. This is from Portugal. It has large grains, and is good for a “finishing salt”, something you can sprinkle a few grains on top just before serving, or leave the crock on the table as I am doing. When I saw these attractive crocks, which are only five bucks, I immediately thought, “Perfect Christmas Gift”!
– TRADER JOES SAYS: “Similar to its French equivalent, Fleur de Sel, Trader Joe’s Portuguese Flor de Sal is collected by hand, from a thin layer of salt crystals that form on the surface of the sea—it’s a gentle process, unlike traditional sea salt harvesting methods that use machines. The Salt crystals are small, delicate, and flaky— the name means salt flower in Portuguese. This Salt contains more moisture than traditional sea salt. It’s preserved in a ceramic crock and topped with a cork lid, which helps protect the crystals and keep them from drying out—it’s a terrific vessel that makes this salt tremendously giftable, and also offers countless re-use options once you’ve enjoyed the contents.”
FALL SEASONAL ITEM – Trader Joe’s Organic Raw Pumpkin Vinegar, “RAW ORGANIC VINEGAR WITH THE MOTHER, UNPASTEURIZED AND UNFILTERED”
If you are one of those into Trader Joe’s All Things Pumpkin every Fall you may find this interesting enough to check out.
It’s made exactly like they make the Apple Cider Vinegar TJ’s carries, just instead of apples they are using pumpkins. I compared the taste of TJ’s Apple Cider Vinegar and this Pumpkin Vinegar side by side to compare them to each other. Now the Apple Cider Vinegar is something I’m really used to, taste-wise and just find that really really good, a perfect vinegar. ACV tastes just right to me especially as far as acidity and sharpness. This pumpkin vinegar has the slightest taste of pumpkin. It seems to be more mellow than ACV even though technically the acidity in both is the same. Both say “diluted to 5% acidity”. But this pumpkin vinegar seems less sharp to me. So if you want a less sharp vinegar, this may be for you. Me, while I find this “interesting”, it’s just a curiosity item. I’d probably say I prefer my good old reliable ACV. I could see this vinegar as being good for making a milder vinaigrette. Or used to make a shrub (drink with vinegar)?
This is $1.99 for a 8 1/2 oz bottle. I can get a way bigger bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar for just a little more ($2.49). I probably wouldn’t buy this again. Side-note – TJ’s once carried a raspberry vinegar which I actually did like a lot, as it did actually taste of raspberries. I liked that for salad dressings – but sadly it vanished like so many good TJ’s items! (Sigh)
TJ’s says: “Our supplier takes fresh, cold-pressed, organic Pumpkins and ferments them into a cider. Then they add the vinegar “mother” (a culture of good bacteria) and ferment them together to become the seasonal vinegar before you—the very same process that is used to turn apples into our Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. This Organic Raw Vinegar is unpasteurized and unfiltered—giving it a gorgeously cloudy, orange hue—with a subtle pumpkin flavor. Use it to create a unique vinaigrette for your salads or add a tablespoon to give a punch of acidity to chilis, stews, and sauces. Best yet, combine with sparkling water for a homemade pumpkin shrub!”
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