New at Trader Joe’s: Creme Fraiche is kind of the French version of sour cream. However its a bit different, and better that sour cream as it has more butterfat plus is a bit more tangy. This is the first time I’ve seen creme fraiche at Trader Joe’s. This is a welcome addition to the dairy stuff. Lots of ways to use it. Use it in cooking. Also fabulous au naturel topped with berries and a little sprinkle of coconut sugar.
Though I’m not vegetarian, I like to occasionally test out vegetarian foods, and see if they are any good. I happen to love, repeat, LOVE, Indian cuisine, which I think is one of the great world cuisines. It is certainly the greatest vegetarian cuisine, and I’ve eaten a good deal of Indian food in some really good restaurants which we happen to luckily have here in NYC.
Trader Joe’s does have some very tasty Indian food items. Some are really, really good, and I’ve given great reviews of a number of them, like the CHANNA MASALA and PALAK PANEER.
So I thought I would try these Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS. The picture on the package looks enticing plus they are are called “Masala Burgers with Authentic Indian Spices“.” Masala” meaning “mixed spices”.
To be honest when I tasted this, all I could think was “Authentic Indian Spices?”. I find this fairly plain tasting without enough spices to make it tasty. Sure I agree Indian food is not always highly spiced, but generally, it is very flavorful. So my short review is these is to me, they taste Just OK. That’s just my opinion, I gather from quite a bit of Feedback here that these Masala Burgers are pretty popular despite what I think. Vegetarians especially seem to appreciate these vegetarian / vegetable burgers.
I just find them a bit too Meh for my taste. Comparing these for example to a dish like a potato Masala Dosa there the potato filling will have a ton of flavor. So I just wish these were a bit more the potato filling you would find inside Masala Dosa.
Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burgers are made primarily with potatoes and to me, I think of this basically as a mashed potato burger with a few veggies.
The concept is not bad, I just find the execution not as good as some of TJ’s other Indian foods. Again, many which are outstanding (and I see Indian people buying at Trader Joe’s)
So this is one of those items which you will just have to try and decide for yourself.
One burger has 140 calories.
Trader Joe’s does sell quite a few tasty Indian foods which I find quite good in the frozen section. For example, the super tasty CHANNA MASALA (chickpea curry) which I love as well as the BHAINGAN BHARTA (eggplant) and superb PALAK PANEER (spinach) entrees. All three of these I find excellent. Some people really like the Samosas too. Perhaps you could pair these Masala Vegetable Burgers with the Palak Paneer spinach dish, or Channa Masala for a good combo?
HOW TO COOK : These are already fully cooked however you still need to brown them up before eating them. Cook them in a skillet for 3-4 minutes per side in a little butter and oil until they look golden brown and delicious. They should get nice and crispy looking on the outside. The crispy texture makes these.
TIP: Do not microwave these as they will not get crispy!
If you have any curry powder I would sprinkle a bit on when you cook these. Also, enjoy them with something like the excellent MANGO CHUTNEY
I think they needed a little something to them to jazz them up. I think you will want some kind of sauce with these. Maybe Sriracha or Peri-peri sauce. Zhough. Bomba. Magnifisauce. At the very least I would add a little garlic or even garlic powder on these if you make them. The thing that perked this up a little bit for me was putting on a little TJ’s TAMARIND SAUCE, basically a tamarind chutney sauce. Perhaps some CHILE CRISP would be good for these?
I think these may really benefit matching with either Trader Joe’s GARLIC ACHAAR or Mango Chutney
As my wife told me “just one is enough” – that is not a good review from her, as she likes most anything I make. So personally we didn’t find these as good as some other Trader Joe’s Indian frozen items. But again, these do seem popular and a few readers have written in that they really like these Masala Burgers, especially if they do something to it to jazz it up. I have two good friends who are vegetarian who told me she loves these TJ’s Vegetable Burgers and buys them all the time.
As they say, to each his own.These might be worth checking out to see what you think, especially if you need vegetarian options.
Vegetable Masala Burger $3.49 (4 burgers, 10 oz)
(NOTE: Contains Wheat, bread crumbs)
INGREDIENTS: POTATOES, CANOLA OIL, CARROTS, GREEN BEANS, BREAD CRUMBS (WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, YEAST, SALT), BELL PEPPERS, ONIONS, CORN, WATER, SALT, SUGAR, SPICES, GINGER, CELLULOSE GUM, GREEN PEPPER, CITRIC ACID, TURMERIC
This body wash is a must have for hot weather! “Invigorates with Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree botanicals….” It’s the perfect product especially right now for the heat wave that much of the U.S. has been experiencing (July 2022). TJ’s Tea Tree Tingle body wash has tea tree oil, peppermint, eucalyptus and other natural essential plant botanical oils, which make for a really refreshing and invigorating body wash for your shower. It smells terrific. It was so refreshing sponging up with this after a really hot summer day in NYC where the thermometer hit 95 today. This stuff was a lifesaver.
Also, I’ve found its great to add a little when I am washing out my gym clothes, as it really makes them smell fresh. Certified Organic. Trader Joe’s sells this for just $3.99, a wow price and its a huge 16 oz bottle to boot.
Its HOT all over the U.S. at the moment. Here’s just a couple of suggestions for some Trader Joe’s staples that are good to have on hand for hot weather, that can make easy pantry meals you don’t have to cook, or barely have to, and you can just throw together quickly.
Trader Joe’s says “A versatile dressing that can be used for salads, marinades and dips.”
I really like this. It’s one of Trader Joe’s best dressings.
It’s delicious as well as versatile. It’s an organic Japanese / Asian sesame based dressing which is great for any salads and I found for making coleslaw/slaws. Savory and a little sweet, with lots of Umami. When I say Versatile I mean this is more than just a dressing for salads. It is also an excellent marinade. For one thing its terrific with chicken. Marinate the chicken in some of this sauce for 1/2 hr or more before grilling, then brush on some more near the end as a glaze. You can also do the exact same thing with Tofu. It is really great as a sauce with the Baked Tofu. Slice up the tofu and pour some of this sauce over and sprinkle with scallions. Its also good just added on top of any sauteed veggies. Cold noodles with sesame sauce (add some more toasted sesame oil and some peanut butter and soy)
You could even mix in a tablespoon of chunky peanut butter into a some of this dressing for a Thai type variation.
I was in the mood for tamales, and I saw these at Trader Joe’s (Refrigerated). These tamales are sold under their own brand (CedarLane) quoting what the package says: “Authentic, Mexican Style Pulled Pork Tamales.” Ha! Authentic? Mexican? This is absolutely neither of those. Labeling this Authentic Mexican is completely stretching truth in advertising. My bar for “authentic Mexican” is fairly high. In NYC we have a quite a large Mexican population, of course no where near as large as California but we NY’ers are lucky as we can get good AuthenticMexican food easily. have eaten homemade tamales made by women selling them on street corners out of a cooler. Most were all terrific. I’ve also gotten tamales from street trucks, ditto as well as Mexican restaurants here. Not to mention in Mexico itself. I know a good tamale when I see it and these Cedar Lane tamales are not good.
These are Blancos factory versions of tamales and get a “Meh”! Edible maybe but nothing to write about. I found them barely seasoned, though they list three kinds of chiles I couldn’t really taste them. These are dumbed down tamales. The filling inside here is a mush of meat and sauce, no chunks of pulled pork as I was expecting. The masa layer is a bit too thin for my tastes. Tamales are all about the corn and the Masa layer as much as the filling. Finally of course these CederLane tamales are made with canola oil – not lard which is “authentic”. OK I know the word lard doesn’t sound appetizing to you but lard is authentic Mexican and it makes for good masa. So while we didn’t hate these, and we ate them and kind of enjoyed them with adding some good salsa, we just didnt find them at all authentic Mexican. So I might not buy these again. I may search out other Trader Joe’s frozen tamales I’ve seen there and check if those are any better.
Trade Joe’s new product: THAI SWEET GINGER SAUCE. It seems to be flying off the shelves, people seem to love it. I am guessing mostly for all the frozen DUMPLINGS they buy?
I tried it and I can say it’s pretty good (though I do like my homemade dipping sauce). This sauce is quite thick and garlic-y. Ingredients include pickled garlic, coconut sugar, and coriander. Personally I think it needs even more ginger. I added some fresh grated ginger, and I found it very improved. I also found it good with something spicy added (Bomba or Peri-Peri) However even just poured out of the bottle this stuff is good. Serve this with all of your frozen dumplings obviously, either fried or steamed/boiled ones. Its quite good on sautéed tofu. Grilled chicken of course! Grilled shrimp? Perfect for shrimp or any fish for that matter. Even just try this on top of rice or just grilled veggies. It will add flavor.
THAI SWEET GINGER Sauce is $2.49 for a 10 oz bottle.
Yesterday it was out of stock. It’s popular and people are really buying up this stuff!
Is this replacing the red bottle of SWEET CHILI SAUCE? I am afraid thats gone now. I like both sauces and the chili sauce has been a must have item for me for ever. Sigh. I will have to go back to getting CHILI SAUCE in Chinatown. Its a staple condiment in Asian cuisine.
UPDATE (Sep 2022) REPORTS ARE PRODUCT WAS DISCONTINUED ($#$%!)
It’s not very hard to make this yourself…see below for an easy recipe
Turkey Bolognese sauce – You can serve this sauce with PAPPARDELLE noodles (best) but it would work with any pasta. or gnocchi. This is “just sauce” as opposed to another frozen version TJ’s has which comes with noodles and sauce. It’s a “Bolognese” style tomato based sauce (ragu) made with ground turkey instead of pork or beef. $3.29 (12 oz). You can have a dinner for two for about five bucks with this sauce and the Pappardelle noodles ($2) or for about four bucks if you just buy regular pasta ($1).
I tried this making this TJ’s “Just Sauce” along with TJ’s PAPPARDELLE noodles (which BTW are really good). Now as I am a pretty good cook on occasion I’ll make a homemade Bolognese sauce. So for comparison, lets be fair and say my own homemade turkey bolognese sauce is better that this. Not that’s out of the way, TJ’s Turkey Bolognese sauce is not bad. It’s OK, if nothing special. Obviously this is convenient and easy which is it’s main selling point. Its a bit bland for me for one thing. So if you get this sauce you can – and should, fix this sauce up a little bit with adding a few things to it: some garlic and Italian herbs and spices, good olive oil and of course some Parmesan or Pecorino, after defrosting. Simmer it for a few minutes with the additions. Oh and be sure to finish cooking the noodles in the sauce for the last minute or two so they can absorb the sauce a bit. This translates into if the package says “cook 7 minutes or till al dente” you pull it one or two minutes before, toss in a pan with maybe a ladle or two of this sauce and cook it on low until the noodles are done till al dente or to your preferred liking. Then top with a little sauce and cheese. As shown below you can see the pappardelle have absorbed some of the sauce.
I would encourage you to try your hand sometime at making this sauce yourself. Here’s an “easy version” I came up with. I do mean EASY, cheaper, will taste way better of course, and you can freeze some and have it in your waiting for you.
RECIPE – EASY TURKEY BOLOGNESE: Brown a pound of ground turkey (optionally you can use ground beef, or mix of 1/2 pound each ground beef and pork. (Vegetarian? Use Impossible burger). Sauté the meat on high heat in a tablespoon of EVOO. Once the meat is well browned. very seared, add 4 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1/2 a chopped onion (optional: a grated carrot) and turn down to medium heat. Add a spoon of wine, balsamico, stock or just water and a pinch of vinegar to deglaze the bottom of the pan scraping up any brown bits. Saute on low covered for about 3 minutes then add a can of ROASTED TOMATOES (with or without chiles). Rinse out the the can 1/2 way full with milk, and add it. Add a tablespoon of TOMATO PASTE if you have it. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Italian herbs. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Serve the sauce with a hearty noodle like Pappardelle.
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