Trader Joe’s CHEESY BAGELS. Review, Expectation vs Reality


“Trader Joe’s Cheesy Bagels are hearth-baked Bagels with a plain bagel base, delightfully doughy on the inside. On the outside, they boast a cheesy, chewy crust that comes from shredded Asiago cheese that’s been pre-melted on top.” — Trader Joe’s

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/cheesy-bagels-079365

When I saw these in the NEW ITEMS section a few weeks ago I was intrigued and thought this sounded like something worth trying. Just picking up the bag and smelling them, well it has a wonderfully appealing smell, from baked Asiago cheese! Since they smelled so good, I thought I would check them out. When I told my neighbor (another big Trader Joe’s fan) she said she wanted to try them too, and as she got back to Trader Joe’s before I did, she bought them for us both to try.

Well, guess what. We were both dissapointed in these, and not half as as good as we were expecting. We both thought, “just OK”. Yes, the cheesy part, the Asiago on top that is baked in, that is good, however it is called a “cheesy bagel” so the bagel itself has to be good. It’s not. Trader Joe’s says “delightfully doughy inside”. It is doughy. Just soft and doughy, bready. It did not delight this bagel maven. These have none of the chewy texture which defines a real bagel. You can tell this so called “bagel” is only baked and not boiled and baked, which is what makes a real bagel. Just to compare, these are nothing at all like Trader Joe’s ARTISAN BAGELS, which are boiled and baked and to which I gave a big thumbs up. Those are good, real authentic bagels with a chewy crust and soft chewy interior. And once again this is coming from a picky New Yorker who knows from bagels!

These just taste to me like the kind of “bagels” seen in supermarkets in maybe Iowa, where they have no idea about bagels. Now I think one could come up with something akin to a good “cheesy bagel”. Take one of Trader Joe’s good Artisan Plain Bagels, cut it open and toss on some grated Asiago Cheese. Toast this up till the cheese is melted all bubbly, and you may come up with a good tasty “Cheesy Bagel”. It will be far far better than this disappointing so called bagel.

Two of us reviewing them said the same thing: “Would not buy these again”

Trader Joe’s “Cheesy Bagels” – $3.49 (4 bagels) 2/10

TJ’s Artisan Bagels are $1.99 for three (good) perfectly chewy bagels. I kind of suggest you just buy those and toast them up with your favorite cheese.

(image: Trader Joe’s)

Trader Joe’s CERRO MOGOTON small lot coffee


I saw good reviews of this small lot coffee on the ‘net so I thought I would try it for review. For me, just OK. Not bad but not great either as many Small Lot ones have turned out to be in the past. While tasty, nothing stood out here to me as outstanding especially when I mentally compared this with some truly outstanding Small Lot coffees Trader Joe’s has had in the past (like UGANDAN MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON). Not to mention some non-small lot faves of mine: I’m talking about you, Fair Trade ORGANIC BOLIVIAN blend – which for the last few months has become my standard Go To coffee that TJ’s sells.

So while I would say this coffee may be worth a try if you are one who likes to explore every small lot that Trader Joe’s comes out with, frankly I would suggest you save your money to spend on some other coffee they have. Again for example the excellent Organic Bolivian one if you haven’t tried that before.

$9.99 (12 oz)

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/079199

Trader Joe’s HIGH FIBER CEREAL, review


(NEWS: May 2026) Was Out of Stock for weeks in my area (NY). I was told at the front desk they finally got shipments of it coming in. (Update-2 6/1/26) Back in Stock today, great! But they raised the price! Was $2.99 forever, now $3.29

NINE GRAMS OF FIBER PER SERVING.

ZERO CHOLESTEROL

High Fiber. Low Fat. Low Sodium

Fortified with 8 Vitamins + Iron

Healthy Choice

Surely this is one of, if not the healthiest cereal options at Trader Joe’s you can buy. TJ’s HIGH FIBER CEREAL is an easy way to get more dietary Fiber into your diet. What’s not to like?

Taste? OK this may not win any taste awards, but you know what, I think it actually tastes OK. In fact once I got used to it, I now even like the taste of this which I would call “natural” and “healthy” without it tasting like you are eating twigs (OK it does look like a bit like twigs)!

Anyway, you pick this cereal is primarily because you want to get more fiber in your daily diet and on that front is does deliver.

Trader Joe’s HIGH FIBER CEREAL has 9 grams of dietary fiber per serving (2/3 cup). That is about 1/3 of the recommended daily amount of fiber,

As the name implies the main idea of HIGH FIBER CEREAL is simple, to provide you with dietary Fiber. It does this mainly from all the different types of bran it has – wheat, corn, and oat bran. Bran is loaded with fiber and it is usually stripped out. Not here, they actually add back bran – in fact, 3 kinds of bran. Here’s the ingredient list….

Ingredients: wheat bran, corn flour, corn bran, cane sugar, whole wheat, oat bran, whey, salt…… Fortified with vitamins plus iron (60% of the DVI for Iron).

My wife buys this cereal as she feels she needs more even more fiber in her diet, even though I think we eat pretty well in the fiber department. Still she says has trouble staying “regular” and that this High Fiber cereal helps! We like that. My wife buys this High Fiber Cereal mostly for her. Me, I usually buy good tasty granola mostly for myself. But I just use that as “topping” on top of this.

This HIGH FIBER CEREAL 9 grams fiber per serving. For contrast, my granola has about 5 grams.

Taste wise its OK, a bit neutral, not great but not bad. The texture is nice and crunchy. It looks like little brown strings or twigs. Sometimes clumps of them. I imagine like me, you are probably not eating just a bowl of this cereal and milk?

Maybe like me, you are likely adding other things, besides milk or a similar substitute. Maybe a bit of Yogurt? Kefir? Fresh fruit, like perhaps some sliced bananas, berries, apples or other fresh fruits or maybe some dried fruits. Kefir

So this is likely just one part of your breakfast bowl. That’s how I eat this and it tastes fine. I even put a sprinkle of granola on top of everything to make it a little tastier.

Also in the plus column: it’s low in calories, low in fat, low in sodium, and has ZERO cholesterol, plus this is low in Added Sugars, compared to almost any other cereal Trader Joe’s sells. So really compared to many other choices, this is the “healthy choice” in the Trader Joe’s cereal department. Maybe the healthiest cereal they sell besides Oatmeal.

It looks like little bits of brown stringy things which I am pretty sure are extruded then baked. I am not too familiar with Nabisco’s FIBER ONE cereal but I think this is similar. I doubt anyone would say “this is the best cereal I ever tasted”. But you know what, its not bad. I think it tastes it’s OK. Fairly neutral in flavor, it is nice and crunchy. Its a bit naturally sweet.

It taste healthy. Generally I myself use it like a topping, and put it on top of my breakfast mixture of chia seeds, fruit, yogurt and sometimes kefir. I sometimes add a little bit of granola on top of everything to improve it all. If you want an easy way to add some extra fiber in your diet, this cereal is certainly an easy way to start in the morning getting your fiber.

(You can compare to FIBER ONE)

Other things I get from Trader Joe’s for breakfast that are high fiber are Steel Cut Oats. Chia Seeds……

Personally I have always liked the classic GRAPE NUTS cereal – which is also pretty high fiber, and I do prefer it to this however my wife prefers this cereal by far, and doesn’t like Grape Nuts at all.

She has brought boxes of this cereal home quite a few times now, which means she really likes it, and says it does works to keep her system nice and regular! Just sayin’, if that’s what you are looking for too, this will probably be good for you as well!;)

“the recommended daily amount of fiber is 28 grams per day” so this is just one part….

High Fiber Cereal $2.99 (14.5 oz) $3.29

So for two healthy cereal options from Trader Joe’s, I would recommend this as well as OATS (steel cut preferably) I buy both cereals for our house.

(PS One reader even Commented they use this cereal to bake bran muffins!)

Trader Joe’s INSTANT COLD BREW COFFEE, 100% Arabica


https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/instant-cold-brew-coffee-067436

Trader Joe’s says: “Trader Joe’s Instant Cold Brew Coffee starts with 100% Arabica coffee beans from India. Our supplier uses an all-natural, proprietary extraction method that took them over two years to develop. It’s truly a unique process that yields a fine, dark powder. Add one heaping teaspoon of this Instant Cold Brew Coffee to 12 fluid ounces of cold or hot water, then stir until dissolved. The result is a cup of Cold Brew that’s full-bodied, dark, and smooth, with a caramel-like aroma and rich, cold-brew coffee taste.”

I am a big fan of coffee, a real coffee. While I am not half as geeky and fanatic about it as many coffee geeks, I do love me some (great) coffee. Hence I almost never drink any “instant” coffee, which I find not even in the same league as a brewed coffee.

As far as the Cold brewed coffee trend that has caught on the last few years, well I always will prefer a regular brewed coffee too over that. If I want it Cold, I let it sit, chill it and enjoy it then, maybe with ice. But Cold brew doesn’t excite me compared to a chilled down brewed cup of coffee or some pre-made, iced brewed coffee. Still, I wanted to try this “Instant Cold Brew” from Trader Joe’s.

As I am not a big fan of any instant coffee I can’t say I am crazy about this one either however I found it actually made me a drinkable cold coffee beverage on a hot day. So maybe this is good for one of your Coffee Emergencies, where you didn’t plan ahead!

The label says add 1 heaping teaspoon per 12 oz of water but I think I will play with this and add more to make it stronger. This is of course very convenient which is its main selling point. It is convenient I’ve even used it to add to something as an ingredient where coffee was called for.

$5.49

Trader Joe’s Pizza Sauce vs. Marinara: A Comparison


RANT

Trader Joe’s sells some fresh “PIZZA SAUCE” carried in the refrigerated case, near the pizza dough. The sauce goes for $2.69 for 10 oz. I decided to give it a try.

The other night we planned on making a fresh pizza from scratch (I made my own dough using the famous Jim Lahey recipe). When I was ready to assemble the pizza for cooking I used this sauce.

Now my Go-To typically for tomato sauce for making pizza might just be to use TJ’s very decent jarred Marinara. Either the Plain version or the Roasted Garlic version. I like them both.

So here’s my honest review of this fresh sauce. “Just OK”. I would find it hard to recommend. I just tasted it on a spoon. I could swear it gave me a bit of a bitter aftertaste. Possibly from so many dried herbs? It is thick with a lot of ingredients. Too complicated?

I gave it a chance and used it to make the pizza. The pizza turned out OK and yes the sauce was a bit better now cooked but again “just ok” so would stick to my Go-To (and cheaper) jar of TJ’s Marinara – or whatever sauce you like at TJ’s).

So instead of this I suggest using TJ’s regular or ROASTED GARLIC MARINARA if you are making your own pizza from scratch – using either Trader Joe’s pizza dough or your own dough or whatever – and add your mozzarella or favorite cheese(s). Or their prepared Pizza Base.

To top my (marinara) sauce for our pizza I will add a pinch of dried herbs like oregano, maybe some crushed red pepper. Usually I will add fresh garlic. Later I will add fresh basil, cut with a scissors. Then give it all a drizzle of EVOO.

This will be way better than this prepared “pizza sauce” and the Marinara is cheaper to boot. You will plenty left over too to use in another dish, or freeze for later.

I would not buy this again.

Speaking of fresh basil – Here is the legendary late, great Dom DeMarco cutting on some basil with scissors. The Master at work and whose pizza’s I was lucky enough to get to enjoy many times, sometimes waiting a hour or more…. RIP Maestro Dom.

NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s CHOCOLATE COVERED PISTACHIOS


I love pistachios and I love chocolate. So when I saw this new item Trader Joe’s recently came out with, naturally I wanted to try it. The concept sounds good.

But the reality? Well, while tasty three of us tasted this and had the same reaction. This isn’t a slam dunk success. Why not? Pistachios are kind of delicate and subtle in flavor. The texture is also a little soft. Coating them in chocolate sounds good but we found the the chocolate really dominates and overshadows the flavor of the pistachios. Unlike other nuts, say almonds where the almond can really stand up equally to the chocolate. You know you are eating almonds, as they have a more distinct in flavor not to mention a very crunchy texture.

So while I find it kind of tasty its a bit of a miss not a hit . I probably won’t buy this again. If I want a chocolate covered nut, I will just stick to the chocolate almonds or cashews.

$3.99 (6 oz)

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/dark-chocolate-covered-pistachios-078881

Trader Joe’s NON-DAIRY OAT FROZEN DESSERT (Vanilla Bean)


NEW ITEM

NON DAIRY

My wife bought this to try though we are not lactose intolerant nor vegetarian. Taste wise it was very MEH. Neither of us thought it was good and we both thought “don’t buy this again”. Still if you are lactose intolerant (or vegetarian) perhaps this recent addition to the frozen dessert options at Trader Joe’s is something you might be interested in.

Trader Joe’s Brazil Cachoeira da Grama Small Lot Coffee


“A light roast with notes of dried fruit and orange”

This is the latest “small lot” coffee Trader Joe’s has come out with (Dec ’23). This coffee is from Brazil, called “Cachoeira da Grama”, which comes from Brazil’s Vale de Grama in the Sao Paolo region.

Trader Joe’s describes the beans as a “light roast” on the package and in this case, I agree (we know TJ’s roast descriptions can vary wildly). The package says these coffee beans were “double fermented”: “this innovative double fermenting process brings about the perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, and the light roast unveils lively notes of dried fruit and orange.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/brazil-cachoeira-da-grama-small-lot-coffee-075389

Naturally whenever I taste a new Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffee, I can’t help but to compare it with my memory of other small lot coffee they’ve had. How does this new one compare to the best of their Small Lot coffees some of which were so freaking good, they blew me away?

I neither loved nor hated this; it falls in the middle. This Brazilian one is good and is a decent coffee with yes notes of “dried fruit and orange”. While I thought it was fine I didn’t find it terribly special. Yet when I searched online about this coffee I found some reviewers just raving about it. Me, I would not give this a Rave however lets face it, things like coffee, or wine for that matter, are the most personal of taste preferences. At some point only you can decide what you think.

I found this this a decent coffee but when I thought of others… a few amazing small lot coffee gems Trader Joe’s had in the past – I would not put this one up there with at least two others I recall. Not terribly long ago, TJ’s had a terrific small lot coffee that came from the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – I found that one to be wonderful. A standout. Ditto for another one which was really good, the HONDURAN Small Lot Coffee.

Both of those two small lot coffees were incredible finds to my taste and I cross my fingers I may see someday either of them again someday at Trader Joe’s as I would buy either in a second. But I won’t hold my breath because as we know all too well, one of the first things about Trader Joe’s one learns the hard way is if you fall in love with something you may have your heart broken someday.

Trader Joe’s Brazil Cachoeira da Grama Small Lot Coffee was $9.99 (12 oz) a decent price for a small lot coffee. The small lot are “Limited Editions” so if you want to try it, grab it asap.

I would not buy this again. It was good but not as special as other Small Lot Coffees I’ve tasted. But I saw that some people really liked this, so as the French say, “à chacun son gout

Just FYI – One of my Go To coffee’s at Trader Joe’s is the AZMARI BUNNI, Afro-Latin blend (light roast). It’s a consistently excellent and well balanced blend which I find to be a terrific all around coffee that never fails to please me in the morning. They carry this regularly now. If you have not tried it I suggest starting there.

Trader Joe’s MISO RAMEN SOUP (cup)


My wife bought this “MISO RAMEN SOUP”. Now she loves ramen and will usually buy her favorite, Korean Shin Ramen, which is very good. It costs more. She made this and when I asked her what she thought her review was pretty short: “I’ll never buy this again”

Inside the cup there’s some noodles which don’t look like the dried ramen you are used to. These are straight wheat noodles which look semi-dry (pre-boiled?). There’s not a lot of noodles. There’s a dried packet of stuff (the soup) plus a little clear packet, which we thought was one of those drying packets and almost threw it away. Nope, its part of the ramen set; The clear packet contains a little bit of oil you add along with the dry packet of miso soup.

I tasted her ramen and here’s what I thought of this product.

The Good: The broth was actually pretty decent. Better than I expected. It tastes like a Japanese miso soup broth. There was even a piece or two of wakame (seaweed) floating around in the soup. Some umami from seaweed and mushrooms. The Ingredient list reads fairly natural; you don’t see wierd names of chemicals just dried ingredients. Broth 7/10

The Bad: Ramen? Well they really messed up the “ramen” part of this “miso ramen soup”. Noodles are lousy. We both thought the noodles were not very good and to add insult to injury they are very skimpy with the noodles. These noodles are not dry but a little flexible, like a semi-dried, pre-boiled noodles? They barely had any texture or bite to them after the recommended six minutes. Very MEH as they should be the star. Noodles 5/10

The Sodium content is listed as 870, which is almost 40% of your daily recommended level of salt. We cut that down by only using about 3/4 of the packet. Naturally that will make the broth a little less strong. It was fine for us. All instant ramen tends to have quite a bit of sodium. Always check the labels. This really applies to all the Asian products at TJ’s.

If you decide to actually try this, it may be better if you try adding a poached egg and chopped scallions as they suggest.

$1.89

I had an idea that since the broth was not bad but the noodles are Meh I thought one might combine this with the packet of cheap ramen dried noodles you might have in the house. I used to get them 5/$1 a few years back!

If you want good ramen, Korean Shin Ramen runs rings around this and most instant ramen though it costs more.

We would not buy this again.

Trader Joe’s DILL-ICIOUS SMOKED SALMON


NEW PRODUCT: “Seasoned Cold Smoked Salmon with Dill Pickle Flavoring”.

Trader Joe’s seems to just love dill pickle stuff. They have quite a few products with the flavor. I love (fresh) dill on many things and especially love a sprinkle of fresh dill on smoked salmon (or fresh salmon). I love Gravlax (Scandinavian dill cured salmon).

However I didn’t love this new TJ smoked salmon flavor at all, I found it to be a Miss. For one thing I am guessing they use dried dill, not fresh. In fact they even list “dill weed oil” as one of the ingredients, which seems to me like trying to mimic fresh dill’s taste? Before reading this, I didn’t know “dill weed oil” existed as an ingredient. Furthermore this salmon seems a bit tougher (thicker cut?) then other seasoned salmons I really like from TJ’s, namely the Everything Smoked Salmon as well as the Pastrami Smoked Salmon, both of which I think work way better than this seasoning. I like both of those TJ’s smoked salmons

The 4 oz. package was $6.49. For me this stuff is a Miss. I rate it somewhere between a “Meh” and a Rant. Frankly my advice is pass on this but get either of those other two good seasoned smoked salmon Trader Joe’s offers.

I would not buy this again.

Ingredients: farmed Atlantic Salmon, salt, seasonings (granulated onion, vinegar powder, sugar, granulated garlic), dill weed, citric acid, rice concentrate, safflower oil, dill weed oil, natural hardwood smoke

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