Trader Joe’s Sliced PUMPKIN SOURDOUGH BREAD made with pumpkin purée & pumpkin spice
$4.99 (17.6 oz, 500 gr)
NEW ITEM (LIMITED TIME)
As I’ve mentioned before I’m actually not one of those people who goes nuts when Trader Joe’s comes out with all the pumpkin stuff every Fall.
However on occasion I do see something that looks interesting and peaks my interest. Like this bread I saw in the New Items shelf while I was checking out:
Trader Joe’s SLICED PUMPKIN SOURDOUGH BREAD. After doing a little research I saw that some shoppers supposedly are raving about this bread and snapping it up. So I got one to try out. Here’s my honest review.
I liked this. I like that its actually made with some pumpkin puree, so you get a (subtle) hint of pumpkin. I like the fact that the amount of spice is very subtle. It’s not overly flavored with spices. There is just a hint of pumpkin spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg). Almost background.Pumpkin puree is the third ingredient listed (flour, water, pumpkin purée…) in the ingredients.The bread has a slight sweetness but just a little and tastes like bread, not dessert.
The bread has a nice crumb with some air holes and a little structure. It has a bit of little tang but as far as it being “real sourdough” well….think of this as a “sourdough style” bread, which is what I think of it as. I don’t think anyone would call this a “real sourdough”. It lists “microbial enzymes”…not sourdough starter as a purist might say.
As is untoasted, I thought it tasted fine, however my first thought was, I have to toast his. It will be so much better that way.
This is best for toasting,or grilling. First I just toasted up a slice and tried it simply spread with some good butter. Simple but delicious. Also excellent with butter and raspberry jam. Experiment and find your favorite jam combo. Trader Joe’s APPLE PIE JAM perhaps? PUMPKIN BUTTER?
What about using this bread to make FRENCH TOAST? I haven’t gotten around to doing that yet but I can tell this Definitely will make some fantastic french toast. Try that with this bread over the holidays?
What I did try it for was this. It may sound a bit odd, but how for making a grilled cheese sandwich on this bread!? I saw that suggestion somewhere on the internet using this pumpkin sourdough and Gruyere cheese. I made it and they were not wrong. So good. We really liked the way these grilled cheese sandwiches came out (if you need a “recipe” see below)
Cheese: I saw the recommended one as Trader Joe’s GRUYERE CHEDDAR MELANGE and that’s what I used, which it was a perfect match.
Here’s how I made my grilled cheese sandwich with the PUMPKIN SOURDOUGH.
Slice up the Gruyere Cheddar Melange cheese. Spread the bread slices with a thin layer of your favorite mustard. I used a mix of Dijon and Regular mustard. I like mustard so I did it on both insides.
Add a decent amount of cheese and carefully close up the sandwich. Grill in a heavy pan with a bit of butter on low-medium. Let it grill up for about 3-4 minutes per side or until it looks nice and Golden Brown and Delicious (check occasionally after 2 3 minutes, it can get dark easily) Flip the over carefully, press gently with a spatula until the second side is done and the cheese is all melty and delicious. Serve with pickles.
I’m sure it would also be good with some kind of cheddar but I have to say, that Gruyere melange perfect, subtle and nutty and matched perfectly with the pumpkin sourdough.
My only complaint with this bread is they don’t give you enough for five bucks! Its kind of small, half loaf of bread which is just over a pound. Our loaf went pretty fast, in fact we were fighting over who would eat the last piece of toast.
1 slice is 110 calories.
Product of Canada
CONTAINS SESAME SEEDS
LIMITED TIME – you can always buy some and freeze it
Certified Organic, 13g Whole Grains per serving, 70 cal slice
This is a NEW ITEM (AUG 2026)
21 Grains and Seeds Thin Sliced Organic Bread, with whole wheat and “organic seed and nut mix” containing organic sunflower, flax, pumpkin, sesame, black sesame, poppy, millet, rolled oats, quinoa, rye, spelt, yellow corn, amaranth, buckwheat, khorasan, purple corn, brown rice, sorghum, vital gluten, seeds and flours and other goodies like molasses.
A very nice slightly nutty tasting light brown whole wheat bread. Sliced thinly. One slice is 70 calories.
Made great toast with this as well as grilled cheese sandwiches. I would buy this again.
$4.49 for a 20 oz loaf
“Trader Joe’s Organic Thin Sliced 21 Grains & Seeds Bread is multi-faceted. Each Grain and Seed contributes its own characteristic taste and texture to produce a brown bread that is moist and slightly sweet, with a satisfyingly robust flavor. It’s excellent for sandwiching Organic Reduced Sugar Strawberry Preserves and Creamy Salted Peanut Butter. It’s also fantastic when two pieces are toasted in a pan with a generous number of Cheddar & Gruyere Mélange slices all melty in-between. And since our supplier has Sliced each loaf nice and Thin, it’s ideal for smaller-portioned sandwiches and toasts: each Slice comes in at about 70 calories.”
No added sugar or other ingredients. Just 100% juice from real pomegranates. Not from concentrate.
Trader Joe’s came out with this pure 100% pomegranate juice in a small, single serving size bottle, about 8 ounces. Easy to carry. This tasted just like I was eating a pomegranate. Naturally sweet-sour.
Want my honest review? It’s yummy, people! If you love pomegranates you will love this. I found it delicious and very refreshing ice cold. A bit tart, but a bit sweet just like pomegranates taste. Deep ruby red color.
Trader Joe’s version of POM maybe? Pretty sure this a bit cheaper though.
Trader Joe’s has a bigger 1 qt. bottle of pomegranate juice however that one is from concentrate. This isn’t. Just real natural juice from pomegranates.
(New, Aug 2026) With the addition of this chocolate bark I think Trader Joe’s carries three different chocolate “barks” now? There is the original regular bark, the dried raspberry one and now this one with pistachios and jalapenos. Yes, you read that correctly. This chocolate bark contains (dried) jalapeños. So this new one is a bit of an unusual chocolate as it is has some Heat.
While I was going to the checkout line, I saw this bag in the NEW ITEMS stand next to the line. A new Chocolate Bark ? Yes please. I just grabbed the bag without looking too hard. Somehow my brain saw the word “pistachios” but somehow I actually missed “dried jalapeños”! Ha ha, I only noticed it when I got home.
Fortunately I actually like spicy chocolate and I was intrigued. Chocolate with spice is not that unusual. In Mexico for example this is common. Chocolate with something spicy is a combo that goes well together. Sure that may not be for everybody but it is for yours truly.
Here’s my honest review:
I tasted it. I soon realized I could not stop eating it after that first bite. To me, it’s addictive. After you bite a piece of the bark, you first taste the delicious sweet dark chocolate, then a few seconds later your tongue will register a bit of heat (dried jalapeño). Not a crazy level of heat. Just enough to let you know its there. And to make you want another bite. The pistachio element is a bit overshadowed by the jalapeno but it’s there somewhere in the background, and blends well with the chocolate. There’s just a hint of sea salt.
HOW SPICY IS THIS? “Low to Medium” spicy? Its a bit spicy. Not Crazy. You will taste the heat but it’s not blow the roof of your mouth off stuff (to me). I don’t appreciate crazy Hot Ones levels of heat. This is not that – though of course spicy tolerance is personal. You will have to try it for yourself.
They got the balance right. Sweet and savory and a bit spicy. While this is a bit spicy its more than tolerable as the sweetness of the dark chocolate matches perfectly to the amount of heat. I love it. But this will not be for everyone. My wife didn’t like it, even though she likes a little spiciness in food.
Trader Joe’s has this to say about their new product:
“Now, separately, the four elements of Dark Chocolate, Pistachios, Jalapeños, and Sea Salt may make utterly intuitive pairings with one another. But it’s only within the context of this Bark that this curious combination gets to shine together. And so, every bite becomes a symphony of rich, buttery, nutty, grassy, spicy, savory, and sweet, all at once.” https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/dark-chocolate-bark-with-pistachios-dried-jalapenos-sea-salt-083323
I really liked this new chocolate bark. If you like spicy chocolate, you will too. If you are very sensitive to spicy heat, maybe its not for you but I say, try it. Worst case, you bring it back and tell them you didn’t like it. That’s the great thing about Trader Joe’s, isn’t it? If you are not happy, just bring it back for a refund.
I would buy it again. I have to. The bag went very fast.
“Trader Joe’s Just Salmon Skin Baked Dog Treat are made from salmon raised without antibiotics in the cold waters of Northern Scotland. The skin is simply baked with nothing else added” (from the package)
INGREDIENTS: Salmon skin
These are pieces of Salmon skin and nothing else, baked into little pieces, ending up as crispy crunchy bite size snacks. They are not stinky, just the tiniest bit fishy smelling.
I think your dog will love these.
Me, I have cats. Sure these are labeled “for dogs” but is there any law that says cat owners, like yours truly, can’t give them to our feline friends too? I mean there’s nothing that is bad for cats in these. Its just salmon skin. Fish. Period. No additives, no nothin’. So I tested these to see if my two cats would like them for treats.
Result: One of my cats loves these treats and crunches a piece into smithereens in seconds. The other, a pickier eater, will on occasion eat one but sometimes will ignore the treat, while kind of looking at me like I’m cheating him with just skin and not the FREEZE DRIED SALMON pet treats which are pieces of salmon with flesh. Which by the way is labeled “For Pets” not just “For Dogs” like this one.
You will find these pickles in the Refrigerated case at Trader Joe’s, near the sauerkraut and kimchi and all that good pickled stuff. Wait? Trader Joe’s sells pickles in the fridge as well as the jarred kinds on the shelves?! Yup, you should check these out.
If I can buy refrigerated pickles, that’s what I will usually go for, over the shelf stable non-refrigerated ones on the shelves.
Why? Jarred shelf-stable pickles have been pasteurized so they can sit safely at room temperature for a long time. Refrigerated pickles have not been Pasteurized (with heat). I find the cold, fresh pickles in the fridge generally have better, firmer texture. Crunchier.
Pasteurizing kills bacteria, even the healthy kind we like! Pickles in the refrigerated section are unpasteurized, kept cold to slow down natural fermentation processes.
My review: Trader Joe’s refrigerated Kosher Dill pickles were very tasty, nice and fresh tasting with garlic and dill flavors with nice crunch. The ingredients include coriander garlic, mustard seed, coriander, bay leaf, dill…. all the classic kosher pickle flavors. What I would call a “full sour Kosher pickle”, dark green.
These Trader Joe’s fresh refrigerator pickles come in two shapes, Spears or Slices, as you prefer.
A sandwich with a pickle is heaven. Either are perfect for a GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH. Maybe with IVY’S RESERVE RED….
“Serve at room temperature for best flavor. Great addition to a cheeseboard; enjoy with an oaky Chardonnay”
RAVE
PRODUCT OF U.K.
IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is an award winning cheese, featured by Trader Joe’s sometime back as their “Spotlight Cheese”.
Is it worth buying? Here’s my honest review.
OMG is this cheese good. Just excellent. I enjoyed tasting it so much that I had to stop myself from devouring the package. “I just need one more taste”. If you haven’t tried it already, put this cheese on your list. Especially as it’s TIME LIMITED. Meaning Trader Joe’s won’t have it always, they will have it until it runs out. Hopefully they will get more then.
This is yet one more fantastic super premium Imported cheese you can buy at Trader Joe’s for a decent price. Note that this is one of those products sold under it’s own brand, not as “Trader Joe’s”. That means they really wanted it.
IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is a mature “aged cheddar” (aged over 12 months). You can see it’s crumbly. It has a mouthwatering edge of sharpness and a lot of umami with a lovely orange red color. While in the cheddar family this is specifically “Red Leicester” which is similar too but more crumbly than cheddar.
“Crafted in the style of a Red Leicester, Ivy’s Red is a special edition among Wyke Farm’s variety of Cheddars. It definitely stands out for its burnt-orange color and nutty & fruity notes, which are delivered with a firm texture that is rich, creamy, a bit tangy”
It’s a farm cheese, produced at Wyke’s Farm in Somerset, England. The label for Ivy’s Reserve Somerset Red describes it as “nutty, mellow & moreish,” More-ish is a British term that means, “having a very pleasant taste and making you want to eat more.”
Well that’s exactly the effect it had on me. I kept wanting just one more taste. When I finished my taste test, I saw a good portion of the package somehow had magically vanished 😉
Lovely deep orange color with the taste of aged authentic British cheddar. A little earthy, a little tangy. Aged over 1 year.
MELTED? Yes please. I had to try it melted, and of course this is fantastic melted. Put it in anything you can think of. I think this might make the best melted cheese sandwich? I would try that as well as an omelet perhaps?
Trader Joe’s has a picture with a cheese board and I am sure this would be a big hit on any #cheeseboard. They picture it with some some chutney, dates, nuts and crackers. Indicating how great this could contrast with the sweet spiciness of say, their MANGO CHUTNEY.
It says “LIMITED” so don’t expect to always find it but if you see it, I highly recommend trying this. At a high end cheese shop I would not be surprised to see this imported farm cheese selling for at least $20 a pound.
Trader Joe’s sell this for $5.49 (for a 7 oz piece)
Little mini pepperoni sticks divied into 2 cute “snack packs” of about one ounce each.
I saw these on the check out line at Trader Joe’s yesterday. I could not resist this cute package so picked one up and honestly, when I got out of the store, I opened up the package and took a bite of one of these sticks. I have to say these are really tasty and brought me back to when I was a kid and bought “Slim Jims”. Probably these have way better ingredients.
They are neither hard nor soft, just the perfect texture and taste. These are a snack-sized helping of slim, perfectly chewy Pepperoni Sticks made from uncured pork. (No nitrates or nitrites are added, except those naturally occurring in sea salt and cultured Swiss chard powder). Very savory and tasty, pork-y goodness. Even could go on a #cheeseboard.
My package went pretty fast. Health food? No, of course not, these are a occasional treat but the ingredients are not mysterious and they are not very fatty. Sodium is pretty high! A whole package (both sides) contains 1050 mg sodium, or about 56% the allotted recommended daily sodium level .
However if one ate half a package at a time, as an occasional snack/treat not too terrible. Just so you keep an eye on that. Me I can eat about 4, 5 sticks and be satisfied.
Before I saw this at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago, I’m prettu sure I’ve never even seen a coffee from PAPUA NEW GUINEA. So I had no idea what to expect. But I kind of like to check out every “Small Lot” coffee Trader Joe’s comes out with. Just in case. ‘Cuz you never know. Sometimes you may find a Gem.
Like this coffee! Which is from the “Sigri Estate in Papua New Guinea”. I really was pleasantly surprised with this latest of Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees. I thought this one was a winner. Likely the Best of the Small Lot coffees they’ve come out with in some time for my taste.Honestly, Trader Joe’s describes it perfectly and I could not do better. So quoting them….
“Brew up a cup of this Papua New Guinean whole bean coffee and you’ll notice its distinctive profile. The light roast presents moderate acidity and body with fragrant aromas of almond, berries, and açai. You’ll taste layered sweet and fruity flavors, detecting notes of pineapple, brown sugar, and honey.”
I find this all true. It tastes pretty unique which I guess is why they describe it with “notes of pineapple and brown sugar”, the first time I have seen the word “pineapple” used to describe a flavor profile of a coffee. I find the taste hard to pinpoint but sure, “pineapple and brown sugar” works, and all I know is that I quite liked flavor of this which is pretty unique but satisfying. Smooth but Robust. Wonderful coffee aroma when you first grind it up.
TJ’s labels this a “LIGHT ROAST”. I agree this is light (not blond) and the light roast here is perfect. Trader Joe’s seems to skew towards darker? Most of their coffee seem to be roasted at least medium, which is fine by me, as I like medium to dark and even espresso, but a light one here and there is nice, so here you go. If you like Light, give this a try and see what you think.
BREWING: I brewed it 2 ways, a drip coffee with a paper filter and also in my Moka pot. Both worked equally well and produced excellent coffee. It even produced a good amount of “crema” when I brewed it in my Moka pot, which to me also seems to indicate a good coffee. I’m sure this would be good for any brewing method including true espresso machines.
A quick search on Google revealed this about coffee from there: “Papua New Guinea (PNG) coffee is highly regarded for its smooth body, gentle acidity, and complex, sweet-toned flavor profile. Grown primarily in the fertile Central Highlands, these heirloom Typica and Bourbon beans—originally descended from Jamaica Blue Mountain—offer tasting notes of tropical fruit, dark chocolate, and mild spices.”
“Trader Joe’s Papua New Guinea Small Lot Coffee was grown on the distinguished Sigri estate in the Waghi Valley of PNG. There are numerous micro-climates all around this mountainous island, and the coffee growers of the Sigri estate have intimate knowledge of their own land, which translates into premium, AA (large grade), 100% Arabica beans.”
While I previously I had no knowledge of PNG coffee, I am a now big fan of this one at least. I look forward every morning to grinding these beans up to brew up my morning cup of Joe. In fact I will go back and pick up a bag or two of this ! Run, don’t walk and grab this one. IT’S LIMITED
This one was quite fresh too, as per the “roasted on” date. I bought it only about one month later in was roasted so pretty fresh.
Sidenote thought: Can you imagine the team working for Trader Joe’s on their “Small Lot Coffee” projects?! I’ve often thought this may be the coolest job in the world. Get sent all over the world looking for unusually good coffee finds in unusual places. Exploring small producers in far flung corners of the world, on the hunt for coffee that will end up as the next “Small Lot” find. Sounds like a Dream Job?
Trader Joe’s has added this pasta shape to their selection of organic premium “artisanal” pastas, cavatappi which means “corkscrews”. They say it’s one of their favorites. Having tried it, it’s now one of my favorite pastas as well that they sell.
ORGANIC CAVATAPPI look kind of like a long twisted macaroni with ridges. The shape and the ridges are designed to hold sauces.
Cavatappi is an excellent addition to Trader Joe’s line of premium pastas. They still sell some pastas for 99 cents. This one is $1.99. What makes “premium” pasta premium and worth more? TJ’s premium pastas are a level up from the regular ones. Think of high end pasta like you see in specialty stores, many of which are $4-8 a pound. The better, high end pastas mean things like being bronze die cut, made from organic semolina wheat, usually are slow dried, etc. All of which makes for better pasta.
“Made in Italy for Trader Joe’s by our skilled supplier in Italy using organic semolina wheat. “
Cavatappi is perfect for marinara, or alfredo sauces. It’s also great used for baked mac and cheese and is great for cold pasta salads. Its shape helps it hold onto sauce in different ways, offering lots of flavor and a nice chewy texture.
“Cavatappi makes a consummate complement to a marinara or alfredo, makes a marvelous base for a baked mac and cheese, and produces a primo pasta salad for picnics and potlucks.”
I made a delicious (tuna and pesto)pasta salad using the cavatappi
Tuna & Pesto Pasta Salad: Boil a cup of cavatappi pasta in in salted water for 9-10 minutes or until done to the way you like (me, al dente). Drain the pasta and rinse in a colander under cold water until cooled down to room temp. Place pasta in a bowl, and add 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe’s jarred PESTO (adjust more if you need it). Add a can of tuna in olive oil (I used the oil and juice too, your call). Add juice from 1/2 lemon or more. (option, add a handful of chopped parsley or arugula) Mix well and serve.
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