Trader Joe’s CIABATTA DEMI-BAGUETTE


For best flavor and crispy crust, pop into a 400F oven for 4-7 minutes

These are only $1.29?! Wow!

CIABATTA DEMI BAGUETTE – Its a half size “demi” ciabatta bread. We tried it. We loved it. It comes slightly underbaked, to allow for additional baking that you will finish. This will really improve it to almost “freshly baked right out of the oven” status. Just pop it in for about 4-7 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Don’t want to turn on the oven? I didn’t. So I tried this: I found I could toast it up on the stove top (covered) in my cast iron pan for about 5-7 minutes on each side. I cut it into slices. Flipped. Or you can cut in half lengthwise. Doing this way until it was slightly toasted which worked out fine. One more idea is you could perhaps toss it in an air fryer if you have one (I don’t). Or toaster oven or broiler.

The ingredient list has few ingredients and no preservatives. ING: Flour, water, sea salt, yeast.

Trader Joe’s says: ” The loaf is in the shape of a half baguette (“demi-” and “wand” in Italian), but the bread itself is ciabatta bread. Ciabatta dough contains a higher moisture content than traditional baguette dough—over 70% in this case— giving it a thin, slightly caramelized crust and a light crumb with large holes. Better yet, it’s made with just a few ingredients: unbleached wheat flour, water, sea salt, yeast, and malted barley. Though our supplier makes large quantities of bread, they are still able to achieve the sought-after artisanal taste and texture.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/ciabatta-demi-baguette-096399

The night we tried this bread, I had made a pasta frittata and this bread went perfect with that, as we used it for mopping up our extra sauce. Both my wife and I found this bread to be so tasty.

Another time, I used this loaf to make a classic grilled sandwich, a CUBANO. Sliced it horizontally and used the soft loaf (panini press style) Grilled up some pork slices, black forest ham, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, mayo. Grilled on both sides until golden brown and cheese all melted. So yummy.

It’s a small loaf, just about 6 oz of bread. and it goes for just $1.29! A bigger ciabatta loaf (11 oz) goes for $1.99.

I would buy it again.

(their serving suggestion, brie, apples, bacon…! what’s not to like!)

Trader Joe’s Crunchy CHILI ONION SPRINKLE Seasoning Blend


“Give this Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle a generous shake over a plate of French fries, warm from the air fryer, into a bowl of ground beef before forming it into burger patties, or atop a sheet pan of freshly roasted veggies. It adds a delightful depth of flavor to baked tofu, a certain savory mystique to soups of all kinds, and a pleasantly crunchy pop of texture when mixed into popcorn. Whether it’s scrambled eggs at breakfast, a salad dressing at lunch, or a pan-seared steak at dinner, a little Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle can make a big difference.” – Trader Joe’s site https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/crunchy-chili-onion-sprinkle-seasoning-blend-077111

All I’ve been hearing and reading about all over the internet is how fantastic this Trader Joe’s CHILI ONION SEASONING BLEND is, so I finally got around to trying it.

I have to say, basically it’s as good as everyone says.

I loved this seasoning blend. It’s another of those things you get at Trader Joe’s that you like so much, you start putting on everything you can think of to see if it works on it. Pretty much the answer would be yes as far as I’m concerned. Everything I’ve sprinkled this on seems to work,and seems to get tastier and better. Last night I made some grilled broccoli and just before I served it I thought let me sprinkle some of the Magic Dust on it and sure enough it made the broccoli taste about twice as good as it was without it! Ditto fresh corn on the cob.

Ditto my boring cottage cheese. Sprinkle this on. Not boring at all. Its terrific with cottage cheese. Try it.

This is Excellent on pretty much everything I’ve tried it on, especially vegetables of any kinds, eggs (!), burgers, chicken, turkey burgers, you name it, it seems to work.

The seasonings in the Blend include: sea salt, fried onions, chili flakes, brown sugar, dried roasted garlic and Szechuan pepper. This seasoning blend is made in South Africa where they really know something about spices, even just judging from the wonderful South African Smoke seasoning blend that has come and vanished over the years (I still have a little bit left I stingy-ling use from time to time)

It does have some salt (not a lot) and it has just a hint of sweetness from brown sugar as well as being just slightly spicy but this is not fiery hot at all, mildly spiced and quite flavorful.

Trader Joe’s Crunchy CHILI ONION SPRINKLE Seasoning Blend is about $2. It’s yet another great addition to all of Trader Joe’s seasoning.

I would buy this again

Trader Joe’s HONEYCRISP APPLE GRANOLA, review (Fall Item)


LIMITED FALL ITEM

Does it taste really like apples? Yes actually it does, thanks to little bits of dried honeycrisp apples all throughout the granola. This granola not the clumpy kind; it is loose like cereal, not with the large clumps as some other granola’s that Trader Joe’s has such as the almond butter granola. Personally I am a fan of big “clumpy” granola with chunks that I can take out and sometimes just snack on. However I liked this too as it’s got that great apple fruity taste. I mean the taste of this granola is really a winner from those apple bits.

Ingredients include rolled oats, cane sugar, dried Honeycrisp apple, honey, molasses, and a subtle hint of fall spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove….) Very, very subtle, more like a backnote to the apple taste of this granola, not the overwhelming kind.

This Apple Granola one of their “Limited” fall items, meaning we will see it for a few months. So if you want to try this grab it while you can, and maybe stock up on a few bags if you tried it and liked it. I probably will. Both my wife and I really liked this very tasty granola.

$3.99 for a 12 oz bag.

I would buy it again.

“Our latest fall-forward, seasonal cereal shines the spotlight on an autumnal all-star: the heavenly Honeycrisp apple! Heralded for its crunch and concentration of flavor, it’s a natural companion to snacks and cereals of all sorts—snacks and cereals such as the sweet, seasonally-spiced clusters inside each bag of Trader Joe’s Honeycrisp Apple Granola!” – TJ’s

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/honeycrisp-apple-granola-076757

Trader Joe’s OLIVE FOUGASSE Artisan Style Bread


“A savory, focaccia like bread with light chewy texture, studded with briney black and Kalamata olives”

This bread is a bit unusual and one of Trader Joe’s more “gourmet” breads on offer. I think it’s worth trying especially if you are an olive fan.

This is a French style FOUGASSE, a bread typically associated with the South of France. Kind of a cousin to Focaccia. Trader Joe’s Olive Fougasse has both Kalamata and Black Olives. It’s loaded up with olives and has a great olive flavor. I love olives and I really liked this bread. FOUGASSE can be shaped in many ways, some quite artistic (see link for images of different Fougasse breads)…..

https://shorturl.at/4Q0dR

We baked it up as directed.Like a few breads Trader Joe’s sells, this one comes slightly underbaked, so you can get “fresh baked bread”. It’s needs to finish baking for just about 5 minutes so just pop it into hot oven (or air fryer?) for about 5 minutes. It will smell heavenly when you take it out. Its crusty, soft and chewy inside, Herby and Olive-y. My wife and I really enjoyed eating this with a pasta dish.

This would be great with many things, including I think goind with your cheese board, charcuterie board or butter board.

If you see a Fougasse in a bakery they would probably be selling them for 6-8 bucks. Trader Joe’s price is $3.49 (12 oz)

Ing. include flour, water, sea salt, yeast and herbs. It has No preservatives. Use within a day or two after buying or freeze it. I would buy it again.

NEW @ Trader Joe’s, CRISPY GARLIC


First they came out with the CRISPY SHALLOTS which I like a lot. Now they’ve come out with something similar but it’s CRISPY GARLIC.

This new product is a winner. Possibly even better. For me, a must try. Crispy slivers of garlic toasted until nutty. A great topping, or ingredient. Lasts a long time so a great item you can keep in the pantry for whenever you need it. This is a super Asian (or Italian or anything) garnish.

Trader Joe’s says: “Trader Joe’s Crispy Garlic ably demonstrates, when sliced thin and fried to a glorious golden brown, garlic’s gifts easily extend into the textural realm, too. We tried plenty of options before finding this iteration of Crispy Garlic, which is brought to us by an expert supplier in Thailand. Only their Crispy Garlic was able to capture that flavorful-but-not-bitter, nicely-fried-but-not-tough, crunchy-but-still-melt-in-your-mouth quality that our tasting panel adored. We think you’ll adore it, too. Trader Joe’s Crispy Garlic is excellent as a topping on stir-fries, salads, and scrambled eggs; pizzas, pastas, and pad Thai; or even burgers, baked potatoes, and bánh mi. It can be mixed into homemade cheesy dips and casseroles, sprinkled over noodle dishes or roasted veggies, or even just enjoyed over a bowl of freshly made rice.” – Trader Joe’s

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/crispy-garlic-078302

Tru’ dat. The little thin crisps of garlic are so just so flavorful and tasty. We tried it, and instantly fell in love with this stuff. We tried even eating them as is just out of the bag. Intense but tasty!

Think little thin chips of fresh garlic, cooked till golden brown, super crunchy and crispy. The garlic flavor is a bit milder and mellowed from the frying. As they say it’s cooked just right, before the point of bitterness.

Toss these chips on just about anything. We’ve been trying it out on just about everything we can think of to put it on and whatever we tried seemed to work. Noodles. Salad. Add some on top of plain Rice!

Here I put some on top of cottage cheese on top of a toasted slice of their Sourdough Sliced bread and added some spices, and the combo was super yummy.

You can crush them up with your fingers to get smaller bits too (I crushed them up over buttered corn. Yum!)

$3.29 (4 oz) I am just guessing it was probably about a pound of garlic before. Its got just 3 simple ingredients, garlic, oil and salt. It’s not greasy at all. Just crispy. Keep it tightly sealed in the foil pouch and it should stay that way for a long time.

I would buy it again

Trader Joe’s FRENCH GALETTES BUTTER COOKIES


RAVE

PRODUCT OF FRANCE

“The galette is a treasured tradition among French bakers, dating back over a thousand years to the time of the Norman Dynasty…Inspired by a beloved regional variation of galette known as Broyés du Poitou, Trader Joe’s French Galettes Butter Cookies are made especially for us by an esteemed French bakery near the historic city of Nantes. They use a traditional recipe that includes French cultured butter to produce a satisfyingly crisp exterior, and crumbly, wonderfully melt-in-your-mouth interior…. they make a great companion to a bowl of ice cream or platter of fresh cut fruit. And since each box contains twelve Cookies, they’re great for sharing when you’ve got folks over for dinner—if you haven’t already eaten them all yourself, of course.” – Trader Joe’s

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/french-galettes-butter-cookies-078527

Three of us tried these new Trader Joe’s GALLETTES/French butter cookies which are made for them by an “esteemed French bakery” in Nantes, Brittany (a place famous for butter).

Here’s my honest review – SO GOOD! I just loved these. Very buttery. Very French, just a classic.

They are of course loaded with butter with a hint of sweetness. Think French “shortbread”. Grownup cookie.

Ingredients are short, sweet and simple; they include flour, cultured butter, starter, sugar, eggs, salt. Like you would make them. Simple. Natural. No preservatives.

We enjoyed these after dinner with tea, and they were great with tea. Of course they will be equally delicious with coffee, or milk, or just by themselves. Maybe with a little of your favorite jam. Or as Trader Joe’s suggest, pair these with ice cream (Mon Dieu!)

There are 12 cookies in the package wrapped to stay fresh in pairs of 4 cookies. Calorie wise, 2 Cookies have 180 calories (or 90 cals each)

Again, just classic and elegant. These will impress anyone you have over.

I’d say these are a Must Try especially at $3.49 (almost 8 oz)

Trader Joe’s website doesn’t mention “seasonal” or “limited” so hopefully these will stay around! My fingers are crossed they do as these are Keepers.

Trader Joe’s PUMPKIN SPICE MINI SHEET CAKE


LIMITED TIME (FALL)

“Moist, flavorful pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting”

It’s FALL and Trader Joe’s is of course coming out with all the pumpkin items; This one is a very good MINI SHEET CAKE with a cream cheese frosting on top of a moist cake with the typical pumpkin spices. The cream cheese frosting is good even though found it to be a bit on the too sweet side. Even the frosting has a slight taste of the pumpkin spices. The cake was quite tasty, moist and flavorful. The spices were well balanced; not overpowering as they can be sometimes. This has just the right amount.

We loved the cake with coffee and tea, which balanced out it’s sweetness.

Trader Joe’s says : “You’ll fall for the moist, spongy crumb, flavored by pumpkin purée and warm spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. A rich, cream-cheese frosting is piped on top, lending an upscale bakery vibe and providing a classic flavor-pairing for the Pumpkin Spice profile.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/pumpkin-spice-mini-sheet-cake-076605

I like most of the mini sheet cakes and this one is quite good. My favorite will always be the Chocolate Ganache one but this one is a Fall Limited Edition one, which I think you and your family will like during TJ’s “pumpkin season”.

This is a great Fall item. I would buy it again.

$5.99/18 Oz (up about 50 cents since the last time i got sheet cake)

Trader Joe’s Simply Amazing SOFT DRIED APRICOTS


Yes that’s actually their name. “Simply Amazing Soft Dried Apricots” and here’s Trader Joe’s description on their site:

“Large, Dried Apricots—of the juicy, Suphany variety—ripen in the sun to a blush-orange hue, while also developing a rich, honey-like sweetness. Once harvested, they’re carefully dried in the summer sun by our trusted Turkish apricot supplier (and by Mother Nature, of course). What really makes these Dried Apricots Simply Amazing is the final step, which involves a gentle steaming. This unique method yields unbelievably soft apricots with a tender, chewy, almost velvety texture.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/simply-amazing-soft-dried-apricots-078443

Here’ my honest review of these dried apricots. They actually live up to the name., these apricots in fact are Simply Amazing. Probably the best dried apricots I’ve ever eaten. These are just so amazingly tasty. And SOFT!!!

If you love dried fruits but sometimes find them way too dried, and feel with some of them like you could just as well be chewing on shoe leather (I’m thinking of you, Trader Joe’s All Natural Dried Mango. Trying to eat those can wear out your jaw…) Then you might try these. These are so soft and moist from the steaming method used to make them. They are soft and squishy. Each one of these is either a whole (or half?) of a Turkish Suphany apricot. They have three ingredients; apricots, water and (yes) sulfur dioxide “to maintain color”. I can live with that if they taste this good. I’ve been eating them mostly cut up into little pieces and added to my morning yogurt/breakfast mix. Also right out of the bag. They do match great with cheeses too.

These are “limited” by growing season, so they will sell them until they run out and get more hopefully next year. They are one pound for $4.79 (they have no pits). It probably takes a basket of fruit to make the bag.

Trader Joe’s Baladi Egyptian Sourdough Pocket Bread (pita)


(Scroll to end for latest update on the status of these which have been MIA for months!)

RAVE

“Perfect for hummus and dips and for sandwiches. Heat and enjoy!” (frozen)

I really love good pita bread. The fresh “pita bread original pockets” at Trader Joe’s have been OK in a pinch but its far from what I would call good pita (not too mention they used to give you 6 and now its just 4! Shrinkflation in action)

This “original pita bread” ($1.59) Trader Joe’s is fairly large, and on the thin side. I’ve always found these quite not sturdy enough to count on to make a pocket in, and hold the food. They kind of tend to fall apart when you fill them with ingredients as you are eating them.

This has changed with this new pocket bread/pita.

With the new Egyptian Baladi sourdough pocket bread Trader Joe’s finally has an excellent and authentic pita which is sturdy enough to split open and make a pocket that will hold ingredients, for say a falafal sandwich. And it’s Delicious. The BALADI SOURDOUGH POCKET BREADS are made by an Egyptian bakery for Trader Joe’s. So the real McCoy. These say “Product of Egypt”. Baked, then frozen, so as close to fresh as possible.

Trader Joe’s says: “We now offer Trader Joe’s Baladi Egyptian Sourdough Pocket Bread in our freezers. Made for us by a supplier in Egypt, these versatile (vegan) Baladi Pocket Breads take only a matter of minutes… to heat… before they’re puffed up, toasty, and ready to eat. Once heated, they have a tasty, slightly tangy Sourdough tinge to their flavor profile, and are ideal for stuffing with your favorite fillings. We’re partial to going with a classic combo of Falafel, chopped cucumbers, and our Garlic Spread-Dip, though they’re equally excellent when stuffed with our Gyros or Shawarma Chicken Thighs, too. And, of course, you can just serve them for dipping in hummus or tahini, as they do in Egypt.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/baladi-egyptian-sourdough-pocket-bread-078015

Here is my honest review of Baladi Pocket Bread. Wow. These are EXCELLENT. A great product. I was so impressed at how good these are and found them these pita breads to be so tasty and satisfying. They were even delicious just eaten simply with butter on them too as bread with our meal. Versatile. Between this new Baladi pocket bread and TJ’s Lavash I am super happy to have these Middle Eastern bread options.

Nice light whole wheat flavor. Natural ingredients. No preservatives. They come frozen in a resealable bag, with 5 breads inside the package and cost just $2.29. What a great deal. They are soft, fluffy inside yet sturdy enough for a pocket, or to use to scoop up any dip like hummus or what have you, pick up foods, hold up to falafal, or use for any sandwich, or even I think used as the base for mini pizza (see below).

Match these with your favorite hummus for sure!

HEATING: I took them out for about 10 minutes, left them out on the counter to defrost a bit (optional). I heated them, trying two ways; in the oven and on top of the stove in a covered pan. About 4-5 minutes. Both methods worked fine. In a pinch you could nuke them from frozen, but I think they will still benefit from a few seconds over the burners turning and flipping for the best texture like they just came out fresh from the oven they were baked in.

180 calories per bread. 7g protein

You will love these as much as I did.

Baladi Pocket Bread (5 breads, 14 oz) $2.29 (under 50 cents each!)

I would buy them again.

PS – I did try them for the base for pizza. Came out quite tasty! I’d say it kind of worked for a pizza base, if you are OK with the knife and fork kind of pizza. Next time I may split one open and just use the half for a thinner base, and see if I can get more of a bake on the bottom and get it more crisped up. Worth trying for easy pizza.

How to make real aish baladi pita bread

https://www.mycookingjourney.com/aish-baladi-egyptian-flatbread-vegan-flatbread/

“This is so good, it’s home. This might actually make me cry,” says TikToker @foozydoes after tasting TJ’s new Egytptian Aish-Beladi.

@foozydoes

I was finally able to get my hands on the viral Aish Baladi or Egyptian Sourdough Pocket Bread from #traderjoes and it did NOT disappoint 🥰 #baladi #bread #egyptian #traderjoesfoodreviews

♬ original sound – Fawziah Qadir

UPDATE – (Aug/Sept ’25) Unfortunately Trader Joe’s Sold Out of all the stock of these quickly as these seemed to have gone Viral on social media soon after they first appeared. Trader Joe’s staff looked it up for me and said, they are waiting for new stock to arrive, Late Fall or Early winter. They expected it sooner but that it was likely held up due to tariffs(!)

UPDATE 2 – MID OCT 2025 – HURRAY! THESE ARE FINALLY BACK!!

Trader Joe’s BACON CHEDDAR cheese


“Smokey and highly satisfying”

I haven’t tried this before but I saw BACON CHEDDAR was a featured item in their Fearless Flyer so I thought I would check it out. It was something as I kept tasting it, I kept saying to myself, OK let me try just one more bite, and a little bit later after some more taste testing, I noticed I ate a good hunk of it! I don’t usually buy processed cheese (like American cheese) but I have to say this tasted good, a little smokey with savory notes from the tiny pieces of applewood bacon in it. Semi soft. This will melt easily so good to cook with. You can slice and add to a grilled cheese sandwich to add a smokey bacon note to it.

Says “while supplies last” which I assume means a limited item.

Trader Joe's Bacon Cheddar

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/ff

Fearless Flyer: When Bacon Met Cheddar

Trader Joe’s Bacon Cheddar Cheese is handcrafted for us in upstate New York by a master cheesemaker with extensive experience in traditional European Cheddaring techniques and an instinct for blending. Aged for 18 months, the Cheddar is full flavored and mildly sharp with firm, smooth texture….merged with pieces of our very own Trader Joe’s Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon, which contribute richly savory, sweet-smoky character to every bite. From snacking on while watching a game, to serving as part of a charcuterie board…..baked potatoes, French fries, burgers, broccoli, apple slices, macaroni, biscuits, quiche… ” (from the TJ Fearless Flyer Aug 2025)

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