Trader Joe’s delicious SCALLOPED CRACKER TRIO, reviewed


SCALLOPED CRACKER TRIO

These would be great on your next cheese plate or charcuterie board. Or any time you want a good cracker!

My wife got these for us to try out. In short, we found these really tasty and quite good.

The box has 3 packs of crackers. Size wise perhaps a tiny bit bigger than your typical Ritz cracker? They have enough room for whatever you are putting on them. They are a bit delicate. I would spread things on these gently so you don’t break them. Or for example let things like butter or cream cheese or spreads come to room temp.

There are 3 kinds of crackers with different flavors. They are wrapped in plastic. I would love if they still used used wax paper for wrapping crackers like the old days (Ritz). Wax paper is really easy to re-wrap once you open a pack but no biggie really, a Twisty will suffice.

SCALLOPED CRACKER TRIO REVIEWED

Flavor one – Rosemary. These had a very nice smell of rosemary, delicate though, not overpowering, which added a nice back note to whatever you put on it. We LOVED these!

Another package holds crackers with a reddish tinge, which is of course the RED CHILI cracker. A tad spicy but not very spicy. We didn’t think these would classify as “hot” to most people (except for one cracker in the pack which seemed to have more spice on it than others). We thought these were just a wee bit spicy, again not overpowering, just adding a tiny and tasty heat which went well with everything we tried it with. Great for dips I think.

The last flavor was a Garlic cracker. While fine, we both thought these were the least special flavor of the 3 kinds. Again fine, but these just didn’t stand out like the other two.

Overall, I would say the trio of crackers was nice. Very tasty. Of course we tried all of them crackers with a variety of cheeses and anything we could fine in the fridge and we liked every combination of crackers plus cheeses we tried.

I would say you these are well worth adding to your your list of the choices at of so many delicious crackers Trader Joe’s carries. Lets face it TJ’s has so many temptations in the cracker department, so many of them excellent! Talking about you OLIVE FLATS!

Scalloped Crackers Trio – $3.99 (16.4 oz)

Six crackers have 120 calories (and boy are six easy for me to eat, and thats before they get the cheese on them!)

Trader Joe’s ANCHOVY FILLETS in olive oil


For year I’ve been buying the little cans of anchovies in olive oil at Trader Joe’s, sold in a yellow can under the famous Italian-American “CENTO” brand for as long as I can remember. I try to always have at least one can in the pantry, as anchovies are so useful for cooking (trust me)

Today I saw that those yellow cans of anchovies come in a new can now sold under the TJ brand: “Trader Joe’s Anchovy Fillets In Olive Oil”. Even the sign below them not only says “Cento” they even wrote the (R symbol – for registered trademark)! Perhaps they just didn’t get around to changing the sign. I think they had a price increase from $1.49 to $1.79.

(and now $1.99 I think! Summer 2025)

In any case, anchovy fillets are great to have in the pantry. Have a least one there for whenever you need it.

Anchovies can add a ton of flavor to many dishes. They are just full of UMAMI. Even the Romans used them (well as garum) a kind of fish sauce made from anchovies, just like Thai Nam Pla fish sauce.

Don’t be afraid of anchovies. They’re an amazing ingredient. For example when you have “nothing for dinner”, just go in the pantry. Grab a package of spaghetti or capellini and a can of these anchovies. Start with 3-4 cloves of garlic, chop and toss in your pan, then pour in 2 tbls olive oil and let that sauté for minute. Now add in a can of anchovies (or half a can if this is your first time). Crush them up with a spoon. As they cook they will dissolve into your anchovy garlic pasta sauce. Toss in your pasta (undercook it two minutes) and a 1/2 ladle of the pasta water and let it come together mixing it well for a minute or so. Cook for a minute plus or until just al dente. Add chopped parsley, maybe some toasted breadcrumbs or panko. A squeeze of lemon. Voila a yummy dinner. Your welcome!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17167/sicilian-spaghetti/

Anchovies match incredibly well with tomatoes and especially tomato sauce. Want to add something special to your jar of store bought sauce which will give it a ton of flavor and make it taste homemade? Try smashing a few anchovy fillets up with a knife into a paste and toss that into your sauce on the stove. Let them mellow for 5-10 mins on a simmer.

TIP: If I just use a few fillets from the can don’t use the whole can up I put the left over anchovies in a little glass jar. Cover with oil. They will last a month or two in the fridge.

Here is a recipe I found on the TJ website for UMAMI DRESSING using a can of anchovies.

Umami Dressing

  • 1 package Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil, drained and diced
  • 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • Juice from two Lemons
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
  • 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp EVOO
  • 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt, or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper or to taste

In a medium bowl, mash the anchovies and garlic with a fork to form a paste. Add the lemon juice and mustard and stir until well incorporated. Slowly whisk in oil until it starts to emulsify. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Makes about 1 cup of dressing. Serving ideas: over bitter greens (radicchio, kale, arugula, Belgian endives) with freshly grated Parmesan, dress a Niçoise salad or as a dip for crusty bread

By the way, looking closely at the two cans, I see the yellow ones say Product of Morocco. The green ones say Product of Albania —

(google) “Albanian anchovies, particularly those sourced from the Adriatic Sea, are known for their high quality and are a popular culinary ingredient. Albania is a major exporter of fresh and processed anchovies, with some anchovy products being processed in Albania from anchovies caught in the Cantabrian Sea”

Trader Joe’s HIGH FIBER CEREAL, review


(NEWS: May 2026) – update1 – This has been Out of Stock for weeks, at least in my area (NYC). I was told at the front desk they finally got shipments of it coming in. So should back in your area too hopefully (update2 5/29/26) PS I was able to find it today and noticed they raised the price! Went from 2.99 to now $3.29

ZERO CHOLESTEROL

NINE GRAMS OF FIBER PER SERVING.

High Fiber. Low Fat. Low Sodium...

Fortified with 8 Vitamins Plus Iron.

What’s not to like?

Eating this is one easy way to get some more dietary Fiber into your diet. It’s surely one of the healthiest cereal options on the shelves at Trader Joe’s.

I am not sure this may win any awards for the way it tastes. However I think it actually tastes OK. In fact once I got used to it, I now even like the taste of this cereal. You pick this cereal because it’s healthy and want fiber, and on that front is does deliver and it tastes OK.

Trader Joe’s HIGH FIBER CEREAL has 9 grams of dietary fiber per serving (2/3 cup). That is about 33% or 1/3 of the recommended daily amount of fiber I usually buy granola for myself, which tastes better that this of course. My wife buys this: High Fiber Cereal. As the name implies the main purpose of this is simple. 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 the outer coating of grains. Very often removed from most grains except from those listed as “whole grains”. That’s what the “whole” indicates.

Bran is loaded with fiber and it is usually stripped out. Not here, they actually add back THREE 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, though I think we eat pretty well in the fiber department. Still she says has trouble staying “regular” and High Fiber cereal helps!

This has 9 grams fiber per serving. My granola has about 5 grams (2/3 cup). So on the fiber front it delivers. Taste wise its OK. The texture is nice and crunchy. It looks like little brown strings. There are sometimes clumps of them. I imagine like me, you are probably not eating just a bowl of this cereal and some milk.

You are likely adding things. Besides some milk or milk type beverage, maybe some Yogurt? Kefir? Fresh fruit, like perhaps some sliced banana, maybe berries, apples or other fresh fruits or maybe some dried fruits. Kefir… so this is just one part of your breakfast bowl. That’s what I do and it tastes fine. I even put a bit of granola on top of everything to make it a little tastier.

Also in the plus column: is it’s low in calories, very low in fat, is low in sodium, has zero cholesterol, PLUS this cereal is low in Added Sugars, compared to almost any other cereal Trader Joe’s sells. So really compared to many others, this is a “healthy choice” in the Trader Joe’s cereal department. Maybe the healthiest cereal they sell?

It looks like little bits of brown stringy things which I assume have been extruded and baked. I am not very familiar with Nabisco’s FIBER ONE cereal but its a little similar, though I think the shape of that cereal is thicker that this.

Taste wise? I doubt anyone would say “this is the best cereal I ever had”. The best I would say is its”not too bad”. No really, I think it tastes it’s OK. Fairly neutral in flavor, it is nice and crunchy. 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. But again, if you want an easy way to add some extra fiber in your diet, this cereal is certainly an easy way to add some to your breakfast in the morning, which will be good for you!

(You can compare to FIBER ONE)

Other things I get from Trader Joe’s for breakfast that are healthy, 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 of them.

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

Trader Joe’s WHEAT CRISP CRACKERS Review


“Trader Joe’s Wheat Crisp Crackers will tantalize your taste buds with an addictive crunchy wheat flavor. They will hold up to your favorite cheese, dips, or peanut butter. But most folks don’t wait for the topping, they’re great for snacking right from the box.”

RAVE

I am a huge fan of WHEAT THINS, a well known cracker made by NABISCO which has been around forever. Well make that since 1947. Since I was a little kid we almost always had Nabisco Wheat Thins in the house as they were Dad’s Numero Uno favorite cracker. They became one of my favorites too. So when I saw these I said to myself, these look like Wheat Thins! I have to try them.

Trader Joe’s WHEAT CRISP CRACKERS to me seem to be TJ’s version of the classic cracker. All I can say is these new crackers taste really good to me. They have a lovely wheat-y taste from whole wheat, which is listed as the second ingredient.

Even if you never had the original, these are well worth trying. These are just good all around crackers. Since I grew up eating the original and just love them I could not resist wanting to try TJ’s version of them. Walking back home from the store, I stopped and decided I had to try them RIGHT NOW. I put my stuff I was carrying on a park bench and opened up the box. I could not wait to taste these.

So are what I think of as Trader Joe’s version of Wheat Thins good? A big yes! I found them really good. I meanI pretty much could not stop eating them right out the box on the street. After about a half dozen, I had to stop myself and put the box away.

When I got home, I’d say things got even better of course when I tested them out with something on top of them.

For instance, how about cheese? These were especially terrific with cheese. They were of course yummy with TJ’s excellent, and very properly British, English Coastal Cheddar which I recently gave a big thumbs up. The crackers were good even with just plain old cottage cheese, as well as good with peanut butter, and honestly whatever else I found that I could put on them.

These are as the name say thin. Crunchy, with a nice whole wheat flavor. Small, one bite sized. Just made to be devoured. Well baked. The edges are a bit darker then the middle. Perfectly baked.The ingredient list doesn’t look terrible either.

All I can tell you is that first box I bought went fast. Way too fast. Even pacing myself, I saw it was almost empty after a few days. So I need to go now and get another box!

I am probably going to want to have these around all the time now. A dangerous but yummy temptation. As 15 crackers have only 120 calories probably better than other crackers.

These are a great Anytime Snack. I would buy them again. $2.49 (9 oz)

Trader Joe’s ORGANIC MEXICO LA CONCORDIA Small Lot Coffee


Latest small lot coffee offering from Trader Joe’s. An organic coffee from the La Concordia region in Chiapas. Whole Beans in a Light Roast, and yes it did have some fruity notes with hints of chocolate and caramel as they describe.

This one was pretty good! Especially if you like your coffee from TJ’s a bit lighter as opposed to a medium or darker roast. “Que lo disfrutes!” (may you enjoy it)

$8.99 (12 oz)

“The newest addition to our Small Lot Coffee program, we’re making a return to Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. This time, we’ve sourced our coffee from a group of growers within the La Concordia region of Chiapas, where the high elevation and oceanic micro-climate create optimum conditions for growing rich, chocolatey, full-flavored coffees. True to form, each sip of Trader Joe’s La Concordia Mexico Small Lot Coffee is indeed remarkably rich, deliciously chocolatey, and fabulously full-flavored, with notes of sticky caramel and fresh berries throughout.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/organic-mexico-la-concordia-small-lot-coffee-078898

Trader Joe’s Delicious ENGLISH COASTAL CHEDDAR CHEESE Review


Cheddar is one of my favorite cheeses, so it’s one kind of cheese that I buy all the time at Trader Joe’s.

I love me a good cheddar. As we know, Trader Joe’s carries a pretty amazing variety of cheese. Go there looking for a “cheddar cheese” and you may see 8 or more kinds.

But which ones are really good cheddars? While this is a very personal choice of course at least to my taste, one cheddar which would go right at the top would be the Cabot Vermont Extra Sharp. Its one of the best cheddar cheese’s they have if you like your cheddar Extra Sharp in a New England style of cheddar. What something a little bit less less sharp? Then I would say get the New Zealand Sharp cheddar. Another great choice. Then there is TJ’s famed Unexpected Cheddar which is in a class by itself of course.

This is a think a fairly recent addition… ENGLISH COASTAL CHEDDAR which comes from Dorset, located on England’s Southern coast. How is these one? Great. I add this English cheddar to the list of EXCELLENT CHEDDAR cheese at Trader Joe’s.

I found it bold and delicious. I would name this cheddar as one more “gourmet” level cheese Trader Joe’s sells, equal to something you would find at a very good cheese store. This what I might call an “adult” cheddar both figuratively and literally. It’s aged a minimum of 15 months. Its a sharp cheddar. Bold, mature, a bit crumbly, a bit rugged, tangy sharp with a lovely nutty taste. A bit in the realm of the Unexpected Cheddar. I tried to slice it thinly but found it easy to crumble when cutting.

This is one cheddar that will go great with a good crusty bread or crackers. It goes really well with fruit, in fact I just loved eating this with an ENVY APPLE. It was great melted. I would try this for an omelet for sure.

This cheese would be great on any #cheeseboard or #charcuterieboard. They say it’s a must for one of those, here. If you really like a cheddar cheese, this is well worth a try.

It’s 8.99/pound (Imported)

I would buy this again.

Trader Joe’s SLICED CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH BREAD reviewed, plus a few recipe ideas!


“FLAVORFUL AND HEARTY, GREAT FOR MAKING LARGE SANDWICHES”

For years I’ve gotten the very good, sliced bread Trader Joe’s calls “San Francisco Style Sourdough” round loaf. I’ve found it’s just a great all around sliced bread to generally have on hand, good for toast and sandwiches, sold for an affordable price ($3.49). Eventually they came out with this variation of that sourdough bread.

This new Trader Joe’s bread is a variation of that other bread: This one is “SLICKED CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH“. I like this one too. Its also good. It’s a slightly “heartier” version of the original SF style bread.

Here’s my honest review. The cracked wheat makes a nice variation. This one has a bit of a heartier taste and texture. Not to mention it has slightly thicker slices.

Ingredients include: unbleached bread flour, malted barley flour, whole wheat flour, sourdough starter, cracked whole wheat, salt…

So this bread has some whole wheat flour in it plus a bit of cracked whole wheat, and has a little bit of a darker color, with visible light brown flecks of cracked wheat. The cracked wheat in the recipe makes a hearty slice with a nice soft chewy interior and a nicely chewy crust.

Like the original SF bread, this is a round, sliced loaf which is 24 oz (1 1/2 lbs) but sliced a bit thicker. Here, one loaf has about 13 slices, as compared to the “SF style” loaf which has about 16 slices. The slightly thicker slices make it “heartier”, which might be good for building hearty sandwiches for one thing, or just a bit bigger piece of yummy sourdough toast. This makes a nice hearty slice of toast.

Tip: I find this is best toasted or at least warmed. I say this bread is made to be toasted, even if just lightly. I just find it reaches its full potential toasted or grilled, even a little bit. Which is true for a lot of breads.

TOAST: I toasted this up till golden brown. This makes a great piece of toast. I spread it simply with some good butter and a little jam. So if for nothing else, this thick sliced bread will make you a hearty slice of toast at breakfast, though you will find plenty of uses for it as you will see below.

Now just as is, un-toasted, this bread is fine, but for me, nothing like what it tastes like, after being toasted, even a little. Toasting or grilling this even a wee bit, really brings out the flavor as well as texture.

Of course the thicker slices here will make great sandwiches as it will be a bit sturdier than the slightly thinner slices of the SF Style Sourdough (also great toasted). Sturdy enough to even make a Dagwood sandwich. These thicker slices would certainly, as TJ’s sign says, just be perfect “for making large sandwiches” not to mention Open Faced sandwiches. Think of this for some Avocado Toast as it will be perfect, for one just idea. Grilled cheese? A No Brainer. How about a Tuna Melt? Yes again.

I made a closed TUNA MELT with the Cracked Wheat bread, and that turned out great.

I also used the bread to make an open faced sardine sandwich on a slice of this, lightly toasted. Toast bread, spread a little butter then load it with my favorite smoked sardines from TJ’s mashed up with a little mayo and lemon juice. Very yummy.

What about this bread for Grilled Cheese, you ask? Perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches of any kind. I made a yummy grilled cheese kimchi sandwich (no really, that is a thing now and it works great!) I used cheddar and mozz with a little bit of TJ’s KIMCHI. Super delicious.

So good for sandwiches and good just toasted for breakfast spread with some good butter, with or without jam.

For my next endeavor using this bread, I am thinking of doing an “egg in the hole” for next Sunday’s breakfast, which I expect would be great using this hearty bread grilled up.

So my review is that TJ’s sliced cracked wheat sourdough bread is it is well worth checking out if you want slightly healthier sourdough at Trader Joe’s and you want your slices a little bit thicker.

(PS – This seems pretty popular and sometimes they do seem to sell out of this, but it usually comes back in a day or so; Ask the store Captain if you don’t see, it when they expect it back in stock)

I call this “sourdough style” bread. In the style. Don’t think “sourdough bread” like you would get at a high end bakery ($15?)

STORAGE – Generally I will freeze bread if keeping it more than three days in the fridge. Since it’s sliced, its pretty easy to take out a slice or two as needed. In the freezer its good for a month or two, but can get freezer burn if you are not carefully wrapping it and keeping it tightly sealed. Double bagging it isn’t a bad idea. Some people I know always keep bread out on the counter at room temp. They give me a slice and sometimes I see green mold (bread will develop mold after maybe a week if no preservatives like this one) Not recommended!

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/freeze-bread-for-freshness/

Cracked Wheat Sourdough $3.49 (24 oz)

I would buy this again.

Here is the “SF Style” sourdough bread I mention, also quite good, which is sliced just a bit thinner tht the cracked wheat version….

Trader Joe’s dried sweetened GREEN MANGO “a tart and sweet treat”


NEW, Dried Fruit Item!

Wow is this new dried Green Mango from Trader Joe’s good. I found it just delicious. All I know is that bag went fast as I could not stop eating it.

Strips of green mango which have been cut into thin strips, then sweetened and dried. They are not hard or tough, just pleasantly chewy. Now green, or unripe mango is tart. These are sweet with just the tiniest hint of tartness which makes this quite savory and delicious.

TJ’s has this to say: “Just how does our glorious Green Mango get its tangy twist? It’s pretty simple, actually. Our Thai supplier picks their mangoes early, before they’re ripe. The mangoes are peeled, sliced into strips, and sweetened with cane sugar, then dried in a unique process that uses vegetable-based glycerin to keep the Mango soft, but never mushy.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/sweetened-green-mango-095105

All I can tell you is once I start eating these, I find it very hard to stop. The bag went pretty quickly. I need another one, pronto.

This is a super snack. I would buy this again.

$2.49

PRODUCT OF THAILAND.

RAVE

Trader Joe’s (“Low Fat”) ORGANIC TOMATO BASIL MARINARA


Trader “Giotto’s” ORGANIC TOMATO BASIL MARINARA

“Low Fat” huh? Well they certainly left out adding any olive oil to this sauce, even though any Marinara sauce recipe calls for olive oil. Which may be just among many reasons two different tasters found this to sauce to be way less than good. My neighbor bought this, was very disappointed, and gave me the rest of the jar to get a second opinion on it. I didn’t like it either. Apparently we are not alone in not liking this. Sporked had this pasta sauce ranked at the bottom of a review of 16 Trader Joe’s sauces:

“If you want the best marinara sauce, this ain’t it. It’s flat and watery and the herbs taste like the old dried stuff you find when you’re moving.” (-Sporked) Hah! They gave this 2 1/2 out of 10. I concur.

Organic does not always mean good.

This also costs quite a bit more, almost twice the price of one of Trader Joe’s best pasta sauces, the well regarded ROASTED GARLIC MARINARA ($1.99). That’s the one you should buy. Simple and good.

I would not buy this again.

$3.49

NEW @ Trader Joe’s HOISIN SAUCE


Trader Joe’s has recently introduced their own HOISIN SAUCE.

What’s hoisin (hoy-sin) sauce you say? Hoisin is a classic Chinese sauce . I’m pretty sure I first learned of it eating Peking Duck, as its the traditional classic slightly sweet sauce spread on the pancakes with the duck and scallions.

“Made from fermented soy bean paste and brown sugar, making it vegan. Highly versatile condiment for stir fry sauce. Mix into sauteed mushrooms or noodles

“Like any truly great #HoisinSauce, ours expresses a certain sticky sweetness, savory character, and velvety texture that make it exceptionally versatile. It’s made with a base of fermented soybean paste, black sesame paste, and brown sugar, and seasoned with aromatic spices like star anise, garlic powder, coriander seed, and Szechuan peppercorns.”

Most people know hoisin sauce from eating Peking Duck served in buns or pancakes. Naturally it matches well with duck but also chicken, pork and perhaps even a bit on a hamburger. You can use this with other ingredients (garlic, ginger, soy sauce) to add to Asian dishes, like stir fried dishes, and noodle dishes, etc or meats. Its versatile and good to have in the fridge for making Asian dishes.

A good versatile Asian sauce to to have in the fridge. Will last a long time.

$1.99 (10 oz)

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/hoisin-sauce-078297

HOISIN SAUCE RECIPE CONTEST WINNERS

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/discover/stories/hoisin-sauce-recipe-contest-winners

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