Arabic | Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

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.

Trader Joe’s Introduces Egyptian Baladi Bread to American Shoppers

180 calories per bread. 7g protein

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

Trader Joe’s MIDDLE EASTERN BEEF KEBABS

RAVE

I was pleasantly surprised by Trader Joe’s frozen “Middle Eastern Style Kebabs, Seasoned Beef Patties” at how good these are. I thought these are good enough that one could imagine either you made them yourself or from a Middle Eastern joint. I found these quite tasty. Flavorful with lots of nice spices. These are what you would call KOFTE kebabs. Ground meat with veggies and seasonings. Now, I’ve made these style of kebabs myself in the past often, and honestly TJ’s version almost tasted like something I might have made myself.

The Trader Joe’s Beef Kebabs are well seasoned with an authentic Middle Eastern style flavor – they have coriander, cumin, allspice, cloves plus other spices.

The ingredients listed in these are nice and simple, and sound pretty much like what I would use if I made them:

ING: Ground beef, onions, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley and seasonings (salt, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, allspice, pepper, coriander, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, black pepper).

I was even surprised that my wife , who is really tough on Trader Joe’s frozen foods, liked these! She said they were tasty. In fact she even asked if I had made them or bought them from TJ’s (hah!) That’s a good review.

Wrapped up in the LAVASH flatbread, with a yogurt garlic sauce, lettuce and onions…..

COOKING: Personally I think they benefit from a getting nice and browned up. As brown as possible. I cooked them in a pan on the stove – in spite of them not even listing this as way to make them. Trust me you can cook these in a pan which for me its the best way, especially as I cooked other things at the same time in the same pan. I added a handful of sliced onions and a tablespoon of olive oil. Some sliced garlic will not hurt!

When it was all done I I warmed up my flatbread in the same pan after I took everything out.

Other ways they list are oven, grill and air fryer too and microwave ( I say don’t just nuke it!)

I just put a little olive oil in a pan and cooked them on medium low until they were hot and nicely browned, which took maybe 7-8 minutes per side. You can also make them in the oven or in an air fryer or on a grill. Microwave? I wouldn’t though the package says so. Reason being I think they will be far better getting a bit more browning from actual cooking.

These can be a great lunch or dinner. I served the kebabs on flatbread with veggies and a sauce. Actually the first time I used flour tortillas as my flatbread and those work fine or serve them with Pita or Naan or best perhaps might be TJ’s LAVASH flat bread. I topped them with thinly sliced red onions, tomatoes and parsley. Then put sauce on top. Cucumbers, red or yellow peppers, or some greens all will work great with these kebabs.

SAUCE: I made an easy sauce of Greek yogurt and garlic – or just use use TJ’s Tzaziki sauce which is basically that with a little cucumber added. Or spread your bread with TJ’s yummy garlic spread. A few drops of lemon too will send these skyward.

On the side, I made some a delicious Yemeni rice dish, a recipe I found on YouTube, which I put below if you want to try that. It tastes amazing with these kebabs but even just some Basmati or Jasmine rice will be great as well.

I think these are one of the better frozen foods I’ve found at Trader Joe’s, along with many of the frozen Indian dishes.

They were about $6.50 (12 oz) with 6 kebabs in the bag (update: about $7.49 now)?

These would be great to have in the freezer to come up with a quick dinner easily.

I would buy them again.

Want to try your hand at making these style of “kofte kebabs”. Here’s a recipe for a Lebanese beef kofte. You might even use the Organic Ground Beef if you made them yourself.