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

“A light, bright, lemon and almond based pesto with savory Grana Padano cheese and a touch of black pepper.”

“SIMPLY STIR A FEW TABLESPOONS WITH HOT PASTA AND SERVE WITH FRESH GRATED CHEESE”

Ingredients: Sunflower oil, lemon, water, Grana Padano cheese, almonds, sugar, lemon zest, salt, lactic acid, natural flavors, veg and fruit juice (for color) yeast extract, black pepper.

This was a LIMITED product which was released some time back and lots of people clamored about it and said this was a Must Try product. Later it seemed to vanish from the shelves for some time but it’s now back in stock once again (bought June 2025).

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/lemon-pesto-sauce-075930

TJ’s says: “This enchanting concoction is light, bright, a little cheesy, a little nutty, and positively bursting with Lemon flavor—a dazzling example of culinary wizardry. Inspired by a pasta dish from Italy’s Amalfi coast (where lemon is a key element of local cuisine), our Italian supplier crushes whole lemons and combines them with sunflower seed oil, savory Grana Padano cheese, almonds, a touch of salt, a pinch of black pepper, and extra lemon zest for good, citrusy measure. When we say this limited edition, lip-smacking Sauce adds magic to mealtimes, it’s not hyperbole. Stir it into Organic Mafalda Corta Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Pearls and chopped mint. Spread it on a toasted baguette and top with Sliced Prosciutto. Dollop it on grilled All Natural Thin- Sliced Chicken Breasts or shrimp kabobs. With each wave of your wand… er, spoon, you may even be inspired to incant “Presto, Lemon Pesto!”

“Lemon Pesto”? An interesting concept. Invented by the same Italian manufacturer who makes Trader Joe’s ROSATELLA sauce. Inspired by the Amalifi coast where lemon is a big thing.

Is this pesto a bit controversial? Perhaps. Some people call it “horrible”. I suspect they are using too much of it in their dish. The main trick to using this LEMON PESTO successfully is to get the amount right, which will take a little experimentation. This is nothing like standard basil pesto. This Lemon pesto is kind of concentrated. You don’t want to use too much. Less is more. You will have to learn how much to add. Add a few spoons of it into hot (al dente) pasta, plus some of that magic ingredient, your pasta cooking water, cooking and tossing it all in the pan to get everything to come together.

Use too much and you can ruin the dish. So start with adding a big tablespoon, incorporate that, taste it and see how you like it. If you don’t think the flavor is strong enough add a bit more. Less is more with this lemon pesto, so experiment till you get the ratio of pesto to pasta right for your tastes (offhand I’d say two rounded teaspoons of the pesto to about 1/2 pound of pasta, plus a ladle of pasta water was about right for me) As good as it is, I still think a “lemon pasta” made using this pesto sauce will benefit from adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, maybe even grilling thin slices of lemon like I did, and sauteed fresh garlic.

As it uses sunflower oil, you definitely should add a finishing touch of a drizzle of some good EVOO. Finish with some fresh grated cheese, Parmigiano, Pecorino, Asiago…. whatever you like and perhaps some chopped basil, parsley or arugula to add an herbal flavor.

Here I used the lemon pesto sauce with TJ’s excellent ORGANIC LEMON TORCHIETTI pasta. The pasta and this lemon pesto matched very well together and is a combo worth trying. I tossed in peas too to add a little more protein.

The pesto can also be use as an ingredient say to put dollop of the sauce on top of grilled chicken breasts or grilled salmon or shrimp. Based on someone saying this can be used in Avocado Toast, I tried that and guess what? It worked! A bit of this in my Avocado made some very tasty Avocado Toast. I used a small amount (1/2 tsp) or so of the pesto, plus fresh lemon juice, mashed into the avocado, and a lot of black pepper.

Here’s a link to a recipe on Trader Joe’s site using the pesto and potatoes for a lemony potato salad. So feel free to experiment.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/recipes/lemon-pesto-potato-salad

~~$2.99~~ Now $3.49 (went up) 6.7 oz. jar

I would buy it again.

TIP: If I am not using the jar within a week I put it in the freezer to stay fresh

Trader Joe’s SOFT MULTIGRAIN RUSTICO BREAD, soft sliced rustic sandwich bread, review

“A soft rustic sandwich bread with rolled oats, molasses, flax seeds and sunflower seeds”

WHY TRADER JOE’S MULTIGRAIN RUSTICO SANDWICH BREAD IS A MUST TRY

Trader Joe’s Multigrain RUSTICO BREAD – This is a very tasty bread you may have seen at Trader Joe’s at some point. Its a little soft with an oblong shape, kind of like a long skinny rye bread. The slices are roundish, again like a rye bread. The outside is coated with rolled oats and seeds.

I tried it and liked it. I found it good for making all kinds of sandwiches and seems especially good when toasted or grilled. RUSTICO BREAD is both a little “rustic” as well as seeming a bit on the healthier side from some of the ingredients such as whole wheat, rolled oats, molasses, flax, sesame, and sunflower seeds. While its soft it’s not too soft, this has a little hearty body to it.

Each slice has 4 grams of fiber. At 80 calories per slice, its a bit on the lower calorie side as some Trader Joe’s sliced breads come in at 120-150 calories per slice. The roundish slices are probably a tad smaller than regular square shaped sliced bread. While the bread is soft it still has a little rustic nature from the seeds and oats hence the “Rustico” name. And while it has seeds I would also say its not “too seedy” for those picky eaters who might object to seeds, like some kids I think might. This is a good compromise all around.

Both of us really liked this bread trying it out for the first time. We found TJ’s RUSTICO BREAD to be another good addition to all the many breads we would gladly pick up again at Trader Joe’s, which is a list which seems to keep getting longer and longer all the time, as they have so many good breads.

The RUSTICO BREAD makes excellent toast and sandwiches. For example, say Avocado Toast or a Tuna Melt. Heres what it looked like all grilled up for a Tuna Melt I made on RUSTICO Bread. It looks good and tasted even better.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a26146096/tuna-melt-recipe/

$3.49 (22 oz)…. interesting as almost every bread at TJ’s is 24 oz.

I give RUSTICO BREAD a thumbs up. I would buy it again

INGREDIENTS: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR, WATER, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF THE FOLLOWING: FLAX SEEDS, SESAME SEEDS, SUNFLOWER SEEDS, ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, MOLASSES, SALT, YEAST, WHITE RYE FLOUR, DOUGH CONDITIONER (WHEAT GLUTEN, WHEAT FLOUR, ENZYMES, ASCORBIC ACID), CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR (FOR ADDED FRESHNESS), WHEAT SOUR, CORN MEAL.

CONTAINS WHEAT