“Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CAESAR SALAD KIT with croutons, shredded Parmesan and a creamy Caesar dressing.”
I have read that this salad kit is pretty popular among the fans of Trader Joe’s. So I had to finally check it out. Before we begin with my review I should state a few times over the years I’ve made Caesar Salad myself. I mean the real deal. From scratch. Even making croutons (homemade ones are fantastic). Plus making the dressing (Ummm, with ANCHOVIES!)
If you’ve ever done that, or had a Caesar Salad in a decent restaurant then you know how good a real Caesar Salad can be. I mean the Real McCoy is fantastic. So good. You should try making one yourself at least once. Outside of the dressing its really basically three ingredients : lettuce, croutons, cheese…
Here are a few links to give you ideas (Natasha’s recipe looks good. But leaves out the anchovies. So another link with a dressing that has them…. )
Naturally you can make this salad into something substantial by adding a protein on top of your salad. I could easily see one putting slices of cooked chicken or a piece of cooked salmon on top. Do that and you have a complete dinner, especially with a bit of good bread.
So having said that, let me review Trader Joe’s ORGANIC CAESAR SALAD KIT.
A bag can serve 2 with other food or maybe one very hungry salad lover.
For a packaged kit, it’s pretty good. Does it compare to my homemade one, or one from a good restaurant? Of course not but for just something Grab and Go, again pretty decent. For convenience, I can easily understand why people go for it. Just toss this in a bowl and voila a passable Caesar at a fair price ($4) and all in all fairly tasty and satisfying.
The Romaine was nice and crisp, the crouton very crunchy and are bite size rather than too big for your mouth or fork. So pretty good. But I have a few qualms.
Romaine lettuce – Nice and crunchy! However I did find a few bad pieces which I threw out but only about 6-10. Anyway as with all packages of salad, be sure when you buy it to examine it carefully for quality. Check dates on the packages. Get the best date you can find. If possible, try to use it the day you buy it, or the next one.
Dressing – Again, pretty decent, creamy and tasty (however no anchovies!) Of course its not going to match up against a “real” fresh made Caesar dressing. I did think it tasted decent for a commercial dressing. Looking at the ingredients though no “anchovies” listed and the main flavors of a classic Caesar Salad are Anchovies and Parmesan. In most recipes. Anchovies can be controversial.
They give you plenty of dressing. I would suggest add it stages. Don’t put the entire bag of dressing at once. Add about half or 3/4 of the bag of dressing, toss the salad, see what it looks like and if you think you need more then add the rest. You want salads well dressed but not drowning.
(TIP — Fresh LEMON really help this salad so if you have a lemon handy, squeeze on about 1/4 to 1/2 a lemon. Fresh lemon juice will definitely improve the overall taste of this salad quite a bit.)
Cheese – I thought this was one place they do the typical Trader Joe’s skimping. They don’t give you very much grated cheese and its just OK. Not actual Parmigiano I am pretty sure. So I added some of my own cheese, I shaved on Grana Padano with a vegetable peeler. Add cheese if you have some. It will help improve it.
Croutons – The croutons are OK but nothing special. They are well baked (dark) and fortunately bite sized. VERY crunchy. However these seem to be just baked bread. Actual croutons are seasoned. These croutons are nice and crunchy bordering on too hard however they will soften a bit of course when you add dressing.
The quality of these croutons here are not as good as Trader Joe’s packaged croutons – which are very good. Which makes me think. Couldn’t one come up with a pretty easy Caesar Salad yourself just by buying a few ingredients from Trader Joe’s?
I certainly think so. Get a package of Romaine lettuce hearts. A package of TJ’s good croutons. A bottle of Romano Caesar dressing. Some cheese (Parmesan, Grana Padano or Pecorino) With those ingredients you could could make your own Caesar salad which will be better than this one in about five minutes. You could have enough for a few days too and I am guessing it will work out to $2-3 a portion?
So this gets a thumbs up mainly for the convenience, as TJ’s Caesar Salad Kit is Grab and Go and if not great, its pretty decent and OK.
Would I buy it again? Well honestly I am not sure about that. Maybe only if I had to come up with something fast? Frankly I would probably DIY it and buy some Romaine lettuce, croutons, and a bottle of dressing at Trader Joe’s and make it myself with only a little more time and effort.
Now could you open up a can of anchovies and add some (mashed up with lemon juice) to this Kit? Why not!? You would have a way more authentic salad.
Trader Joe’s “San Francisco Style Sourdough” is a popular bread at Trader Joe’s. And for good reason. Its just a really good tasting sourdough bread which everybody seems to love and it’s priced reasonably at three and a half bucks.
Here’s my honest review: I buy it all the time. This bread has been one of my standard Go-To pick up items whenever I shop at Trader Joe’s. This has become one of my favorites breads there. And yes they have a lot of good breads! This is a handy stand out bread good for many purposes.
I bet like me you love ingredient lists where the list is nice and short. Which it is here. Basically the ingredients say: “unbleached enriched flour, malted barley, water, salt.”
No preservatives.
Its a round loaf, sliced up. The slices here are a bit thinner than another TJ sourdough, their CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH which I also reviewed with a thumbs up. That bread is sliced thicker with about 13 slices to a loaf, while this one has about 16-17. One slice of this has about 100 calories.
The crust looks slightly shiny, typical of sourdough bread, and has a nice hole structure in the interior. Its slightly dense, slightly chewy, with a nice taste and a hint of that “sour dough” flavor. It makes excellent toast.
I love a slice of this toasted, say for breakfast with some butter and good jam. This make great sandwiches of course. You can not go wrong making a grilled cheese sandwich with this. Ditto avocado toast.
I found some (incorrect) rumors online last summer about it being discontinued which seemed to upset lots of people, only to learn it was not discontinued. Just to confirm that again, I just bought it recently (Jan 2025) As it is popular you might find it sold out, on occasion, but just ask at the front desk when they expect to get more in, if they sold out of all the stock that day.
If you haven’t tried this yet, try it. I would say its well worth every penny.
San Francisco Style Sourdough Bread, $3.49 (1 1/2 lb, 24 oz round slice loaf)
I would buy this again
I freeze it for long term storage wrapped inside another bag (double bagged). If its hard to pry a slice off frozen I just use a knife to pry one off. Can last 1-2 months frozen.
You are at Trader Joe’s and want hummus. Wow, you will find so many choices to pick from. So which one should you get to start off with?
I would say you can not go wrong with a classic kind, meaning at least for the moment, ignore those where they have added flavors or additions (I’m looking at you tomato/basil hummus, oh crikey… and that dreaded chocolate hummus, don’t even get me started….)
Stick to Basics. Start with a good simple classic hummus. Like this one. This should give you a base line for decent (store bought) hummus. Later perhaps branch out and start exploring the other varieties with things mixed into it. Or add your own additions, as I frequently do*.
With that in mind if you want a very good, classic hummus, I’d say you can’t go wrong with this one. Trader Joe’s ORGANIC HUMMUS.
I like this hummus. I think it may be one of the best ones they sell. Trader Joe’s organic hummus is a tasty, well balanced, hummus with a deep flavor, one reason being this one has a little more tahini than some others. Tahini or sesame paste is a vital component of hummus, to me, at least. Trader Joe’s does sell some hummus that has NO tahini it it.
You can serve hummus in so many ways. As a dip, along with either warm pita bread, or any bread you love, or crackers. Add some to wraps or sandwiches. Use as a dip for fresh or cooked veggies.
Try mixing a dollop of hummus into your salad dressing. That will give it a nice creamy flavor. Or mix in some Tahini for that matter.
While fine as is, I do like to add a little squeeze of fresh lemon to my tub and mix it in well. Serving it, a drizzle of very good EVOO over the top. Serve with with some warm pita or lavash and a salad. Yes.
Though this is called “Soft”, rest assured it is not squishy soft. It has a nice crumb with a little structure. In other words don’t mistake the word “soft” here for something like squishy Wonder Bread soft. This is a high quality white bread.
I found this to be a very decent sliced white bread. For one thing, its just great for toast. Looking over the ingredient list one sees that it is fairly short and natural sounding, with no chemical names, no preservatives, no “conditioners”. All organic stuff. Has a little molasses and sesame.
The bread was best I think when I lightly toasted it, or at least slightly warmed it up, which let’s face it, applies to most any bread as far as I’m concerned. Warmed bread always tastes better. One of the reasons I always have a flat cast iron skillet on the stove.
This made nice toast, spread with butter and jam. It was particularly good when we used it to make your typical “egg in a hole”. You know… Cut out a hole using a with a small glass. Toss a nice hunk of butter in a pan, then toast one side till golden brown. Flip it over and carefully drop an egg in that hole. Add salt and pepper and let cook for a few minutes until your desired level of runiness, which in my case is pretty runny. My wife on the other hand likes hers cooked “well done” which I find a total waste as my favorite part is slicing open the yolk with my knife on my plate to let that lovely yolk ooze all over the place. Ha ha! I bet you want one of those right now after reading this don’t you!?
$3.49 loaf (24 oz) This bread is pretty good, priced fairly well, and I would say certainly worth a try if you want some “white bread” for sandwiches, toast and the like.
I’ve seen those Xmas tree style Rosemary Bushes that Whole Foods sells every year. They are cute, shaped to look like a mini Christmas tree. Suitable to serve as a little Xmas tree, and even decorate. $20 each?
At some point Trader Joe’s must have been “inspired” (nicer than copied) to make them too. They started offering the same type of little rosemary bushes, and for cheaper, of course!
The other day I saw this rosemary bush at my Trader Joe’s, which they start selling around Thanksgiving. The plants looked really healthy and smelled great of course. They were $10.99. I decided to get one, thinking this will serve two purposes. For this holiday season it will be a mini Xmas tree – in addition of course to supplying some fresh rosemary! To avoid damaging the rosemary bush I will probably not decorate it much. OK maybe a few cotton balls? Maybe some little led lights around the bottom?
Be sure to spray these once a day as they can dry out very easily. I have found rosemary trickier than it appears, as they can easily be over watered, yet let them dry out too much and that can be bad as well.
Whole Foods sells these for about double TJ’s price?
Trader Joe’s Rosemary Bushes, $10.99 (2024)
Tips here for keeping rosemary healthy and going all year. Fingers crossed!
Update: They don’t last forever for me. A few months, then sections turn black. Mine always eventually seem to croak no matter what I do (sob). Still, they served their purpose as a mini tree!
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!
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”
High Fiber. Low Fat. Low Sodium. Vitamins. What’s not to like?
Fortified with 8 Vitamins Plus Iron.
ZERO CHOLESTEROL
NINE GRAMS OF FIBER PER SERVING.
So what’s not to like, right? OK, let’s be honest. Will this win any awards for the way it tastes? Probably not but it actually tastes OK. Its not bad. In fact, once I got used to it, I kind of liked the taste. Frankly you don’t buy this for taste, you buy it because in the cereal section at Trader Joe’s its a very healthy option and you want to easily add some more Fiber into your diet. Granola tastes better but isn’t as healthy a choice as this cereal.
As the name implies the main purpose of this cereal is simple, to get more dietary Fiber into you. It does this mainly from all kinds of bran (wheat, corn, and oat). Bran is of course the outer coating of most grains.
Ingredients: wheat bran, corn flour, corn bran, cane sugar, whole wheat, oat bran, and fortified with vitamins plus iron (60% of the DVI for Iron).
So on the fiber front it delivers, without tasting too bad. Not exciting but it is OK. Especially as you are probably not eating just this by itself. You are adding things…. actual milk or a milk type beverage. Fruit? Maybe a sliced banana, maybe berries, or other fresh fruits or maybe some dried fruits. Maybe yogurt, Kefir… so this is just one part of your breakfast bowl. That’s what I do. That stuff will make it taste good.
My wife bought this high fiber cereal for her gut, as she felt she needs more fiber in her diet, though I think we eat pretty well in the fiber department. Still she has trouble staying “regular” and she says this stuff helps with that!
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.
Also in the plus column is it’s low in calories, very low in fat, is low in sodium, has zerocholesterol, 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 kind of resembles thin little crunchy bits of brown stuff, clearly extruded, and I assume baked. I am not very familiar with Nabisco’s FIBER ONE cereal but its a little similar. I think the shape of that cereal is thicker that this.
Taste wise? Well I doubt anyone would say “this is the best cereal I ever had”. The best I could say is I didn’t think it tastes it’s OK. Not bad. 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 to improve it. 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)
Personally I have always liked the classic GRAPE NUTS cereal also pretty high fiber, and prefer it to this, however my wife prefers TJ’s High Fiber cereal over Grape Nuts. She has brought this home quite a few times now, so she really likes it, and says it helps keep her regular! 😉
“FLAVORFUL AND HEARTY, GREAT FOR MAKING LARGE SANDWICHES”
For years, I’ve been buying the very decent round loaves Trader Joe’s calls “San Francisco Style Sourdough” . I’ve found it’s just a great all around sliced bread to have on hand at a very affordable price.
They eventually came out with this variation on that one. This new sourdough they call “CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH” which is also quite good. It’s a slightly heartier version of that original SF style bread.
Here’s my honest review of Trader Joe’s (new) CRACKED WHEAT SOURDOUGH loaf sliced bread.
I liked this, it’s very good. This cracked wheat version is a nice variation on the original. In the new bread they’ve added cracked wheat which gives this one a little bit of a heartier taste and texture as well as slightly thicker slices compared to the original bread, TJ’s San Francisco sourdough bread.
The Cracked Wheat Sourdough Bread has some whole wheat flour mixed in plus a bit of cracked whole wheat. This bread is little darker than the SF style bread. This is a light brown with flecks of cracked wheat visible. Like the original SF bread, this is a round, sliced loaf which is 24 oz (1 1/2 lbs). The loaf is sliced a bit thicker. Here, one loaf has about 13 slices, 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.
The cracked wheat in the recipe makes a hearty slice with a nice soft chewy interior and a nicely chewy crust.
This bread makes a nice hearty slice of toast. I just find it reaches its full potential toasted or grilled, even a little bit. Which is true for a lot of breads.
Tip: I find this is best toasted or at least warmed. I say this bread is made to be toasted, even if just lightly.
BREAKFAST TOAST: I toasted this up till golden brown, and it does 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)
STORAGE – Generally I will freeze it 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. So wrap tightly. Double bagging it, isn’t a bad idea. Many people I know, always keep bread out on the counter at room temp (bread will develop mold after maybe a week if no preservatives like this one)
Trader Joe’s ATLANTIC SALMON WITH LEMON HERB BUTTER (FROZEN)
This is one of those thing almost everybody loves. You can probably tell just from the picture this is a nice hunk of salmon. Center cut boneless skin on Norwegian Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon fillet, with three round pats of tasty lemon herb butter. The package is seven ounces, so what I would consider a generous portion for one person. One piece could possibly make two smaller portions, as these days a portion of protein is now generally said to be about 4 ounces. But I could easily eat the whole thing myself!
The Lemon Herb butter consists of butter, lemon zest, parsley, chives, sea salt and pepper. It’s make a very tasty sauce. The herb butter really adds something, elevating this to “gourmet” level. Its quite tasty.
To defrost: ideally I leave the fish in the fridge for a slow defrost (the overnight thaw method) as this is the best method to defrost fish. In a pinch you could leave it out on the counter for a few hours, or submerge the package under cold water (quick thaw method).
Cooking: broiled or pan fried would be my Go To methods to cook the salmon but baking works too. (AirFryer? I don’t have one but people on the Net report its a good method)
What to do with the butter… One can either take the pats of butter off, then add them during the last two minutes of cooking. Or just leave the butter on the fish and cook it like that, for example under the broiler. This will give you more of a cooked “brown butter” sauce. You can baste with it during cooking as well.
Serving with a bit of fresh lemon juice too will elevate the fish even more. This will go well of course with maybe some rice or boiled potatoes and a veg and/or a salad.
TJ’s SALMON WITH HERB BUTTER makes a yummy dinner and is well worth your trying. Googling it I found a ton of web stuff and TikTok’s with people making this salmon. Its popular.
I would buy this again.
$6.99 (7 oz, 198 gr)
35 gr protein per fillet! 510 cals (all that butter) You could remove one or two pats if you want less calories.
“Trader Joe’s Wild Boreal Blueberries are little blue gems grown with absolutely no pesticides in Quebec’s Boreal forest region. The Boreal is a collection of protected lands that spreads across Canada…. The fruit grown in the Quebec Boreal thrives on the healthy soil conditions and unique climate of the region. The sweet tart flavor of these wild blueberries is unmatched. Try them for yourself in everything from cereal, muffins, cakes, smoothies and ice cream. They really are wild”
We really liked these blueberries. They are something buy them all the time at Trader Joe’s as they are great to have in the freezer. Not only are these one of my favorite Trader Joe’s products, I hear they are favorites of TJ’s employees as well which is really how you know something is good.
These frozen wild blueberries from Canada are small but full of flavor. These will defrost pretty quickly at room temperature if you just take them out for 10 minutes or so. You could also run them under cold water for maybe 10 seconds in an pinch but I feel like that washes some flavor away. When defrosted you can use these just as you would use fresh berries. We use them in our bowls of cereal and yogurt or kefir, mix them into oatmeal, or put these on top of vanilla ice cream – a super yummy combo! These blueberries are great for making smoothies of course, in which case you can just pour them frozen right into your blender with your other ingredients. I’ve even made excellent blueberry jam from them, and of course they are great to use in baked goods, for example blueberry muffins or even pancakes! Topped with some maple syrup naturally.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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