“Drizzle on as a finishing oil for salads and roasted vegetables.”
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, fresh Sicilian lemons
This was a new fall product at Trader Joe’s which got a little buzz around it. A nice extra virgin oil with a hint of lemony flavor.
LIMONE PREMUTO – a “cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with whole fresh Sicilian lemons” ($7.99 for about 8 oz)
This is for the real foodies. These types of oils are called “agrumato”.
Agrumato olive oil – “simultaneously crushing olives with fresh herbs or fruits together for exceptional flavor, distinct aromatics.”
It just says “Product of Italy”, so unclear to me if the oil is also from Sicily but I would assume it probably is. Other vendors of this type of (agrumato oil) usually say something like “this distinctive product is made by crushing fresh olives and Sicilian citrus fruits together. This unique process results in an extra virgin olive oil with a vibrant, bright citrus finish. The combination of olives and citrus fruits creates an oil that not only adds a refreshing twist but also brings an authentic taste of Sicily to your kitchen.”
This olive oil has a lovely flavor with that little bit of bitterness that hits the back of your throat, which is a sign of a high quality extra virgin oil that is fresh. There’s no visible lemon pulp or rind, its been filtered out but the oil looks a little cloudy from the pressing with the citrus. The lemon flavoring is subtle, just a hint in the background, its not strong at all. You want to taste this oil and you do.
When I’ve used this I’ve found that if I squeeze on some fresh lemon juice as well, it really improves everything, so suggest trying that. This is good as they say on salads and roasted vegetables, but you could drizzle it on practically anything, such as a pasta, or as a dipping for bread.
Trader Joe’s LIMONE PREMUTO costs $8 for just over 8 oz. In contrast TJ’s sells a 17 oz bottle of excellent SICILIAN EVOO for about $12 (which used to cost $10!) That Sicilian oil is double the size of this bottle. If I add a squeeze of fresh lemon and perhaps even a little lemon zest on my dish and get a similar effect, albeit my lemon is not Sicilian! Therefore though I like this oil, it’s a “specialty oil”, a little splurge. Still, you would be drizzling on just a bit of this. On a budget I would probably buy the bigger bottle of their Sicilian EVOO and add my own lemon, or garlic as desired.
Just for comparison, here’s a similar item on amazon, same size, $20 https://amzn.to/4kXGv8Z
Worth trying if you are into olive oils and can afford it for a small bottle. Otherwise I’d say go for the bigger bottle of the SICILIAN oil at TJ’s.
TJ’s says: “One of our perennial favorite (cheeses) is Trader Joe’s Toscano Cheese with Black Pepper, an exceptional cheese that you don’t have to save for a special occasion. As it ages, each wheel of cheese is hand-rubbed with cracked black pepper, so every wedge features a burst of mildly spicy pepper flavor—the closer you get to the outside of the wheel, the more pronounced the flavor becomes, yet it’s never overpowering. Serve it on crackers, grated over pasta or shaved onto a freshly prepared steak.”
This TOSCANO cheese is one of my favorite cheeses that Trader Joe’s carries. I find this to be quite special. The Toscano cheeses kind of tastes like Asiago. There are a few varieties of them. Here the black pepper, on the rind and in the cheese, adds quite a bit to the overall flavor profile. However the black pepper doesn’t overpower the wonderful cheese, it just adds a little something extra. They also have other versions of Toscano. Another good one being the one with a “Syrah” wine coating.
I like it on its own, sliced very thinly with Wheat Crisp crackers. It’s great with fruit, like sliced apples or grapes. With pasta? Excellent. I like to grate this over pasta. Superb with any pasta sauce or just butter and cheese using this.
This is a really nice cheese, but all the “Toscano” ones at Trader Joe’s are. A hunk now usually runs about 5-6 bucks ($10.99 lb)
“Traditional all butter Belgian biscuits”MADE IN BELGIUM
Fresh tasting. No preservatives. Super simple ingredients, the important one being butter of course. These are so buttery tasting as well as having a nice crunchy texture from the ridged waffle design.
They’re terrific, either on their own or paired with all kinds of things, sweet or savory.
I could easily see making an ice cream sandwich with them, just putting some ice cream (french vanilla?) between two cookies. Or just putting one on the side of your favorite ice cream. Or just eating with a cup of tea or coffee. So yummy. You can not go wrong with these cookies, and they’re three bucks no less.
I loved these.I would buy them again
Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies$2.99 (8.8 oz.)
“Each all-butter wafer is baked to a crispy golden brown that creates a straightforward, delicious waffle cookie ready to enjoy at any time. The flavor is somewhere between a freshly baked waffle cone and shortbread cookie and is as simple as cookies come, but oh, so delicious. Super buttery, with the ideal amount of sweetness, these Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies are more versatile than you may expect. Whether you are looking for an authentic European snack to accompany a cup of tea or a mug of coffee, a companion for ice cream, or a counterpart to cheese, cured meats, and peppers, Trader Joe’s Belgian Butter Waffle Cookies have a place in your shopping cart, your pantry, and your tummy.”
1 slice = 120 Calories, 4 gr Protein, and 10 gr of whole grains
Trader Joe’s EUROPEAN GRAINS & SEEDS BREAD is a European / Scandinavian style bread that Trader Joe’s introduced not too long ago. Here’s what they have to say about it :
“Our Danish bakery partner starts with a hearty sourdough rye Bread base, bolstering it with flax seed, sunflower seeds, rye flakes, and wheat bran before baking it to a deep brown hue. The resulting loaves are classically European—moist, toothsome, and somewhat dense, with a slightly sweet, delightfully nutty quality in each thin slice.”
I’m a big fan of these types of dense, hearty loaves of bread, seen all over Europe plus every Scandinavian country. I love these kinds of breads that have lots of whole grains. These type of breads are usually square loaves, sliced on the thin side as they are dense. Hearty, and delicious.
Wonder Bread this ain’t!
Here in the U.S., we don’t see these kinds of breads often enough, so over the years whenever I’ve seen this type of bread somewhere I will generally buy it. Especially pumpernickel breads which I really like.
I was so happy to find Trader Joe’s came out with this style of European bread, which are of course super healthy, compared to most any other breads. Is it any good?
Yes, this bread is good. Trader Joe’s new “European Grains And Seeds Bread” is deliciously nutty, tasty and full of seeds. It is baked for for them in Denmark by a Danish bakery, with the thin slices have a nice, nutty taste from sourdoughwholegrain rye and whole wheat floursplus a lot of seeds.
So healthy. I am going to guess this is probably the healthiest bread you can buy at Trader Joe’s.
How to enjoy European Grains and Seeds Bread: What this kind of bread is great for, is making things like open face sandwiches. Probably not so great for your average (thick) sandwich. It may not hold up. You could try thin sandwiches with two slices but really, think I would think about doing Scandinavian style open face sandwiches.
Of course you can just simply spread a slice with (softened) butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, any cheese you love, jam, ham, or whatever you like. One way I love to enjoy this bread is to spread a slice with butter and top it with thin slices of cucumber or radish and a few grains of sea salt.
You can eat as is, or warm or toast it a bit. As usual with breads, warming it up even a little bit always improves the flavor. But you don’t have to, its fine at room temp.
While I love how this bread tastes there is one area I think they could improve it. The slices tend to break apart if you are not careful with it, as there are so many seeds in it which make it less solid. Which just means you have to be a little gentle with it. So if using butter for example, I let the butter get a bit softened enough to spread easily, least you rip your slice. Sometimes I cut the slices into half or quarters as its easier to handle. Toasting it makes it a bit more firm so try toasting this too. I do really like it just a little toasted.
I made an simple open faced sardine sandwich on this bread and enjoyed it a lot ; it matched great with the fish. SO GOOD!. Try it with your favorite cheese too.
TJ’s says: “When it comes to toppings and fillings, the thin-yet-sturdy slices of European Grains & Seeds Bread are ready for near-infinite riffing: try topping a slice with a pat of Cultured Salted Butter and a swoosh of berry preserves; sliced Cave Aged Le Gruyère and Rosemary Ham, or ripe avocado and a spoonful of Crunchy Chili Onion. Enjoy a slice as the base of an open-faced sandwich topped with Whipped Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon Pieces, and plenty of fresh dill. If it’s soft & chewy you’re seeking, use un-toasted slices of European Grains & Seeds Bread to scaffold scoops of tuna salad—and don’t forget the pickle on the side!”
Will this last as a TJ’s product? I hope so. Like all new products, if they see it is selling well they will keep it. However if not enough people buy this, then it may go bye-bye unfortunately. So if you try and like this, keep buying it. I sure will.
I think it’s even gotten a little popular. A few times I have found this sold out, but it seemed to get restocked after a few days.
“How do you know it’s fall? When Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider arrives on our shelves! Our Spiced Cider has been a reliable autumnal indicator for more than 20 years. The 64 fluid-ounce bottle holds the juice of U.S.A.-grown, bursting-with-flavor apples that have been brewed with just the right amount of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves to give each sip that soothing seasonal warmth.”
I think this spiced cider is very tasty (if a just a little bit on the sweet side for my tastes, so sometimes I add a splash of water). The wonderful smelling spice blend they have added includes cinnamon, clove, allspice, orange peel, orange oil and lemon peel. I find the balance of the spice blend is just right, not too much to overpower the taste of the apples. You can of course drink this cold but you can really also enjoy it warmed up on cold winter nights!
SPICED CIDER is a seasonal (Fall/Winter) product. So get it while you can.
Trader Joe’s says this about their new fully cooked frozen dish CHICKEN MOLE:
“Inspired by recipes from Central Mexico, we simmer boneless, skinless chicken leg meat in a Mole rojo (“red”) sauce. This tomato-based iteration is made with dried guajillo and pasilla peppers, which serve to darken the color of the sauce, while also adding some spicy heat. The flavor is further deepened with spices that include garlic, onion, coriander, and cinnamon.”
“Mole meaning, sauce or mixture, is a traditional sauce found in Mexican cuisine. most moles do not contain chocolate. Our version is a Mole Rojo, made with Guajillo and Pasilla chile peppers along with other spices, in a tomato based sauce. It was inspired by recipes found in Central Mexico. Serve this chicken mole as a tasty taco or enchilada filling, over a bed of rice, or just on its own with a few slices of avocado“
Their descriptions sound pretty good, right? Does it live up to it? I’ve found at least one very bad miss with Trader Joe’s Mexican inspired foods. For example, some time ago I tried tamales that had the nerve to say “Authentic Mexican” on the package. Ha! More like “Not At All Authentic Mexican”. Tasteless. I thought those tamales were an insult to Mexican cuisine: (old review) of Cedar Lane “Authentic” Tamales
So what about the new “CHICKEN MOLE? I read some decent reviews of this dish, so had to try it and see if TJ’s got it right this time. And guess what? Basically I think they did get it right. This does taste pretty authentic. So I was a bit pleasantly surprised to find their Chicken Mole dish to be pretty tasty, and I think I would probably buy it again. Savory and spicy with a nice use of a few Mexican chiles.
Trader Joe’s Chicken Mole ($6.99) as they say is a mole rojo (red mole) meaning a tomato based mole, made with tomatoes, onions, garlic and most importantly two kinds of chiles, Pasilla and Guajillo which really give it it’s depth of flavor. Its origins are in Central Mexico. The Chicken Mole tasted very savory, with lots of flavor from the slightly smokey chiles (some chiles like the Guajillo chile used in this are smoked). Overall I found the seasonings quite decent and nicely spiced with a depth of flavor from the tomatoes, chiles and other spices, including coriander and cinnamon. Heat wise I would say this is not a super hot but it does have some spicy heat. Its not immediate but sneaks up on you 30 seconds later. I would call this dish a bit spicy, but NOT crazy spicy. For me, I found the heat level just right. Plus you are eating this with other things (maybe avocado, tortillas, rice….) which balances things out.
I liked the fact reading the ingredients that the list is fairly short and overall seems pretty natural with actual ingredients not long chemical names.
Mole Rojo originates from Central Mexico or Oaxaca, the land of 7 moles” a place I’ve been to twice and where I made it my business to taste as many moles as I could. I tasted about 5 of the 7. The place is a culinary wonderland. Every mole I tasted in Oaxaca was fantastic, one of the best being a mole negro sold outside a church by some nice church ladies.
I read someone’s review of this somewhere and they said there was very little chicken in this. Which is also a complaint about TJ’s BIRRIA, which I do agree, there is not a ton of beef in the Birria.
However I thought this Chicken Mole, while I would not say has an enormous amount of chicken, did have a fair amount. Its a bit deceptive as the chicken has fallen apart during cooking so its mostly now shredded plus a few chunks in a good amount of sauce. Now I read someone saying this “has too much sauce”. I don’t really agree with that, as you want a good amount. In a mole the sauce is the whole point, its the star of the whole dish, and the protein is kind of secondary. Does it look like the picture on the package with a ton of chicken? No, lets face it almost nothing looks like the picture on the package.
COOKING: Microwave or Stovetop. I did the Stovetop.
We ate the dish as tacos, spooned into warm Corn Tortillas (TJ’s) with avocado and sliced radishes. Kind of like the picture. Also some rice on the side. It matches great with rice. You could do a rice bowl type thing. You could also make Quesadillas with the mole and cheese, getting it nice and browned up, kind of QuesoBirria style., either in a corn or a flour tortilla. Or a hard corn taco shell. Or you could spoon the mole over rice. It matches very well with avocado. It can easily serve two, maybe three people with other things.
I would label this latest Small Lot coffee offering at Trader Joe’s in my “good but not great” category.
I liked it but it didn’t knock me out as some of their other small lot coffee finds have at times in the past. These are totally hit or miss. Sometimes you get one which is fantastic. Outstanding. Sometimes you get one which is pretty good, which for me, is this Costa Rican coffee. I thought it was pretty good. I only say this as some of the Trader Joe’s coffees which were terrific raise the bar when compared to some of the best Small Lot coffee finds in the past over the years that TJ’s has had. The Uganda Mountains of The Moon small lot coffee from a while back was off the hook, stunning. Epic! So again, there is a high bar.
This coffee is from a mountainous region in Costa Rica, from an area officially designated as “Chirripo National Park”. The beans are roasted in an (actual) medium roast and the beans look very good as you can see. This coffee’s taste is as they describe on the bag. “Nutty and toasty, with notes of citrus”. If you are one of those people who just likes to check out and explore EVERY Small Lot coffee that Trader Joe’s comes out with just to check it out, its worth getting. Otherwise, I would say spend your ten bucks coffee money on some known entity which you love. For me for the past year or so since they started carrying it, that coffee has been the Fair Trade Organic BOLIVIAN BLEND. Another Medium Roast. I really love that one, which is not a Small Lot, so easy to find too year round.
This Costa Rican Chirripo coffee while OK, its not as good as that for me so I would not buy it again. Once again, Small Lots are Limited so if you want to try this, grab while you can. I rate this maybe 6/10
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Trader Joe’s has come out with another variety of their CHOCOLATE BARK. I liked the original one with pretzels and sea salt (sweet and salty)
The new one comes in a pink bag. DARK CHOCOLATE BARK plus Puffed Quinoa and Freeze Dried Raspberries.
From Trader Joe’s: “The Bark you’ll find within each bag starts as a thin(ish) slab of rich Dark Chocolate studded with pieces of pleasantly tart freeze-Dried Raspberries and Puffed Quinoa.”
So I got some to review. At first I thought it was a bit sweet, however as frequently happens when I am tasting something from Trader Joe’s, I could not stop eating more. I kept saying to myself, “just one more bite.” Then I realize I had already devoured 3 or 4 pieces. Be warned, this chocolate may be slightly addictive.
This new variation on the dark chocolate slab is good. Quite tasty. In the bag quite a few largish pieces of the bark which you can break up into smaller bites. The chocolate combo is pretty yummy,, just a little bit on the sweet side however the tart dried raspberries in this does counterbalance it all out. There is a nice crunchy texture you get from the puffed quinoa in these, kind of like chocolate with Rice Krispies. Here its tiny puffed quinoa bits. The dried raspberries give a nice backnote of fruit in each bite.
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 bread which everybody seems to love and it’s priced reasonably at three and a half bucks.
How about this for a review? I buy this all the time. This has consistently been one of my standard Go-To items to pick up whenever I shop at Trader Joe’s. One of my favorites breads they sell, and they have a lot of good breads!
This is a handy bread to have on hand. Good for many purposes.
I bet you love ingredient lists where the list is nice and short, like I do. Which it is here. Basically the ingredients say: “unbleached enriched flour, malted barley, water, salt.”
No preservatives.
Its a round loaf, sliced. 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 slices per package. One slice 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.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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