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

Ingredients include: Water, rye sourdough, rye flour, flaxseed, wheat flour, wholegrain rye flour, sunflower seeds, rye flakes, wheat bran, sourdough culture…..

1 slice = 120 Calories, 4 gr Protein. 10 gr of whole grains

Trader Joe’s EUROPEAN GRAINS & SEEDS BREAD is a (new) Euro/Scandinavian style bread made in Denmark that Trader Joe’s introduced not 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 seeds, 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.”

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/european-grains-seeds-bread-078717

I love these kinds of breads that have lots of whole grains. Personally I’ve always been a fan of these types of dense, hearty breads which you see all over Europe and every Scandinavian country. These type of breads are usually square loaves, sliced on the thin side as they are dense.

Dense, hearty, and delicious, Wonder Bread this ain’t! Here in the U.S., we don’t see these breads often enough. Over the years whenever I’ve seen this type of European bread, frequently in Polish or Russian shops I will generally buy one. So I was so glad to see Trader Joe’s finally came out with this style of European bread. These types of breads are of course super healthy, compared to most any other breads. What’s it taste like? This new Trader Joe’s European Grains And Seeds Bread is quite tasty. Delicious with a nutty flavor from lots of seeds and whole grains.

It is baked for for them in Denmark by a Danish bakery, with the thin slices have a nice, nutty taste from sourdough wholegrain rye and whole wheat flours plus a lot of seeds. Healthy? I am going to guess this is probably the healthiest bread at Trader Joe’s.

How to enjoy European Grains and Seeds Bread: Especially good for open face sandwiches. Good for thinner sandwiches. Maybe less so for thick sandwiches. Of course good, simply spread with butter (soft if possible), or cream cheese, cottage cheese, any cheese, 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.

Smørrebrød (Danish Open-faced Sandwiches)

You can eat room temp or toast it a bit. As usual with breads, warming it up even a little bit improves the flavor.

While I love how this bread tastes, it can break apart if you are not careful handling it. 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 to spread more easily. 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 really like it 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.

$3.49 (1 lb) 4.29 now?

I would buy it again.

Update: Just FYI I did see it recently (5/12/25)