Like many people, Serious Eats editors have some go-to items they buy at Trader Joe’s. For me, the delightfully sharp, crumbly, crystal-specked Unexpected Cheddar alone is enough reason to drop into the store once a month or so. When I am there, I have a hard time not slipping some chocolate peanut butter cups and Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets into my basket.
I used to think Trader Joe’s was mostly for nonessentials like snacks and desserts—until I noticed how often its products landed at or near the top of our blind taste tests, including staples like milk and almond butter. Reviewing the past few years of results, I counted 11 tests where Trader Joe’s finished first or close to it. So to make shopping easier—mine and yours—here are our editors’ favorite TJ’s products in one place.
Chewy Chocolate & Peanut Butter Protein Bars
This bar, featuring my all-time favorite flavor combo of chocolate and peanut butter, was the overall winner in our taste test of a whopping 26 protein bars. Testers loved its flavor and crunch.
Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches
I freaking love an ice cream sandwich, so this taste test was one of my favorites, even with the massive sugar crash afterwards. TJ’s didn’t win the classic chocolate wafer ice cream sandwich showdown, but it took the top spot in the smaller cookie sandwich category.
Organic Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce
This one was kind of a shocker: In a taste test of 13 Kansas City–style barbecue sauces that included ones that are actually from Kansas City, Trader Joe’s tied for the overall win with Bull’s Eye. Well, alrighty then!
Pie Crust
No surprise that many of my food editor colleagues keep pie dough in their freezers at all times. Not me. So a frozen, pre-rolled pie dough—like TJ’s, the overall winner in our pie crust taste test—is just the ticket for me.
Creamy Almond Butter
If you like your almond butter salty, here’s one for you: TJ’s came out on top for salted varieties in our taste test of 13 creamy almond butters. It’s creamy, nutty, and features crunchy pops from a bold dose of salt crystals. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than much of the competition, too.
Coconut Water
When I read the results of our coconut water taste test, I was pretty excited to learn the team’s favorite was TJ’s—not the much pricier brand I’d assumed would win. It’s going in my cart next trip; my post-workout rehydration just got a bit cheaper.
Yellow Cake Mix
Surprise: Our overall yellow cake mix winner was a gluten-free one (King Arthur Baking Gluten-Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix). But for the “best for a celebration” slot, Trader Joe’s Celebration Cake & Baking Mix took the crown. For $4.99, you get cake mix, frosting mix, and sprinkles—the perfect solution for the birthday you forgot about.
Salsa
While it didn’t take the overall win in our taste test of 21 salsas, two different salsa products from TJ’s made it into our list of runners-up: Salsa Autentica and Chunky Salsa (Medium). While there might not be much “autenica” about either of them, they were good enough that I’d happily dig into a bowl of either at a party.
Domestic Parmesan Cheese
This one is a bit of a mixed endorsement: When our editorial director, Daniel, conducted a taste test of imported Parmigiano-Reggiano against domestic Parmesan, the genuine article was the clear winner. However, among the domestic Parm options, TJ’s was tops and deemed just fine for grating, especially given its budget-friendly price.
Unsweetened Iced Tea
While you’re grabbing that salsa and cake mix for your party, go ahead and get some TJ’s iced tea, which was a solid runner-up in our unsweetened iced tea taste test. Tasters praised its floral notes and classic flavor profile.
Whole Milk
I’m saving the worst for last. And by worst, I mean that I hated almost every second of this taste test (drinking plain milk is not my bag at all). Still, I’m glad to have learned that I can get decent milk for my coffee at Trader Joe’s. As I wrote in my tasting notes for our whole milk taste test: “Not sour! No carton flavor! Yay! Favorite so far.” Faint praise, but not damning.
