Spring has sprung at Trader Joe’s, and the shelves are bursting with reasons to grab a cart. Whether you’re a devoted Joe-head who maps out every aisle or a casual browser who somehow always leaves with $80 worth of things you didn’t plan on buying, this is your moment.
From the Sweet Onion Style Pretzel Twists, Dark Chocolate Bark, Salted Caramel Mochi to seasonal flavors like the Whipped Carrot Cake Cream Cheese. The golden rule still applies: if you love it, grab two. It might not be there next week.
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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. Each slab is broken into snackable pieces, and packages them into a resealable bag for your enjoyment. The end result? A sweet, chocolatey, textural triumph of a treat that’s well worth every bite. Heck, it’s so good, you might even want to bark about it.
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Organically grown in the Sierra Madre Mountains, the 100% Arabica beans inside each bag of TJ’s Organic Mexico Chiapas Coffee come from a cooperative of nearly 2,000 small, family farmers, who share resources, knowledge, and a commitment to environmental stewardship. This cooperative model supports thoughtful cultivation, community well-being, and—if the Coffee’s silky profile, effortless drinkability, and memorable notes of milk chocolate and stone fruit are any indication—a level of care and expertise that translates from mountain farm to morning cup.
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Each bite starts with the sweet, tooth-sinking sensations of the outer Mochi layer, which quickly gives way to the rich, full-flavored, and buttery-sweet Salted Caramel ice cream within. It’s a simple treat—brilliantly so, we’d say—and one that can be enjoyed in all kinds of contexts that call for something sweet. We particularly like them as an easy after-dinner dessert, and especially so when served with a cup of hot coffee or cold, creamy milk tea. Just be sure to let them sit outside of the freezer for a few minutes prior to enjoying.
Some mornings and some breakfast items (looking at you, bagels) call for a classic schmear. Others call for a spread with some real excitement behind it… A spread that brings an element of “sweet springtime surprise” to the table… A spread like Trader Joe’s Whipped Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Spread. Inspired by the seasonally suggestive dessert for which it’s named, this Spread is a clever combination of tangy Whipped Cream Cheese (already Carrot Cake-coded in its own right) and classic Carrot Cake components—the key contributors here being dried carrots, carrot powder, brown sugar, and a proprietary pinch of warm spices.
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The Sweet Onion Style Pretzel Twists — are consummately crisp and crunchy — with an alluringly aromatic and umami-tinged Sweet Onion Style seasoning. These make optimal accessories to sandwiches, burgers, and, of course, a frosty glass of beer, where their Sweet, salty, and allium-rich notes will truly sing. They can be enjoyed entirely on their own, as an anytime treat, and can also be dunked most deliciously into all sorts of savory, creamy dips—our frozen Spinach & Artichoke Dip or Pimento Cheese Dip make a particularly excellent pairing.
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Each canister features an assortment of almonds, pecans, and crunchy-coated cashews, along with crispy little bread chips, which have all been dusted with a super flavorful Garlic Butter seasoning blend. Truly a treat for all occasions, we find that their big flavor and variety of textures (particularly the interplay between the softer pecans against the crispier bites of the other Nuts and bread chips) make them especially suited to serving as part of a cheese plate or hors d’oeuvres spread at a cocktail party. If you share our fondness for all things Garlic Butter, pick up a 10-ounce canister from our dried fruit and nut section—you’ll find them there every day.
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Made for Trader Joe’s in France by a bakery that knows a thing or two—or shall we say, a thing or deux—about brioche, Trader Joe’s Double Chocolate Brioche is everything you love about soft, eggy brioche… plus chocolate. (YES!) Specifically, the batter incorporates a generous amount of cocoa powder, and each loaf is studded with chocolate chips! The result is a loaf that feels just a little more dessert-like, but not overly so. (Its sweetness feels sophisticated, rather than sugar-forward.) Enjoy Double Chocolate Brioche by the slice, toasted and topped with salted butter, or use it to make an especially indulgent chocolate French toast. C’est délicieux!
Where their Chile Lime cousins are tangy and hot, these Ranch Rolled Tortilla Chips are creamy, herby, and well-rounded. They get their bold, yet markedly mellow flavor via a suite of savory seasonings and spices, including buttermilk, garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley. While we find this profile makes them well suited to solo snacking, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention how well they pair with a nice dip—our Organic Chunky Homestyle Guacamole is an especially apt complement to their Ranch notes and resounding crunch. Roll on up to your neighborhood Trader Joe’s to wrangle yourself a bag today!
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Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried Apricots are Turkish Apricots, harvested at peak ripeness, cut into slices, and Freeze Dried. Nothing else is added to this single-ingredient snack. Inside the bag, you’ll find lots of non- uniform shapes, all of them bite-sized, all of them crunchy & light. Each bite delivers fruity Apricot flavor, along with a healthy measure of tartness, punctuated by sweetness that varies from piece to piece.
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Trader Joe’s Jambalaya starts with a base of captivatingly aromatic, savory-seasoned, long-grained white rice, along with diced onion, tomato, green bell pepper, and green onion, and finishes with slices of spicy, smoky, uncured Andouille sausage. It takes only a few minutes on the stovetop or in the microwave to become steamy, satisfying, and ready to serve as an entrée or side dish. We recommend enjoying this Jambalaya alongside a leafy green salad or crisp Haricots Verts, or topped with a similarly NOLA-inspired protein, like barbecued shrimp or blackened Chicken Breast.
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Like a collection of greatest hits from the Mediterranean gastronomic canon, Trader Joe’s Greek Style Chicken Salad is packed with tender artichoke hearts, tangy sundried tomatoes, and briny Kalamata olives, all set against a backdrop of savory-seasoned, roasted and pulled white Chicken meat. To finish each batch, our supplier also adds bits of garlic, parsley, and dill, then mixes it all together with mayo and lemon juice for a Chicken Salad that’s zesty, tart, herby, toothsome, hearty, and phenomenally full-flavored, all at once. And as if that weren’t enough, its also ready to enjoy as an entrée, topping, sandwich filling, or snack, right out of the package.
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When your schedule’s overstuffed, and making a meal from scratch starts to feel insurmountable, we have the ideal, heat-and-eat entrée to put some pep back in your step: Trader Joe’s Stuffed Poblano Peppers. Each package contains two savory, mildly spicy Poblano Pepper halves, which our supplier has Stuffed with a zesty, flavorful mix of soft brown rice, fresh and tender corn kernels, and hearty white chicken meat. They finish this melange with a creamy, herby cilantro sauce, and top each Pepper with a layer of melty Monterey jack cheese. The result is similar to an open-faced, unbattered version of a classic chile relleno, with a marvelous medley of flavors, textures, and aromatics in every bite.