Babble's Top Trader Joe's Picks You Can't Live Without

Erika Doty
Sep 16
2 min read

About a year ago a Trader Joe's store opened down the street from my house. EVERYONE was raving about it. All of my friends were incredibly excited that we finally got our own neighborhood Trader Joe's. So, yeah, I got excited too...though I didn't really know what to expect. When the store opened, I joined the droves of people in hopes of discovering what the fuss was all about. I'll be honest, I didn't get it. It's not a typical grocery store - less focus on the ingredients part of grocery shopping and more focused on the grab-and-go type of stuff. But I kept shopping at our Trader Joe's a few times, only grabbing a few items each time. But I really didn't see what the fuss was all about.

So, I asked my friends and I asked our Babble Panel. Naturally, they thought I was crazy, but humored me. Below is a list of their go-to, must-have, get-every-time items from Trader Joe's. (I included some of their notes and recipe suggestions.)

Grocery Items:

Snacks:

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Peanut Butter Pretzels
Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds
Mini Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Mini Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
Everything But The Bagel Crackers
Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prunes

Condiments/Seasonings/Sauces:

Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
Chili Lime Seasoning (like Tajin, but cheaper)
Dragon Sauce
Crunch Chili Onion Oil
Green Dragon hot sauce
All of their salsas!
Aioli garlic mustard sauce

Baked Goods:

Cakes
Cookies
Danish Kringle (Pumpkin one is our favorite)
Challah bread
Almonds

Refrigerated Section:

Dips:

Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip
Buffalo Chicken Dip

Meats & Fish:

Chicken Meatballs
Marinated Meats
Salmon Steaks
Argentinian Red Shrimp
Carne Asada Beef Roast
Jalapeno Chicken Sausages

Soups:

Tomato Basil Soup
Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Easy Dinners!

Homemade Pizza:
- Pizza Dough + Sliced Mozzarella Log + Basil & Tomato Sauce - makes a delicious pizza!
Ready-made Dinners like their Chicken Shawarma

Miscellaneous Groceries:

Samosa Appetizers
Bagged Salads (great for an easy lunch!)
Coconut Seltzer (if you love coconut water!)
Honey Greek Yogurt
Chocolate Milk (my teenage boys live on this!)

Freezer Section:

Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (possibly THE BEST ice cream sandwich on the market today!)
Teriyaki Chicken
Orange Chicken
Japanese Rice
Ube Favored Mochi
Frozen Fish (Especially the Salmon - add Trader Joe's Pesto for a delicious dinner!)

Non-Food Items:

99-cent cards
Firming Body Butter
Flowers & Eucalyptus
Candles
Body Oil
Face Lotions and Serums

What did we miss? Do you have a Trader Joe's must-get-every-time item that isn't on this list? Email us at erika@babblewithbrooke.com.

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