October is by far my favorite month of Fall. It’s perfectly placed in the middle of the season and oscillates between still too warm and suddenly cool. It’s spooky and cozy and makes me want to nest. All my social activities are the most fun during October, especially Open House Chicago, where old architectural establishments open for free touring. Once November hits it’s all holidays all the time and time goes on hyper drive.
This is also Prime Time™ (and my favorite time) to go to Trader Joe’s. October through December they serve up hit after hit resulting in mild hysteria from their customers. Pumpkin everything from ravioli, to samosas, to cinnamon rolls, to cream filled sandwich cookies and even dog treats. I am in a Trader Joe’s Facebook group and it’s twenty posts a day filled with exclamation points over their products.
Well, I am here to spread the good gospel of Joseph the Tradesman today. It’s overwhelming presenting favorites because there’s just so much! I can’t give you every option (because this is not an anthology and you probably have other things to do) and thank goodness. My encouragement would be to shop at Trader Joe’s like you shop at Target – let it tell you what you need – no plans, only vibes. Each category has a few favorites and a couple honorable mentions, so I don’t overdo it, and you don’t spend $200 like I did.
Abby’s Trader Joe’s Haul
Essentials
• Mandarin Orange Chicken & Veggie Fried Rice – this is a longtime staple of TJ’s and the perfect dupe for that restaurant with a panda on it that serves orange chicken. Liked by kids and adults alike, it is the perfect weeknight meal. Pro tip: put that chicken in the air fryer for extra crunch!
• Salad mixes – I keep a rotation of their salad mixes in my fridge for quick lunch or dinner pairings. My favorites right now is their Miso Crunch salad and their Vegan Peanut Crunch salad. If I’m going to eat a salad it better have a lot of crunchy toppings.
• Sauces & spices – spend a lot of time in this aisle because treasures abound here, my friends. Their spice blends are legendary and great in variety. My faves are (obviously) Everything But the Bagel seasoning, Everything But the Leftovers seasoning (makes everything taste like Thanksgiving dinner!), their Italian Sofrito (so spicy and flavorful), and South African Smoke. Top sauces for me include: Sweet Asian Chili Sauce, Spicy Taco Sauce (tastes exactly like Taco Bell’s mild sauce) and their coconut aminos.
Honorable mention: pre-chopped mirepoix and frozen garlic cubes, pumpkin pancake & waffle mix (grab several boxes!)
Impromptu Dinner Guests
• TJ’s cheese section – it’s hard not to get lost in the cheese section. They have my current favorite cheese, Délice de Bourgogne, a triple cream that paired with baguette slices and warm strawberry preserves is edible luxury. Don’t pass up their blueberry or honey chèvre either. Charcuterie boards build themselves in this section. Your guests will be so impressed, and you won’t spend a ton!
• Gyro Slices – I like to grill these up in a cast iron pan to make them crispy/charred and pair them with TJ’s tzatziki and pita bread. Although, be careful – your guests will not want to leave after feeding them so quickly and so well.
• Shawarma Chicken Thighs – magic in a crockpot or an instant pot. It cooks up so quickly (especially if you pair it with coconut milk and serve it over rice). I enjoy putting a quick sear on it after pulling it from the slow cooker. Because it’s chicken thighs it stays juicy and flavorful. A low-effort showstopper for sure.
Honorable mention: frozen New York cheesecake, frozen mashed sweet potatoes, frozen garlic naan, gluten-free pie crust
Snacks that won’t make it to tomorrow let alone next week
• White Cheddar Corn Puffs – light and puffy, crunchy, and gently cheesy. My recommendation is take some out and close the bag because you’ll be looking for the culprit who ate the entire bag in one sitting. *holds a mirror up to your face* It’s you.
• Toasted Coconut Granola Bark – the ultimate purse snack because when hunger hits it’s a monster. This granola is perfect with its bitter dark chocolate, light coconut shavings, and a slight salty finish. My favorite hunger rescue.
• Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips – Chili & Lime – *sigh* y’all. I have a problem. These are better than their mainstream counterpart and I will argue you for hours about it. The amount of lime they put on these is making my mouth water just thinking about it. Get several bags, hide those bags from yourself, but remember where they are at 1am. Trust me. I would not lead you astray!
Honorable mention: organic naan crackers, sesame honey cashews
Best pre-prepped frozen meals/snacks
• Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings – I have a slight obsession with these. They’re the perfect quick lunch (or paired with their veggie fried rice). The soup that fills the dumplings is so unctuous – I could eat 2 boxes without pause.
• Butter Chicken – for a while this was my quick lunch of choice. They really get the balance of spices right in this one and if you have their frozen garlic naan with it? There’s a nap waiting for you afterwards.
• Shrimp Burgers – I turned my nose up at these at first until I took the leap and now they’re my go to. My favorite way to prepare these is searing them in a hot, hot pan, putting them on top of their brioche buns with a little smear of mayo and their Unexpected Cheddar shreds and bon appétit!
Honorable mention: Vegetable samosas, sweet potato fries, gluten-free pizza crust, fish nuggets
Sweets you swore off but just this once (every time)
• Peanut Butter Cups – both the milk and dark chocolate variety have their place and I love them (and eat them) equally. They make little purse snack packs, but that feels really offensive to me. In fact, I feel insulted and now have to buy 2 large boxes.
• Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds – again, I am telling you to be careful with these. Roasted almonds are encased in a coconut shell and covered in dark chocolate, essentially making this a box of the best part of an Almond Joy. I opened these during an episode of The House of the Dragon and they were gone 30 minutes in.
• Seasonal: Apple Cider Donuts – nothing screams, “It’s Fall y’all!” like these donuts. This is a tip from my Trader Joe’s group, so please know that I love y’all so, so much: brush them with Kerry Gold butter and put them in the air fryer for a few minutes. Keep a chair nearby to faint into. (And comment if you try this!)
Honorable mention: Dark chocolate almonds with turbinado sugar & sea salt, sour Scandinavian swimmers, brookies, sea salt maple ice cream
Unexpectedly solid self-care finds
• Coconut Body Butter – in the winter my skin scoffs at regular lotion, like, “How DARE you?” That’s when I bring out the heavy hitter. Their body butter is extra moisturizing without being greasy and, bonus, you smell like summer.
• Tea Tree Tingle – when I want feel cleaner than clean from tip to toes, I brush my teeth then get in the shower and wash with Tea Tree Tingle (also comes in shampoo and conditioner). I come out feeling like a tube of toothpaste and I LOVE it.
• Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream – I keep several tubes of this around my house and in all my purses, especially since I wash my hands more than I ever have. This saves my skin over and over again.
Honorable mention: Any of their hand soaps, lavender dryer bags
What are your Trader Joe’s must-have favorites? I can’t wait to read in the comments!
51 Responses
The Sea Salt Maple Ice cream made me swoon! I rarely finish a pint of ice cream, but went back to TJs to get FOUR more so i wouldn’t run out!
My TJ’s faves are the sweet plantain chips, I buy at least 6 bags at a time, and the hold the dairy mini coconut milk ice cream cones. The best non-dairy ice cream treat I’ve had so far and I keep trying them all. I will go there just for these two things sometimes.
A lot of their stuff is so high in sodium! And they discontinued my favorite cookies! I love their PB-filled pretzels, though.
What great recommendations! Love your wit and sense of humor :)
How do you pair the coconut milk with the chicken shawarma in the crockpot? It sounds delicious!
I put a can of coconut milk and chicken or veggie stock in the crockpot and it adds to the aromatic spices so nicely! (Honestly, I super Googled the recipe for that but it turned out so well!)
Vanilla meringues – crumble slightly, add to a glass bowl with homemade whipped cream and berries of choice. It’s an amazing 3 ingredient trifle for your next party that looks uber fancy.
Omg that sounds too good!!
Stop the presses! I love TJ’S and can wax poetically for hours BUT my #1 has to be the Candy Cane Joe Joe’s. (And I don’t even like Oreos!) The trick is to keep them in the freezer. So dang good. And just throw one into your protein shake (I use vanilla protein) and you won’t believe how good being healthy tastes!! Healthy but tastes indulgent dessert. Cheers!
I love hearing recommendations because everything is good and I can’t get everything so need help narrowing my list! That sweet chili sauce is my absolute favorite along with the cheeses and citrus and flowers and wine… Tonight we used the Thai Red Curry Sauce which will be a repeat. Just sautéed some meat and veggies and dump in the sauce and serve over rice. So easy and good. I’m due for a trip.
Delice…close your eyes you are in Europe.
TJs has the best live basil ever. And their shallots are always bigger and better than any other store.
Coming here to tell you that if you haven’t already you must try the spicy Chakri mix. Amazing snack. And of course the salt and pepper potato chips. So crunchy. I don’t buy most of my produce at TJ’s but I do find they have a solid citrus selection, one of the few things I look forward to about winter! Also, they have great vacuum packs of chestnuts during the holiday season. And I like their packs of shishito peppers, for a quick saute and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice.
My favorites: The frozen steel cut oatmeal (SO easy and warm in the morning!), the Chai Tea Concentrate (liquid – TOTALLY stopped my Starbucks “issue”), frozen garlic (America’s Test Kitchen recommended!), Frozen Beef & Broccoli for a quick dinner, Sugar Kiss Melons (when in Season – SOOOOO much better than regular yucky canteloupe!)
Thanks for the recs, yum! Checkout the Thai peanut dressing in the refrigerated salad area. And don’t miss the seasonal peppermint chocolate dipped Jojos!!!
My grocery list is INTENSELY long now – I’m so excited!
Love all of your TJ recs…. My go-to’s include mini rice crackers, pita crackers, all things “nuts” (I make warm rosemary nuts using their unsalted bag of mixed nuts), blue cheese pecan dip (usually available around the holidays – I can devour the entire tub with those mini rice crackers – yum!), dog treats (can’t forget the pups) – chicken tenders are my fur babies’ favs, and last but not least, French onion soup (freezer section) comes 2 per box – amazing!
Their Charlie Bear treats are the best for the pup and the best price!
The blue cheese pecan dip is incredible – I am
sad every year when it disappears. . . .
Trader Joe’s mini chocolate peanut butter cups! Like mini Reese’s cups but better— use in place of choc chips in cookies—delish! I always purchase 2 packs, because we hate to run out!
Never mad about the maple creme sandwich cookies which are vegan and thus, must be purchased. Also, Abby? Love your voice. More, please. Happy fall.
Thank you so much, Deb! Happy fall!
Lots of good things in this post! Every time I go in, I let TJ’s tell me what I need, like you suggested. Some additional favorites of mine: Toasted Sesame Salad Dressing, Crumpets, Ciabatta Rolls, Chimichurri (in the cold case), and lots of the beauty stuff – the Lemon and Grapefruit Hand Soaps, Retinol Serum, Eye Cream. Also love the 99 cent cards and the holiday home stuff. Fingers crossed for wool felt ball garlands this year because last year I missed out. And we love how they sell singles of local beers – we often find a Trader Joe’s while we’re on vacation and get an assortment of things to try.
Amanda – Yes! Great additional recs!
Okay my grocery list is getting out of control now. Oh my goodness the birthday cards are my favorite! I keep them on hand now cuz I buy so many. Have you checked out their felted trivets for hot pots and pans? They’re so cute! I’m gonna keep a look out for the garland!
You have captured some of my favorites and so have some of the folks who commented. I like the frozen tamales. I recently tried the French flat breads in the freezer section and we’ve already had them twice. There are two versions and both are great.
I purchase lots of their cheeses and nuts. I go through bags of the walnut baking pieces, because I bake sweet breads for weekend breakfasts.
I like the shaved Brussel sprouts to cook when I am in a hurry.
Their mixed nut butter is so good! It’s hard to not eat it by the spoonful.
What about the Cookie Butter? That stuff is heaven in a jar!! I recently tried the mandarin chicken, after reading about it for years. I see what the hype is all about. That stuff is gooood!! I like it with TJ’s brown rice from the freezer. I always pick up some butter lettuce for salads. Im not a fan of the fancy mixes. My favorite is a cookie I found once. It was a sandwich cookie, a fat one, not a Jo Jo. It came in a square long box, so there weren’t a ton. Those were the best.
When cookie butter first launched I lost my entire mind. Just… the whole of it. I had to ban myself from buying it for about 3 years LOL
Omg how can EVERYTHING I love there not be on a must not miss list?? Olives, dark chocolate pretzels, Birria filling for tacos, potstickers, Joe Joes, broccoli slaw, artisan baguettes, pastry pups, cereal bars, COFFEE!!!
I love it all and I’ll be there later this week to stock up!!
It’s probably time for another trip to TJ. I like their:
-balsamic vinegar (gold preferred in our house)
-super amazing reusable kitchen cloths. The cloths I cut in half, and to clean them I just put them in the dishwasher. So easy and disposable when they get too gross.
– Decaf Irish breakfast tea
-Chai tea powder
Don’t forget about their Puff Pastry. It is seasonal, so I buy 3 or 4 boxes every time I go until they are no more. It is butter pastry and delish!
I also love their liqueurs. The Cocoa, Peppermint, and Egg Nog (at about $9 a bottle) make for easy holiday cocktails, and a waaaay cheaper than their bougie counterparts.
Triple Ginger Cookies. Offered year round. That is all. Very addicting to eat. Need to hide them from hubby eating in one day.
* being humorous of course since we buy other goodies too. *
omg I love these! They’re near and dear to me as they’re my late grandmother’s favorite. I dip them in tea and it’s hard not to eat the whole thing!
a lot of these are already on my list but i will add they have a garlic dip that is freaking delicious!
and frozen cacio e pepe i have only seen it at my TJs once but i hold out hope!
and the cheese! i love their cazamboula and have also discovered Le Délice de Bourgogne. so good!
also their wine!
We like both their regular and meatless frozen meatballs. I either buy one of the many sauces they have, from Italian to Indian, or make a mushroom gravy for a quick meal. Pair it with any of the usual partners of mashed potatoes, rice or pasta. Lots of possibilities. We also like the frozen cheese enchiladas. I top them with a little chopped lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and sour cream for a delicious meal. You don’t really need anything else, but you can add refried beans if you must.
Our TJs has stopped carrying the cheese enchiladas! Broke my heart!
You mentioned so many of mine…but I will add the almond butter covered almonds, cambozola cheese, parmesan crisps, mini chocolate frozen croissants, skinny Cheetos, so many good ones! And their premium ice creams!
Great suggestions! Also fun that most of them are not the same ole same ole TJ favorites. Thank you!!
I use their Umami Seasoning every single day. Occasionally I like to buy the Zhoug (near the hummus)– it’s very spicy but SO good on pita bread with labneh. At least in my area, TJs is the cheapest place to buy organic heavy cream, so I stock up for holiday baking. Their Salsa Autentica is also one of my faves.
Perfect timing, mine opens in 30 minutes, time for a quick cup of coffee( oh how I miss the days of trader joes free coffee bar) and a stroll up and down the aisles. My friends love my favs and I serve them often and in different ways. Sesame sticks, their trail mixes, like you we all crave the chocolate covered almonds some like dark and some like milk. my monday group leaves the light ones, my thursday friends leave the dark ones its a hoot), the dried apricots and various pecan offerings are staples, when they have them the tiny packs of apricots are so yum. Everything but the bagel spice goes on my homemade challah weekly, not only delicious, but makes the house smell heavenly. What everybody also needs to know is that if you go up to the desk they will print out a list of gluten free , kosher, or whatever products you are looking for for you. Its especially helpful to me when I am shopping for company! I also peruse the cheeses and make charcutarie boards and I buy some of the round ones to make Halloween or thanksgiving faces for my little grandgoblins. Some of their favorites are the pita bites and just mango and of course JoJos! I love my Trader Joe, especially because it makes my uptown friends so jealous!!! And did I mention that they are the nicest and most user friendly grocery in town? If I am looking for an item and ask one of the staff, they don’t just mumble or point, they take me to the shelf, if its not there they go in back in look, and then ask at the desk when they will be back on the shelf. Needless to say, I am a Big fan. Oh, and all the little pumpkins, and gourds, and plants, oh my!
You know, I moved from CA to Texas before Trader Joe’s had migrated to Texas and it was HARD. Now I am living in Sweden…. and there is probably no hope for a Joseph of the Tradesmen to come to Stockholm though one can dream, right? :D
A few of my favorites:
Peanut butter filled pretzels
Trader Joe’s Hand and Body cream
Dried cantelope
Popcorn with maple and sea salt
Sourdough bread (makes amazing skillet toast)
TAMALES from the frozen section – especially the green chili and cheese ones
These are great suggestions!! The soft and juicy mango is so good I banned myself from buying them lol
21 Seasoning Salute (We put this on everything!)
Peanut butter drizzle granola bars
Dark potato chips (currently out of stock, because they are changing manufacturers.)
Caesar Salad mix
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Orange Chicken
Family pizza
just a few of our must-haves!
The breaded tilapia filets are soooo good anytime of year. Crispy, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside without frying! I also never leave the store without the vegetable or chicken samosas. Perfect appetizer for cards night.
Omg, Abby. “The Gospel of Joseph the Tradesman” almost had me choking on my oatmeal. Guffaws were had by all, thank you for that this morning. Great product selections, but also hilarious and delightful.
*Squeal* Recently moved to a city that has a TJ and can shop it for the first time! This post is perfect timing…time to let the aisles tell me what I need (that was such a perfect comparison!).
I’m so excited for you! The crew there is incredibly nice – they’ll take you on a full tour if you need it AND open products right on the spot for sampling!
Shrimp burgers?? I’ll try these only cause I trust you!
I hope you like them! Oh and add a little arugula too!
Ahhh! I wish TraderJies was closer! Ok, so a road trip! Love your stash..wrote them down..gos here I come,
So early, finGers aren’t working!!!! TRADER JOES!! Setting it in my GPS!