Trader Joe’s is one of our favorite spots for affordable, delicious groceries and specialty food items. From produce to their signature novelty treats to pantry staples to meat, the options are endless when it comes to one of our favorite grocery chains. 

100 BEST THINGS TO BUY AT TRADER JOES! A full post top to bottom of our favorite things to throw in that grocery cart while you're perusing the isles at our favorite neighborhood grocery store. Full post at femalefoodie.com!

The Best Things To Buy At Trader Joe’s

At Female Foodie we take our grocery shopping very seriously and have spent an extensive amount of time researching the best things to buy at Trader Joe’s. Below is a guide to our top picks, but make sure and check out our other resources for Trader Joe’s below:

100 BEST THINGS TO BUY AT TRADER JOES! A full post top to bottom of our favorite things to throw in that grocery cart while you're perusing the isles at our favorite neighborhood grocery store. Full post at femalefoodie.com!
100 BEST THINGS TO BUY AT TRADER JOES! A full post top to bottom of our favorite things to throw in that grocery cart while you're perusing the isles at our favorite neighborhood grocery store. Full post at femalefoodie.com!
100 BEST THINGS TO BUY AT TRADER JOES! A full post top to bottom of our favorite things to throw in that grocery cart while you're perusing the isles at our favorite neighborhood grocery store. Full post at femalefoodie.com!
100 BEST THINGS TO BUY AT TRADER JOES! A full post top to bottom of our favorite things to throw in that grocery cart while you're perusing the isles at our favorite neighborhood grocery store. Full post at femalefoodie.com!

Cookies

Nothing beats a homemade cookie, but if you’re going to buy storebought cookies, Trader Joe’s has a huge selection—not to mention several that are actually worth buying.

  • Old Fashioned Cinnamon Graham Crackers: a great dressed-up version of this classic American cookie. You will die over the cinnamony sugary finish.
  • Cookie butter sandwich cookies: these buttery cookies filled with one of Trader Joe’s biggest hits won’t last a day in your pantry.
  • Butter waffle cookies: just an all-around classic cookie. Our favorite with a heaping scoop of cookie butter (keep reading).
  • Dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe’s: only available at Christmas time and more calories than you want to know, these cookies are some of our favorites. The thick layers of chocolate and peppermint are next level.
  • Way more chocolate chips cookies: think chips ahoy without all the yucky preservatives and ugly packaging. These inhalable cookies are perfect for sack lunches or an after-school snack.
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Joe Joe’s Sandwich Cookies: taste a lot like Girl Scout Tagalongs (arguably some of the best Girl Scout cookies) with a more intense peanut butter flavor and richer tasting, higher quality chocolate. 
  • Mini Stroopwafels: These little bites of happiness are so addicting that it’s a challenge not to eat the whole bag in one sitting.
  • Triple ginger snaps: because this is the cookie that every ginger lover needs. Ideal for homemade graham cracker pie crusts—simply swap the grahams for these ginger cookies!
  • Meyer Lemon Cookie Thins:  so wafer-thin you could eat a whole sleeve and not even notice. The lemon flavor is our favorite, but the ginger are delicious too (RIP to the coconut flavor which was the best of all three). 

Candy

  • Chocolate covered sea salt butterscotch caramels: quite literally these caramels are addicting. Something about the shiny coating + sea salt finish + buttery flavor is quite irresistible. You have been warned.
  • Powerberries: real fruit juice from pieces made with acai, pomegranate, cranberry, and blueberry juices dipped in smooth dark chocolate. Heck yes.
  • Dark chocolate almonds: These dark chocolate covered almonds sprinkled with sea salt and turbinado sugar will change your life.
  • Milk Chocolate Peanut butter cups: or what I like to refer to as “adult” peanut butter cups. Think better chocolate and thicker peanut butter. I love these suckers frozen.
  • Strawberry Licorice: if you’re anything like me there is nothing better than good, soft licorice. Take a box of the strawberry flavor with you next time you’re reading a book or writing.
  • Cocoa Truffles: introduced to me by my sister, these chocolate balls of decadence are a chocolate lovers dream to the max. They’re rich, delicate, and a little goes a long way.
  • Fleur de sel caramels: great for eating as is or incorporating into a recipe. I’ve used these on the viral “carmelitas” recipe found on Pinterest and thought that they were the perfect touch.

Produce

  • Tuscan cantaloupe: I purchased one of these after a couple of TJ’s employees recommended them. They’re similar to a cantaloupe except sweeter with the same amount of fruit (less seeds).
  • Hass avocado: if I’m making a large portion of guacamole or need avocado for anything Trader Joe’s is always my first stop. Their California grown avocados are ripe, but not too ripe; firm, but not too firm.
  • Sweet strawberries (or any berry for that matter): back to the fresh factor. Always the freshest, sweetest, and most reasonably priced berries in all the land. I love to eat them whole or with granola and yogurt for breakfast.
  • Peaches and nectarines: I can’t count how many times I’ve returned home with more than a dozen of Trader Joe’s peaches or nectarines this summer only to polish them off just a couple of days later (there are two of us). Be sure to smell and gently palpate each variety for the ripest one.
  • Spinach and kale: so incredibly inexpensive compared to other commercial or local grocers. I love throwing these ready to eat greens in my salads and smoothies.
  • Asian Vegetable Stir Fry: my absolute favorite “easy” vegetable side for chicken teriyaki. I toss the ready to go veggies with a little bit of oil and serve with a side of teriyaki sauce.
  • Brussels sprouts: again, they’re fresh, delicious, and ready to go. They come in a microwavable bag, but my favorite way to eat them is tossed in olive oil with salt and pepper, then baked for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.
  • Thomcord Seedless Grapes: such a delicious and beautiful grape that you can’t get anywhere else! Sold typically toward the end of the summer. I decorated a homemade charcuterie board with these recently and they were the perfect touch.
  • Mini heirloom tomatoes: I purchase these nearly every time I make a stop at Trader Joe’s. They’re colorful, full of delicious heirloom flavors, and the perfect addition to bruschetta, caprese, or simply served alone.
  • Grapefruit: because I’m 100% on a grapefruit kick and these are bigger and juicier than any I can find at a neighborhood grocer. Sometimes I drizzle a little of TJ’s Honey on top for a subtle sweet touch.
  • Lemons: I love the fact that not only are these lemons juicy and fresh, but there are over half a dozen sold in one package for less than two dollars.
  • Persian cucumbers: they’re smaller, sweeter, and an adorable addition to veggie platters, salmon sliders, and Mediterranean dishes.

Baking & Bread

  • Semi sweet chocolate chunks: my go-to chocolate for chocolate chip cookies. A great change up from the traditional drop shaped chocolate chips (still love you, Nestlè).
  • Organic unsweetened flake coconut: because Trader Joe’s is all about the coconut. I love using these coconut flakes in homemade granola and baked goods including banana bread, cookies, and cake.

Cheese

  • Cheddar cheese with Caramelized onion: my 100% favorite cheese from Trader Joe’s. It’s a savory block of cheddar threaded with caramelized onion. You haven’t lived if you haven’t tried this.
  • Unexpected Cheddar: this super popular cheese is one of the best things to buy at Trader Joe’s—it has everything you love about cheddar cheese with an aftertaste similar to Parmigiano Reggiano which makes it quite special. Use this in your grilled cheese and thank us later.
  • Spanish Cheese Tapas Sampler: if you love Spanish cheese or you want to try a few new cheeses without investing in three completely different blocks of cheese, try the Spanish Cheese Sampler, made with three delectable (and not too overpowering) Spanish cheeses, perfect with charcuterie, crackers, jam, or just as is.
  • Cranberry Chevre Goat Cheese: need a ready-to-go appetizer for a party? Grab the cranberry chevre goat cheese, a cheese log formed with fresh goat cheese and rolled in sweetened, dried cranberries.
  • Sharp cheddar cheese cracker cuts: this cheese not only tastes delicious but it’s clutch for mid-day snacking and road trips.

Meats

Trader Joe’s has a great variety of meats to choose from, from their simple cuts like their all-natural chicken breasts to their Angus beef flank steak to some of their pre-marinated selections. These are the meats we reach for when we’re shopping at Trader Joe’s.

  • Wild Sockeye Salmon: making homemade bagels? Grab some wild sockeye salmon and layer it on top of cream cheese-covered bagels and you have yourself a solid breakfast (or brunch!).
  • Atlantic Salmon: if you’re making a simple lunch or dinner with salmon (like this brown butter lemon pepper salmon!), we love the Atlantic Salmon from Trader Joe’s. It’s always fresh and cooks up deliciously.
  • Uncured Apple Smoked Bacon:  this apple smoked bacon is one of our favorite things to buy at Trader Joe’s. We love cooking it in a skillet or on the smoker and adding it to salads, grilled cheese sandwiches, and BLTs.
  • Organic Free Range Chicken Breasts & All Natural Chicken Thighs: the chicken at Trader Joe’s is high quality and it shows when you realize how much more tender and flavorful it is compared to other lower-quality options available. Whether you’re cooking with chicken breasts or chicken thighs you can’t go wrong.
  • Balsamic Rosemary Beef Steak Tips: while we’re typically fans of prepping and cooking our own meats, these steak tips are one of our favorite grab-and-go protein options at Trader Joe’s. Heat a grill or cast iron skillet to high heat, add a drizzle of avocado oil, and cook your steak tips to order (don’t overcook!).

Yogurt & Milk

  • Greek Yogurt With Honey: Whole Milk Greek Yogurt Honey is the very best Trader Joe’s yogurt. It’s a thick, Greek-style yogurt that is perfectly creamy and smooth, and has a distinct, but not overpowering, honey flavor.
  • Coconut Whipped Topping: made with real coconut cream and a great option for anyone seeking dairy-free indulgence, this canned whipped cream is delicious.

Snacks & More Than Snacks

  • Veggie sticks: as mentioned above, one of our favorite snacks with a bowl of Trader Joe’s hummus. I like to eat this on road trips or before hikes when I’m trying to increase my sodium levels.
  • Peanut butter filled pretzels: save yourself the grief of eating boring old pretzels, and grab some of these for a salty/crunchy outside, and creamy/peanutbuttery inside.
  • Toasted plantain chips: “healthy” chips that are made with plantains, toasted (not fried), and salted for a crunchy texture and great flavor. I love keeping a bag of these in my car for an after work snack on my commute home.
  • Just mango slices: understand that of the three dried mango options (sweet mango, just mango, spicy mango), this is the BEST. It’s dried mango and dried mango only. If there’s one dried fruit snack you should try at Trader Joe’s, this is the one.
  • Peanut butter cups trax mix: miniature milk chocolate peanut butter cups in a blend of fruit and nuts. Can you tell that I love peanut butter??
  • Candied pecans: delicious alone or as a topping for salads, dessert, or paired with cheese and crackers on a cheese plate.
  • Sweet New Zealand apples (dried): another one of my favorite dried fruit options. If you haven’t enjoyed dried apples, these new zealand apples are a great place to start.
  • Freeze dried strawberries: have you had anything freeze dried other than yucky mountain house freeze dried dinners? You’ll be revolutionized by these sweet freeze dried strawberries and how surprisingly addicting they are.
  • Cowboy caviar + blue corn tortilla chips: my favorite salsa paired with my favorite of the many trader joe’s chip options.
  • Salsa especially mild: tastes just like the salsa you love at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Great with Trader Joe’s restaurant style chips or scrambled eggs and corn tortillas for breakfast.
  • Italian style wrap: my favorite on the go TJ’s lunch. I love the combination of Italian meats and cheeses with a hearty wrap and some leafy greens.
  • Cheese tortellini: one of my favorite easy dinners served with Trader Joe’s Vodka Sauce and a pinch of parmesan cheese.

Frozen Foods

While we’re definitely not avid fans of freezer foods, if there’s any place to buy a frozen meal, it’s at Trader Joe’s. So while a lot of Trader Joe’s recommendations are predominantly filled with frozen specialty items, ours only has a few.

  • Roasted corn: save the stress and work of husking, grilling, and then removing kernels from your cob with this pre-roasted corn! We love using this as a side for BBQ, with salad, or in homemade salsa.
  • Dark Sweet Cherries: if you’ve ever hand pitted cherries then you’ll understand why this purchase is worth every penny. These are perfect for cherry pies/galettes or fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast.
  • Mango chunks: back to those green smoothies. And my new favorite one has spinach, banana, and a cup or two or Trader Joe’s fresh mango chunks.
  • Gone bananas: there’s something so satisfying about frozen bananas and chocolate. The perfect snack to keep in the freezer for those inevitable late night cravings.
  • Cookie butter ice cream: this needs no explanation.
  • Mac n cheese: because there’s nothing better than creamy, savory mac n cheese except for creamy, savory mac n cheese prepared in less than 5 minutes. Voila.

Sides & Condimenets

  • Cookie Butter: spreadable speculous cookies. It’s creamy, it’s sweet, and it’s one of the most popular items to get at Trader Joe’s! I’m partial to the creamy cookie butter myself and like to enjoy it with Butter Waffle Cookies, pretzels, cookies, or warmed up and served with ice cream.
  • Cento San marzano peeled tomatoes: I’m all about making my own homemade pasta sauce these days and my favorite base for a good marinara are the cento san marzano peeled tomatoes. Open your can, crush them with your hands, and cook up some pasta beautifulness.
  • Julienne sliced sundried tomatoes: These Julienne sliced sundried tomatoes are the best in the game. I love adding them to pasta (or better yet pasta salad), meat and poultry dishes, or simply with some fresh mozzarella.
  • Fig butter: because you totally need something irresistibly sweet and posh to add to that cheese board I keep mentioning. I love enjoying this with sliced baguette, whipped ricotta cheese, and a dollop of this glorious fig butter.
  • Lemon curd: beautiful, wonderful, lemon curd. Another item that Trader Joe’s has converted me to. It’s great with cookies, mixed with yogurt, or served with angel food cake and whipped cream.
  • Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce: you better believe that this is one of our favorite BBQ sauces. In fact we recently figured out how to smoke ribs from home and topped the goods off with this Trader Joe’s original sauce.
  • Coconut Oil: there’s something just different and better about the coconut oil from Trader Joe’s. We all know the hundreds of uses of coconut oil, but my favorites are for makeup remover (just add cotton balls yasss), baking, taking stains out of white clothing, and for moisturizer during the winter when my skin is dry as all get out.

DRINKS

  • Mango lemonade: I’m a huge fan of any lemonade but Trader Joe’s seems to add mango to anything and make it even better.
  • Apple Cider: fall isn’t fall without buying a container of Trader Joe’s unfiltered apple cider. Check out this seasonal item next time the leaves start changing colors.

Plants

  • Basil: when it comes to herbs, basil is my love language. And at Trader Joe’s you can purchase a container filled with organic basil or an entire plant for one dollar more ($3.99). It makes you a sick thinking of all those miniature packages you purchased at other stores for 1/4 the amount of fresh basil.
  • Succulents: because we’re all about plants that are hard to kill. And what’s not to love about a succulent? I’m slowly working at a growing collection on my bedroom dresser.
  • Lavender: one of my favorite ways to spruce up a space or great gift with a simple Trader Joe’s card. PS the metal tins they come in are adorable.
  • Peonies: come late spring/early summer walk into any Trader Joe’s and become smitten by the parade of peonies as you walk through the storefront. My favorite flower you can find at TJ’s undoubtedly.

Random Ish

  • Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion: truth be told, I use this lotion every. single day. It’s the perfect moisturizer for my skin and has 15 SPF because hello who wants sun spots?
  • Coconut Body Butter: allll about the moisturizer here (#Utah). This coconut body butter reminds me of cake frosting because it smells incredible and quite honestly looks like frosting.
  • Chia Seeds: chia seeds are all the rage the days and for good reason. I like to keep a bag of these seeds stocked in my pantry at all times for granola and green smoothies.
  • Greeting cards: my favorite place to get greeting cards is at Trader Joe’s! They totally fit my taste when it comes to aesthetics because they’re simple, upbeat, and not overly commercialized. Best part is that they’re a whopping dollar.