If you come through my line at Trader Joe’s, you’ll hear me cheerfully recommending many items — the seasonal popcorns, the newest dip, the most expensive-tasting wines under $6.
However, only a few items are always in my basket during my post-shift shopping sesh.
My partner and I make most meals from scratch using Trader Joe’s ingredients, but I am no stranger to a microwave meal or a salad kit. For lunches and breakfasts especially, I typically mix and match items to put together a meal that requires just enough effort to make me feel like I did something.
When I’m not answering questions about when the mini tote bags will be back in stock, I’m talking passionately about these — the 12 purchases I swear by.
I have bought hundreds of Joe’s Diner mac ‘n cheese meals over the years.
Mac and cheese is my favorite food. This frozen version beats every other store-bought mac and cheese — it even ranks higher for me than restaurant dishes.
It has actual shredded cheese, so you get a nice cheese pull on every bite. I mix in a small spoonful of Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion to add depth of flavor and a bit of heat.
Trader Joe’s sliced apple-cinnamon sourdough bread is incredible.
This sweet sourdough with actual apple pieces was so popular this fall that Trader Joe’s has made it a year-round member of the bread family.
Thank goodness it’s no longer a seasonal fall food, because I was suffering without it. I like to spread an ungodly amount of butter onto two freshly toasted pieces, then ascend to another planet as I eat.
Pro tip from someone who often works in the bread section: Store this one on the counter to preserve its soft, chewy texture.
Don’t skip the cheese-filled fiocchetti with pink sauce.
This stuffed fiocchetti pasta dish is severely underrated. I’m always recommending it to customers as they browse Trader Joe’s frozen pasta section.
The little bundles are filled with a ricotta cheese mix, and the pink sauce is creamy and dotted with basil. You can prepare it on the stove, but take the microwave shortcut here — it yields identical results, in my opinion.
I add frozen peas to get some veggies in and tear some fresh basil on top.
Trader Joe’s bulgogi beef fried rice with kimchi is my perfect freezer meal.
This savory, veggie-packed dish is filling on its own, or you can add whatever you have in your fridge to dress it up.
My favorite additions are edamame, bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, tofu, Sriracha, toasted sesame seeds, and a runny fried egg on top. I pan-fry the whole situation to give the rice a golden crisp.
The chicken enchiladas verde are delicious.
If I need an easy, filling meal, I go for these flavorful chicken enchiladas in a mildly spicy green sauce.
They’re best when oven-baked to crisp up the edges, and I like to spoon Trader Joe’s corn and chile tomato-less salsa on top. I usually eat half and have the remaining portion for lunch the next day.
My favorite snack at Trader Joe’s is the freeze-dried strawberry pieces.
I am so passionate about this snack that I’ve had it as my official employee recommendation on an endcap display.
Each bag has little bites of freeze-dried strawberries covered with a strawberry-yogurt candy coating — as a huge fan of strawberries, it’s everything I want in a snack.
I recently snuck a bag of these into the movie theater, and between my friends and me, it ran out before the movie even ended.
Trader Joe’s shredded Unexpected Cheddar goes with just about everything.
Since I discovered these shreds, my time in the cheese aisle is much quicker. I throw a bag of this in my cart without even looking at the other options.
Fans of the Unexpected Cheddar in block form know the drill — this cheddar is salty and smooth, and has a stronger aged flavor than a typical white cheddar. I add it to salads, quesadillas, and savory grain bowls.
I always have Trader Joe’s non-dairy oat creamer in my fridge in the brown-sugar flavor.
I’ve tried every creamer Trader Joe’s has, and this one is always in my fridge. It’s flavorful but won’t drown out the coffee taste, and the oat milk rounds out the sweetness.
Nothing hits as a late-night snack like these tacos with crispy potatoes and poblano peppers.
I like that these crispy tacos are filled with mashed potatoes and not-too-spicy poblanos. I throw them in the air fryer and dip them in Trader Joe’s Guacasalsa.
I regularly pick up the carrot flavor of Trader Joe’s mini sheet cakes.
Don’t worry — Trader Joe’s mini sheet cakes are way better than what you might expect from a grocery-store cake.
The carrot-cake flavor is always moist, speckled with walnuts, and free of raisins (my ideal situation). Plus, it’s topped with cream-cheese frosting.
I eat a little section each night straight from the container.
Trader Joe’s organic fusilli corti bucati pasta is a pantry staple for me.
Before I worked at Trader Joe’s, I would buy this in bulk in case it was seasonal. Now I know it’s a part of the year-round collection, but I still buy multiple bags at a time.
I keep sauces pretty simple with this pasta shape, because I like the springy spirals to be the star of the bowl. They hold sauce quite nicely.
I prepare the chain’s BBQ-cut fresh Atlantic salmon fillets every week.
This is my favorite cut and type of salmon anywhere, and I eat it at least once a week.
The pieces are thick with just the right amount of fattiness. Each pack contains the perfect serving for one or two people. I add citrus slices and rosemary to the top, douse it in olive oil, and slow-roast it until it flakes easily with a fork.
Trader Joe’s was not involved in the sourcing or writing of this story. The views contained within represent the author’s personal views.
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