I always love when other people share their favorite things to buy from Trader Joe’s, so I decided it was time to share mine! The first time you walk into a Trader Joe’s, it can be a little overwhelming because there are so many products you’ve never tried before. I like to pick up my favorites plus something new to try each time I go. If you are lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s, here are some of the things you won’t want to miss.
FLOWERS I love buying flowers for myself! I think Trader Joe’s has the least expensive, freshest, prettiest flowers around. I always buy one bunch of the same type of flower instead of something already arranged, and then I just use filler from bushes in my yard and arrange them in a mason jar. Keeping it simple, like all one color, is my jam.
HERBS I just recently realized that buying a live potted herb plant at Trader Joe’s is less expensive than those little plastic containers that are almost always so wilted in the produce section of the grocery store. And there’s a chance I can keep it alive until the next time I need it so it’s really a two for one.
SUCCULANTS Be still my heart. I want them all!
PIZZA DOUGH This can come in really handy on a busy night. Try it with my Garlic Chicken Pizza recipe.
PESTO Of course you can make yours from scratch, but if you don’t have time, this is a great one! Use it to make my One Skillet Chicken Tortellini.
FRESH MOZZARELLA These tiny little balls of heaven are perfect in my Orecchiette With Pesto and Oven Roasted Tomatoes.
TOSCANO CHEESE My cousin introduced this cheese to me, otherwise I wouldn’t even know it existed. One of my favorite cheeses. Not too strong or stinky, but definitely rich and creamy.
RAISIN ROSEMARY CRISPS Wondering what kind of crackers to serve with your Toscano cheese? Look no further!
NUTS & SEEDS I think Trader Joe’s is one of the best places to buy nuts and seeds. I love the variety – salted, unsalted, roasted, raw… Roasted Oregon Hazelnuts are my current crush. Try them in this fabulous Stetson Salad! I never leave Trader Joe’s without a bag of nuts! Nut butter recipe coming your way soon!
TERIYAKI SAUCE My other cousin told me about this one years ago. We use it to marinate our steak, chicken and salmon. Everyone loves it!
SALSA VERDE In my humble opinion, the BEST! I love it on eggs, and in my ever popular Creamy Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos.
COCONUT OIL If you aren’t committed to using coconut oil enough to buy the giant tub from Costco, Trader Joe’s has this smaller jar for $6, which is a good price compared to other grocery stores. I think it makes my homemade granola extra good and healthy too!
CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS Oh baby, if you love chocolate and you love croissants, these should be in your cart. PRONTO! You let them thaw and rise overnight on a baking sheet, and then you pop them in the oven morning. They are heavenly.
FREEZE DRIED FRUIT These are a total specialty thing, but you can grind them up to naturally flavor and color your frosting according to Sally. Can’t wait to try it out. I looked at a regular grocery store and the freeze dried strawberries were almost triple the price – which is hard to swallow when the bag is so light it feels like it’s full of air! Also looked into making my own, but from what I can tell you need a dehydrator or you need to leave your oven on for 12 hours straight.
BABY ICE CREAM CONES These are the cutest things ever. Just the right sized little tiny treat without the guilt.
PITA CHIPS These are the perfect thickness. Not so thin that they break in the hummus, but not so thick that you break a tooth. And there’s something about the sesame seeds that make them extra yummy.
CHOCOLATE All kinds and all sizes. Even a ONE POUND bar!
SPARKLING LEMONADE I honestly fell in love with the packaging before I even tasted this lemonade. So fancy! Perfect for baby showers and brunches.
All packed up and ready to head home with all our favorite things! If you’ve made it through this whole post, you deserve a medal! I could probably have kept taking pictures of my favorite finds for hours and hours, but I think I pushed theses two cuties to their limit. I can tell because Little Boy #3 is giving me the stink eye. If you have a favorite find from Trader Joe’s, please share! Always love trying new things. Here are a few other TJ’s favorite things lists if you can’t get enough!
Little Broken’s Favorite Things
Ambitious Kitchen’s Favorite Things
The Kitchn Reader’s Favorite Things
Nova says
We get many of the same things too! (salsa verde over fried egg is a new fave I made for my hubby).
One favorite for us Cookie Butter! And Joe Joes too!!!
Their European chocolate yogurt for $1
Their (nitrite free) applewood bacon…we like the same cheeses-the ricotta and marscarpone cheese are delicious!
$1.99 for almost all jarred spices.
Great greeting cards for $1 from sympathy to baby’s arrival to birthday to funny thinking of you cards.
No alcohol vanilla extract for no cook desserts
We get a lot of organic produce for smoothies. 90% of the time they seem to have the best price on organic produce.
I try to make our breads but the pizza dough is great (pizza or calzone) and not just for dinner but what I call “breakfast pockets”(make lots and freeze extras for later!). I miss the box cake mix. I typically make what I can from scratch but the chocolate cake mix was like no other box mix ever! Made with applesauce too made it “healthier!” It had the perfect moist chocolatey crumb esp for a box cake mix. Miss this item!!!
I really could go on!!!
I will admit I did not understand what all the fuss was about until I went in on a week day morning armed with my budget, a shopping list and a lil time so I could look at each aisle. Now I am a fan for life! I do shop at Costco and Publix but the majority of my shopping is done at TJ’s.
They have a great return policy. A fantastic group of people that work at my local store. And my kids love going with. From finding the hidden frog in the store and win a prize. To all the stickers we get and always food samples each day. They even let my youngest ring the bell. Oh and the store and bathrooms are very clean. We heart TJ’s!!!
Julie says
Nova, I can’t wait to try all your favorites – especially the European Chocolate yogurt, the bacon and the alcohol free extract. And yes, I agree – It’s a fun place to bring kiddos. They love the tiny shopping carts, though it makes me a little crazy trying to keep them from running into people! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sarah @ The Budding Table says
I love shopping list posts! The sparkling berry lemonade is totally my shower/brunch/entertaining go-to as well! I love that it’s a little fancy and out of the ordinary. A few other favorites are the chocolate covered dried cherries, pita bite crackers, flavored sparkling water, any Purple Moon red wine (so good, SO cheap), and a recent fave: Pretzel bagels 🙂
Katya @ Little Broken says
Love love 🙂 I’m so jealous of the fresh peonies . Never see them at my TJ but maybe it’s the location too. Love the pizza dough and those little crackers you told me about – have yet to try them. Thanks for the link up friend 🙂
Regina says
I’m not a mustard person, but their sweet and hot mustard…I inhale it by the jar! It used to be a ‘seasonal item’ forcing me to buy 10 or 12 jars to make it through the winter, but now they have come to their senses and carry it all year around so that I only have to buy two or three jars at a time! I also love their savory rice crackers and have to buy them by the case to take to my family who live in a Trader Joe’s-free part of PA.
Julie says
I will definitely have to try their sweet and hot mustard. I’m not much of a mustard person either, but I’ve recently started realizing how great it is in dressings and marinades. Thanks for the tip!