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Trader Joe’s is a great place to pick up plant-based / vegan products. They usually have a great selection of produce and other pantry staples that make it easier to follow a plant-based diet. Back in 2019 when we first started our YouTube Channel, we filmed a video of our top ten products from Trader Joe’s, and recently I realized it was long overdue for a refresh. So today we bring you our all-new top ten list, updated for 2022! You can watch the new video here and check out more info about the products below.
Of course, we LOVE shopping at Trader Joe’s, but we are not sponsored by them in any way. We purchased all of these products with our own money and just wanted to share some of our favorites with you! I also included the prices we paid when buying these in Rochester, Minnesota back in March 2022. I know prices may vary by region, so keep that in mind.
Without further ado, let’s get to the list!
#10: Whole Wheat Pita Pockets
Our Cost: $1.79 per 12oz bag
Every time I go to Trader Joe’s, I buy a bag or two of these nifty whole wheat pita pockets. They have two sizes to choose from, but we always get the smaller version, which has eight pita pockets per package and 100 calories per pita. We love to toast them up and eat them with hummus or cut them into triangles and bake in the oven until they are crispy pita chips!
#9: Tahini
Our Cost: $3.99 per 10.6oz jar
Tahini is something we always keep stocked in our pantry, as it comes in really handy for a lot of dressings and sauces. We also use it for roasted veggies and to make batches of our Super Smoky Hummus. The important thing you need to look for when buying tahini is that it only contains ONE ingredient – ground sesame seeds – and the Trader Joe’s version is just that!
#8: Nutritional Yeast
Our Cost: $2.99 per 4oz bag
I find Trader Joe’s nutritional yeast to be the most affordable and best tasting version. Now – many people prefer to use a non-fortified nutritional yeast that does not have B vitamins added – and this one IS fortified, so keep that in mind. We’ve never been overly concerned with using the fortified version. It comes in really handy to add that cheesy flavor to dishes!
#7: Raw Pumpkin Seeds
Our Cost: $7.99 per 16oz bag
Brian recently became obsessed with using pumpkin seeds in his cooking. You might remember them as an ingredient in his “Eggy” Veggie Breakfast Casserole. It can be hard to come across raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds and Trader Joe’s always has them at a very competitive price.
In fact, the raw nut and seed selection at Trader Joe’s is matched by no other store I have found when it comes to price and quality! Check out all of those nuts! 😀
#6: Apples
Our Cost: Varies from $0.69 to $1.29 per apple
We love our apples and Trader Joe’s is my favorite place to get them. I like that they are priced per apple instead of by weight. You can REALLY rack up your grocery bill buying nice looking large apples by weight, so this way there is no guessing game. They always have such a great variety in stock. You might remember that from our Apple Taste Test video where we bought every single kind of apple our Trader Joe’s had in stock that day and then tasted them on camera to figure out which were our favorites! 🙂
As a bonus, I also found 2-packs of these reusable produce bags for $1.99. They were a great find!
#5: Organic Sprouted Extra Firm Tofu
Our Cost: $1.99 per 15.5oz package
Another thing I pick up on nearly every trip to Trader Joe’s is a few packages of their Organic Sprouted Extra Firm Tofu. It comes in a divided package, so if you only need half of a box, you can still leave the other half sealed. We keep a few boxes in our freezer and then thaw out whenever we need tofu. This tofu is still one of the best tasting and convenient ones we’ve tried, although I do like to get the 365 brand extra firm tofu from Whole Foods as well.
#4: Organic 3 Grain Tempeh
Our Cost: $1.99 per 8oz package
Believe it or not, tempeh is a relatively new ingredient in the Krock household. I started using this to make buffalo tempeh to add to salads and I just love the texture and chewiness it adds. Plus, it is super easy to prep. You just remove the packaging and bake or air fry until it gets slightly golden, coat in sauce, and it is done! The Trader Joe’s version is a 3 grain tempeh made from soybeans, brown rice, barley and millet.
#3: Ajika Georgian Seasoning Blend
Our Cost: $1.99 per 2.1oz jar
Any time I see a new seasoning blend at Trader Joe’s, the first thing I do is check the ingredient list for salt. When I first saw this Ajika blend, I noticed that yes, it does have salt listed in the ingredients, BUT the overall sodium content on the nutrition label is still 0mg per serving. I know this can be a tricky thing with nutrition labels, and obviously there is some sodium content, but it’s such a negligible amount, we really don’t mind.
With the red color and the crushed chili peppers as the first ingredient, this seasoning seems like it would be super spicy, but it’s actually not! It does have a little kick to it, but the chili peppers marry perfectly with the coriander, fenugreek, garlic and marigold to create a very flavorful seasoning. Seriously, Brian is obsessed with this stuff!!
#2: Frozen Organic Brown Rice
Our Cost: $3.99 per 30oz box
We make rice in our Instant Pot a lot, but there are always those times when you didn’t plan ahead and you just need a quick dinner. Enter frozen organic brown rice! Each box includes three separate microwavable bags with two cups per bag, so all you have to do is take one out and heat it for three minutes. Best of all – it is just ONE ingredient – organic brown rice.
Brian uses this to make his on a regular basis. We also have a few recipes like our Jambalaya Soup that call for just a cup or so of cooked brown rice, so this is the perfect solution! Make sure you look for the organic version that has no extra ingredients added.
#1: Frozen Riced Cauliflower
Our Cost: $1.99 per 12oz bag
The MVP of our Trader Joe’s list is this frozen organic riced cauliflower. It pairs really well with the frozen organic brown rice. We like to mix together a bag of the brown rice with a bag or two of the cauliflower to help bulk up dishes. We use A LOT of riced cauliflower, so I love that the Trader Joe’s version is always packed nice and flat in these compostable bags. It makes it so much easier to store a stack of them in the freezer.
So there you have it. Those are our favorite products to buy at Trader Joe’s… updated for 2022! Please watch the video here and be sure to leave a comment letting us know what your favorites are.
