To some, picking the best snacks at Trader Joe’s is a delicate practice. And since there’s *so* many to choose from within the wildly winding aisles of their stores, it’s a relentless challenge to land on the ones you like the most. The grocery chain has its fair share of hits and misses (sorry to the Southwest Style Chicken Quesadillas), but there are a few picks that are notoriously in-demand. From sweet to savory tastes, food creator and connoisseur Lisa Nguyen is rating Trader Joe’s *most* popular snacks so you know what’s actually worth the hype. Strap in and get ready to ‘add to cart.’
1. PB & C Snack Duo
Peanut butter is an enduring ingredient that can be good in pretty much any snack. Heck, we’ll even eat it alone – right off the spoon like the PB gods intended. The PB & C Snack Duo is a perfectly chocolatey variation on Mr. Joe’s PB & J Snack Duo, made of crispy cocoa cream-filled wafers (á la the greatest to ever do it, Pirouline cookies) and a creamy peanutty dip. Lisa *loves* the way the crunch of the wafers gets balanced out by their peanut butter counterpart, and graciously awarded it the #1 ranking of the five snack contenders.
2. Chile-Spiced Mango
If you’ve *ever* sank your teeth into a chamoy and chili-covered snack, you know that stuff’s mouthwatering AF. The Chile-Spiced Mango pieces from Trader Joe’s come packaged in a similar spice combo, but lean a little bit more on dry seasonings like paprika and cayenne to carry their flavor kick. Lisa dubs these mangoes as “one of [her] favorite snacks,” but there’s a missing piece that warrants them as second-best. As a spice-loving queen, she craves even more spice!
3. Chili & Lime Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips
Did someone say Takis doop? You might say the Chili & Lime Rolled Corn Tortillas from TJ’s are popular for that reason alone. For many snackers, they’re a tidbit of nostalgia *only* accessible through a healthy amount of crunch and tang. Though Lisa acknowledges their correlation to Takis, this Trader Joe’s verison carries a stronger corn tortilla taste – but lacks on the tangy front. Considering it all, this popular TJ’s snack is just fine, landing smack-dab in the middle of the ranking.
4. Reduced Fat Cheese Puffs
This next snack is also frighteningly similar to another sought-after chip snack. The Trader Joe’s Reduced Fat Cheese Puffs mimic Cheeto Puffs in shape, but Lisa rules the flavor as “good, but not as good” as the OG. The texture is also not this snack’s greatest strength, as she notes they disintegrate in the mouth fairly quickly. Fourth place goes to these cheesy crisps.
5. Strawberry Shortcake Sandwich Cookies
The Strawberry Shortcake Sandwich Cookies from Trader Joe’s are constructed from a sizable stack of butter cookies and strawberry-flavored buttercream filling. Each cookie holds tiny strawberry pieces in an effort to mix in some varying textures, but Lisa found them *way* too sweet to thoroughly enjoy. And since no sweet snack can really beat a combo of chocolate and peanut butter, these bites land in last place. Like Abby Lee Miller’s iconic Dance Moms feedback: “you were good, I’m waiting for you to be better.”
Watch Lisa Nguyen Rank These Popular Trader Joe's Snacks
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Header images via Trader Joe's, Mrs. Trader Joe's Cart
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