What’s New at Trader Joe’s in July 2024: Taste Test & Review (2024)

Trader Joe’s new items this month include a handful of delicious products, from bacon-shaped gummies to fried calamari and trail mix granola bars. As usual, I went to my local Trader Joe’s to taste all of their new products for July 2024. If you want to know which items are worth picking up on your next grocery run, here’s my list.

1. Organic Peanut Butter & Cocoa Crunch ($3.49)

This Peanut Butter & Cocoa Crunch cereal is Trader Joe’s take on Reese’s Puffs. It’s made with cornmeal puffed into tiny, sweet spheres. Half of the puffs are peanut butter flavored, and the other half are chocolate. It’s naturally gluten-free and tastes very similar to actual Reese’s Puffs.

This cereal pairs well with regular milk and chocolate milk, but I also tried pairing it with some vanilla Greek yogurt as a substitute for my usual granola that I’d run out of. The cereal stayed crunchy and crisp the entire time and didn’t get soggy, even when I left the bowl sitting on the counter for about 10 minutes.

Rating: 8/10

2. Lemon Flower Cookies ($5.99)

These cookies are bright, zesty, and the perfect summertime treat. Each is made with two lemon shortbread cookies that are stuck together with a lemon jam. The shortbread is quite buttery and crumbly, with a light dusting of coarse sugar on top for some added crunch.

The jam inside is citrusy and cheerful, with a nice balance between sourness and sweetness. The only reason I can’t give these cookies a 10/10 is because I think the $6 price tag is too high. These Lemon Flower Cookies are a seasonal item, so they’ll only be available for a few weeks. Grab a box or two while you can!

Rating: 9/10

3. Peanut Butter With Honey ($2.99)

I’m not a health nut by any means, but there are a few ingredients I try to avoid when grocery shopping. One of those ingredients is seed oils. So many jars of peanut butter include seed oils, and when I do find one that doesn’t, it’s usually upwards of $6 or $7. Trader Joe’s new Peanut Butter with honey has a simple ingredient list of peanuts, sea salt, and honey, costing just $2.99 per jar.

I’ve used this peanut butter on a ton of food over the last week – on bananas, with apples, drizzled on a smoothie bowl, and slathered on toast. It has a salty peanut flavor with just a hint of sweetness from the honey. This is my new go-to nut butter for the foreseeable future.

Rating: 9/10

4. Organic Mango Vinaigrette Dressing ($3.99)

I’ve never been a huge fan of fruit-based vinaigrettes, but this new mango dressing intrigued me, and I just had to give it a try. The vinaigrette is made with mango puree, vegetable oil, white vinegar, and cane sugar.

I planned on using this as a marinade for some salmon until I pulled the fish out of the fridge and realized it was expired. Instead, I used it as a dipping sauce for calamari (more on that later), and I was pretty impressed by the flavor.

The vinaigrette tastes like a real mango and hits the perfect balance between sweet and savory. I still hope to use it as a fish marinade this summer, maybe paired with coconut rice for the full tropical effect. This vinaigrette has quite a strong mango taste, so a little goes a long way.

Rating: 6.5/10

5. Bubble Waffles ($4.49)

Have you ever walked into an ice cream shop where they make their own waffle cones? Your house will smell exactly like that after you heat one (or more) of these bubble waffles up. These waffles are insanely good! They’re super sweet, and each bubble has a soft, mochi-like texture inside. I tried one and ate it as-is – no syrup or butter needed since it’s plenty rich on its own. These waffles would bring a scoop of ice cream to the next level.

When heated in the microwave, the waffles become super chewy and soft. Using the oven or toaster oven gives them a crispy texture, so you can choose your cooking method based on how you want your waffles to turn out.

Rating: 9/10

6. Dark Chocolate Covered Pistachios ($3.99)

These Dark Chocolate Covered Pistachios have a lot going on in the flavor department – they’re sweet, rich, earthy, and a little savory. Each shelled pistachio is coated in a thin layer of extra dark chocolate that melts as the pistachio crunches. They are delicious on their own and also make a great addition to a cheese board paired with wine.

I’m not a huge fan of pairing chocolate and pistachio flavors, but these will be a hit with any pistachio lovers out there.

Rating: 7/10

7. Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese ($0.99)

I’ll never say no to a boxed mac and cheese, especially if it’s sold for only $0.99. Boil the noodles inside and then add butter, milk, and the cheese packet, which will mix and transform into a creamy, rich dish full of nostalgia. I don’t know how Trader Joe’s just decided to add this to their shelves, but I feel like it’ll be a permanent item soon. I paired it with Trader Joe’s dill pickle salad kit for a full meal, and it was the easiest dinner I’ve made in a long time.

Rating: 8.5/10

8. Panzerotti Pizza Bites ($3.99)

These Panzerotti Pizza Bites are basically a fancier version of Totino’s pizza rolls. The dough on the outside is lightly fried and then filled with mozzarella and Italian tomato sauce.

I used the microwave method with these, but I’d recommend trying them in the air fryer or regular oven since they weren’t crispy after the microwave. Even though I microwaved them for longer than the packaging recommended, the cheese still wasn’t melty.

I also thought the dough was slightly too sweet, but I love a good sweet-salty moment, so I didn’t mind. I prefer Totino’s pizza rolls to these, but the Panzerotti rolls are fluffier and feel a bit lighter.

Rating: 7.5/10

9. Pad See Ew ($3.79)

Pad see ew is one of my favorite foods of all time, and this was my first time finding it in the frozen aisle of a grocery store. I have to admit I was skeptical when I saw it. Could the soft, chewy texture of the noodles and tenderness of the cooked veggies survive being frozen and then reheated?

I’m happy to report that the answer is yes. While it wasn’t “exactly” like the pad see ew from my favorite takeout spot, this comes really close. The soy sauce and noodles had just a bit of sweetness, and the veggies (carrots, bok choy, and broccoli) were cooked perfectly. I can’t believe this dish is only $3.79 – fingers crossed that Trader Joe’s keeps it around for a while because I’ll be picking up a few boxes on every visit from now on.

The only reason I couldn’t give this dish a perfect score is because there was only one tiny piece of tofu in mine, and the broccoli had a slightly bitter taste to it.

Rating: 9.5/10

10. Pulled Chicken Salsa Verde ($8.99)

I used Trader Joe’s new Pulled Chicken Salsa Verde as soon as I got home from the store and completely forgot to take a photo of it! The chicken looks pretty much the same as it does on the packaging, and there’s a fairly large amount that comes inside. I heated it up and served it with corn tortillas, shredded cheese, beans, fajitas, and corn (all from Trader Joe’s) for a quick, easy taco night.

This stuff is incredibly flavorful – it’s pre-shredded and made with a salsa verde that contains green chiles, tomatillos, cilantro, onion, and garlic. I’ll purchase it again and plan to top homemade nachos with it for extra flavor and protein.

Rating: 8.5/10

11. Bacon & Eggs Shaped Sweet Gummy Candies ($1.99)

These Bacon & Eggs Shaped Gummy Candies don’t taste like breakfast food – they actually taste like fruit. Specifically, the sunny-side-up eggs have a mango flavor (though they taste more like pineapple to me), and the bacon gummies have a cherry flavor.

I loved the texture of these gummies. They’re pretty soft and chewy but not so chewy that your jaw will be tired after eating a few. I handed them to a few friends, and everyone loved them. I don’t eat gummies often, but I’d buy these again because they’re equally fun and delicious.

Rating: 9/10

12. Crispy Battered Calamari ($5.49)

I’m a huge calamari fan, so I had high hopes for Trader Joe’s new Crispy Battered Calamari in the frozen aisle. Most online reviews said the calamari was pretty tasty, with all rings and no tentacles, but my experience was different.

I found a fair amount of tentacles in the bag – I’d say 25% were tentacles, and the other 75% were rings. That’s fine by me, but the tentacles were covered in a thick layer of batter that I got sick of after a while. I also didn’t think the outside was crispy enough, and the squid inside was noticeably chewier and fishier than at restaurants.

I don’t have an air fryer, so I used the oven. Maybe the air fryer is a better method, which is why I didn’t love them as much as other people seem to. For $5.49, this isn’t a bad value, but I’ll be sticking to restaurant calamari for the foreseeable future.

Rating: 5/10

13. Norwegian Sourdough Rye Chips ($3.29)

WOW. I was blown away by how delicious these rye chips were – this is probably my favorite new item from Trader Joe’s this month! These chips are made out of authentic Norwegian wheat and rye sourdough. The bread is sliced thinly and then fried in sunflower oil to give it a super crunchy, crispy texture.

Each chip is filled with sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and whole-grain rye berries finished with a sprinkling of salt. There’s so much going on in these chips flavor and texture-wise, and each bite is slightly different from the last. I ate most of these straight from the bag, but they’re also delicious when paired with onion dip, buffalo dip, or a cream cheese-based dip. In fact, I think they’ll go well with any dip you can think of. I really hope these are a permanent addition to the Trader Joe’s snack aisle!

Rating: 10/10

14. Yuzu Kosho ($3.99)

When trying out this new condiment from Trader Joe’s, I made the grave error of tasting it before reading the description or ingredients (rookie mistake, I know). Fair warning: this stuff is spicy! Yuzu Kosho is made with green chili peppers, yuzu peel, sea salt, and water. The chilis are what give the paste its kick, and the yuzu peel adds a hint of citrus.

I don’t recommend trying this plain like I did at first taste. Instead, this paste would make a fabulous marinade ingredient if you want to add some spice to your protein of choice. I asked a Trader Joe’s worker how she recommended using it, and she said to mix it with some mayo for a spicy drizzle on top of a homemade poke bowl. Just be sure to have some water nearby since this stuff is pretty spicy!

Rating: 7.5/10

15. Rainbow’s End Trail Mix Bars ($4.99)

When it comes to trail mix, I believe the simpler, the better. Trader Joe’s famous Rainbow’s End trail mix is made with the classics: peanuts, almonds, raisins, and chocolate pieces. The new bar version features all these ingredients held together with tapioca syrup, and it’s finished off with a dipping of dark chocolate on the base.

These bars are delicious. They’re similar to KIND bars but a few dollars cheaper and, in my opinion, even tastier. I’ve been enjoying one in the afternoon as a pick-me-up, but waiting until then is becoming hard. I might just start having these for breakfast instead.

Rating: 8.5/10