Our Favorite Trader Joe's Products as a Family of 2
A little bit of a random post for you on this Friday! I always love reading what other people buy and eat from Trader Joe’s because that store is so overwhelming, and I never know what to try when I’m just browsing without specific items in mind. So, I figured I’d share what Korri and I purchase regularly from Trader Joe’s ourselves just in case you’re like me!
I love shopping at Trader Joe’s—besides the parking lot situation (why do they purposefully want to be in a terrible parking area?)—because the prices are low and the items are unique while still being exactly what you’d expect. I don’t know about you, but I throw so many random things into my cart because I think to myself, “It’s only $3!” Lol. And then I go to check out and am shocked to see all it ring up to $100! There’s so many fun and delicious products.
Here are 15 of our favorite Trader Joe’s products! We eat all of these yummy goodies regularly as a family of two (just Korri and me, sorry cats). I plan to add more products to this list as I replenish our staples and discover new favorites. Let’s dive in!
Our Favorite Trader Joe’s Products
What We Eat as a Family of 2
Quick Bites
Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit
This salad is by far our favorite salad kit from Trader Joe’s! We currently have three bags in the fridge (and I always buy at least two at a time when I go to the store). Everything about it is delicious, and I don’t even mind the carrots (they’re not my favorite vegetable). One bag is a deceivingly large amount and gives us two heaping portions.
Cheese Tortellini
I always buy fresh pasta like this tortellini to have on hand for quick meals when we’re too lazy to cook anything else, and I also love having them for my own lunches when I work in the office two days a week. These packages split into two servings nicely!
Arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano Ravioli
This ravioli is another package of pasta I buy regularly for the same reasons. We both love arugula (if you couldn’t tell from the salad, ha!), and we think this ravioli is the yummiest of the ravioli offered by Trader Joe’s.
Pantry Staples
Organic Beef Bone Broth
We love keeping bone broth on hand to cook with ramen noodles from Costco. It’s the perfect quick snack to warm us up in the cooler months, and it’s something we eat often if we’re sick. We buy both the beef bone broth and the chicken bone broth from TJs.
Organic Yellow Lentil and Brown Rice Pasta
Korri prefers to eat gluten free as much as possible, so we eat mainly gluten free pasta nowadays. There are some really delicious noodles made from other grains, including this spaghetti! We also buy the other pasta varieties, but we definitely eat spaghetti most often.
Organic Tomato Basil Marinara
Of course, you need sauce to go with your pasta! (Ha, not always—I love drizzling my Brightland flavored olive oils on pasta, too!) Our favorite is the tomato basil marinara but I doubt you can go wrong with any of the varieties at TJs. We always have a couple jars on hand.
Pantry Staples
Organic Garbanzo Beans
We eat a lot of garbanzo beans and black beans, especially in the fall and winter! (Chili season!) We typically like to buy them in bulk at Costco, but Costco seems to have stopped offering garbanzo beans in bulk. I’ve started picking up a few cans every time I go to TJs. The price ($1) can’t be beat!
Organic High Protein Super Firm Tofu
Tofu is a staple protein in our diet. While we aren’t completely vegetarian, we do go meatless most nights and eat tofu often, especially in stir fry. My favorite way to eat tofu is diced and sauteed until the sides are crispy and the inside is still soft!
Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter
Love this butter so much, and the price of it at TJs is usually better than at other grocery stores. We get the unsalted kind so we can add salt to taste if needed. Whenever I make homemade mashed potatoes, I use a healthy portion of this butter for taste (along with sour cream and cream cheese—the mashed potatoes turn out to be mostly dairy, ha!).
Frozen Food
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
This frozen pasta dish with sauce is another quick and easy meal for the two of us OR for myself if I’m in a pinch and need to quickly whip something up to take for lunch at work. I’m not typically a huge fan of frozen dishes like these (I ate a LOT of them as a college student so I’m a little worn out now), but I like this one.
Hashbrown Patties
Korri and I go through sooo many packages of these hashbrown patties! This is another item we stock up on; last time I went, there were no hashbrown patties to be found anywhere. Luckily, we had an unopened package in the garage freezer…but just one! These make the perfect snack for any time of day but we also love to eat them as part of breakfast. Korri has discovered that the toaster can cook them up perfectly, so that’s his new favorite way to make them.
Black Bean and Cheese Taquitos
Here’s one more item that works for either a quick snack for Korri and me or as my work lunch (I can get three light lunches out of one package; there are usually 12 taquitos in one package). These black bean taquitos aren’t the prettiest things to look at, but they are quite tasty. I love shaking on some sort of taco or hot sauce on (and I’ll do this at home before heading to work so they’re ready to be warmed up when I’m hungry).
Snacks
Ghost Pepper Potato Chips
These potato chips are by far our favorite potato chips!!! They’re SO yummy. Korri and I are both fans of spice and these chips have the perfect amount of heat that builds if you eat a lot of chips at once, haha. Though I will say, sometimes we get dud bags that aren’t that spicy at all.
Mini Vegetable Samosas
We go through so many boxes of these mini vegetable samosas! I blame my dad for introducing us to these delicious little savory triangular pastries. They’re soooo good! I pick up at least two boxes every time I stop by the store, and I love sticking a bunch in the garage freezer for whenever we need a midnight snack (seriously, we eat these so often at night haha!). We also love the spicy pumpkin seasonal flavor that comes out every fall.
Apple Cider Donuts (Bonus Fall Favorite!)
Y’ALL. I’m obsessed with these apple cider donuts. I got my first box over Labor Day weekend and haven’t been successful at getting another one! They are SO GOOD! Korri hates when I bring them home because he loves them, too, and we always eat them so quickly haha. We don’t have any local places that make apple cider donuts like these so I take advantage while I can!
Whew, that was a lot, and to think that there’s so many other items we purchase regularly but that I just so happened to not buy on this shopping trip! (I’ll add more items to this post as I restock our staples!)
What are your favorite products at Trader Joe’s? Please share in the comments! I’m always so overwhelmed when I go in and tend to just stick to the items I already know and love.