25 Products We Wish Trader Joe’s Would Resurrect
Trader Joe’s is known for its unique and inventive food items that you can’t find anywhere else, which is what makes it many people’s favorite place to grocery shop. Unfortunately, it also means when they discontinue something, you can’t find it elsewhere. However, there are some discontinued items they’ve put back on the shelves due to customer demand, such as their mini chicken tacos. Hopefully, this list might influence them to bring back some of these tasty items! Check out 25 discontinued Trader Joe’s foods that need to come back.
1. Matcha Joe-Joe's
Joe-Joe’s are the Trader Joe’s version of Oreos, which I don’t think are as good as real Oreos, but that’s beside the point. The matcha green tea Joe-Joe’s were sensational, with a sweet grassy flavor and soft texture, like a Starbucks matcha latte!
2. Raspberry Vinegar
I never had the pleasure of trying this one, but I know lots of people were hurting when they took it off the shelves. The raspberry vinegar was sweet and acidic, with the perfect amount of punch to bring salad dressings, marinades, and more to life.
3. Wasabi Mayonnaise
This one is pretty simple but also wonderfully delicious. The Trader Joe’s wasabi mayo was a zesty and creamy delight that could add a spicy Asian twist to any dish, from a BLT sandwich to chicken salad to a Thanksgiving turkey! Yes, I said turkey. Bathe your turkey in spicy mayo next year, and then come back here and thank me.
4. Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon
Another simple treat that Trader Joe’s ripped away from us, the fully-cooked bacon was crispy and easy to heat up, making weekday mornings a piece of cake or a slice of bacon. Get it? I think Trader Joe’s ditched this one to make room for more unique and interesting items.
5. Chunky Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
Not everyone likes blue cheese and that’s okay — it’s okay to be wrong sometimes. As high and low as I look, I cannot find a chunky blue cheese dressing that holds a candle to the one Trader Joe’s discontinued. I’m not sure how to go on, but I guess I’ll try.
6. Cinnamon Apple Snack Sticks
These cinnamon apple treats are tasty, crunchy, and delicious; I can’t fathom why Joe took them away from us. They discontinued these about three years ago, but I still think about them often. I’ve even tried to recreate them at home, but they’re just not as good.
7. Salted Caramel Gelato
This scrumptious ice cream treat was discontinued about four years ago, and I think about it every time I’m forced to buy the salted caramel Talenti. The Trader Joe’s version had the perfect balance of sweet and salty, light and rich, and it’s a tragedy that it’s MIA.
8. Arrabiata Sauce
Arrabbiata sauce is a spicy red tomato sauce that always warms my belly. The Trader Joe’s Arrabiata Sauce (no, that’s not a typo) was especially delicious, packed with the perfect amount of heat and teeming with classic Italian flavors.
9. Eggplant Cutlets
Have you ever made eggplant cutlets from scratch? It’s a ton of work. I miss the frozen breaded eggplant cutlets from Trader Joe’s, which were perfect for busy weeknights when I wanted eggplant parmesan but didn’t want to put in a ton of effort.
10. Hatch Chile Chicken Wraps
These chicken wraps were another wonderful product for those hectic nights when you want something yummy without cooking in the kitchen for over an hour. They were crispy, spicy, and super flavorful, and I’ll never understand why they’re gone.
11. Honey Butter Potato Chips
The honey butter chips were truly out of this world. I fell in love with them at first bite, and they were part of my regular TJ hauls, but alas, they took them away for no good reason. They were salty and sweet with just the right amount of crunch, and I still long for them.
12. Mango and Sticky Rice Spring Rolls
The mango and sticky rice spring rolls might be the most requested discontinued TJ food item. So many people lament about these being off the shelves and I stand with them. Perhaps this is one of the items we can complain about enough to convince them to bring it back! If you’re reading this TJ, please give us our sweet and sticky spring rolls.
13. Chipotle Black Bean Dip
In my opinion, bean dips tend to fall flat, but not this one. It had a soft, creamy texture with a potent, earthy flavor that delighted the tastebuds. Unfortunately, it’s disappeared from TJ shelves and they’ve offered no replacement.
14. Spicy, Smoky Peach Salsa
The spicy, smoky peach salsa is far from the only wonderful salsa to vanish from TJ shelves, but it was my favorite one. The peaches melded perfectly with the rich smokiness and subtle punch of spice, and no other peach salsa even comes close.
15. Cheese and Garlic Croutons
I’ve found that these croutons are not all that hard to recreate, but it was still nice when I could just buy them at the grocery store. Plenty of other people also miss these cheesy, salty croutons with a strong, garlicky flavor that elevated any salad.
16. Dill Pickle Hummus
Hummus is creamy and delicious; pickles are zesty and flavorful — so why people loved the dill pickle hummus so much was no mystery. The real mystery is why Trader Joe’s took it off their shelves. I’ve found others that are good, but pickle hummus is not easy to find!
17. Tofu Edamame Nuggets
The tofu edamame nuggets were a revelation, with a delicate crunch, creamy but chewy inside, and subtle Asian flavor. I’ve never found anything similar anywhere else, and recreating them has also been a failure. I just keep hoping Trader Joe’s will bring them back.
18. Roasted Gorgonzola Crackers
The roasted gorgonzola crackers from Trader Joe’s were like extra-special, funky Cheez-Its, except they had a lighter and crispier texture. They had such a rich and distinct flavor that made my mouth water, and it was impossible to just eat one.
19. Truffle Mac and Cheese
Do I even have to explain this one? Once upon a time, Trader Joe’s had a creamy, gooey, scrumptious frozen truffle mac and chees that was truly transcendent. I’m not usually a fan of truffle-flavored things, but this one was my exception.
20. Corn Poblano Chowder
I know a corn chowder doesn’t sound especially exciting, but this one was extraordinary. It had a subtle heat to it from the poblano chile that was potent but delightful. The texture was creamy but also chunky. It’s hard to find a flaw in this chowder, so I don’t know why they took it away.
21. Shrimp Nuggets
Shrimp nuggets may sound kind of odd, but I promise, they’re amazing. They have all the flavor of fried shrimp but in an adorable nugget shape! They had a well-balanced flavor and the shrimp taste was prominent, and they were beyond delicious dipped in cocktail sauce.
22. Carrot Spirals
Carrot spirals were a frozen vegetable product that was a wonderful replacement for noodles or spiralized zucchini. They were my favorite thing to use in Asian noodle dishes, on top of salads, or just as a light lunch. I can make them myself, but it’s a lot of work, and I wish they’d bring the frozen ones back to make my life easier.
23. Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar
This vinegar had a refreshing and juicy flavor that excited the palate and elevated any dish it was added to. It has a sparkling citrus flavor with the perfect amount of sweetness and acidity to create a balanced and beautiful flavor profile that works with many different ingredients.
24. Frozen Mushroom Turnovers
The frozen mushroom turnovers were one of my go-to buys when I visited Trader Joe’s because they had such a unique and exquisite flavor. They sound basic, but they were a superb frozen item that delivered a restaurant-quality experience, which is not common with frozen food.
25. Instant Miso Soup
Unlike most of the other items on my list of wrongfully discontinued TJ food, this one is divisive. Not everyone loved the instant miso soup, but many, many other people found it delicious and extremely easy to make. Miso soup is such a cozy food and being able to make it in minutes was lovely.
Source: Reddit.
Veronica is a food, fashion, and entertainment writer from Boston, MA, with a passion for all things lifestyle and culture. She graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a bachelor's in English literature. From Anna Wintour to Angelina Jolie to Alton Brown, she has her finger on the pulse of all things Hollywood and celebrity.
If she's not in the kitchen crafting new recipes, then she's binging the latest HBO series and catching up on the hottest trends in Vogue.
She has written for and been syndicated by publications like The Weather Channel, The Daily Meal, The Borgen Project, The Good Men Project, The Express, MSN, Wealth of Geeks, and Not Deer Magazine. Her writing experience ranges from global news articles to celebrity gossip pieces to movie reviews to homemade recipes and more.
