The 20 Best Frozen Foods at Trader Joe’s
In the frozen aisles of Trader Joe’s, open coolers make exploration more inviting than the tall doors at the usual grocery store, where you’re filled with shame every second the freezing fog escapes as you ponder fish sticks. A lot of Trader Joe’s frozen foods exist at other stores, with different brand names and less-cute packaging, because thus is the modern condition. But at TJ’s, the always-changing, surprisingly niche frozen offerings feel like a carnival. After reporting on this store for too many years, these are my favorite frozen foods from Mr. Joe. Some I stock up on every grocery trip (Argentine shrimp, berries, frozen pizza), others are special treats to boost morale for $5.49. Prepare your red shopping cart for battle, because the frozen aisles are often the most crowded and the rules of society suspend! And that’s part of the charm, isn’t it?
Almost Full Meals
These are nostalgic for me, so take this recommendation with a dash of honey mustard. Have you ever in your short life consumed a corn dog that made you unhappy? I thought not. These have a golden pancake outer and juicy dog inner, nothing out of place. The dipping sauce is in your hands, and so is your state of being. Grasp it by the wooden stick.
Lots of ups and downs with the frozen pizzas in the last few years at Trader Joe’s, but a recent bright spot was this Detroit-style pizza with a squishy and crisp-cornered crust. My other favorite is the Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust, which isn’t absolute cardboard like the rest.
Don’t love microwaving my food in a plastic tray within a plastic bag, but these are the sacrifices we make for a little lunch. (Pro tip: Relocate the kimbap to a microwave-safe shallow bowl and cover with a silicone lid. Voila.) The tofu-filled kimbap has a subtle sweetness, with tang from a speck of pickled radish, and a gesture of spinach, for health. When I’m lazy, I like them at room temp after defrosting in the microwave, but they’re 157 percent better if you fry them up in a skillet with oil, getting the rice browned and crisp.
You get way more bang for your buck with frozen proteins like this birria, compared to airline microwaveable meals like the Butter Chicken, which is fine, though mostly rice. The birria has a smoky, sultry spice and the meat is shreddy tender. Eat it with tortilla chips at your desk, rabid raccoon style; or heat up some TJ’s flour tortillas, slice a few scallions, dollop sour cream, really make a day of it.
Of all the TJ’s Indian foods, the Channa Masala is my favorite because it’s flavorful, saucy, and filling. Thank you, chickpeas. Meanwhile, the Palak Paneer is watery, and the Chicken Tikka Masala is skimpy on chicken. For a takeout night-in, though, they’re all decent! You’ll need to grab a box of frozen jasmine rice or frozen naan to complete the picture. (Petition to please bring back paratha, Joe!)
I didn’t rave about these when they came out, but I was proven wrong. Happens sometimes! These dumplings are deeply beloved by the TJ fan-o-sphere, so I gave them another go. When you don’t mess them up—a proper steaming basket on a piece of parchment to keep from sticking—they’re juicy pork balloons with a sweet ginger broth.
This chicken is an old standby that’s voted a customer favorite by TJ’s year after year. It really does preserve the fried texture when reheated in the oven or air fryer. Plus the sticky, glossy sauce. It’s not that deep. Cheaper than ordering delivery, even if you throw in some Jalapeno & Cream Cheese Crispy Wontons. As with everything on this list, it’s amazing what chopped scallions or chives do to improve the dish. You have time!
A perfect TV dinner to keep one eye on while you watch Widow’s Bay with the other. You get a 50-50 mix of rice with a spicy, coconut-creamy green curry with around seven carrots and a good showing of tofu skin. While it’s not as generous a portion as I’d serve myself homemade, it hits for a light dinner you don’t have to think about.
We’ve gotten to the point where groceries are so expensive, it probably is cheaper to buy premade fried rice than to buy the individual components to make it yourself. Plus, you could stretch it to two or three meals with more greens and/or a fried egg. The bulgogi bits are savory-sweet-satisfying, and if you let the rice sit in your frying pan untouched for the last couple minutes, it begins to caramelize and crisp.
I have a love-hate relationship with these. They feel so diet-culture potato-phobic, but the texture? Too irresistible to deny! Puffy, crispy, pilllowy, especially when prepared with oil and high heat, either air-fried or stovetop. They’re also a blank canvas. Add a brown butter sauce, toss in some kale or Italian sausage, dream big.
Lil’ Snacks
The roti is absurdly flaky and loaded with fat (shortening, to make them vegan), and the curry dipping sauce has some heat and lemongrass brightness. It’s a snack you make into a meal because you can’t resist frying another until the whole box is gone. I wish it came with 5x as much curry.
An old standby. Over time, Trader Joe’s appetizers have changed suppliers. I know I’m not the only one who noticed the spanakopita lost its luster (so dry, why?). The Mac and Cheese Bites remain a party. Arancini reimagined with our heart’s truest desire. In my professional opinion, a side sauce like Pepper Jelly (seasonal at Trader Joe’s) or Bamba Sauce is required, and not included.
Stock-Up Essentials
Plump and sweeter than Gulf shrimp, I defrost these in a bowl of room-temp water and rely on them for dinner at least once a week. They excel in just about any shrimp recipe. More of a salmon person? Go for the garlic-butter fillets associate cooking editor Nina Moskowitz loves.
All of the frozen fruit at Trader Joe’s is cheap and worthy. The cherries, wild blueberries, and mango are other faves. This blend goes the extra mile with chunks of coconut cream and a mango-passionfruit purée. This is for anyone who wishes their morning smoothie was a piña colada.
These patties are absolute grease bombs and they make the McDonald’s hash browns of your fantasies a weekly reality. I heat them in the air fryer, slice lengthwise, and tuck them into my breakfast tacos, but I also make them en masse in the oven when we’re deep in tailgate season here in Ann Arbor for these epic breakfast sandwiches.
Whether you have kids or a boyfriend who goes through a hardcore cross-country skiing phase every January to March, gotta stock up on the dupe Uncrustables. Homemade PB&J could never replicate the ultra-processed softness of this bread and the travel-ready, environmentally atrocious packaging. It really does check all the boxes.
My editor Emma recommended these and I would’ve never picked them up otherwise. They look like they were put on the shelf in 1997. A real humdinger, tho! They’re mostly shrimp and pollack, bound with rice flour and sunflower oil. If you get your pan ripping hot, you can get a nice char. The flavor is genuinely shrimpy and open-ended for doctoring up. As my great aunt reviewed: “They’re not over-flavored.” Chop up to top salads or noodles, hurl onto a rice bowl for easy protein, or, ya know, make a burger. They do stink up the house, so grilling is recommended, or investing in potent incense.
Sweet Treats
TJ’s coffee-flavored ice cream was one of the winners in our taste test and it’ll put hair on your chest, for sure. I also love the horchata and banana pudding ice creams, when in season.
I’m partial to the black sesame flavor, but follow your palate’s intuition. Strawberry, green tea, mango, chocolate, ube when it graces us with its presence. Give these time to warm up so the mochi softens and the ice cream isn’t rock hard and you’ll be rewarded with a creamy, chewy, messy treat.
Or the Almond or Chocolate Croissants! These pastries are high maintenance compared to other treats in the frozen food section at TJ’s, but not as high maintenance as actually making laminated dough. They need to proof overnight, but it’s worth the wait. Flaky, fancy, affordable.
