Grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s is a very calming experience for me. I love that everything is neatly stocked on the shelves, that the store is small and feels cozy. I always find something new to try and the best part is that checking out is fast compared to every other grocery store! I go to Trader Joe’s more times than I’d like to admit in a week because I usually forget something for dinner but also the experience just cheers me up.
If you frequent Trader Joe’s you know that once October hits, there’s an explosion of pumpkin inside the store. It seems there’s 100 new pumpkin and autumnal-themed items each fall and no matter how ridiculous or over-the-top they sound, I want to try them all. I can’t quite do that but I can at least try a few! I have a really good connection at Trader Joe’s and I asked her and her coworkers which fall seasonal items they recommend and I asked my Instagram followers what their favorites were too. I made a list and set out to try them. Let’s see how they measure up to their name!
Here’s my haul: Mini “Hold the Cone!” Ice Cream Cones in Pumpkin Ginger, Pumpkin Joe-Joe’s, Organic Spiced Apple Cider, Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, Pumpkin Waffles, Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Rolls, Candy Corn Popcorn, Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli and Apple Cider Donuts.
I tasted these all in one go and have rated them from 1 to 5 jack-o’-lanterns ? — one being the gross aftertaste of sickly sweet artificial flavoring and five being the euphoria a white girl in Uggs feels after taking her first sip of a PSL on a crisp fall day.
Apple Cider Donuts
I wanted to like these donuts but I was underwhelmed by them! They have a slight apple taste and are more cinnamony more than anything. They reminded me of the individually wrapped cake donuts that they served at my public school, which I totally forgot about but then was transported back to the cafeteria after one bite. You definitely need coffee to wash it down because these donuts are pretty dry.
Rating: 🎃🎃
Pumpkin Joe-Joe’s
Ok, these are probably the best Joe-Joe’s out of all the Joe-Joe’s. I don’t really like the regular faux-Oreo ones (there’s just something off with them) but these are spectacular. The pumpkin cream flavor is the perfect note of pumpkin. The downside is that they are pretty sweet and my palate can only take about two.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Candy Corn Popcorn
This popcorn is actually very good! But it tastes like your average candy popcorn you can get anytime. The novelty is in the Halloween colors and not much else. It doesn’t taste like candy corn which is probably a good thing!
Rating: 🎃🎃
Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
I was pretty skeptical about these. Why would you ruin a perfectly good thing that nature gave us, you know. But they were pretty great! They remind me of the candied pecans you can get at the state fair. I tried these on a salad at the demo section at Trader Joe’s and 10/10 would eat that again.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃
Organic Spiced Cider
This cider tastes incredible! But it’s also way TOO SWEET for me. I could only tolerate like a few sips. It’s a refreshing drink, perfect for the fall in warm places like Texas.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃
Pumpkin Rolls
Several Trader Joe’s employees recommended the Pumpkin Rolls to me so I had high hopes for these babies and oh boy did they deliver. They were soft, pillowy pastries of warm goodness that didn’t go overboard with the pumpkin. Gloria could hardly wait to gobble them up.
Her verdict: “It tastes like cuddling up with you and watching The Great British Bake Off.” She also suggested sprinkling chopped walnuts on top to take it to the next level.
My verdict: If I were Pac-Woman and these pumpkin rolls were the little dots in the maze I had to eat, I would win every time.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli
Finally, something savory! But alas, they were still sweet. These honey roasted pumpkin ravioli are really great if you are creative with how you make it because on their own, they taste like straight up pumpkin puree inside a pasta pocket. I whipped these up with a sage brown butter sauce and topped it with toasted pine nuts and parmesan. It was a magnificent lunch. I recommend balancing the sweetness with adding more salty and nutty flavors.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃
Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
I’ve made many butternut squash pasta dishes in the past and was skeptical of this mac & cheese. Surely, I could make something similar with fresh ingredients. I’m here to tell you that I’m wrong. For the price and how easy this is to make, this mac & cheese wins everything this fall. It’s fucking delicious and I was so sad when it was done. It’s more flavorful than the regular TJ’s mac & cheese. My main feedback is that you can easily dry this out in the oven so keep an eye on it. I added a sprinkle of water to it half-way through and it helped keep it moist.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Pumpkin Soup
I’ve never had pumpkin soup before and this was pretty tasty. I would eat this on a chilly night with a really fancy crouton or a crispy baguette.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃
Pumpkin Waffles
I was expecting these to be too sweet for me to but I was pleasantly surprised! They hit just the right notes and had a pleasant pumpkin taste.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃
Mini “Hold the Cone!” Ice Cream Cones in Pumpkin Ginger
Many Trader Joe’s employees raved about these tiny cones but I thought they were just ok. I loved the pumpkin ice cream and ginger cone combination but I really disliked the white confectionary coating. The coating really put a damper on the whole treat for me.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃
What are your favorite fall seasonal items at Trader Joe’s? Do you agree or disagree with my jack-o’-lantern ratings? Let me know in the comments!
This is far and away the most useful shopping guide of my life. Thank you for your service Yvonne and Gloria.
on sunday i saw they also have pumpkin madeleines. has anyone tried those?
Yes, and they were delicious! I would have preferred just the pumpkin spice seasonings in a vanilla cookie though, the pumpkin in the cookie changes the texture.
Personally, I liked them but not enough to buy them again.
thank you for doing this necessary work! I also love the experience of shopping at trader joes, and especially in october I love to find good fall-themed things because I live in a place that still feels like summer. I’m definitely going to try some of these! My past go-to from there has been the pumpkin bread mix which I have made for like 15 years.
For me it is a raft to carry cream-cheese frosting to my mouth.
A+ research, this is marvelous. Quick note, though, that apple cider doughnuts aren’t really meant to taste like apple cider; like coffee cake, they are meant to be eaten along with their eponymous beverage.
As a Brit, I was always confused by coffee cake recipes with no coffee.
I love this article. I wonder if my kids will like the butternut squash mac n cheese. We’ll have to try it!
It’s sooooo good! But keep in mind that the cheese combo is quite sharp, I think from smoked gouda and parm, so it depends on if that fits your kids palates.
“Grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s is a very calming experience for me.”
You’ve clearly never been to a TJs in Manhattan, where the lines wrap around the store and out the door. ;)
Rachel! I want to an urban Trader Joe’s once and the experience scarred me for life
Omg I also was thinking “it depends on the Trader Joes!”
Although, idk what borough you live in, but have you been to the new-ish one in City Point in downtown Brooklyn? Especially on weekday mornings, that one really gives the calm suburban TJs experience. There are usually like 4 people in line, total!!
Same for Miracle Mile, Culver City and Hollywood ones…
The one on San Vicente near WeHo/Beverly Hills is calming in the middle of the day to as are either one off 3rd street near the Grove(ones a block west the others like 6 blocks east) mid day.
The one on Masonic in San Francisco is best on Mondays. Saturdays and its like shopping with bumper cars.
No pumpkin butter? :(
Peanut butter and pumpkin butter sandwiches are a staple of fall for me, and something I’ll miss if the next place I live doesn’t have TJ’s (guess I’ll have to make my own).
Did you ever swirl it into plain Greek yogurt? A Plus!
I haven’t tried that yet, but I may have to at some point. :)
Hot damn that sounds delicious. Def need to go to TJs stat.
I love their soup. However, my favorite is the pumpking filling in a can, which can be mxied to make many things. One year I mixed with salsa(some from a can mixed with home made stuff and home made pickled jalapeno pepers) which came out nicely. And two years ago with a friend we made pumpkin vegan pizza by mixing it with pizza sauce. I think we over did a bit with the pumpkin a bit. But, it’s really maliabe.
This was delightful
This is so great!! I love the explosions of seasonal flavor at Trader Joes. Plus, everything is like $2.99, so it feels like you can actually feasibly try most of them!
As someone who is gluten free AND dairy free, I think I can try like…two things on this list. But! I’m still excited to try those ones.
Re the apple cider, idk how you feel about Kombucha (I know it is polarizing), but if you like it there is a ~seasonal spiced apple kombucha that TJs makes that I very much enjoyed.
I also would like to give shout outs to their pumpkin butter (so good on toast or a frozen/toaster waffle) and pumpkin coffee (a classic of the genre but a bit more subtle than the Starbucks version). I also tried the “pumpkin flavored almond drink beverage” as a coffee creamer and….I think I liked it? Not totally sure. Maybe 2-3 pumpkin emojis.
When my dog is constipated I give her some TJ’s pumpkin filling and it really helps her…
rofl carms
Hi. I’m back because this is the only news I want today.
“five being the euphoria a white girl in Uggs feels after taking her first sip of a PSL on a crisp fall day”
EL OH EL
The Pumpkin Waffle + Pancake Mix is also super good! I made pumpkin pancakes from it for breakfast last weekend for me and my girlfriend.
Pumpkin spiced seeds in a salad with bitter greens, blue cheese, and tart apple slices pairs well with a mug of PS coffee. And now I have to try the rolls!
Aaaaaargh why do I have to live in a place with no Trader Joe’s.
haven’t been to TJ’s in a bit but hopefully they still have the pumpkin ice cream! it’s so soft and creamy, would def give 5/5 pumpkin emojis.
I tried the Fall Harvest Salsa this week–pumpkin is the first ingredient, plus there’s apples and other fall veg. It’s spicy and amazing–last night I spent 15 minutes dipping in chicken and being unable to stop eating it, ha.
I do love the ginger pumpkin cones, and also the pumpkin butter–perfect in fall smoothies. And when I make the pumpkin spice k-cups, one of my neighbors says he always pauses outside my door because he can smell it so strongly and it’s amazing. And it really is.
This has been an absolute delight and I have to get myself to Trader Joe’s to pick up some pumpkin treats.
For any New England Straddlers: Knead Donuts in Providence, RI has the best cider donuts I’ve ever tasted and they just started making them for the season. Suh good.
Omg the Pumpkin Rolls look AMAZING.
Thank you for this, Yvonne!