Top healthy Trader Joe’s meals, foods and shopping list for your next trip to the store. I’m sharing my favorite dietitian-approved healthy snacks, meals, salads, and desserts at Trader Joe’s plus lots of healthy Trader Joe’s recipes!
Trader Joe’s is one of the most fun and exciting grocery stores to do your grocery shopping. You never know what new snack, spice, frozen good or wine you’re going to find down their aisles! As a dietitian, I feel like a kid in a candy store while shopping there, and I’m always on the hunt for new products that help me shortcut healthy meals and snacks.
From cauliflower gnocchi, to dried fruit, nuts and everything in between, you can find a lot of healthy foods at Trader Joe’s. I find most times I shop there I come home with lots of salad mixes, snacks, pantry staples, cheese and wine. And flowers and eucalyptus for the shower too! Always buy yourself the flowers. 🙂
Importance of Reading Food Labels
One caveat about Trader Joe’s is that not all of the products are as “healthy” as they seem. The word “healthy” has no formal definition so it’s really subjective when it comes to different products. I would encourage you to read labels at Trader Joe’s especially for their frozen products as some are made with lots more ingredients, added sugars and preservatives than you might think.
I don’t say that to scare you or deter you away from any product at Trader Joe’s, just merely as something to be aware of. This holds true for anywhere you grocery shop!
Healthy Trader Joe’s Meals and Food by Category
I did my best to scope out the best healthy Trader Joe’s food for this list of dietitian approved Trader Joe’s item and Trader Joe’s grocery list!
Hopefully this will help you narrow down what to get next time you’re at the store! I plan to keep adding to this list in the future too! Here are the category lists:
- New to 2022
- Trader Joe’s Healthy Snacks
- Healthy Trader Joe’s Meals
- Trader Joes Salads
- Best Trader Joe’s Products
- Favorite Wines from Trader Joe’s
- Trader Joe’s Healthy Desserts
I also have a Trader Joe’s Shopping List you can download.
And I must say, hats off to the ideation team at Trader Joe’s because they really know what they’re doing year round and especially in the fall when pumpkin mania arrives!
When I first started @onceuponapumpkin, I shared all the crazy pumpkin foods that were coming out at Trader Joe’s at the time. Today they have over 150 pumpkin flavored items, which is crazy! I always look forward to what they come up with in the fall!
If you’re a pumpkin lover like me, be sure to check out this list of my favorite pumpkin foods from Trader Joe’s. Typically pumpkin mania starts at Trader Joe’s the first or second week of September so be sure to save that post for then!
And if you’re looking for some heart-healthy foods that Trader Joe’s has to offer, check out this list of the best heart-healthy foods Trader Joe’s according to dietitians (me and my colleagues!).
New Trader Joe’s Products in 2022
To start off, let’s talk about the great new additions in 2022 that I’ve found this year at Trader Joe’s! I’ve included them in the other categories as well, but thought they deserved their own spotlight off the bat. If you haven’t seen these in your store quite yet, I’ve linked each one so you can get a sneak peak of the packaging.
- Egg wraps
- Oat Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert Sandwiches
- Oat Chocolate Bars
- Vegan Ranch Crunch Salad Kit
- Chimichurri sauce
- Everything But The Bagel Seasoned Bite Sized Crackers
- Cauliflower Pizza Crusts
- Cauliflower Pancakes
- Gluten Free Norwegian Crispbread
- Ready Veggies
- Protein Palette
- Almond flour tortillas
40+ Trader Joe’s Healthy Snacks
Snacks on this list were deemed “healthy” based on their sugar content and their ability to be balanced when paired up with something else. Ex. dried mango + a handful of nuts. The combinations are endless!
Packaged Fruits/Veggies
- Organic dried apple rings
- Organic dried mango
- Avocado’s number guacamole to go
- Organic dehydrated carrots of many colors
- Freeze dried fruit
- Fruit leathers
- Seasoned kale chips
- Pitted salted manzanilla/ kalamata olive pouches
- Crispy crunchy okra
- Seed beet crackers
- Inner peas pea snack
- Cauliflower crisps
- Roasted seaweed snack
Nuts/Seeds
- Simply almonds, cashews & chocolate trek mix
- Happy trekking nut mix
- Thai lime & chili cashews
- Pumpkin seeds
- Mixed nut butter
- Crunchy salted peanut butter with flax & chia seeds
- Super seed and ancient grain blend
- Creamy unsweetened almond butter
- Sunflower butter (nut free)
- Pistachio nut meats
- Coconut sesame seed clusters
Legumes and Grains
- Corn, pea, bean & quinoa crisps
- Organic popcorn with olive oil
Dairy and Dips
- Organic plain low-fat greek yogurt
- Avocado tzatziki dip
- Organic creamy cashew fiesta dip (dairy free)
- Oven baked cheese bites (add these to charcuterie boards or on top of salads for a nice crunch.)
- Organic hummus
Bars/Protein On-the-Go
- RXBARs
- These peanuts go on a date bars
- Chomps meat sticks (find these at the checkout counter!)
Chips/Crackers/Crisps
- Everything but the gluten crackers
- Plantain chips
- Grainless tortilla chips
- Gluten free Norwegian crisp bread
- Peruvian potato chips
- Trail mix crackers
- Organic pita chips
- White cheddar puffs
- Peanut butter filled pretzels
- Almond butter filled pretzels (new!)
- Everything But The Bagel Seasoned Bite Sized Crackers
- Gluten Free Norwegian Crispbread
30+ Healthy Trader Joe’s Meals
Most of these items serve as a starting place for a meal and in most cases I recommend adding a source of protein or veggies. For example you could add chicken or fish to the Mexican-style cauliflower rice for a well-rounded meal.
Add these to your Trader Joe’s grocery list to help shortcut lunches and dinner during the week! Most are located in the frozen section.
- Mexican-style cauliflower rice (pair with chicken or shrimp for a more satisfying dinner)
- Riced cauliflower bowl
- Cauliflower gnocchi (pair with a protein + more veggies like spinach for a more satisfying meal)
- Riced cauliflower stir-fry
- Cauliflower pancakes
- Organic sweet Italian chicken sausage (all the chicken sausage flavors are good!)
- Gluten Free Cheese Pizza With A Cauliflower Crust (keep as is, or add your own veggies on top!)
- Organic yellow lentil & brown rice spaghetti
- Chicken burrito bowl
- Veggie gyoza potstickers
- Multigrain blend with vegetables
- Premium salmon burger
- Raw wild Argentinian red shrimp
- Quinoa cowboy veggie burgers
- Channa masala
- Chicken tika masla
- Carrot spirals (use in place of pasta or mix some in with your pasta for more fiber and vitamin A )
- Organic riced cauliflower
- Hi-Protein veggie burger
- Riced cauliflower stuffing
- Fully cooked organic quinoa (easy to use in grain bowls, salads or with chicken or fish in any meal)
- Fully cooked organic brown rice
- Quinoa duo
- Riced cauliflower and butternut squash risotto
- Wild salmon entree
- Cod provençal
- Butternut squash ravioli
- Harvest chili
- Jimca wraps
- Pizza dough
- canned Alaskan pink salmon
- Monteli pizza crust
- Vegan bolognese style pasta sauce
- Protein Palette
10+ Trader Joes Salads
My one disclaimer when it comes to the pre-made salad mixes at Trader Joe’s is that a lot of the dressings that come in the salad kits are made with a lot of ingredients, including soybean oil and added sugar which I’m not a fan of. I usually use my own dressing and skip the one that comes with. I recently tried their spicy cashew butter dressing though and it was awesome!
- Mediterranean style orzo pasta salad
- Organic Mediterranean style salad kit
- Peanut and crispy noodle salad kit
- Mexican style corn & quinoa salad
- Champs Elysees mix (my go-to greens for topping with more veggies and protein. It pairs well with any toppings and dressing!)
- Southwest salad
- Vegan ranch crunch
- Lemony arugula basil salad kit (don’t be afraid to add chicken, lentils, rice, or quinoa to any of these salads to give them more staying power.)
- Vegan Taco Salad Kit
- Asian vegetable stir-fry (find these near the salads in the produce section. It’s perfect for sautéing with chicken and Asian spices and sauces for a meal.)
- Vegan Ranch Crunch Salad Kit
35 Best Trader Joe’s Products
These products I consider Trader Joe’s MUST HAVES! They’re pantry, fridge and freezer staples that will help you shortcut healthy meals and snacks.
- Organic tahini
- Clarified butter (ghee)
- 10-minute farro
- Tri-color quinoa
- Cauliflower gnocchi (frozen section)
- Coconut oil/ coconut oil spray
- Avocado oil spray
- Steamed lentils (produce section)
- Organic brown rice (frozen section)
- Dark chocolate peanut butter cups
- Monteli pizza crust (frozen section)
- Peanut butter filled pretzels
- Pastrami-style smoked salmon
- Spicy cashew butter dressing (find this by the salads)
- Pepita salsa
- Salsa verde
- Egg frittata (frozen section)
- Chili onion crunch (awesome topping for veggies and chicken!)
- Vegan kale, cashew and basil pesto
- Herbal teas
- Spices & seasonings like everything but the bagel seasoning
- Raw almond butter
- New sparkling water: Lemon & Ginger (basically Spindrift!)
- Organic hummus
- Pre-cut brussels sprouts with garlic & olive oil (produce section)
- Gluten-free whole grain bread
- Quinoa wraps
- Simply almond beverage
- Hash brown patties (frozen section)
- Egg wraps
- Chimichurri sauce
- Cauliflower pizza crusts (frozen section)
- Cauliflower pancakes (frozen section)
- Ready veggies
- Almond flour tortillas
Favorite Wines from Trader Joe’s
Another love thing to love about Trader Joe’s? How cheap most of their wine is! Here are a couple of my favorite bottles I always get when I’m there and some new sustainable options that are under $10!
- Bread & Butter Pinor Noir
- Les Portes de Bordeaux sauvignon blanc
- The Pass sauvignon blanc
- Picton Bay sauvignon blanc
- Shaw organic wine (This is Trader Joe’s organic wine label and it’s super affordable organic option for both whites and reds!)
15+ Trader Joe’s Healthy Desserts
These desserts made my list of healthy desserts at Trader Joe’s based on their portion size, simplicity and sugar content.
- Hold the cone mini vanilla ice cream cones
- Dark chocolate peanut butter cups
- Gone bananas
- Cold brew latte dessert bars
- Dark chocolate drizzled plantain chips
- Gone berry crazy!
- Mini mint ice cream mouthfuls
- Dark chocolate salted caramel bar thin
- Amped-Up almonds
- 85% Dark chocolate bar from Uganda
- Mochi ice cream
- Organic 92% dark chocolate
- Scandinavian swimmers
- Dark chocolate covered caramels
- Dark chocolate covered almonds with turbinado sugar & sea salt
- Non-dairy frozen dessert chocolate fudge oat bars (dairy free, gluten free, vegan)
- Oat Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert Sandwiches
- Oat Chocolate Bars
For more, check out this list of best desserts from Trader Joe’s.
6 Healthy Trader Joe’s Recipes
My friend Mandi from Dash of Mandi has some of the most amazing healthy Trader Joe’s recipes I’ve ever seen! Here are a few that I especially love from her blog!
- Trader Joe’s potsticker stir-fry
- Trader Joe’s Thai Green Chili Shrimp
- Trader Joe’s Easy Vegetarian Quesadillas
- Trader Joe’s Mexican Street Corn Brussels Sprouts
- Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde Shrimp and Coconut Cauliflower Rice
- Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cauliflower Gnocchi Shakshuka
Trader Joe’s Shopping List
I plan to continue updating this post with more healthy foods from Trader Joe’s!
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Happy TJ’s hunting!
Did I miss a healthy product that you absolutely love from Trader Joe’s? Let me know in the comments!
Originally published April 2021, and updated April 2022.
