Trader Joe's Vegetable Birds Nests

The pros: Trader Joe's Vegetable Birds Nests is a quick appetizer ready in about 10 minutes. If you enjoy fritters, you'll probably like this. Sauce was a very tasty tempura sauce. You probably won't even need the second packet. Nests are good on their own, but the sauce is what really makes them.

The cons:  While this looks like it would be a healthy choice in the appetizer section, it is tempura fried. While you might be expecting veggies here, it's mostly onion. It felt very greasy on my hands and may benefit from sitting on a paper towel for a minute or two.

The verdict:  For $3.29 this should be called a tempura fried veggie fritter. Without the sauce, these are greasier than I would have liked. The predominant vegetable being used was onions with small shreds of carrots and even smaller pieces of kale. The taste may even remind you of a tempura fried onion ring. It had good texture considering it is a freezer item. The two packets of dipping sauce added a nice salty balance to the bird's nests. I only opened one and never needed the other one to dip all 8 nests into. It would also be a good dipping sauce to go with Trader Joe’s Sriracha Seafood Potstickers. As long you would embrace a lot of tempura fried onions this would be a good item to pick up to share between 2-3 people.

The box:

The nutritional information:

The ingredients:

Trader Joe's description of the product and how to prepare:

Out of the package you get:

Going into the toaster oven:

After being cooked you get:

And one for a pretty presentation:

Would I buy this again? For me Trader Joe's Vegetable Birds Nests is a yes. It's not something I would buy every week, but it's something good to keep on hand if you are having a party or want a quick and inexpensive appetizer to go with your meal. The meal doesn't necessarily have to be Asian to appreciate this. Anywhere a vegetable fritter would go, this can go to. Just understand that this will also remind you of an onion ring with carrots and specks of kale.

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.

Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!