Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs Review: The Price Is Thigh

Trader Joe's has quietly made a change in the pre-marinated meat section.

If you've been shopping there for a while, you might remember Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Autentico. That longtime product was made with chicken breasts, and when I reviewed it all the way back in 2018, it was selling for $3.99 per pound.

Fast forward to 2026 and the Pollo Asado Autentico appears to have left the building.

In its place we have Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs.

New cut. New package. New price.

And that last part is where things get interesting.

These are $6.99 per pound.

I understand that comparing grocery prices in 2018 to grocery prices in 2026 is basically an exercise in making yourself sad. Food costs have gone up considerably.

But there's another important difference here.

The old version used chicken breast.

This one uses chicken thighs, traditionally one of the more affordable cuts of chicken.

So at $6.99 per pound, these needed to bring some serious flavor to justify the convenience premium.

Unfortunately, they didn't.

Jump to:

• Review
• How Does It Compare to the Old Pollo Asado Autentico?
• Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs vs. Chicken Shawarma
• Serving Suggestions
• FAQs about Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs
• Final Thoughts
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Review

There are some positives here.

Chicken thighs are naturally more forgiving than chicken breasts. Their higher fat content means you've got a little more wiggle room during cooking before dinner starts resembling something you'd use to patch drywall.

Mine cooked up tender and juicy.

And because pollo asado loves high heat, this is an easy product to throw into a hot pan, onto the grill, or into the air fryer.

Minimal prep. Minimal cleanup. Dinner.

I absolutely understand the appeal.

The problem is that once I tasted the chicken, I kept coming back to that $6.99 per pound price tag.

Because the flavor just wasn't there for me.

Pollo asado should bring flavor.

You're typically dealing with an acidic marinade combined with seasonings and ingredients such as achiote that give the chicken both flavor and color.

Trader Joe's version certainly delivers on the acidic part.

That came through immediately.

But beyond that?

I wanted more.

The seasoning was much more subdued than I expected. I could taste the acidity of the marinade, but I didn't get the bold, deeply seasoned flavor that would make me excited about paying a premium for pre-marinated chicken.

And that's really the issue.

If I'm buying plain chicken thighs, seasoning them is my responsibility.

If I'm paying $6.99 per pound for someone else to marinate them for me, I'm expecting that marinade to do some heavy lifting.

Here, it felt like it called out sick.

I don't have a problem with Trader Joe's switching from chicken breasts to thighs.

From a cooking perspective, I actually understand it.

Chicken thighs are harder to dry out. They stand up well to high heat. They work beautifully on the grill and develop great browning in a hot pan.

For something like pollo asado, thighs make a lot of sense.

The finished chicken was tender and juicy, and I didn't have to babysit it.

So the cut isn't my complaint.

The price relative to the cut and the flavor is.

Let's Talk About That $6.99 Per Pound Price: this is where Trader Joe's lost me.

Chicken thighs are generally one of the more budget-friendly cuts in the meat department. Depending on where you shop and what's on sale, you can often find them for substantially less than $6.99 per pound.

Obviously, Trader Joe's isn't selling plain chicken here.

You're paying for convenience.

Someone has already trimmed the chicken, added the marinade, packaged it, and made dinner significantly easier for you.

There is value in that.

But convenience still has a price ceiling.

At $6.99 per pound, I want the marinade to be good enough that I couldn't easily reproduce something just as satisfying at home for substantially less.

I don't think this gets there.

Buy inexpensive chicken thighs elsewhere, add an acidic marinade and some seasoning, and you've potentially saved quite a bit of money.

Yes, that requires a few minutes of work.

But $6.99 per pound is a pretty hefty convenience tax when the flavor isn't memorable.

How Does It Compare to the Old Pollo Asado Autentico?

This is an interesting comparison because Trader Joe's didn't simply change the recipe.

They changed the cut of chicken too.

The old Pollo Asado Autentico used chicken breasts and sold for $3.99 per pound when I reviewed it in 2018.

The new Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs are $6.99 per pound.

That's a $3 per pound increase, or roughly 75% more than the price I paid for the old product.

Now, eight years of inflation obviously matters here. I wouldn't expect Trader Joe's to sell this for the same $3.99 today.

But seeing the price climb that dramatically while also moving from breast meat to thighs makes the value proposition harder for me to swallow.

Especially when the new version didn't wow me with flavor.

Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs vs. Chicken Shawarma

If I'm standing in Trader Joe's refrigerated section deciding which pre-marinated chicken deserves my money, this isn't much of a competition for me.

I'm reaching for the Chicken Shawarma Thighs.

Any day of the week.

The whole reason I buy pre-marinated meat is because I want someone else to handle the flavor.

I don't just want chicken that has technically spent some time sitting in liquid.

I want seasoning.

I want something I wouldn't have put together myself on a random Tuesday night.

And that's where the Chicken Shawarma Thighs remain the better purchase for me.

The Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs are tender.

They're convenient.

They're perfectly edible.

But they aren't memorable.

And Trader Joe's has another marinated chicken product sitting nearby that I'd rather bring home.

Serving Suggestions

If you do pick these up, they're versatile enough to turn into several easy meals.

Tacos: Slice the cooked chicken and add tortillas, salsa, avocado, cilantro, and lime.

Burrito bowls: Serve over rice with black beans, corn, salsa, cheese, and guacamole.

Salads: Slice the chicken over greens with avocado, tomatoes, corn, and a citrusy dressing.

Quesadillas: Chop the cooked chicken and add it to cheese quesadillas.

Meal prep: Pair with rice and roasted vegetables for an easy work lunch.

Nachos: Dice the chicken and scatter it over tortilla chips with cheese and your favorite toppings.

The relatively mild seasoning actually makes the chicken pretty versatile.

Unfortunately, versatility wasn't really what I was hoping to pay $6.99 per pound for.

FAQs about Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs

The following are commonly asked questions about this product:

Final Thoughts

Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs aren't bad.

And sometimes that's the problem.

At $6.99 per pound, I don't want to shrug at dinner.

The chicken itself cooked beautifully. It was tender, juicy, and incredibly easy to prepare. Chicken thighs were actually a smart choice for a product designed to be cooked quickly over high heat.

But I'm not paying $6.99 per pound just for Trader Joe's to hand me tender chicken thighs.

I'm paying for the marinade.

I'm paying for someone else to bring the flavor.

And that's where these fell short.

The acidity was there, but the seasoning never really showed up to the party. When chicken thighs can be purchased elsewhere for considerably less, I have a hard time justifying that premium for a marinade that didn't impress me.

If convenience is your number one priority, I can understand tossing these into your cart.

But if I'm already standing in front of Trader Joe's pre-marinated meats?

Move over, Pollo Asado.

I'm reaching for the Chicken Shawarma.