Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
I love croissants. They’re more than just bread. They are bread that loves you. And I like it. I’ve tried anything croissant related at Trader Joe’s. I’ve bought more boxes of Chocolate Croissants than I care to discuss. I love the Almond Croissants just as much. I keep a box of the Ham & Cheese Croissants around in case I want a quick and light lunch.
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I love a good coffee cake. In fact, I posted a recipe here for an easy crumb cake just the other night if you feel like turning your oven on. If you aren’t in baking, here is a store bought option for you. However, this Trader Joe’s Pancake Bread isn’t quite a coffee cake. It’s not quite a pancake either.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s 8 Mini Croissants are new and replace the frozen ones you have to proof. Don’t worry though, the Chocolate and Almond croissants are still in the frozen aisle.
The cons: If you imagined (like I did) that these would be about the size of say a crescent roll, then you will be surprised by how much they puff up. This bag is not resealable. They are made in Belgium.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s 27 Layer Sesame Croissini is new to shelves and if you enjoy snacking on breadstick, you’ll find this enjoyable.
The cons: I’m not sure why the package says eat while warm. It was good warm, but the flaky layers were much improved at room temperature. Not many of my croissinis were twisted out of the box. I’m not sure if this is a defect or something to expect.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sprouted Whole Grain Pizza Crust is a thin and healthy alternative to a regular pizza crust.
The cons: Can be an awkward size if you are going to store this for any amount of time.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pain Au Lait is a nice light French bread that while perfect for breakfast, I can totally justify eating this during other meals as well.
The cons: Nothing jumped to my mind.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Biscuits are basic biscuits in a can.
The cons: If you are hoping for lots of flakey layers here, you’ll probably be disappointed. You’ll also have to reshape these before baking to avoid oddly shaped biscuits. The can was a pain to open.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Cheese and Garlic Croutons have a good cheese and garlic flavoring to them. Comes in a very pretty packaging.
The cons: Considering this bag only four ounces of croutons, these are very overpriced. Some of the croutons were not bite sized.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Artisan Brioche Rolls are just as magical as Trader Joe’s Brioche Bread. If you’ve tried the brioche bread, then this is just as good.
The cons: At $3.99 for six rolls, it is a bit pricey, but well done.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Classic Hamburger Buns are basic buns.
The cons: These are completely average hamburger buns.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Plain Bagels are very basic plain bagels.
The cons: These do not do bagels justice.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Tandoori Naan is quick and tasty bread straight from the freezer.
The cons: It’s plain, but odds are you aren’t eating this by itself.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Handmade White Tortillas are super tasty and very fresh tasting. These are imperfectly shaped which makes them seem a bit more homemade.
The cons: I wish these were available in more sizes and I wish I could find this on a more consistent basis.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s French Brioche is a delicious, light and buttery bread. It was buttery bread that was as fresh as can be. Toasted it was light as a feather with a sublime taste. While I haven’t tried it as French Toast, I image it will be quite good.
The cons: Sharing this product will lead to the bag being emptied almost immediately.
The verdict: …
The pros: Stew Leonard’s Garlic Bread is super convenient, has the nutritional information, bread was very fresh
The cons: Under buttered (margarine) and not quite enough garlic
The verdict: …
If you are from New York, you probably know good bagels. If you don’t enjoy waiting in line for your bagel and happen to be in the area of Stew Leonard’s, then you should try their bagels. They have a lot to choose from. They have the expected flavors: plain, sesame, poppy, salt and everything. They also offer the unexpected flavors: rainbow and Cheetos Flaming Hot bagels. Thus, there is something for everyone, so don’t wait until closing because like any good bagel store, the selection dwindles as it nears closing time. While Stew Leonard’s Bagels range from the mundane to social media knock offs, you’ll have to go some where else for a variety of cream cheese flavors….
The pros: If you are a fan of Arnold’s Sandwich Thins, Trader Joe’s Multi Grain Slims is pretty darn similar. High fiber and only 100 calories.
The cons: High fiber, so if you aren’t used to much fiber in your diet these might be a shock to your system.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Italian Breadsticks with Olive Oil are light and airy. These are perfect for snacking.
The cons: If you like very dense breadsticks, you might not like these. Some of mine came out of the package broken. The problem was addressed by immediately eating all of them first.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Soft Handmade Pretzel is everything you would hope for in a big soft pretzel…
The cons: …except for the salt (but that is a matter of preference). This big pretzel is four full servings if you are counting calories, be sure to share with someone. However, it should be noted that if you are truly missing the salt you could add Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning and have an everything pretzel. Just saying.
The verdict: …
The pros: Makes for a fantastic grilled cheese, seems more like real bread, very different from something like Wonderbread. Good taste for a white bread and good texture. Will keep on your countertop for about a week. Freezes well if you don’t need it right away. It’s Kosher, it’s made in the USA even though it’s called “Canadian.”
The cons: No preservatives so don’t expect a nuclear shelf life.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pizza Crust are huge pizza crusts that yield 4-6 generous slices each. When brushed with oil and placed in the oven, the crust was crisp. If you are looking for thin crust, this isn’t it, it’s just shy of being Sicilian style thick. Nice flavor of the bread, but the topping is meant to be the highlight.
The cons: None that I can think of.
The verdict: …
The pros: Super quick, tasty, well done ciabatta flat bread. Trader Joe’s Rustic Ciabatta Flatbread is a blank canvas for you to experiment with. With how large the lettering was on the package they could have given some good recipe suggestions.
The cons: It won’t result in the most amazing pizza you’ve ever had and you’ll have to buy this several times to be able to experiment.
The verdict: …
The pros: If you like pancakes and English muffins, then this is likely for you as Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Crumpets taste like a hybrid of both. Pleasant but not overwhelming taste of cinnamon. Went well with butter and jam. Low in calories so you can have 2 of these without much guilt.
The cons: Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Crumpets are a bit plain on its own.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan is a very tasty bread that has just the right amount of garlic and cilantro.
The cons: Heating up an oven to 400F for a cook time of 2 minutes. Cilantro might not be for everyone. Should possibly have way to heat this up in the microwave. (I found 30-40 seconds on high made it just warm without giving up too much from heating it in the toaster oven)
The verdict: …
