Neapolitan. The classic pairing of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. We first saw this recently with the seasonally available Neapolitan Joe Joe's. Now we are seeing it in Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal. Soon, we will revisit this combination where it all started: in ice cream but with Joe Joe's. Yup, they seem to be capitalizing on that varieties success.
Taste and review
Now, besides the flavor, this is kosher, gluten-free, and while not labeled as such, a quick glance through the ingredients appears to be vegan.
There are a few places I don't go too often at Trader Joe's. The cereal aisle. I have a love/hate relationship with cereal. I like it in small doses. And it better be special tasting.
I'm a fan of Special K with Red Berries. And growing up, Reeses Puffs were my go to choice. Otherwise, most cereals don't excite me one bit.
To be honest, I was excited about the flavor combination. But when you read the "made with beans and rice" bit, it doesn't sound quite as appealing. Sounds more like something that should be served with some enchilada sauce. But I'll pretty much try anything once.
So, I opened the bag and popped a few in my mouth. They were crispy and had a nice sheen. If ingredients weren't listed, I would not have guessed this was gluten-free.
Big score in my book.
After having the handful, I started having clusters of the same flavor. The vanilla puffs were pleasantly vanilla.
The strawberry puffs are decently strawberry, but upon closer examination, this is due to the coating. Bite into one and they have the same vanilla-looking interior. What they have done here, is use freeze-dried strawberries, to add intense strawberry flavoring. I just wish they had done that all the way through, as freeze-dried strawberries are excellent to bake with or blend into a powder.
The chocolate puffs are sufficiently chocolatey. I do wish they used cacao powder in place of cocoa powder to up the intensity. But not a deal-breaker as one flavor here shouldn't dominate.
Overall
For $3.69 this is still cheaper than many grocery store kinds of cereal of the same size.
Would I buy this again? I might buy Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal again. While I'm not a huge cereal fan, I did enjoy munching on this.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Product photos
The box of Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal:
Calories
Ingredients
How Trader Joe's describes this:
Out of the package you get:
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.
Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal
Product Name: Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal
Product Description: Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal is gluten free and has three flavors: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.
Price: $3.69
Summary
Trader Joe's Neapolitan Puffs Cereal has three flavors in one box: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.
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Taste
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Value
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Worthy of Repurchasing
Pros
- Gluten-free without feeling like you are missing anything
- Fun flavor combination for kids and adults
- A good amount of fiber in this cereal
Cons
- They could have upped the flavors just a bit more.
Alek says
I like the retro groovy design on it. I think it would make excellent cereal treats too. Also a bonus sneaking some nutrition in there with beans for the kids. Smart thinking TJ's. It reminds me of the cocoa puffs scoops cereal; similar. Also the irony is that TJ's haven't done actual Neapolitan ice cream yet. They could do neopolitian hold the cone.
https://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2017/06/08/review-limited-edition-cocoa-puffs-ice-cream-scoops-cereal/
becomebetty says
Hey Alek! Don't worry the Neapolitan Ice cream is happening soon: https://www.thekitchn.com/trader-joes-new-groceries-2019-february-podcast-266647
Thanks as always for stopping by!
Dagmar says
Hmmmm..... sounds interesting but not interesting enough for me to buy it. I am also not a big cereal eater. Although that said everything is looking good right now and I'm going through Trader Joe's withdrawal. We have been having the biggest snowstorms that Seattle proper has seen in 70 years. We were actually never get snow in this part of Seattle . I live up a big hill up from the Space Needle and then my apartment complex is on another huge steep hill so I have been trapped since Friday. No snow removal and no remote chance of even getting out of my complex. And I so want to go to Trader Joe's but not even sure they are open. Hopefully when I dig myself out within the next few days.....whimper. I could really use two or three of those Cadillac Margaritas right now!
becomebetty says
Hey Dag! I'm sorry to hear about all of your snow. I'm in a hilly area and I know the struggle. I hope Trader Joe's has food after the storm. I know that snow tended to lead to shelf clearing. And yes, nothing wrong with having a margarita to make that house bound feeling more tolerable. Hope everything gets better and winter ends ASAP for you.
Ttrockwood says
I was just at the store a few days ago and didn’t see this! I usually keep cereal around for snacking on dry, or maybe ontop of yogurt but not a fan of it in (vegan) milk. This does look to be vegan, and I’m really annoyed that TJs stopped putting the V in a circle emblem on products the way they used to.
I’ll definitely pick this up, nutritional info looks similar to my favorite snacking cereal Puffins which is also incidentally gf yet you wouldn’t know it.
becomebetty says
Hey Ttrockwood! I feel the same way about having to guess on certain items. I don't want to misrepresent any product in anyway and it would be helpful for most people to quickly glance at the package and make the best determination for themselves. Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to find this!
Adrienne Lehtinen says
If an item is labeled gluten free, I believe it needs to be tested and comply with the FDA gluten regulations. This is an added cost for manufacturers. This may explain why many products which do not appear to have gluten are not labeled as such.
becomebetty says
Hey Adrienne! Thanks for that. It's just frustrating from a consumer standpoint where you can look at the ingredients and say "well this SHOULD be" gluten free as opposed to it being labeled. We've actually had a similar discussion about that issue with vegan products as well. But again, I would love to see more clarity here for the end consumer. It's not a big deal for me personally, but I know other people it absolutely is. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing!
Lucy Romao Vandepol says
I tried this cereal today for the first time and because I don't like milk with cereal, I usually just snack on it or turn it into cereal french toast - 1 cup of cereal, 1/3 cup of egg white and in the microwave for 90 seconds. I felt like a big kid eating it this morning. It's a fun once in a while cereal. Higher in sugar than I would like but it was also higher in protein than most cereals.
becomebetty says
Hey Lucy! Thanks so much for sharing this suggestion! I love the idea here. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to stop by and share.