Trader Joe's Is Rolling Out Stuffing-Flavored Popcorn Ahead Of Thanksgiving
If your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner isn't the turkey or the mashed potatoes but the stuffing, Trader Joe's has the snack for you: stuffing-flavored popcorn. A fall snack that lands more on the savory side than the pumpkin-spice side, TJ's newest seasonal popcorn flavor combines the buttery crunch of popcorn with the autumn-forward spices of sage, celery seed, thyme, parsley, and black pepper. It also contains onion powder, molasses powder, and yeast for an extra blast of umami.
A five-ounce bag will ring up at $2.99 before tax (prices may vary by location or, as posted on the Trader Joe's website, "fluctuating market prices, federal regulations, currency rates, drought, bandits, rush hour traffic, filibusters, zombie apocalypse, punctilious product developers"). It might not be the right popcorn to use in a marshmallowy popcorn ball, but it could be interesting in a bacon-laced popcorn ball recipe. TJ's recommends mixing it with dried cranberries and candied pecans.
Alternatively, you could use it as an added crunch by putting some of the popcorn on a turkey burger for a twist on a Thanksgiving sandwich.
Expanding the stuffing line — with mixed results
Trader Joe's original stuffing-flavored snack was its Thanksgiving stuffing seasoned kettle chips. Though the chips' ingredients list isn't as detailed as that of the popcorn, it's likely to be the same seasoning blend. The chips are reportedly "delicious dipped in cranberry sauce," according to one consumer on Reddit.
The reception was mixed in the comments of the announcement post from the popular Trader Joe's watchdog Instagram account, Trader Joe's Obsessed. Some commenters are anxiously awaiting the return of the stuffing chips or speculating that if the popcorn is similar enough to stuffing chips, it could be good. One commenter got to try the popcorn a few weeks ago and reported that "it was amazing." Others, though, are a lot less excited, including one commenter who exclaimed that the popcorn was "NOT for [their] taste buds!!!" Those who aren't stuffing-seasoning inclined continue to await the arrival of maple popcorn and white truffle popcorn (or lament the loss of Trader Joe's candy corn-flavored popcorn).
The popcorn seems to be rolling out to Trader Joe's stores fairly quickly, with reports of it hitting shelves on October 23. For those who don't have it yet and can't wait, TJ's may have a bottle of its "everything but the leftovers" seasoning, which is similar to the seasoning blend used on the chips and popcorn but with the addition of rosemary.