Does Trader Joe's Carry Rotisserie Chicken?

A store-bought rotisserie chicken is arguably one of the best grocery items that you can buy. It's tasty, convenient, and versatile — in fact, there are numerous ways to use up leftover rotisserie chicken, such as making chicken enchiladas or using it for stuffed peppers. Lucky for all of us, most grocery stores sell rotisserie chickens — but does Trader Joe's?

Unfortunately, Trader Joe's does not sell rotisserie chickens. This is, of course, a huge bummer for all Trader Joe's fans, as it's another item — along with popular name brand food items and everyday kitchen items like foil or plastic wrap — that TJ's doesn't carry. This means that, if you do most of your shopping at TJ's, then you have two options when it comes to how to fill the pre-made rotisserie chicken void. 

One option is to do the bulk of your grocery shopping at TJ's, then make a quick stop at another store for the rotisserie chicken — and be sure to check out our tips for buying the best rotisserie chicken. Or, your other option is to buy the closest thing that TJ's has to rotisserie chicken: Hardwood smoked pulled chicken.

The hardwood smoked pulled chicken from Trader Joe's comes fully cooked. It's pre-shredded and packaged, so all you have to do is heat the chicken in the microwave or oven. It costs $8.99 and contains about five servings in the package, with a total of one pound of chicken. Meanwhile, a Costco rotisserie chicken, for example, costs $4.99, which makes it around $1.66 per pound (as it's about 3 pounds total). In other words, you'll get more bang for your buck with a rotisserie chicken. 

A rotisserie chicken is also fresher and comes hot. However, you have to break it down and shred it yourself, so the TJ's chicken has an advantage there. Plus, you can use both products in many of the same ways — toss with barbecue sauce for a sandwich, make loaded nachos, or add to a salad.

As for the quality, TJ's fans on Reddit are a bit torn – some say that they think the chicken is dry, but many others either disagree or say that the slight dryness is easily masked with sauce. Considering the divided opinions, you'll just have to see if you enjoy the smoked pulled chicken enough to use it as a substitute for a classic rotisserie chicken.