We Tasted And Ranked 14 Trader Joe's Chicken Products

Chicken may not be the flashiest protein, but it's reliable and economical. In the United States, chicken consumption has grown steadily for decades as people's diets have shifted away from red meat to focus more on the leaner, lighter poultry. If you're a Trader Joe's shopper, there's an embarrassment of riches on your hands when it comes to chicken -– any way you can imagine the bird, Trader Joe's has a product for you.

Chicken is extremely versatile, and Trader Joe's takes advantage of that in spades. Whether served on a salad, decadently deep-fried and tossed in sauce, or shredded and mixed into a game day dip, chicken is the journeyman star of dozens of Trader Joe's items. I've narrowed it down to a few favorites here, and in a bird-versus-bird showdown, ranked each according to value and, of course, deliciousness. Read on to see which birds should fly their way into your basket, and which ones you might want to leave behind in the coop.

Let me start by saying that I'm a Caesar salad fanatic. I'll take any combination of crunchy greens, crispy croutons, salty cheese, briny, oily anchovies, and creamy dressing and enjoy the heck out of it. That's why this version bummed me out. I wanted to love it, and there are elements that work, but overall, it was the biggest disappointment of the lot. 

The best part was the fresh and vibrant baby kale. The dressing wasn't mind-blowing, but it was a flavorful, peppery, and creamy, and there's plenty of it. The ciabatta croutons were properly crunchy, and there was a generous amount of shaved cheese. 

With all of that going for it, why is this salad in last place? Well, this is a ranking of chicken products, and that's where it falls short. There wasn't much chicken, and what was there was underwhelming at best. I had a few pieces that were chewy and stringy, and all of it was bland. Also, this salad is the third priciest item on the list — organic is a few bucks more, understandably — but even so, there's not much here for the money.

Cooking this Chicken Shawarma Bowl was a debacle. The box lists both microwave and conventional oven directions, and when given the choice, I always opt for conventional (full disclosure, I am currently without a microwave, so essentially the choice was made for me). Using a regular oven, the instructions say to allot for 40 minutes of cooking time, which seems excessive for such a small portion of food. After the recommended time, the center of the bowl was still frozen. To reach the listed safe temperature of 165 degrees F, this dish took almost an entire hour.

Once it was finally ready to eat, I thought, there's no way this will be worth it, even if it's amazing. Reader, it was not. Although the warm spicy aromas wafting from this dish were mouthwatering, the flavors and textures were way off-balance. For the first several bites, all I could taste was cumin and turmeric. Great spices, but I felt like I was eating powder straight from the container. Where was the salt? The bits of bell pepper were rather flavorless and had an almost slimy texture, so I tried to eat around them. The chicken itself was tender and meaty, and the rice was cooked well. Overall, though, I didn't enjoy the experience of cooking or eating this dish.

As I mentioned, my kitchen is currently microwave-less, so imagine my surprise when I got this Mandarin Style Orange Chicken Bowl home and saw only microwave directions on the box. Every other dish I've had from Trader Joe's offers at least two options for preparation, and the orange chicken they sell on its own has instructions for microwave, conventional oven, and air fryer. Using the other chicken and rice bowls as guidelines, I decided to wing it, so the final product I made is probably not the way the dish is intended to taste. This was pretty obvious in the way the rice turned out, which was way overcooked and dried out along the edges.

The rest of the dish, though, was just fine. I've had the orange chicken on its own a few times, and for a home version of the Chinese take-out classic (which was actually invented in Hawaii), it's pretty good. The breading texture is a little soft, especially after you toss it in the orange sauce, but it still has some crunchiness to it, and the chicken itself is rich, meaty, and tender. I want that orange sauce to have a bit more of a kick — it comes across as too sweet for me. If I got this again, I'd cook the rice and chicken separately — that said, I probably won't get this again.

I'm a big fan of many of Trader Joe's frozen pastas, and even ranked 12 of them, but I've never tried any of its refrigerated ones. I love a long, flat noodle, so I decided to give this Cajun Style Fettucine Alfredo with Blackened Chicken a shot. Overall, it's not bad, and you get a lot of food in one package. If you're looking for an easy to make, quick, hearty pasta dish, it's perfectly serviceable. If you're expecting a banging flavor-packed Cajun explosion, though, you'll likely be disappointed.

There's a peppery bite to the chicken and the sauce, but it fades away pretty quickly. The Parmesan sauce never quite came together for me, so it seemed more like the noodles and chicken were tossed in butter or oil, without any of the creaminess you typically get from an alfredo dish. The chicken itself was fine, although for something calling itself blackened, it didn't have much in the way of spicy heat. The chicken pieces were also quite large, making them difficult to eat with the noodles. A few tweaks could make this good, but as-is, it's pretty underwhelming.

One quick look at the food on the plate and the photo on the container and you can see that this Chicken Breast Parmigiana was not a rousing success. I swear there was mozzarella on top of the chicken before I cooked it, but somehow it completely disintegrated into the marinara sauce. That said, while it certainly didn't look photogenic, this dish was delicious. It's the most expensive item on this list, but for two sizable pieces of chicken breast, it comes out to be a good deal.

The chicken is really the star here. Satisfyingly meaty, the breasts didn't have a trace of dryness or gristle. Every bite was tender, well-seasoned, and flavorful. The breading got somewhat soggy in the sauce — a common problem that can be easily fixed if you're making chicken parm yourself — but it still added a touch of texture. The thick marinara sauce was deeply rich, with lots of bright Italian herb notes dancing along a roasted tomato base. If the mozzarella had held on instead of melting into oblivion, this might have ranked higher. If I get this again, which I very well may, I'll probably add some extra cheese toward the end of cooking.

Of the bowls I tried for this ranking, the Green Chile Chicken Bowl was the best by leaps and bounds. I'm always a sucker for a good green sauce, whether it's salsa made with bright, tangy tomatillos or mole verde, so I'm not surprised that the flavors here worked well for me. The heat is subtle and balanced with freshness, which is exactly what you want with a green chile dish.

The dark meat chicken was moist and flavorful and there was plenty of it shredded throughout the dish, so I got some in every bite. I enjoyed the texture of the rice, which was fluffy and brightly seasoned with flecks of cilantro. I only wish there had been more cheese, as the few bites I got that had melted cheddar in them were perfect, and once it was gone the rest seemed to be missing something. Same goes for sauce — while the dish wasn't unpleasantly dry, there wasn't really any detectable sauce. A bit more moisture could have brought everything together. 

Chicken pot pie is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods, so the idea of turning one into a pasty-like hand pie struck me as genius. There's so much good stuff going on with this product that I feel guilty putting it mid-list, but this is where the ranking starts to get competitive and I have to make some painful decisions. With that in mind, while this isn't ranked closer to the top, I'm still planning on grabbing a box the next time I head to Trader Joe's.

I threw these pies in the air fryer, and they cooked fairly well, although next time I'll probably add some oil to give the pastry some sheen. I'll also flip them halfway through cooking so that the top and bottom brown more evenly. Still, the pastry held together perfectly, which is crucial for a hand pie. It was just thick enough with a flaky, buttery texture. The filling is where this snack truly excels, with a rich, classic pot pie flavor, tender peas and carrots, and enough meaty chicken to make this feel like a meal. When you get the center bites, with the thickest filling, they're exquisite. Some of the outer edges, though, lack any filling flavor, which is my only gripe. 

I've been eating tamales my entire life. To me, there are few things as satisfying as unwrapping a delicate corn husk and smelling the aroma of freshly cooked masa. Because my bar for tamales is high, I didn't expect to be impressed by Trader Joe's frozen version. A few bites of one of these chicken and cheese tamales, though, sunk me deep into a pool of nostalgia for past Christmas Eve parties and afternoons searching for the best tamale street cart.

As one always should, I cooked these by steaming them. The masa aroma immediately filled my kitchen with the smell of sweet corn. What most impressed me was the moisture and texture — I've had some tamales that were dried out, and many that crumbled and fell apart, but these stayed in one piece. The ratio of filling to masa is well-calibrated, too, so you get equal amounts of both in every bite. There's great depth of flavor to the chicken, pops of sweetness from corn kernels, and a warm, spicy heat that brings everything together. I didn't get much in the way of cheese, but they tasted so good I didn't care.

You can't convince me that there's any food category in the world better than dumplings. Across all cultures, dumplings always deliver, and there's a special place in my heart for potstickers. Trader Joe's Chicken Gyoza Potstickers check every box: The filling and dough are both tasty and nicely textured, they're easy and quick to cook up in a pan, and you can't beat the value — this is a big bag of dumplings, and will only run you a few bucks.

There's really nothing about these to criticize. The chicken inside is juicy and has a little zip of ginger, and the dough is silky yet solid. When I incorporated sauces into the mix, I realized that the flavor of the dumplings is actually quite delicate, and became easily overwhelmed by soy sauce and especially chili oil. There may be a perfect dip out there for these particular potstickers, but I ran out of dumplings before I found it. They're quite tasty without any accoutrements, but their mellowness is something to keep in mind.

These crispy little golden pockets didn't just impress me with their delicious flavor — they sent me on a journey in which I reminisced about all of the samosas I've had in my life and considered that Trader Joe's has hit on the ideal size and shape for this treat. The filling to dough ratio of these mini Chicken Tikka Samosas is calibrated to deliver the perfect proportions of flaky, golden layers of pastry and tender bites of spiced chicken. I didn't suffer a single mouthful that wasn't packed with flavor and texture.

I prepared these samosas in my air fryer, and they cooked through uniformly, with a slick golden sheen on the outside and steaming hot, aromatic chicken once I cracked them open. I happened to have some Trader Joe's chimichurri in my fridge, and it turned out to be a fantastic accompaniment, cooling the warm Indian spice flavors reminiscent of a homemade green mint and cilantro chutney. Sauce is optional, though, because the filling has enough tang and heat to stand on its own.

Of all of the full meals I tasted for this ranking, the Butter Chicken with basmati rice was far and above the best. Compared to the other chicken meals which were about twice the price, and the bowls which were generally mediocre, this dish hit all the right sweet spots.

The butter chicken sauce is wonderfully lush and rich, and the chicken comes in big meaty pieces that are fork-tender and melt in your mouth. The rice is plain, but cooks up well so it's soft without being mushy, and the ratio of sauce to rice is perfect so that you can make sure each grain gets coated in it. I actually wished there was a little bit more sauce, because I love sopping it up with naan, but I also appreciate that there's just enough for the dish as it comes. Quick and easy to prepare, this is a chicken dish I will definitely have in my freezer so I can have a satisfying dinner on busy nights when I'm in the mood for Indian take-out.

As a longtime fan of Trader Joe's Buffalo Style Chicken Dip, I considered this the item that the other chicken products would have to knock off of its pedestal. To be honest, I'm surprised anything else beat it for the top spot, and am even more surprised with myself that I placed it third. Even so, though it's not the crowned victor, I consider this dip to be one of Trader Joe's best items, hands-down, chicken or no. You'll find it in my fridge on just about any given day.

This dip is good hot, it's good cold, great with veggies or corn chips, and I can't say I haven't eaten it with a spoon. With just the right kick of cayenne heat tempered by a rich, creamy base and generous chunks of chicken, you get all of the delicious flavor of the best buffalo chicken wings without the hassle of bones or the saucy mess. If they ever discontinue this dip, I'm rioting in the streets.

The only problem with Trader Joe's Chicken Soup Dumplings is that there aren't nearly enough of them. This is the least expensive item on this list, though, so I can't even be mad at the small portion. With six to a box, these dumplings came out to about 50 cents each, and let me tell you, I got way more than two quarters' worth of enjoyment out of each one. 

The meaty filling is similar here to the gyoza, but because these also contain soup, it comes across as more flavorful and juicy. Sometimes with soup dumplings I find that there can be too much dough, but the thickness and texture with these is spot on — just enough to hold in all of the succulent, savory filling without dulling its flavor. I dipped a few of these in soy sauce, but found I liked them better unadorned. I will be treating myself to multiple boxes of these little wonders on my next TJ's grocery run.

The winner of my Trader Joe's chicken free-for-all came as a surprise, but these Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs excited me more than anything else they came up against. They excel in every category. For value, you get over 20 small-yet-hearty meatballs for less than $5. They're easy to prepare and offer lots of options. I air-fried them, which resulted in beautifully browned, crisp and juicy meatballs, but you can also oven-bake or microwave them. They're already cooked so they don't take long to warm up.

What really sets this product apart is its versatility. You can pop these meatballs into your mouth straight out of the fryer like I did, or you can toss them with pasta, throw them on a sandwich roll, serve them over rice, or top a salad. My mind spins with possibilities. They are packed with flavor and juiciness, with a lovely interplay of sweet pineapple and savory umami, as well as a subtle kick from ginger and garlic. I made a little soy dipping sauce for them, but it's unnecessary. Everything you need is stuffed into these little round packages. I can't wait to play around with these in the kitchen.

The vast array of chicken-centric items at Trader Joe's is quite extensive, so the first step was narrowing down the selection. I opted for a variety of items of multiple types: appetizers, meals, and snacks, sticking to items that are crafted and composed dishes. Once the selection was made, I cooked and tasted each product on its own and evaluated it based on flavor, value, and ease of preparation. 

In the end, the ranking came down to one major question: How likely am I to purchase it again? The higher the product is ranked, the faster I plan to head back to Trader Joe's to get myself more of it.