Every Trader Joe's Indian Food Item, Ranked

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India boasts one of the most diverse and flavorful cuisines in the world. The generous use of spices gives Indian food its signature aromatic intensity and flavor complexity, but it's also what makes it daunting to cook from scratch. Thankfully, you don't have to invest in tons of whole spices or go out to your nearest Indian eatery to satisfying your cravings — it's as easy as heading down to your nearest Trader Joe's. 

The grocery chain offers a dizzyingly vast rainbow of Indian-inspired dishes spanning the country's many regional styles. From snacks to sides to complete meals, mellow and mild dishes to ones brimming with spicy heat, Joe has it all covered when it comes to Indian fare. There are so many options, in fact, that shoppers might be overwhelmed when trying to choose, but not to worry. I've tasted and ranked every Trader Joe's Indian food item I could get my hands on to make your decision a little easier.

Kitchari is a pan-Indian lentils and grain dish that's meant to be cleansing, balancing, and comforting, so it's typically quite mild; therefore, I wasn't expecting to be bombarded with flavor. Still, I found Trader Joe's version to be incredibly bland. I went back to it over several days, thinking I had to be missing something, wondering if it only seemed boring because I'd tried so many incredibly flavorful items in quick succession and had burned out my palate.

Despite the litany of spices listed as ingredients, I had a hard time picking up any of those flavors. The dish has a pleasant enough porridge-like texture, with toothsome grains and legumes as well as vegetables like carrots and peas. It's got some nuttiness, but not much else going on. It's not unpleasant in any way, but I struggled to find anything interesting about it. I'll stick to making my own kitchari.

There are as many variations of biryani as there are stars in the sky, but the base recipe is rice, spices, and typically some type of protein cooked slowly, either together in a single pot or separately and then layered. While Trader Joe's vegetable biryani has some things going for it, the dish as a whole doesn't quite come together.

Of all the items on this list including rice, this was the least successful, with the grains sticky and a bit mushy. The vegetable dumplings were the highlight, with a tender and airy texture and satisfyingly savory taste. They couldn't stand up to the overwhelming flavor of bell pepper in the rice, though, and a biryani with subpar rice isn't a biryani I have any interest in eating.

While all of the other items featured here are either frozen or shelf-stable, I found Trader Joe's chicken tikka masala in the refrigerated section. There is a frozen version, too, but it wasn't available at my location. This meal comes in a divided container with basmati rice on one side, chicken and sauce on the other. There's a lot of rice in the package, and it's completely unflavored and unseasoned, which makes this a questionable value given that it's the most expensive item on this list.

The chicken itself was grainy, and while the sauce had a nice thick, creamy texture, it was overly sweet and not spicy enough to balance that out. It reminded me a bit of American tomato-based barbecue sauces that are a little too close to ketchup for my liking. There are much better Indian chicken dishes on this list.

All told, I tried four varieties of Trader Joe's Indian breads, and they're all pretty darn good. This garlic Indian style flatbread takes the lowest spot only because I wished it were significantly heavier on the garlic. As someone who basically worships the pungent bulb, that might just be a me problem — it's entirely possible there's enough garlic flavor here to please most people's palates. For me, though, it was lacking.

That said, the texture of the bread is pleasantly soft and pillowy. One piece is the perfect size for mopping up sauce; when you do that, though, the garlic flavor fades even further into the background.

The traditional Indian style flatbread worked better for me than the garlic version, which is something I never thought I'd say. At least in the batches I got, these flatbreads had a bit more char and structure than the garlic ones, while still exhibiting the same soft doughy quality. That bit of extra sturdiness made them the perfect accompaniment to the saucy dishes in this ranking.

The directions recommend heating the flatbreads in the oven and brushing them with butter, but neither of those steps is necessary (though it does make them decadently delicious). I found their flavor and texture just as appealing butterless and at room temperature.

While the word "tikka" in Indian cooking simply means small bits or morsels, it can also refer to the preparation of these morsels — meat, cheese, or vegetable pieces — in a spice-laden marinade. Here in Trader Joe's tikka vegetables dish, peas, carrots, corn, and potatoes simmer in a sauce of tomato and cream that's packed with heat and flavor.

There's a sharp intensity to the spice mix here, with cardamom leading the vibrant aromatics. The texture of each vegetable is unique, lending variety to each bite's mouthful. This is a bright and punchy dish that's also a breeze to cook — simply microwave, or drop the pouch in boiling water for a few minutes and it's ready to go. While I enjoyed this dish, it didn't have quite the same depth as some of the others.

When it comes to vegan dishes, I usually prefer those that don't try to emulate real meat. It never quite works, and I always feel like something is missing. The substitute meat chunks in Trader Joe's vegan tikka masala, made with soy, flour, and savory spices, for example, aren't bad — they have a decent amount of flavor, and their texture is tender. They just taste like they're pretending to be something they're not.

That said, I preferred this dish to the refrigerated chicken tikka masala, and would take these artificial meat chunks over grainy, dry chicken any day. This rice was more flavorful, too, with hints of warm, earthy cumin. Like the chicken version, this sauce came across as too sweet to me. Still, for a vegan meal, it's flavorful, inexpensive, and simple to prepare.

I frequently make naan from scratch, because I absolutely love it when it's fresh, hot, and blistered — though I don't have my own tandoor, I use a cast-iron skillet to get that charred, smoky quality. I love my naan, and I was a little skeptical that Trader Joe's frozen version could live up to my expectations. Turns out, these breads are pretty good, and definitely a convenient, time-saving, and economical alternative to making your own.

Compared to the softer, fluffier Indian style flatbreads, this frozen tandoori naan has a lot more texture. The bottom gets nice and crispy, while the bread stays pliable and airy. The bread itself doesn't have much flavor, but its neutralness makes it an ideal vessel and heat-dampener for robust, spicy dishes.

Tadka, which means tempering, is a technique utilized in Indian cooking that brings out extra dimensions of spice. Also called chhonk, baghaar, or countless other names depending on where in India you are, tadka consists of heating fat — typically oil or ghee — and then adding spices, and letting them bloom. This aromatic, intensely flavored fat is then incorporated into the dish, either at the beginning or end of the cooking process. It's a technique that seriously deepens and elevates a dish.

I found the magic of tadka missing from Trader Joe's yellow tadka dal, but the dish was still quite tasty. The mix of warm spices and hot chilies worked well with yellow lentils that melt in your mouth. It's a comforting, soft and savory dish. I just expect a little more punch of aromas and flavors when I see the word tadka.

Vindaloo is one of those dishes that's evolved over the centuries, with Portuguese traders, Goan cooks, and British colonizers all adding to the recipe's rich and varied history. In western interpretations of the dish, vindaloo is typically known for being on the hotter end of the spiciness scale, and Trader Joe's has definitely gone in that direction — this sauce offers the strongest chile kick by far.

While the sauce was enjoyably fiery, as the box promises, the rest of the dish was lacking. The chicken breast was fairly dry and grainy, making me wish they'd used thighs instead for better flavor and juiciness. The sauce, though, kept me coming back for more, with its vinegary tang and vibrant heat.

Of the various tikka masala dishes at Trader Joe's, the paneer tikka masala is the one I'm most likely to have again. Like with the others, I found the sauce a little too sweet and lacking in heat, but each element in this dish worked together pretty well to create a satisfying meal. 

The spinach basmati rice adds a lovely earthiness to the dish that balances the rich, roasted sauce and creamy, chewy paneer, making each bite more complex and texturally satisfying than the other tikka masalas. If there were just a little bit more fire in the sauce, that balance of creaminess, earthiness, and heat would truly sing.

You'll never see me turn down a coconut curry, so I expected to love this offering from Trader Joe's. I did enjoy it quite a bit, but I had a few nitpicks that kept it from shooting higher in the rankings. Like the other pouches, this coconut chickpea curry is affordably priced and incredibly quick and easy to prepare.

The sauce was a bit too watery, which diminished the whole dish's intensity. That's unfortunate, because I loved the flavor — very mild in the heat department, but full of warming spices, rich sweetness, and a welcome touch of bitterness for balance. It's just a little too thin and diluted.

The eggplant is by no means my favorite vegetable, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Trader Joe's baingan bharta. Pureed tomato and mashed eggplant make up the base of the dish, offering a perfectly poised balance of sweet, savory, and roasted flavors. Garlic, onion, spices, and chiles make up the rest of the fairly simple ingredients list, along with cream.

There's a really fresh quality to this curry thanks to cilantro and tangy tomatoes, which makes the smoky eggplant flavor even deeper and richer by contrast. The heat doesn't build too much but lingers in the background. I'm a little fonder of eggplant after eating this.

Palak paneer, in my experience, is one of those dishes that is either a perfect hit or a complete miss. It's all about the spinach — sometimes it can be gritty, or slimy, or just watery and bland. Trader Joe's managed to avoid all of those pitfalls with its palak paneer, which is an impressive feat in my book.

This spinach puree has a velvety-rich texture, and it's brightly seasoned with sharp spices like cardamom that give it a zing to balance its earthiness. At first I thought there wasn't much cheese, but I kept finding more hiding under the blanket of silky spinach. All of those paneer cubes added soft, tangy creaminess to every bite. 

The picture on the box of Trader Joe's channa masala looks more like most versions of this dish I've had, while the resulting cooked dish had a saucier, goopier texture. Turns out, I liked the thick sauce so much I was glad for the discrepancy. Roasted onions, tomatoes, and ghee make the rich base for tenderly cooked chickpeas.

Despite the deeply roasted character of this dish, it doesn't come across as heavy at all, thanks to a hint of freshness from cilantro and the tangy, fruity punch of mango powder, also known as amchur. Like citrus, amchur lightens and brightens flavors, giving the whole dish vibrancy. If you've never cooked with this ingredient yourself, but are curious, try this all-natural amchur from Rani.

I was once taught how to make authentic samosas by hand, and while I'm glad I got the experience, it's not an undertaking I'm dying to do again. That's why I'm happy that Trader Joe's mini samosas are so good. While I like the chicken ones a little bit more, the vegetable versions are delicious as well, and honestly I'd be thrilled to eat either variety.

The ratio of dough to filling in these dumplings is ideal. You get just the right amount of flaky golden crunch and soft, flavorful interior in each bite. One thing the vegetable samosas have over the chicken version is a greater variety of textures. Fluffy potatoes and soft lentils give way to carrots and whole peas, and there are lots of savory spices tucked inside. They're a snack that's deftly balanced between lightness and decadence.

For price and convenience, Trader Joe's line of Indian fare pouches are hard to beat. Most of them are underwhelming as far as flavor goes, but the madras lentils stand strong in that department, too. A mix of lentils and kidney beans in tomato sauce with a smattering of spices, this seemingly simple dish packs a wallop of flavor.

There is chili powder in here, but it's more of a subtle simmer than a fiery heat. The overwhelming sensations of this dish are smokiness and savoriness. Texture-wise, the kidney beans are supple and the lentils are melt-in-your-mouth soft. There's incredible depth of flavor, reminiscent of a slow-cooked pot of vegetarian bean chili that's been bubbling away for hours. If you try one pouch meal from Trader Joe's, make it this one.

These little golden pockets of goodness have me smitten. Why I'm not crazy about the chicken tikka masala, but I love the mini chicken tikka samosas, I don't know — I find the flavor here more concentrated and pronounced, and the flaws that bother me in the sauce as an entree don't rear their heads here. Also, the chicken for these dumplings is shredded, and it basically melts on your tongue, so you avoid any dry, grainy meat issues.

As with the vegetable samosas, the dough is light and flaky, and just the right amount of thickness to complement the filling without adding too much doughiness. There's not much in the way of heat, but each pocket packs plenty of flavor, and the moistness of the filling keeps these from feeling dry in any way — they don't even need a dipping sauce.

In my ranking of Trader Joe's chicken products, this butter chicken with basmati rice was pretty close to the top spot, and it makes a similar appearance here. Compared to the other chicken meals, the meat here was by far the juiciest and most tender, and seemed to be the most uniform in terms of thickness and size so that every bite was consistent.

While the rice doesn't have much flavor on its own, it has great texture, and there's plenty of creamy, silky sauce to mix into it. To me, butter chicken is all about lushness and warmth, and this dish delivers. You won't find a better version of butter chicken cheaper as it's one of the most delicious foods at Trader Joe's for under $5.

All of Trader Joe's Indian-style breads are good. The frozen garlic naan, however, is spectacular. As long as this is available, I'll never buy any of the other options again. It only takes a minute or two to heat through, and in that time the intoxicating smell of nutty, piquant cooked garlic fills your kitchen and your nose with its comforting aroma.

Just as with the tandoori naan, the texture offers the perfect balance of softness and stability. There's a generous amount of garlic on each piece, along with a scattering of chopped cilantro for a fresh, bright punch of flavor. This stunningly delicious bread also makes a mean grilled cheese.

Trader Joe's lamb vindaloo has everything: searingly hot sauce, juicy and flavorful meat, and well-cooked rice to bring it all together. While the chicken vindaloo seemed unbalanced, simply swapping out bland, dry chicken breast for rich, intensely flavored pieces of lamb made all the difference. I struggled to get through the chicken dish, but I couldn't stop eating the lamb version. When it was gone I wanted more immediately.

The lamb is tender, but still has texture for satisfyingly meaty bites. While with the chicken vindaloo I really only tasted the sauce, here the interplay of the lamb and sauce dance together to add depth and dimension. Smoky, rich, and spicy, and for around five bucks, this is a truly remarkable Trader Joe's deal.

Rather than narrowing it down to a sampling of items, I decided to go all-in and try every Indian-inspired dish I could find on Trader Joe's shelves. I procured these items from my local store, prepared and tasted them, analyzing each one individually. 

I took into account flavor, texture, balance, quality, and value, and proceeded to rank each item as it compared to the rest. The higher-ranked foods are ones that I would enthusiastically head to Trader Joe's to purchase again, while the lower-ranked items are those I'd skip on my next shopping trip.