Trader Joe's 'Product Hall Of Fame' List, Ranked

Since opening its first store in 1967, Trader Joe's has become known for its incredible assortment of unique and affordable grocery products. While shoppers can get standard grocery staples at this store, like eggs, beef, fish, and other produce, what makes the store stand out is its creative, privately-labeled products. From an assortment of delicious frozen meals to a variety of Trader Joe's own "copycat" versions of other products, it's made a name for itself as a store with some incredible original products.

Over the years, Trader Joe's has had many ultra-successful items, some of which have even gone viral on the internet because of how much shoppers love them. However, only the most selective group of products can say they have earned the distinction of being in Trader Joe's "Hall of Fame," a list that debuted in 2003. While all of these six products have become frontmen for the store, fans still debate which of the six is best of all. Based on my personal reviews of these "Hall of Fame" products, I have ranked which ones I prefer from worst to best, based on factors including taste, quality, originality, and value.

Trader Joe's has an extensive and exquisite selection of snacks, and one of the most iconic products on its shelves is the Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets. These delicious salted pretzels come filled with creamy, real peanut butter, making them the perfect salty, sweet, and crunchy snack. While Trader Joe's was not the first to make a peanut butter-filled pretzel, it did go above and beyond to make this item taste incredibly high-quality. For $2.69 a bag, this item is also affordable, too.

Since joining the list in 2023, these filled pretzel nuggets have been awarded the title of Best Snack, and have been ranked as one of the top 10 items in the store by Trader Joe's managers. While I do love this item, I feel that it is one of the weaker options on this list as it is not as original an idea or as memorable as the others in the Hall of Fame. While it may be my least favorite of the bunch, it's still earned its place amongst the store's top six most iconic items — an impressive accomplishment, considering Trader Joe's has hundreds of incredible products lining its shelves.

Trader Joe's has gained a reputation for having an incredible assortment of desserts and candies — there are some Trader Joe's candies that shoppers consider unmissable — but perhaps none is more iconic than the store's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Usually found scattered throughout the store as well as in the checkout line, these delicious cups are hard to pass by without grabbing a box or bag for your cart. While these items are very similar to the Reese's candy version, Trader Joe's was able to raise the quality of their version by using real peanut butter filling and adding a high-quality chocolate coating, free from artificial flavors or preservatives.

Trader Joe's has offered several variations of this product, including mini versions and milk chocolate versions. Still, the classic dark chocolate version reigns supreme for its rich and decadent flavor. At $5.99 for a container, this item is on the slightly more expensive side of Trader Joe's candies and desserts, but the quality of ingredients and the exceptional flavor still make it an item Trader Joe's fans adore. Since being inducted in 2023, this item has been awarded the title of Best Desserts/Sweets, an honor I would have to agree with, even though it isn't my favorite item on the list. 

When you think of truly iconic items from Trader Joe's, it is hard to ignore the store's Mandarin Orange Chicken. For many shoppers, this product is considered one of the first truly "viral" items from the store. In addition to being delicious and full of sweet and slightly spicy flavors, this frozen meal is incredibly easy to make and tastes remarkably fresh once baked in the oven. For $5.49 a package, this item is also an exceptionally affordable dinner option.

This item has been on shelves since 2004, but was only inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023. Despite it taking a while to earn this distinction, Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken has won awards for Favorite Overall product as well as Best Entrée. To me, this item shows what Trader Joe's does best: Offering inexpensive and quality items that make eating at home a simple and enjoyable task. For price, taste, and quality, this item undoubtedly has earned its place as one of the best items in Trader Joe's Hall of Fame, and for me, it's a perfect middle-of-the-pack product. 

I love it when Trader Joe's makes a unique product, and few items on the store shelves are more creative than Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar Cheese. While this cheese product may look like any old block of Cheddar, it's actually an incredible fusion of different cheeses. The Unexpected Cheddar offers the tangy flavor of a traditional Cheddar cheese, but also has the salt crystallization and more delicate taste of an aged Parmesan. The result is a truly delicious (and unexpected) cheese variety that fans have grown to love over the years.

For $3.99 a block, this cheese makes the perfect addition to a cheese board or any cheese-based recipe. Part of the reason why I love this product so much is that it's truly something you can only find at Trader Joe's, because it's made exclusively for the store by their cheese makers in Wisconsin. Since Unexpected Cheddar Cheese was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023, this item has been labeled at the store's "Best Cheese" — a title I would have to agree with. This product's originality, taste, and quality earn it the place of my third-favorite product in Trader Joe's Hall of Fame.

Anyone who's vegan, vegetarian, or an enjoyer of plant-based meals will likely know that Trader Joe's offers an incredible selection of meat alternatives. Perhaps the most famous and beloved of these alternatives is Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo, a delicious vegetarian sausage that has incredible likeness to authentic Spanish chorizo — and this chorizo goes well in tacos too. It's made by a small company and comes full of flavors like paprika, salt, vinegar, red pepper, and garlic powder.

As well as being delicious, this Soy Chorizo is also a great protein source, with eight grams of protein in each serving. For just $2.99 a package, it's also great for shoppers looking to save money. This product was introduced to shelves in 2008, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in January of 2023. Since then, it's been acknowledged as the store's best vegan and vegetarian product. For uniqueness, taste, and affordability, this product earns a place as my second-favorite product in the store.

While all of the products on this list are items I personally enjoy, there is a clear frontrunner for me. While Trader Joe's has lots of great "copycat" products that are comparable to their original versions, the Trader Joe's Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips are, in my opinion, better than the Takis Fuego Rolls they were inspired by. These satisfyingly crunchy chips are full of chili flavor and have a satisfying lime-forward taste. They may not be the healthiest tortilla chips out there, but the flavor makes for an equally powerful and addictive snack.

Despite being introduced onto Trader Joe's shelves in 2018, this is the most recent inductee to the Trader Joe's product Hall of Fame, added in January of 2025. Its newer status hasn't stopped this item from being recognized as the Favorite Overall item as well as the Favorite Snack at Trader Joe's. As an added benefit, the vivid color of these chips is created using natural ingredients like vegetable juice and spice extracts from paprika and turmeric. For just $2.99 a bag, these chips offer great taste, quality, and value to customers, earning the top spot as my favorite product from Trader Joe's Hall of Fame.