12 Trader Joe's Products Customers Buy Every Single Visit

There's a reason why it's hard to walk into Trader Joe's without leaving with far more than what was actually on your grocery list. Between the cult-favorite frozen meals, addictive snacks, and unique pantry staples that you can't find anywhere else, the store has a way of turning a "quick stop" into a full grocery cart. While there are tons of exciting seasonal and limited-time offerings that rotate on and off the shelves, some of the customers' favorite items are the products that they stock up on every week. The most reliable staples are the ones that make at-home meals more convenient, delicious, and affordable.

Shoppers claim that some of these products even taste restaurant-grade for a fraction of the price, which is a huge reason why shoppers keep coming back. Whether you're stocking the freezer with easy weeknight dinners, grabbing snacks for the week, or looking for products that actually live up to the hype online, these are the Trader Joe's staples that shoppers simply refuse to leave the store without.

Trader Joe's frozen gyoza potstickers are an affordable, convenient, and dependably delicious dinner staple for tons of shoppers, and it's one of the Trader Joe's frozen foods that kids love. You can find one-pound bags of three varieties in the freezer aisle: Vegetable, chicken, and pork. These potstickers are salty, juicy, and tender, with an authentic flavor that's impressive for a frozen food item. At just $3.99, you can pan-fry and enjoy these potstickers dipped in soy sauce, but this product was also the centerpiece of a recipe that went viral online, using only Trader Joe's products.

To make the viral Trader Joe's dumpling bake, simply combine coconut milk, red Thai curry, soyaki, garlic, and spinach in a dish with the frozen potstickers. Then cover the dish and bake it at 350 F for 35-40 minutes, and then add some of TJ's infamous chili oil crunch! Add rice, if you want, and enjoy a warm, delicious dumpling bake that takes only a few minutes to prepare and tastes restaurant-grade. Its simplicity has made it a weekly dinner staple for many Trader Joe's shoppers, who appreciate convenience on a budget.

You might assume that because Trader Joe's offers wines at incredibly low prices, the quality is not up to par, but many of the wines at the store are actually rather impressive, and well worth the weekly stop for some shoppers. The store carries plenty of variety, but the best wines from Trader Joe's will depend on your preference, whether you like a glass of dry white, rich red, or bubbly pink to unwind at the end of the night. Many of these wines are less than $15, and the store switches up its selection seasonally as well.

Alongside familiar labels, you'll find options from TJ's private labels here. One shopper on Reddit explained, "If you see any that are labeled Platinum Reserve or Grand Reserve, they're worth trying out. They're TJ's exclusives that are usually quite good and competitively priced." Plus, if you're new to wines, you can always ask one of the infamously friendly employees to point you in the right direction, and they'll likely be more than happy to help.

For some TJ's shoppers, the Kung Pao chicken is the best freezer meal the store carries, and for just $6.49 (for more than a pound of food), it's a flavorful, affordable dinner that is on the weekly rotation. The dish comes with dark meat chicken, two packets of spicy soy ginger sauce, peanuts, and a veggie combination of green and red bell peppers, onions, dried chili powder, and water chestnuts. Some people who grew up on authentic Kung Pao chicken have praised this chicken as being better than some homemade versions, with the flavor and ease of preparation being simply too alluring to pass it up on a weekly shop.

One shopper described the impressive flavors in this frozen dish on Reddit, saying, "The deep, caramelized flavors of the kung pao sauce was evident, with a sticky sweet soy sauce funk and a good amount of chili pepper spice." Others agree that this is an impressive frozen meal for its generous helping of chicken, which is enough to feed three people, though adding in some extra veggies can help to further bulk up this meal.

For many shoppers, the Mandarin orange chicken is a Trader Joe's frozen food you should stock up on — some call it their favorite Trader Joe's item of all time, earning a spot among the Trader Joe's Hall of Fame products. In fact, shoppers will often alternate between the orange chicken and Kung Pao chicken to add some variety to their convenience meals. This product has been around forever for good reason, with some food reviewers even ranking it above P.F. Chang's. One Reddit commenter also highlighted the price, writing, "for $5 a bag you can't beat the price and convenience. My kids love it and I pair it with a bag of fried rice for a $10 dinner."

To elevate this already flavorful chicken, sautée onions and garlic in oil before adding the chicken to get it nice and crispy. Then, add some soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a little water to make the chicken even more flavorful. Customers also love to pair this chicken with some rice or extra vegetables to make it a complete meal, and the sauce is so tasty that some wish the store would sell it on its own to add to other meals.

One of the things that makes Trader Joe's so popular is its unique selection of grocery items that can't be found at other stores. One such item is the canned Greek chickpeas, which cost less than $3 and have customers stocking up on every grocery trip. These garbanzo beans are simply marinated in a delectable combination of soybean oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and black pepper, but are bursting with flavor that has shoppers eating them on their own, by the spoonful.

These nutritious Mediterranean-style chickpeas are also incredibly versatile, and can be used to spice up a variety of weeknight meals. You can mash them up to make a chickpea salad sandwich as an alternative to tuna salad, or add them to a pasta salad, soup, or stew (or any bowl for that matter), for a protein boost. Some people call these the store's best-kept secret, and being so affordable, they're a pantry staple that you should stock up on to make delicious, authentic-tasting Middle Eastern-inspired meals that taste restaurant-grade.

Customers rave about Trader Joe's peanut butter cups, which are a dupe for Reese's cups. They are sold in both dark and light chocolate, and the treat has a chokehold on shoppers who claim it's impossible to eat just one at a time, leaving some people quipping that they wish they'd never discovered these chocolatey bite-sized delights. 

Part of what makes these so moreish, according to customers, is that they have just the right ratio of peanut butter to chocolate. Food reviewers appreciate that the outer layer of chocolate is thin enough to allow the peanut butter flavor to shine, and the peanut butter filling is smooth and creamy with a hint of sweet vanilla flavor, which balances the rich dark chocolate shell. Keep these in the fridge, and one Reddit commenter claims, "You'll never eat a Reese's again" after making the switch to this TJ's dupe.

Another way in which Trader Joe's simplifies weeknight cooking is with its selection of pre-marinated meats. The store offers varying meats and flavors that come seasoned and prepared to simply be tossed on the pan with no prep work at all. It carries several different cuts of marinated beef, chicken, and pork, making it easy to add variety to your meals every week. In the refrigerated section, you'll find options like pollo and carne asada, pesto chicken breast, peppercorn garlic pork tenderloin, balsamic rosemary beef steak tips, Santa Maria tri-tip roast, and perhaps the most popular, shawarma chicken thighs.

A customer describes the pre-marinated shawarma on Reddit, saying, "It's very flavorful but not too spicy! I like the texture best when my husband throws it on the grill, but we've also baked it and it's still good. We like it on naan bread or in rice bowls with tzatziki!" Many shoppers will simply alternate marinated meats each week to add flavor variety to their meals without laborious prep work.

You don't have to stop eating string cheese just because you're an adult. This snack is popular among kids and grown-ups alike, so many Trader Joe's loyalists have added it to their weekly shopping hauls. These are great to keep on hand in the fridge, for an easy grab-and-go protein punch. The package comes with 12 individually wrapped sticks for $3.99. Trader Joe's string cheese comes from a family-owned Wisconsin cheese company that's been in the business for four generations, and customers say it's quality they can taste.

This string cheese is made with low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese. One Reddit commenter writes that it's one of the grocery items they pick up on every trip, saying, "All other string cheese is inferior in my opinion." Other shoppers appreciate that, in comparison to other store brand string cheeses, TJ's is less salty.

Yogurt is a weekly grocery staple for many shoppers, and TJ's has an impressive variety from both its private label and name brands. Trader Joe's own Greek yogurt is very popular among shoppers online. One shopper on Reddit says that they only buy their Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's, explaining, "I'm obsessed with their Greek yogurt. I've tried many other brands but nothing tastes as good as TJ's. And of course, the price is unbeatable! I truly can't get them anywhere else."

TJ's whole milk Greek yogurt is even comparable to the rich flavor and thick creaminess of Chobani. Whether you prefer organic or regular, flavored or plain, whole milk or low-fat, Greek or Icelandic, or yogurt made with milk alternatives, the store has you covered with affordable and tasty options. Lots of people like to have yogurt on hand to make yogurt bowls or smoothies, use as a substitute for sour cream, or add to pasta sauces for a creamier finish.

The crunchy chili onion oil is one of many Trader Joe's products to gain its own cult following, and for good reason. This tasty ingredient is simple but adds so much flavor and texture to any dish. It's made with crispy dried garlic, onion, and dried red bell pepper, soaked in olive oil with chili flakes, creating a perfect harmony of crunchy, smoky, and spicy flavors. Customers online like to share all the delicious ways they use this oil to spice up their meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

In the morning, you can add it to your bagel with cream cheese, avocado toast, or scrambled eggs. For lunch or dinner, it goes with almost anything, from ramen to pizza, panfried veggies to fresh mozzarella. One of the most popular ways shoppers like to use this oil is by adding it to Trader Joe's popular frozen dumplings. It really cannot be understated how much people love this condiment, enjoying the flavor so much that the geniuses at TJ's made a crunchy chili onion seasoning blend and hummus.

Another Trader Joe's item you should be adding to your cart if you like a sweet breakfast is the frozen chocolate croissants. While it might seem like croissants from a box cannot possibly be as flaky and buttery as you'd hope, these pastries go above and beyond, and are even some shoppers' favorite frozen aisle product. One Reddit commenter described them as top-tier, calling them, "So buttery and delicious and delicate."

Customers confirm that despite coming from a box, these pastries deliver bakery-quality flavor and texture for just $5.99. Per the instructions, you should let them rise overnight before popping them into the oven to enjoy the next morning, but people will assure you this is well worth it for the buttery, crispy, gooey chocolate result. Some even claim they're better than homemade, so it's worth stocking up your freezer with a box (or three) for whenever you're craving a little taste of France in your own home kitchen.

According to customers online, this product alone is worth a special stop at Trader Joe's. Among other popular produce items in the "teeny tiny" line, like tomatoes and cucumbers, TJ's sells teeny tiny avocados, which are a hit with customers for their perfect single serving size. One customer explained on Reddit, "The teeny tiny avocados are literally perfect. One is enough for two pieces of avocado toast and I don't have to worry about half an avocado rotting in my fridge."

Avocados are expensive, so it's frustrating when they end up going bad, making it nice that these avocados are perfectly portioned so that none go to waste. Customers claim that these small but mighty avos have the creamy, buttery texture that you'd expect from a Hass avocado, and their size makes them ideal for meal prepping. They're sold six at a time, for about $4, which is excellent value. Being so convenient and fun to eat, it's no wonder they've made it onto many shoppers' weekly grocery lists.