We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you’trader joe’s cinnamon rolls had a case of Trader Joe’s fever, you can probably name five of your favorite products within seconds. 1967 and boasts an impressive selection of store-brand products. Although some of the products on TJ’s shelves are name-brand, most of them are not.
This keeps costs low for customers. Trader Joe’s isn’t just a haven for thrifty shoppers — it’s also a popular grocery chain among plant-based eaters. Despite being a small store, Trader Joe’s offers plenty of frozen meals, bagged nuts, snacks, and dry goods to satisfy any plant-based home cook. Here are some of the vegan products we reviewed on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s — including some all-time classics and some newcomers! But the cream cheese is very tangy and almost rancid in taste — which can probably be blamed on the company combining the flavors of coconut and seaweed. It’s clear that the folks at Miyoko’s Creamery are very inventive in flavor, but the fishy taste, which was borderline artificial, wasn’t as appreciated. Overall, this product has a much better cream cheese texture than previous iterations of the Trader Joe’s brand cream cheese.
But if the taste is that off-putting to you, you’re better off leaving this one in the cooler. Shoppers can find Trader Joe’s Vegan Mac in the store’s prepared foods section. As a meal, the pasta is lackluster in flavor and overall disappointing. Plus, it will need a generous bit of salt before you dive into the container.
The most disappointing part of this item was the consistency. Granted, this container is pasta submerged in a rich sauce, so you would expect it to get somewhat mushy when heated up. Even after adding a few minutes in the microwave, it was clear that the pasta had almost disintegrated. But, it’s hard to know if these additions will actually improve the fundamentally flawed idea of adding pre-cooked pasta to a sauce and leaving it in a cooler. Brioche is a soft, fluffy bread traditionally enriched with eggs and butter. And when you don’t eat eggs or butter, you can walk down to your nearest Trader Joe’s for a Vegan Brioche Loaf.
TJ’s dough is enriched with a blend of coconut oil, cocoa butter, and sunflower oil for a shiny exterior and soft, chewy interior. The flavor and structure of Trader Joe’s vegan brioche are reminiscent of potato bread. It’s not overtly sweet, so it could actually pass as fluffy potato bread. Use brioche bread for your sandwich and toast needs, or make a special French toast casserole for a Sunday brunch.
Still, we’re not impressed by this product overall. Trader Joe’s shoppers are divided about the vegan brioche. While some applaud Trader Joe’s goal to make this bread an option for plant-based eaters, others criticize the long list of ingredients on its label. Only time will tell if this bread is received well enough to remain on store shelves. We’re happy to report that Trader Joe’s offers some vegan selections in the baked goods and dessert aisle. The grocery’s Vegan Banana Bread with Walnuts is moist and very sweet.
Although the walnut count is sparse, it does provide a slightly nutty boost to the banana bread. The structure of this banana bread is standard for what you’d see in a quick bread. It’s sturdy and could hold the weight of a French Toast egg batter. You could also add this banana bread to a waffle iron and gently press it to make a banana-bread-waffle hybrid. If you’re planning to sit around a bonfire at all this year, you have to stock up on s’more supplies.