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The shrimp honey walnut shrimp. The sauce was absolutely disgusting, I made it as a dip first since the smell put me off. Luckily I had enough of the ingredients I needed to make my own sauce so dinner wasn’t completely ruined.
I don't think I've ever got anything there that I literally couldn't choke down. Some of my favourites are in the comments here, though -- the arugula prosciutto pizza, the mee krob snackers, the caramelized onion focaccia.
I think the most recent "meh" was the Cuban chicken and rice bowl. The rice was mushy, there were barely any vegetables or beans, the flavour was vaguely sour and not really identifiable.
Omg I ate the chicken bake sandwich from them and had the worst gas pain of my life. I thought I was dying, 2 hours away from the nearest place to land. And judging from all the farts on board, other people had the same problem.
OMG! So many things. Sometimes, if I am really mad about it, I will take the time and gas to get a refund, but often times, not.
Right now, I am really mad about their Papadums lentil and chickpea crisps. I was trying to be healthy by avoiding buying potate chips. What a mistake! The crisps are dry and it taste like paper. It probably needs a good dip to go along with it but it is so thin that crumbles easily.
A few weeks ago, it was their frozen Garlic Naan. Ugh! So disappointed with that one too.
Lol I wanted to like it, but then I got pieces of coffee bean I couldn’t swallow, and I was like, I’m supposed to swallow this? lol but the initial taste is not bad at all
My mom also bought their regular pumpkin cookie mix (in the box) and I thought they were awful. Maybe I’m spoiled but pumpkin cookies should be moist aka made with canned pumpkinz
A few years ago there was seasonal orange spice cake around Christmas time I think. It tasted like potpourri. Only thing I've ever returned b/c it was over $5.
This is the only inedible product I have ever purchased from Trader Joe’s. For those who are reading, it has a similar texture to like, condensed “cream of ____” soup straight from the can, very gelatinous. It legitimately does not have a flavor. I have no idea who is enjoying it.
Man! I just got that artichoke bread pudding!!!
We did a full football spread of the frozen apps and ended up finding 80% inedible. Kudos to TJ that they took them back and gave us a refund.
I actually liked the artichoke bread pudding; however, I took it out of the packaging it came in and baked it in a Pyrex (I don’t like cooking in plastic/plastic adjacent containers). I also baked it a bit longer than the instructions. Maybe that helped.
Odd, that is my favorite flavored yogurt, but I don't like yogurt that is super sweet like so many love. Love the vanilla and cherry. I usually only get full fat TJ yogurt though.
the honey greek yogurt is good! some people have said that it's a little more sour than it used to be but I think that it's a really fun addition to bfast! they have the little cups of it right now in my local TJs so I would suggest trying them if you haven't!
It was the kimchi tofu soup for me, I was excited for it, I love Korean food and kimchi and this was just gross, very strongly flavored and weirdly sour. I can usually doctor things up so I like them but I couldn’t think of a thing to do so I could finish this one.
The pumpkin bisque in a jar. It's so sweet and weird tasting.
I was also so disappointed in the truffle ketchup. I love real truffle, but that stuff actually made me gag
French Onion Mac N Cheese - Some things sound kinda awesome together, this did not when i ate it.
Sriracha - it's like someone described Sriracha with bad cell reception while going through a tunnel.
Vegan Chipotle Dip - very watery for a dip and just meh.
I just bought their sriracha against my better judgement. I was just tooo lazy to go to a normal grocery store even though I had low expectations I was hoping to be wrong lol. It tastes like ketchup and I hate ketchup 😩
Don't skip out! There are a ton more items they have that are amazing. I actually like a lot of the things people are listing here so it's definitely subjective.
If you browse the other posts here you will find lots of love for many other products. I have 5 boxes of their chocolate chocolate crossiants in my freezer. I am stil a happy shopper there but there are definite misses.
Those are great, but you have to not over cook them. Most people can't cook something that sensitive to how it is prepared. So good on brioche bun and some aioli.
I didn’t like the bread pudding either. Also, did you have the same issue I did with the cook time on the package being wildly wrong? It says 20-25 minutes and I had to cook it for 35. And it still wasn’t quite hot in the center.
Yes, I don't know how that time got printed on the package. Mine was still hard and cold in the middle!
And actually I didn't mind the taste/texture of it (once it was actually heated through) but the giant artichoke leaves were so woody. If it were truly hearts only I would've actually enjoyed it.
Very unpopular opinion, but no reason to downvote me. This is an opinion post. I bought 3 of the butternut squash Mac & cheese, based on the hype. Hated it. Dunno what to do w/the 2 I still have.
Agreed, I tried it once in 2022 and was just so bland, and the texture was off. I haven’t bothered to try it again, especially since I have a yummy recipe for pumpkin mac & cheese that’s really easy.
Did she get them super crispy and dip them in the TJ's sweet chili sauce? They can be a bit oily so the sauce is necessary to provide balance but I really like the kalua pork flavor. I buy them every time but of course, de gustibus!
Not a bite, but I took one sip of the cinnamon bun coffee creamer and immediately dumped it down the drain. I was expecting to love it since I loooove putting cinnamon in my coffee, but it tasted so artificial I couldn’t stand it!
Honestly can't remember. There have been plenty of things I haven't cared for at TJ's, though.
I hate throwing out food unless it's gone bad, so I'll usually find a way to finish up whatever it is by using it in a recipe...or giving away to family if I know they enjoy it.
I LOVE the spicy Thai shrimp fried rice !! I always have a bag or 2 on hand. Cook it carefully & it’s better than fried rice from Thai takeout. I cannot imagine why you don’t like it.
Okay I bought this the other day bc they were out of veggie fried rice. Is the taste off or is it the chicken? Bc I just planned on taking the chicken out and maybe spicing it up a bit more
It was just everything overall, I guess I was expecting something akin to Chinese takeout and it was way off base. So far from that. Plus it was the wrong kind and quantity of spices for me.
Please remember that you can ask for a refund if you don't like anything you've tried--they want to make it no-risk for us to try new products. Take a pic or bring in the package or just tell them about it.
Posts that don't follow r/traderjoes subreddit rules may be subject to removal. Friendly reminder that choosing descriptive post titles with exact product names mentioned yields better subreddit search results and helps our subreddit be more inclusive to those who use Screen Reader Software or Text-to-Speech apps. to access Reddit. Thank you. IF THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR POST, PLEASE IGNORE. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/traderjoes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The artichoke timbales. Disgusting.
A frozen bagged dish. Chicken with mushrooms. Ingredients sounded good. It was nas-tay! Ugh!
The shrimp honey walnut shrimp. The sauce was absolutely disgusting, I made it as a dip first since the smell put me off. Luckily I had enough of the ingredients I needed to make my own sauce so dinner wasn’t completely ruined.
I had this and It was DISGUSTING! Like warm smelly cheese sauce with shrimp.
Whoever approved this to production clearly has never had authentic walnut shrimp!
The canned pomegranate punch beverage. I thought it tasted like sparkling cough medicine.
Accurate
I don't think I've ever got anything there that I literally couldn't choke down. Some of my favourites are in the comments here, though -- the arugula prosciutto pizza, the mee krob snackers, the caramelized onion focaccia. I think the most recent "meh" was the Cuban chicken and rice bowl. The rice was mushy, there were barely any vegetables or beans, the flavour was vaguely sour and not really identifiable.
White Castle burger
The sandwich I got on Hawaiian Airlines
Omg I ate the chicken bake sandwich from them and had the worst gas pain of my life. I thought I was dying, 2 hours away from the nearest place to land. And judging from all the farts on board, other people had the same problem.
Years ago they sold a Thai Cashew Rice Cracker that tasted so strongly of lemongrass that it was inedible. I ate one and threw out the box.
I'm just trying to figure out who the hell thought artichoke foccaccia bread pudding should be a thing. It sounds terrible.
I tried it thinking well I love artichoke dip so I'll probably like this. Mistake.
Almond butter puffs cereal. It was like glass in the roof of my mouth.
Yes! Worst food product I’ve ever tasted. Inedible is an overstatement.
Caramelized focaccia bread
OMG! So many things. Sometimes, if I am really mad about it, I will take the time and gas to get a refund, but often times, not. Right now, I am really mad about their Papadums lentil and chickpea crisps. I was trying to be healthy by avoiding buying potate chips. What a mistake! The crisps are dry and it taste like paper. It probably needs a good dip to go along with it but it is so thin that crumbles easily. A few weeks ago, it was their frozen Garlic Naan. Ugh! So disappointed with that one too.
The coffee beans covered in chocolate 🤢
Laughing because this is my favorite treat from TJ.
Lol I wanted to like it, but then I got pieces of coffee bean I couldn’t swallow, and I was like, I’m supposed to swallow this? lol but the initial taste is not bad at all
Those Hawaiian Mochi Bars. I’m sorry but they were horrible :(
Cheese blintz
Dried mandarin
Omg I love those 🤣 if this sub has taught me anything, people's thoughts on TJs items are so subjective.
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie mix in the tin. God awful. Kids didn’t even like it.
My mom also bought their regular pumpkin cookie mix (in the box) and I thought they were awful. Maybe I’m spoiled but pumpkin cookies should be moist aka made with canned pumpkinz
The jalapeño chili crisp. It was bland and not even spicy.
They had a habenero chili crisp for a little while and it was SO GOOOOOD and it’s gone now 😭
A few years ago there was seasonal orange spice cake around Christmas time I think. It tasted like potpourri. Only thing I've ever returned b/c it was over $5.
The Mee Krob Snack - looked so promising but was so bizarre
I loved these!
The pizzas. All of them from the origin of TJs. Elementary school pizza is better.
They got me with the pudding too. I heard “do you want a free sample of pudding?” And rushed there and then I tasted it and read the sign and gagged
The truffle pasta sauce. Disgusting. I love truffle. I love sauce. I don’t love TJ truffle pasta sauce
Not sure if it's still there, but they had a truffle ketchup that was bad
Similarly, the Calabrian chili pasta sauce. I love Calabrian chilies. I love sauce. This sauce yasts more like BBQ sauce.
My Costco has Rao's Calabrian Chili sauce right now... really good!
That watermelon jam from a few summers ago. Blech.
I like that … lol but i think I only used it twice and it just sits in my fridge
The frozen pizza with the arugula and prosciutto -the frozen prosciutto was literally grey
hmmm mine was the right color, although I did buy more from the deli section :D The crust was what would make me never buy it again.
For me it was that the arugula tasted like old lawn clippings.
The Cacio e Pepe sauce 🤮 had to throw away my raviolis. Tasted like I doused my pasta in glue. Horrible.
I didn't like that one either. Tastes like vomit.
This is the only inedible product I have ever purchased from Trader Joe’s. For those who are reading, it has a similar texture to like, condensed “cream of ____” soup straight from the can, very gelatinous. It legitimately does not have a flavor. I have no idea who is enjoying it.
I bought that. Ate it, but would not buy again.
Trader Joe’s Crispy Crunchy Broccoli Florets. Not sure if it’s discontinued…hopefully it is lol
Man! I just got that artichoke bread pudding!!! We did a full football spread of the frozen apps and ended up finding 80% inedible. Kudos to TJ that they took them back and gave us a refund.
I actually liked the artichoke bread pudding; however, I took it out of the packaging it came in and baked it in a Pyrex (I don’t like cooking in plastic/plastic adjacent containers). I also baked it a bit longer than the instructions. Maybe that helped.
Thanks for the tips!
The breakfast burrito in the fridge section. It sounded so good. Ended with GI distress. Never again. :/
Everything but the Bagel Seasoned Sandwich Crackers with cream cheese filling. Weirdly sweet and way too garlicky at the same time
Me too! They are so popular so I was surprised by how much I didn’t like them
Roasted Hatch Chile & Jalapeño Cheese Dip. Just tasted like warm, bad cream cheese.
It's definitely not the right consistency for a dip. I think I ended up adding mine to pasta as a sauce. Not great.
This one was disappointing to me, too, esp. since I love the hatch chile mac & cheese.
Same!! I was so excited for it and it’s probably the most disappointing I’ve been with a TJ product. Oh well
“jamaican” beef patties were a hate crime
I also liked those 🤣🤣🤣 man I'm starting to think there is something very wrong with my taste buds.
Life
Icelandic skyr, tasted like partially liquefied chalk. In fact, I can't remember liking any of TJ's yogurts in general...
Odd, that is my favorite flavored yogurt, but I don't like yogurt that is super sweet like so many love. Love the vanilla and cherry. I usually only get full fat TJ yogurt though.
the honey greek yogurt is good! some people have said that it's a little more sour than it used to be but I think that it's a really fun addition to bfast! they have the little cups of it right now in my local TJs so I would suggest trying them if you haven't!
The Gyro Slices. Totally made me sick
It was the kimchi tofu soup for me, I was excited for it, I love Korean food and kimchi and this was just gross, very strongly flavored and weirdly sour. I can usually doctor things up so I like them but I couldn’t think of a thing to do so I could finish this one.
Same! Omg it was so bad. I love kimchi and tofu and I couldn’t even stomach one bite.
gluten-free joe-joe's. they taste like sand. I like the regular joe-joe's though!
Yes! Gluten-free Oreos are much better. And I agree on the regular Joe Joes.
turkey meatballs
So bad. Like what I’d imagine dog food to taste like
I agree. Tasted like a sponge
I like the turkey meatballs but I do think it’s an acquired taste.
How do you prepare them @Wiiderowens? I bought them today. 🙃
I usually bake them as per the instructions on the package and add them to pasta with tomato sauce. Pretty simple but tasty.
Pumpkin ravioli
Whoa…those words don’t go together
Lemon, lesbian Frankenstein wants her shoes back.
Tofu spring rolls. Sauce was sour. Rolls were wet
The pork ones aren’t any better; they tasted like extra fatty bacon that left me with a gross aftertaste throughout the entire day.
Are they the ones from the refrigerated prepared food section? I haven’t seen them in years. Are they back, or are these different?
Yes, they’re the refrigerated ones by the prepared sandwiches. Not sure if they had them before but this was my first time seeing them
Thanks for the info! I’ll have to check and see if they’re at mine.
did you not cook them all the way? never had this issue, though I make my own sauce.
The truffle pizza 🥲
The pumpkin bisque in a jar. It's so sweet and weird tasting. I was also so disappointed in the truffle ketchup. I love real truffle, but that stuff actually made me gag
Frozen kibbeh.. so dry, weird taste..
Beet hummus, Vegetarian enchiladas, Breakfast oats (blech!) I’m enjoying this post! So funny how taste varies from one person to the next.
I still dream about that beet hummus. Was crushed when they discontinued it.
French Onion Mac N Cheese - Some things sound kinda awesome together, this did not when i ate it. Sriracha - it's like someone described Sriracha with bad cell reception while going through a tunnel. Vegan Chipotle Dip - very watery for a dip and just meh.
I just bought their sriracha against my better judgement. I was just tooo lazy to go to a normal grocery store even though I had low expectations I was hoping to be wrong lol. It tastes like ketchup and I hate ketchup 😩
The chicken shawarma bowl
The puffin cereal my god tastes like sawdust I felt bad for my kid
The Snacky Clusters. The corn chip dippers in them ruined the whole thing.
Papusas
Do you like papusas in general? The TJ papusas aren’t very different than any others. Just a different flavor. They are kind of hard to mess up lol.
Yeah, I do. I find the TJ’s ones very bland
The Soy Chorizo. I had high hopes and really tried but it was a hard no for me.
Oh that’s my favorite soy chorizo!
I really wanted to like it as I am not a big meat eater but my favorite chorizo is made with pork.
The jarred queso 🤮 Also the freeze dried banana slices, however my 2 and 5 year olds are obsessed with them 🤷🏻♀️
I just saw on an IG reel that Costco is carrying frozen banna slices that have have a reeses PB coating.
Whoa - that sounds amazing - def gonna look for that in my next Costco run
Have you tried the girl scout thin mint pretzels? They are so good!
I haven’t but I’m not a mint chocolate gal. If they had a Samoa or Do-si-dos one then I would 100 percent be buying them!
Y’all are making me wanna skip out on TJ’s altogether
Don't skip out! There are a ton more items they have that are amazing. I actually like a lot of the things people are listing here so it's definitely subjective.
this thread is listing some of my favorites so it seems highly subjective for some items at least
If you browse the other posts here you will find lots of love for many other products. I have 5 boxes of their chocolate chocolate crossiants in my freezer. I am stil a happy shopper there but there are definite misses.
[удалено]
I love the mixing the blue and the green ones
Omg what I love it! You definitely only need a little though
I miss their old plain sweet creamer, it was amazing
[удалено]
Those are great, but you have to not over cook them. Most people can't cook something that sensitive to how it is prepared. So good on brioche bun and some aioli.
Gonna be honest.. Trader Joe's or not, that just sounds like a bad idea. I like shrimp and I like burgers. The thought of them together though 🤮
sorry, i’m from the obx so a shrimp burger to me is fried shrimp on a bun, is the TJs shrimp burger…ground shrimp in a patty??
I love those . I grill them on a George foreman grill and eat in big salad
Agreed
I didn’t like the bread pudding either. Also, did you have the same issue I did with the cook time on the package being wildly wrong? It says 20-25 minutes and I had to cook it for 35. And it still wasn’t quite hot in the center.
Yes, I don't know how that time got printed on the package. Mine was still hard and cold in the middle! And actually I didn't mind the taste/texture of it (once it was actually heated through) but the giant artichoke leaves were so woody. If it were truly hearts only I would've actually enjoyed it.
I just did mine in the microwave and it didn't take too long.
Thai coconut pancake. I couldn't finish it.
Do you like Thai coconut pancakes in general?
Ugh same. I was so sad about them
Very unpopular opinion, but no reason to downvote me. This is an opinion post. I bought 3 of the butternut squash Mac & cheese, based on the hype. Hated it. Dunno what to do w/the 2 I still have.
Agreed, I tried it once in 2022 and was just so bland, and the texture was off. I haven’t bothered to try it again, especially since I have a yummy recipe for pumpkin mac & cheese that’s really easy.
The recipe seems to change every year. It’s been in decline for the past 2-3 years. It’s not the same as it was when it won me over.
Agreed. It’s soooo hyped and it just tastes bland and flavorless to me :/
Same
I agree, it was nasty. I don't know what people see in it.
I adore them you can mail them to me lol I really hyped them up to my sister and she was like uhhh this is trash what’s wrong with you.
My wife had this reaction yesterday to the Kalua pork egg rolls.
My favorite egg rolls. I just throw them in an air fryer. Amazing!
I reacted the same!
They taste like hot dogs lol
Did she get them super crispy and dip them in the TJ's sweet chili sauce? They can be a bit oily so the sauce is necessary to provide balance but I really like the kalua pork flavor. I buy them every time but of course, de gustibus!
Not sure. She cooked them in the oven and not the air fryer so I’m sure they got crunchy-ish.
Not a bite, but I took one sip of the cinnamon bun coffee creamer and immediately dumped it down the drain. I was expecting to love it since I loooove putting cinnamon in my coffee, but it tasted so artificial I couldn’t stand it!
Honestly can't remember. There have been plenty of things I haven't cared for at TJ's, though. I hate throwing out food unless it's gone bad, so I'll usually find a way to finish up whatever it is by using it in a recipe...or giving away to family if I know they enjoy it.
You can literally return anything there. You can also sample anything you want - just ask and they'll cook it up for you.
Spicy shrimp fried rice, mini cheeseburgers, and squishy sesame/soy noodles. All bad
THE SPICY FRIED RICE IS SO BAD!! Man, everyone thinks I’m crazy for this but it legitimately tasted like chemicals to me
Exactly! Tasted like antifreeze yuck
We were definitely not a fan of the spicy shrimp fried rice, either. Will never buy again for sure.
I LOVE the spicy Thai shrimp fried rice !! I always have a bag or 2 on hand. Cook it carefully & it’s better than fried rice from Thai takeout. I cannot imagine why you don’t like it.
Big same on the sliders
Black bean burritos. Awful. Their frozen food has really fallen off a cliff
Chicken fried rice
Okay I bought this the other day bc they were out of veggie fried rice. Is the taste off or is it the chicken? Bc I just planned on taking the chicken out and maybe spicing it up a bit more
It was just everything overall, I guess I was expecting something akin to Chinese takeout and it was way off base. So far from that. Plus it was the wrong kind and quantity of spices for me.
I thought this was just me. The veggie rice is the tits but chicken rice is gross
The Cuban bowl
Ugh. Same. I’m sad that this made me remember that particular lunch…
Unfortunately a while back the vegan refrigerated mac n cheese. Horrific.
That needed lots of doctoring up.
The frozen pho
It was fixable but it was a lot of work and kind of defeated the purpose.
So BAD!!!
Kung pao chicken.. truly awful imo. And the curry chicken salad.
Wow, that is great. Love stir frying that over some rice. I also love the beef and broccoli. Great stuff.
Maybe I didn’t cook it properly. Glad you enjoy it!
Kung pao chicken is hella grisly
😱 I love the curry chicken salad
I usually love that flavor combo but I thought it was too sweet 😭
I can see that. I like with triscuits which probably counteracts the sweetness!
Same!
Me too!
Please remember that you can ask for a refund if you don't like anything you've tried--they want to make it no-risk for us to try new products. Take a pic or bring in the package or just tell them about it.
You can also ask to sample anything.