Trader Joe’s is a paradise of snacks. (And a hell of parking.) The snacks spill from every aisle, tempting you with Ghost Pepper Potato Chips and two-bite cookies in plastic drums while you’re supposed to be finding the frozen broccoli. The first thing I see when I walk into my local store, after the flowers, is a refrigerated case of dips upon dips. They call to me with the siren song of Chunky Guacamole and Spicy Queso. But not all the snacks are created equal, and I won’t be tempted by Honey Mustard Popcorn ever again. The best snacks have proven staying power, scratching every sweet, salty itch time and time again. (My definition of snack is a food that satisfies your existential dread between meals and doesn’t require cooking in an oven or stovetop.) These are, according to a professional grocery reviewer, the best snacks from Trader Joe’s. I hope you find in them the happiness you seek.
Dips
Spicy Mango Habanero Guacamole
The tragedy of avocados is that when you want guacamole, you often can’t have it for another day and a half. And sometimes it’s more of a need, right? The Spicy Mango Habanero Guacamole has tiny bits of fruit, a nice kick of heat, and chunks of avocado that would almost convince you it was homemade. However, you need to finish it the day you open it, because it gets brown and slimy. (The Organic Chunky Homestyle Guacamole is pretty good too, if you don’t do spicy.)
Pair it with: Truly White Corn Tortilla Chips, which are extra salty and sturdy + Organic Margarita Mix + your house tequila
Buffalo Chicken Dip
This one’s controversial. Some love (me), some detest (they’re wrong). The package recommends microwaving, so the chicken melts into the creamy goo. But it has a sick satisfaction when eaten cold and most people I know eat it straight from the fridge. If Buffalo sauce doesn’t do it for you, the very cheesy Chicken Uncured Bacon Ranch Dip is a close second.
Pair it with: Ridge Cut Potato Chips with Sea Salt (below)
Roasted Garlic Hummus
Time marches brutally forward and Trader Joe’s garlic hummus remains unbothered. Creamy, consistent, with a deep roasted allium flavor, and most important, only $2.50. Better than the Mediterranean-Style Hummus, though that will do in a pinch.
Pair it with: Sea Salt Pita Bite Crackers + ground lamb + squash for this hummus bowl by Deb Perelman
Spicy Queso
I’m a queso evangelist and, while nothing beats El Tiempo on Navigation in Houston, we must adapt. We must make do. We must microwave this orange liquid cheese and let it stand in for memories of sizzling fajitas and beer-itas on a Sunday afternoon.
Pair it with: Organic Elote Corn Dippers + Beef Birria
Salty and Savory
Spicy Tempura Seaweed Snack
These are so greasy gorgeous you’d swear they were just flung from the fryer. But no, they were fried weeks ago and preserved in an air-pumped bag with a cartoon deep-sea diver goofing around on the front. Sheets of nori are coated with tempura batter and sprinkled with a togarashi-ish spice blend. Spicy-briny-sweet and very crunchy. Your fingers will be slick, so do not eat these at your laptop or around any sensitive paperwork or potential crime scenes.
Pair it with: Cold beer, dealer’s choice
Organic Elote Corn Dippers
Inside—and outside—the halls of Bon Appétit, these are legendary. Imagine sprinkling Cool Ranch Dorito seasoning on giant Fritos. A perfect chip. The regular Corn Dippers are also nice if you don’t enjoy an electrified tongue. Both are fragrant with corn, large and in charge, with a scoop shape for enthusiastic dipping.
Pair it with: Spicy Queso (above), microwaved for 45 seconds
Peanut Butter-Filled Pretzels
I asked my wide network of Trader Joe’s–heads what TJ’s greatest snack was and the peanut-butter-filled pretzels were the most mentioned, by far. They’ve been around forever. They’re salty and crunchy and yield to pasty, sweet nut butter filling. You can’t top that textural experience. Also: They’re bite-size. Go to town.
Pair it with: Plain Sparkling Water
Antipasto Stick Prosciutto-Wrapped Mozzarella Cheese
This is a grown-up string cheese, upgraded with a drapey prosciutto shawl. Trader Joe’s sells in loosies, so you can grab one for your commute home from grocery shopping. Thoughtful. This is a snack for people who aren’t looking for mindless crunching and munching. You want more—some quality fat and protein to sustain a long journey into the abyss of the afternoon. And good for you!
Pair it with: A moment alone in the parking lot
Ridge Cut Potato Chips with Sea Salt
A sturdy kettle-cooked chip with an unhinged amount of salt coating every crevice. They fry these chips to the browning point, so they have a toasty flavor. Fantastic dipper, good friend to sandwiches nationwide, and picnic hot dog essential.
Pair it with: All the dips (above)
Sweet Snacks
PB&J Snack Duo
One of the most innovative snacks ever innovated. Sugary wafer straws are filled with peanut butter and you dip them in a little tub of jelly. When else do you get a snack and an activity? More fun than a granola bar. These will fill you with childlike bliss, and that’s something we could all use more of in our daily diet.
Pair it with: A tall glass of milk
Dried Soft & Juicy Mango
Stay away from the shriveled-up, unsweetened mango slices, which barely have any flavor or joie de vivre left in them. These dried mangoes are plump and happy to be here. I like to have one before I go for a run and need a little jolt of energy the old-fashioned way (sugar). Or to chop up and put in overnight oats when fresh fruit is too pricey.
Pair it with: Oven Toasted Old Fashioned Organic Oats + Organic Coconut Milk
Honey Roasted Macadamia Nuts & Cashews
Tough call in the nut aisle, where I also love the Sesame Honey Almonds and Roasted & Salted Rosemary Marcona Almonds. But this mix is a treat, with roasted macadamia nuts ($$$) and salty cashews in perfect balance, even if I eat all the macadamias first.
Pair it with: $6 Espiral Vinho Verde (if your Trader Joe’s also sells wine)
Butter Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Raspberry Filling
These shortbread cookies are buttery and tender with a tart jam filling. The ingredient list is short and simple: butter, flour, jam, sugar, milk powder. In the stacks of plastic tubs of cookies, they’re the elegance and envy of the freezer aisle. Everyone wants them, and you can have them.
Pair it with: London Fog Tea Drink Concentrate + milk of choice
Mousse Cakes
On the chaotic display that is Trader Joe’s “bakery” department, I’m always hunting for the mousse cakes, little petit-four-type things that change flavors with the seasons. They’re moist and gooey inside, barely contained by a frosted coating. If you can’t find them, go with a Mini Sheet Cake (the Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean reigns supreme), a.k.a. wedding cake for a random Wednesday.
Pair it with: A shot of fernet
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups or Peanut Butter Cups
Almost too predictable, but it would be illegal for these not to be on the list. The Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups are Reese’s-adjacent, with a tinge more cacao bitterness and nutty graininess that makes them something entirely their own. The sparkle of the golden wrapper brings some Willy Wonka magic too. (Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: also iconic.)
Pair it with: Coffee Bean Blast Ice Cream
Mango & Passion Fruit Squares
These fancified fruit leathers are new but I hope they become a classic because I love the tropical combination. They’re juicy and slightly larger than a postage stamp, a perfect pocket snack.
Pair it with: A hike
Sour Strawberry Candy Belts
Sour, stretchy, absolutely sandy with citric acid and sugar. Be careful not to overdo it and eat the whole container, which might cause a new sensation in your intestines—unpleasant, slightly sizzling.
Pair it with: A candy platter with Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups (above), Sour Jelly Beans, and Sour Confetti Chews
More Trader Joe’s guides
- The 20 Best Frozen Foods at Trader Joe’s
- 10 Truly Easy Meals From Trader Joe’s
- The Best Vegetarian Meals at Trader Joe’s
- The Very Best Cheeses at Trader Joe’s
- The 10 Best Appetizers at Trader Joe’s
This story was originally published in April 2022 and updated in September 2026.
