Updated: These Are the Best New Trader Joe's Products For July

Updated on 7/23/2015 at 3:00 PM

POPSUGAR Photography | Anna Monette Roberts

When Trader Joe's flashes its new products on big stacked displays every month, they seem too good and too cheap not to throw in your basket. But wait! All those $3.99's add up over time, which is why we try all the new products for you so you're guaranteed to spend your money on something truly delicious. Cold-pressed watermelon juice and bacon chocolate are just a few things we've fallen in love with . . . and rest assured we will be updating this story as new products come out.

Try This: Fig Bites ($2)

What Trader Joe's says: "We think Newton would approve of these cookies made with soft cookie dough surrounding a chewy, sweet, figgy center."

Try This: Fig Bites ($2)

What POPSUGAR says: A TJ's employee told us these fig bites are like Fig Newtons . . . only better, way better. Skeptical but open-minded (since Joe Joe's certainly rival Oreos), we tried these figgy cookies. There's no denying there are real pulverized figs in the center, and the cookies themselves taste like angel food cake. These cookies earn a spot in our carts on the regular.

Try This: Cold-Pressed Watermelon Juice ($4)

What Trader Joe's says: Each "bottle contains only watermelon juice (squeezed from the pink fruit and the white rind), and lemon juice. (That’s two pounds of watermelon and one-quarter lemon to be precise.)"

What POPSUGAR says: This watermelon juice is insanely addictive. It definitely tastes like refreshing watermelon without the fibrous bits found in the fruit. Sip it on a hot day, especially after a workout.

Try This: Brownie Crisps ($3)

What Trader Joe's says: "The brownie flavor and the crunchy cookie texture married perfectly. Somehow, when you took a bite of that crunchy cookie, all you tasted was brownie . . . You'll doubt our claims of vegan and gluten free (though they're definitely definitive)."

Try This: Brownie Crisps ($3)

What POPSUGAR says: Vegan and gluten free?! No way! These brownie crisps taste like the tops of baked brownies, and the chocolate chips offer just enough sweetness and contrasting texture. These little square cookie-brownies are a little too addictive for their own good.

Try This: Salted Caramel Bread Pudding ($4)

What Trader Joe's says: "We thought that salted caramel in all of its trendy, gooey glory was the right profile to update this dessert. Starting with bread—the all-important base of this tasty treat—our supplier bakes it fresh and then dices it and mixes it with vanilla-bean custard. Then they weave the sweet, sticky mixture with a ribbon of dulce de leche caramel, and finish it with a sprinkle of crystal sugar and sea salt for extra crunch."

Try This: Salted Caramel Bread Pudding ($4)

What POPSUGAR says: Our taste buds were not prepared for the amazingness of this salted caramel bread pudding, especially since the real thing looks nothing like the box. The only complaint is that this is not a turn-key dessert. The frozen loaf must be thawed, sliced, and baked for a while . . . but the "effort" is worth it. The swirled bread has a crispy exterior and pudding-like interior with plenty of caramel to go around.

Try This: Dark Chocolate Covered Honey Grahams With Sea Salt ($4)

What Trader Joe's says: "Kosher certified snacks that look like candy on the outside, and crunch like cookies on the inside. "

Try This: Dark Chocolate Covered Honey Grahams With Sea Salt ($4)

What POPSUGAR says: You know the dark chocolate-covered almonds with sea salt? These dark chocolate-covered honey grahams have that same taste and perfect balance between salty and sweet. The honey flavor from the grahams is also accentuated thanks to the salt on top.

Try This: Super Seed and Ancient Grain Blend ($5)

What Trader Joe's says: "It's a combination of sprouted buckwheat groats, chia seeds, golden flax seeds, shelled hemp seeds, sprouted millet, organic red quinoa, and organic amaranth. Per serving, this Blend provides four grams of dietary fiber, four grams of protein, and two grams omega-3 fatty acid (ALA) — not to mention a host of bio-flavenoids, vitamins, and minerals. And as a bonus, the 'sprouted' components have begun to germinate, making them richer in nutrients and more easily digestible."

Try This: Super Seed and Ancient Grain Blend ($5)

What POPSUGAR says: If you love flax and hemp seeds, this sprouted blend will be your new obsession. It's really easy to chew and nosh on alone. However, we also like sprinkling it over yogurt and oatmeal.

On the Fence: Formaggio Lagorai ($10 / Pound)

What Trader Joe's says: "Formaggio Lagorai (La-gor-EYE) is a traditional cheese made today for us in the Lagorai mountains of Trentino, Italy . . . from an actual recipe found on the back of a spoon. The milk comes from cows that feast on pristine Alpine grasses. Their fresh milk is shipped daily to skilled dairy artisans, who filter and chill it (to maintain it’s natural characteristics) and then process it following the recipe, exactly as it appears on the back of that old skimmer."

What POPSUGAR says: Though a captivating story, the Italian cheese is just OK. It's very mild in flavor, which may be preferable for some, but at almost $10/pound, we want our cheese to stank, in a good way of course. We're thinking this cheese has potential in a grilled cheese.

On the Fence: Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar ($2)

What Trader Joe's says: "We’ve filled rich, crunchy 70% cacao dark chocolate with dark chocolate ganache. And not just ordinary dark chocolate ganache. We’ve amped up this ganache with small studs of uncured bacon and a hint of Alderwood-smoked salt."

On the Fence: Uncured Bacon Ganache Bar ($2)

What POPSUGAR says: The ganache-filling in this chocolate bar has an incredibly smoky flavor that barbecue-lovers adored but tasted too intense for others. If you're into salty chocolate and really, really love bacon, you've got to try this bar. We're dying to try this in a campfire s'more.

Pass: Organic Kettle Style Potato Chips ($2)

What Trader Joe's says: "Exactly what kind of “kettle” is involved in making “kettle chips”? It turns out, the kind of kettle isn’t what’s important. What’s important is the fact that frying thinly sliced potatoes in any kind of smaller vessel, requires cooking in smaller batches. And chips made in smaller batches have a longer cooking time—due to the drop in oil temperature each time a new batch is added."

Pass: Organic Kettle Style Potato Chips ($2)

What POPSUGAR says: Kettle chips ought to make you want to shove your face into the bag and lick the contents clean, but these chips actually gave us restraint. Say what? We felt like there was no discernable flavor, perhaps due to a low sodium level (which, we totally admit, may appeal to some people).

Pass: Chocolate Covered Dried Fruit ($5)

What Trader Joe's says: "We upgraded the chocolate, using chocolate liquor and cocoa butter from West Africa, and vanilla from Madagascar. We also revisited the ratio between dried fruit and chocolate so that now, you get the fine taste of real dried cherries, apricots, strawberries, and blueberries (instead of pectin or juice-flavored pieces) perfectly balanced with rich white, dark, and milk chocolate. Finally, we improved the look of these candies, creating vibrant colors using only annatto (achiote seeds), beetroot, and vegetable juice."

Pass: Chocolate Covered Dried Fruit ($5)

What POPSUGAR says: While we applaud Trader Joe's for trying to revamp its chocolate-covered dried fruits, they still sorta suck. I mean, we'd still eat them zombie-like in front of a TV if they were the only thing in our grandmother's cupboard, but since there are a trillion other yummy dried fruit snacks and chocolate-covered goodies amongst the Trader Joe's aisles, we'll skip these.