The Best New Trader Joe's Products From 2017

Granola is great and all, but eating the same kind over and over again can get boring. We're loving this new Peanut Butter Protein Granola from TJ's because it satisfies our cravings for something crunchy and packs a protein punch at the same time. Not only is there plenty of peanut butter in each rolled-oats cluster, but there's also an added protein boost from pea protein, which you won't be able to taste. Not too sweet and just the right amount of nutty, these granola clusters are pretty damn addictive.

Get me a toasted English muffin ASAP, because I want to slather it with these Organic Reduced Sugar Cherry Preserves. These jammy preserves are not too sweet, slightly sour, and just chunky enough. At $3 per 15-ounce jar, this is worth the buy for something that tastes homemade.

Trader Joe's changed the game when it released riced cauliflower and cauliflower pizza crust. Now, Riced Cauliflower Stir Fry is the next cauli-loaded option from the store, and it's perfect as a last-minute dinner. The "rice" stir fry has green peas, red peppers, grilled corn, tamari, Spring onions, sesame oil, and ginger, so it's got a lot more flavor than meets the eye. Stock this in your freezer and you'll be less than 10 minutes away from a fast, healthy, and tasty dinner.

Trader Joe's Organic Midnight Moo is back! This beloved chocolate syrup is a years-old Trader Joe's product that was discontinued in 2016. After the unexpected hiatus, it's finally back and ready to be drizzled into chocolate milk, on top of ice cream, onto waffles, and with whatever else you want to eat the fat-free syrup with. Far superior to other store-bought chocolate syrups, this one is made with high-quality ingredients you can taste, like organic vanilla extract.

This new Kohlrabi Salad Blend isn't anything to write home about, but it's a fresh blend of crunchy veggies that makes for a solid desk-side lunch. The kohlrabi (a type of cabbage) is cut into matchsticks that pair well with the kale, golden beets, and red cabbage. If you want something a little cheaper than Trader Joe's prepackaged salads, pick up this loose mix and create your own; just be sure to bring your own dressing since you won't find any in the bag.

You won't find a lot of artisanal coffee for less than $10 at most grocery stores, but you will at Trader Joe's. The new Organic Nicaraguan Coffee is no exception, and if you prefer a medium-roast coffee with low acidity and slightly caramel-like notes, you'll want to grab a bag of this whole-bean coffee while you can. You can always use Trader Joe's in-store coffee grinder if you don't have one at home.

Sweet tooth, meet Trader Joe's Chocolate-Filled Crepes. While these frozen crepes weren't freshly made, you could probably trick people into thinking you whipped them up from scratch. These thin, golden crepes are filled with a decadent, creamy chocolate filling that reminds us of Nutella, and we appreciate their small size — we could eat three in one sitting. If you want a gourmet but cheap Sunday brunch, give these a shot.

Spicy almonds don't get much better than Trader Joe's Gochujang Almonds. Seasoned with the flavors of gochujang — a Korean paste made from red chili, rice, fermented soybeans, and salt — these crunchy almonds are smoky and not too spicy. They're worth picking up if you want an upgraded afternoon snack to look forward to.

OK, these Just Coconut Chunks are pretty freaking ingenious. The frozen bags are packed with exactly what they promise: just chunks of coconut. You can eat them on their own (thawed) or use them instead of ice in smoothies for an extra flavor boost. The coconut meat is fresh and will last for months in the freezer.

If you're looking for a tea that will mentally perk you up without the caffeine, try Trader Joe's Red Refresh Herbal Tea. The pink-hued hibiscus tea has a blend of lemongrass, peppermint, orange peel, and wild cherry bark, and it's pleasantly sweet and refreshing.

Calling all vegans! And coconut-lovers. And yogurt haters. This new Cultured Coconut Milk is pretty freaking awesome. Since it's free of dairy and not as fatty as traditional yogurt, it doesn't have quite the same consistency, but the flavor is on point. It's available in blueberry and vanilla, and at just $1 per six-ounce container, this is a fantastic breakfast staple to keep stocked if you're a fan of all things coconut based.

On the flip side, there's also new protein powder available. Trader Joe's Whey Protein Powder, which comes in vanilla and chocolate, is worth a buy if you regularly add protein to your smoothies. According to an editor who regularly uses another vanilla-flavored whey protein powder, this Trader Joe's version isn't as strong in flavor, but it also doesn't have any artificial aftertaste and mixes well with almond milk. Add an extra scoop for a more noticeable vanilla flavor and you'll be satisfied.

Move over, Corn Flakes! This new corn-based cereal from Trader Joe's will become your new favorite. Made with purple corn, the Organic Purple Maize Flakes are not only incredibly crunchy, but also have a visual twist that makes them a little more exciting than your average cereal. There's a little bit of organic cane sugar to offer a touch of sweetness, but overall this is a savory and addictive cereal that we can't get enough of.

Calling all matcha-lovers! Trader Joe's Matcha Green Tea cans, which are a product of Japan, will be your new favorite drink to stock in the fridge. The cans (sold individually) were initially announced in April, but many stores weren't in stock until now. The matcha is unsweetened and has an earthy, smooth, and slightly roasted taste. It's the perfect way to get caffeinated on the go if cold brew coffee isn't your thing.

Listen up, dairy-free people who also love lattes: the new Organic Cold Brew Mocha Nut Latte will be your newest staple. Made with cashews, almonds, organic cold-brew coffee, dates, vanilla, and cinnamon, this bottled latte is creamy, nutty, and not overly sweet. It's a little bit on the thick and gritty side, which we find makes it feel more substantial than a regular cold brew.

Trader Joe's is at it again with another Tate's-like gluten-free cookie. The new Gluten-Free Crispy Crunchy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are thin, crunchy, buttery, and perfectly cinnamon- and vanilla-infused. The first ingredient in these rich cookies is salted butter (a sign of a good cookie), followed by all of the whole ingredients you'd use in a homemade batch — no preservatives or fillers whatsoever, and the taste says it all.

These new Crunchy Nutty Rice Bites With Quinoa and Cranberries are the perfect snack to reach for when you want to satisfy your sugar cravings but also want something somewhat healthy. The bite-size clusters are made with a combination of nuts, grains, and dried fruit, including brown rice, cashews, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries, and are just sweet enough. Ultracrunchy and full of texture, these rice bites are the perfect pick-me-up.

Trader Joe's has an impressive and affordable selection of whole-bean coffee, and this Ecuador Vilcabamba Estate Small Lot Coffee is the latest addition. It's a light-medium roast, which means it has plenty of caffeine, but it's quite as bitter or bold as a dark roast, and we coffee-addicts fully approve. You can either grind the beans at home or use Trader Joe's in-store coffee grinder near the coffee-and-tea aisle.

Trader Joe's has several varieties of dried mango, and the new Unsweetened and Unsulfured Mango might be the best one yet. It's the Chokanan variety of mango from Thailand, which is naturally sweeter than many other types of mango. You'd think the sticky, chewy slices of dried mango were coated in a sugary syrup, but there are zero ingredients besides the mango itself; it's that good on its own.

Hitting shelves in time for grilling season, Trader Joe's Mango Chipotle BBQ Sauce With a Hint of Salted Bourbon will add a sweet-savory kick to any dish. Made with mango puree, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, chipotle peppers, and, yes, bourbon, this pourable sauce delivers on flavor and isn't sickeningly sweet like other BBQ sauces. Slather this on ribs, simmer it with pork shoulder, or simply use it as a dip or topping for any of your favorite grilled meats.

Trader Joe's new Onion Salt is the new secret ingredient you'll want to have stocked in your spice cabinet. It's a supersavory blend of granulated onion, granulated garlic, minced onion, kosher salt, green onion, and dried chives, and the flavor profile is dynamite. Sprinkle it on pizza, season chicken with it, or toss it on roasted vegetables.

If drinking plain water doesn't excite you, pick up Trader Joe's Organic Herbal Flavored Waters, which come in flavors Lemon Ginger and Lemongrass Spearmint. With no artificial ingredients or colors, these all-natural waters contain only water and organic extract. The Lemongrass Spearmint is cool and refreshing, while the Lemon Ginger has an earthy kick.

A subtle kick of ginger takes standard caramel popcorn up a notch, and Trader Joe's Caramel Ginger Popcorn is a dangerously addictive snack. Sweet and salty, each piece of popcorn is coated in enough of a ginger flavor that your taste buds notice, but it's not overpowering whatsoever.

In a sea of chocolate-covered Trader Joe's goods, do not miss the new Campfire S'Mores Bar. TJ's assures us the milk chocolate is the "high-quality, really good kind," and you can absolutely taste it right away. The slightly salty chocolate paves the way to a load of fluffy mini marshmallows (they're gelatin-free and vegan) and crunchy honey graham cracker nuggets. Stock up on these limited-edition bars while you can, because they'll likely become as popular as the Smashing S'Mores.

I can wax poetically about the Pepperoni Pizza Mac & Cheese Bowl. The elbow noodles are cooked to al dente perfection. The sauce is like a traditional mac sauce (cheddar, milk, butter), but then there's the addition of tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, and black pepper. Remarkably, it's not greasy or overly rich. It tastes like a cheesy marinara. Shredded mozzarella and giant pepperoni slices melt atop the pasta, creating the pizza effect. It's so. Damn. Good. I cannot wait to have it again. Dare I say, I may prefer it to actual frozen pizza.

When I saw these chips on display, I thought, "Ew. Honey butter belongs on biscuits — not chips." After the first bite, I realized I was sorely mistaken. First off, the massive chips stretch the length of a jacket potato (like four inches). Thicker than Lay's, the chips have a satisfying snap yet are still thin enough to dissolve quickly. Then, the honey butter flavor kicks in. At first, my taste buds revolted at the shockingly sweet honey butter taste. Then, I couldn't stop eating these chips. I knocked back handful after handful, and the people around me did too. I hate them, but I love them. I am a fan and would have no problem buying another bag of these for a Summer barbecue.

These Matcha Joe-Joe's feature two golden biscuit cookies with a vanilla-matcha cream filling. They taste crumbly and buttery like a Trefoil Girl Scout cookie. The cream filling has a silky, buttercream-like texture and bright green color, but the matcha flavor doesn't really reveal itself. There's a slight grassy aftertaste, though the matcha taste doesn't hit you hard like other matcha products. That said, people who don't like matcha loved the subtlety.

The internet imploded over these Simpler Canned Wines. While both TJ's near me are sold out of the Rosé, I could snag a pack of the white sparkling wine, which tastes super sweet and mineral-y, probably from the tin of the can. No, it's not refined. Yes, it is tasty, and I'd happily knock back more of the refreshing wine poolside or at a picnic.

If you love chocolate and a crunchy texture (but don't want to eat sugar), there's always cocoa nibs. Try them in smoothies, yogurt, and trail mix. TJ's makes you feel like a fancy cocoa nib connoisseur by adding the origin of these particular niblets: Huila, Colombia.

TJ's Matcha Green Ice Cream tastes like the authentic stuff you're served in Japanese restaurants, and that's because it's made with real matcha green tea. As a bonus, the ice cream has a sort of gooey consistency, like marshmallows, thanks to the addition of tapioca syrup. I can't wait to try a matcha tea à la mode (or would you call it matcha affogato?) by scooping some of this on top of a mug full of hot matcha tea.

Made from coconut and salt, TJ's Organic Coconut Aminos is a great soy sauce substitute for anyone with dietary restrictions as it's gluten- and soy-free. I've tried (and tossed) Coconut Aminos in the past, but I have to say, TJ's version is quite good. It's sweeter and less salty than soy sauce, but it still packs an umami punch.

This new Organic King Coconut Water is a fierce competitor to other name-brand coconut waters but boasts 40 percent lower sugar content. It has a refreshing, crisp taste and that familiar-yet-subtle coconut flavor. Drink it chilled or add it to your favorite smoothie.

If you're looking for a refreshing and tasty new beer, pick up Campanology Brewing's Adventurous Stranger Coffee Kölsch. There's a unique flavor profile in every sip, beginning with only a subtle hint of coffee, followed by a light and crisp ale finish. One would think that the combo of coffee and beer is an odd pair, but in this case it works well. And for less than $4 a bottle, adventurous beer-lovers can't lose.

Fans of Hamlet will appreciate Trader Joe's Rosencrunch and Guildenpop, a gourmet popcorn whose name is a twist on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two characters from Shakespeare's play. It's a caramel-coated popcorn with almonds and pecans, so every bite is as crunchy as it is sweet. If your favorite part of the giant popcorn tins is the caramel section, this is a snack for you.

There's something about tortilla chips from a restaurant that makes them so much better than store-bought chips. The flavor of Trader Joe's Restaurant Style White Corn Tortilla Chips lives up to their name, and we can't get enough. The thick and salty tortilla chips taste truly homemade, and they have the perfect amount of lime seasoning that complements the gritty corn tortillas.

Move over, Twizzlers. Trader Joe's Soft Strawberry Licorice Twists are the new red licorice you need in your life. You can taste the natural strawberry flavor in every bite of this soft, easy-to-chew gummy. "We source our licorice from a family owned company in New Zealand," the package claims, and clearly that source is a good one.

Carabao mangoes are grown in the Philippines and known as the sweetest mangoes in the world. Trader Joe's did a fantastic job keeping up that reputation with their new Supersweet Dried Carabao Mangoes. These dried mangoes are deliciously juicy, sticky, and sweet.

Longtime fans of Trader Joe's are no stranger to the original Joe-Joe's: the chocolate cookies that taste just like Oreos. And because Trader Joe's gives the people what they want, they turned the cookies into truffles that taste just like no-bake Oreo truffles. Each bite-size truffle is made with crumbled cookies and white chocolate and is dipped in dark chocolate and topped with pastel sprinkles. No one would be mad at you for bringing these to a dinner party.

Like many of Trader Joe's affordable whole-bean coffees, this new one is worth adding to your cart. The coffee is a blend of Kenyan AA, Ethiopian Sidamo and Tanzanian Arabica beans, and because it's a light roast it contains more caffeine. Don't forget that you can grind your beans at Trader Joe's near the coffee section if you don't have a grinder at home.

This is your average, totally solid trail mix that's great for stashing as a snack. The trail mix has a great balance of nuts, raisins, and chocolate candies, and its individual packaging makes it convenient for taking on road trips.

Not only does warmer weather mean it's time to switch to iced coffee, but it also means it's time to stock up on popsicles. Trader Joe's Cold Brew Latte Dessert Bars give you the best of both worlds: you can get your caffeine fix while snacking on a frozen treat, too. Not overly sweetened like other coffee pops we've had, these are equal parts sweet and bitter, with a strong espresso-forward flavor.

In a sea of new coffee-flavored items this month from Trader Joe's, there's also a new item tea drinkers will love. At just $1, the bottled Golden Oolong Tea is totally worth a buy and will satisfy your craving for a fragrant tea with just a little kick of caffeine. It's best served at room temperature so you can really taste the delicate flavors, but you could also refrigerate it. The added bonus? There are zero grams of sugar.

If you've tried and loved regular ghee (clarified butter), it's time to upgrade to Trader Joe's Seasoned Buffalo Ghee. No, it's not flavored with buffalo sauce — it's made with buffalo milk. With black mustard seed, turmeric, fennel seed, cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom, it's ideal for Indian cooking. Our only complaint is that the spices settle at the bottom of the jar so they're not exactly incorporated in each scoop.

Ever baked with coffee flour before? Its sole ingredient is coffee cherry pulp flour, meaning it's made entirely of the outer fruit that coffee beans grow inside of. The result is a cocoa-like flour with notes of cherry that can replace all-purpose flour in chocolate baking recipes, like coffee flour brownies.

Pop-Tart snobs might lift their noses at any other brand than the original, but if your motto is "the more breakfast pastries the merrier," you'll want to pick up Trader Joe's Organic Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Toaster Pastries. Each rectangular pastry is packed with a brown sugar and cinnamon filling, while the maple-like icing coats the top. Pro tip: don't forget to toast each one before serving so it gets nice and warm.

We weren't kidding when we said there are tons of coffee-flavored items from Trader Joe's this month. The next one you'll want to try for yourself is the bag of coffee-glazed almonds. Sweetened with a little bit of cane sugar and flavored with roasted espresso beans and sea salt, these are an exciting upgrade from plain-old almonds. We're partial to grabbing a handful of these while sipping on a postlunch latte to beat the afternoon slump.

If there's one new thing you try from Trader Joe's this month, make it the Brownie Crisp Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches. The square-shaped ice cream sandwiches have coffee ice cream flecked with finely ground espresso beans sandwiched between two thin brownie crisps that are studded with chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. Just bitter enough from the espresso flavor and plenty sweet enough from the brownie and chocolate, each sandwich satisfies all your cravings for something cool and creamy (and it just might give you a caffeine boost, too).

This snack might not be as healthy as homemade roasted chickpeas (ahem, the chickpeas are fried in canola oil and coated in ranch seasoning), but is it delicious? Absolutely. Crunchy enough but not greasy whatsoever, these little garbanzo beans satisfy salty-snack cravings with one handful.

Spoiler alert: Trader Joe's has a lot of new Nothing But Fruit & Nuts snacks this month, and they're all really good. The name "Fruit & Nuts" says it all — that's really all that's in these small, individually wrapped discs that consist only of dried fruit and nuts. The apricot almond flavor is tart and naturally sweet, and it's an awesome on-the-go or post-workout snack.

Granola bars tend to be hit or miss, and Trader Joe's new Sweet & Salty Granola Bars are some of the best we've had in a while. The saltiness of the nutty granola bars complements the slight sweetness of the Greek yogurt coating, and there's creamy almond butter to tie it all together.

Next up on the list of fruit-and-nut discs from Trader Joe's this month is the date, hazelnut, and cacao flavor. And OMG, if this isn't the closest thing we'll get to healthy Nutella, we don't know what is. The chewy snack has nothing more than date paste, hazelnuts, and cacao, and it's rich, chocolaty, and satisfying. Pick this up if you need a sugar fix without any artificial ingredients.

OK, so Trader Joe's Key Lime Tea Cookies aren't exactly new: they were released in August 2015. But the cookies have a whole new look with updated packaging, and if you never picked up these cookies in the past, you're going to want to as soon as possible. The buttery shortbread cookies are just limey enough, and each is coated in the perfect amount of powdered sugar. We'd recommend grabbing these for a Trader Joe's picnic this Summer.

The third Nothing but Fruit & Nuts snack you'll want to try — we weren't kidding when we said there's a lot — is the fig walnut flavor. Fig paste and walnuts are smashed together to create a sweet, nutty paste that tastes wonderful on its own, and we know it would be the perfect addition to a cheese plate.