The Absolute Best New Trader Joe's Products of 2018

A thing I've never seen in jar form until now: carrot cake. A thing that is surprisingly good: Trader Joe's Carrot Cake Spread. It's really sweet and a little weird, sure, but if you're a huge fan of carrot cake, spread this on toast and crackers, or dollop it on vanilla ice cream. It's made with real carrot pieces, crushed pineapple, raisins, orange peel, and warm spices.

Calling all college students and actual adults who are still fans of instant ramen (hi, nice to meet you). Trader Joe's released its own version of instant ramen, available in chicken and miso flavors, and it's totally satisfying for a ready-in-five-minutes meal.

Popcorn is my all-time favorite snack, and I definitely only mean the savory kind. However, if you lose your sh*t over all things birthday cake flavored, this sugary popcorn will be your new obsession. The crunchy kernels have a vanilla glaze and plenty of colorful sprinkles, and this is a great last-minute snack to pick up on the way to a party.

If you were team Chocolate Pop-Tart as a kid, you won't be able to resist these toaster pastries from Trader Joe's. They're super chocolaty, and thanks to the icing on top, they taste a lot like hot cocoa. Your taste buds will thank you if you, well, toast the toaster pastries.

This is a Fall take on salsa from Trader Joe's, and it's quite a versatile dip. Made with pureed red bell peppers and roasted pepitas, this chunky-ish salsa is not spicy and would be great with TJ's black bean tortilla chips or on top of a grain bowl for dinner.

Wait, cold brew coffee bags? You'll feel like you're steeping a pot of tea as you let these coffee bags sit in a pitcher of cold water for eight to 12 hours. The bags are filled with Arabica medium-roast coffee, and two of them will yield seven eight-ounce cups of coffee. A pretty ingenious way to guarantee a cup of coffee ASAP before you head out the door.

You might remember Trader Joe's carrying a green curry simmer sauce for years, but the company admits it was due for an upgrade. This new and improved Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce contains better ingredients and nixes the gums, soy, and wheat. This jarred sauce has a coconut-milk base, green curry paste with lemongrass and galangal, Thai lime peel, ginger, turmeric, basil, and more spices.

It's a solid option for a hearty dinner when you don't want to make a Thai sauce from scratch or pay for delivery, and all you have to do is sauté a protein and then simmer it with the sauce. One of my favorite ways to use it on weeknights is to cook diced chicken breasts or thighs in a skillet, add the Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce and spinach, and serve it over a bowl of brown rice.

Everyone knows that Trader Joe's kills it in the cheese department, so consider this yet another you need to try. You might already be familiar with TJ's Toscano Cheese soaked in Syrah, and this is the same cheese with a new coating: chipotle spices. The flavorful rub has chipotle peppers, crushed chili peppers, paprika, garlic, oregano, basil, and "natural smoke flavor." It's not spicy at all, but each smoky bite kind of reminds us of cheese and pepperoni — so good!

Trader Joe's new Organic Italian Artisan Pasta selection is truly outstanding, which says a lot coming from a pasta critic (me). The pastas are made with "organic durum wheat semolina sourced from farms in the Puglia region of Italy" (um, OK!), and the quality really shows. The pasta cooks to a perfectly al dente texture and tosses well with any Italian sauce. So far, the selection includes capunti (short and tubular), orecchiette ("little hats"), and gigli (or campanelle, which is bell shaped).

Coconut chips are having a moment, and these Organic Coconut Sesame Seed Clusters are some of the best I've tried. Six organic ingredients (dried coconut, coconut sugar, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, tapioca syrup, and Himalayan pink salt) combine to make little clusters that are equal parts crunchy, savory, and sweet. I'd eat these straight from the bag, but they'd also add fantastic texture to yogurt, vanilla ice cream, oatmeal, or an acai bowl.

Did anyone else dip potato chips in ketchup as a kid and call it "fries"? No, just me? If I had Trader Joe's Spud Crunchies at the time, my questionable snack would have been majorly upgraded. These potato snacks taste like french fries with as much crunchiness as a chip, and there are no fillers, either — they're just potatoes, canola oil, and salt. Thanks to the french-fry shape, these will save you a trip to the drive-through whenever the craving strikes.

These are not your average caramel-stuffed chocolates. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Toasted Sesame Caramels have a bittersweet dark chocolate shell filled with caramel, sticky toffee, toasted sesame seeds, and biscuit pieces. Not cloyingly sweet like many chocolate truffles, these bite-size candies have a nutty and slightly savory flavor. If you love the way sesame rounds out sugary desserts, you won't be disappointed.

You could pay $12 for a trendy chocolate bar, or you could get this $2 Crunchy Cinnamon Squares Milk Chocolate Bar that tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. With tons of crunchy cinnamon square cereal bits folded into a rich milk-chocolate bar, it's an irresistible treat. This totally counts as breakfast, right?