One of our local Trader Joe’s stores.
I love dessert. I can find any excuse to pick up something sweet for a holiday or family celebration, or just because it’s the weekend. All in moderation, of course. Aldi sells plenty of amazing desserts, ranging from ice cream to specialty cakes. In addition, Trader Joe’s — which is a cousin to Aldi — also sells some fantastic and unique desserts.
I don’t get out to Trader Joe’s as often as I go to Aldi, mostly because it’s a slightly longer drive to any of my local TJ’s stores. When I do go, though, it is a lot of fun to roam the aisles and look at all the different foods, some of which you can’t easily find at other grocery stores.
I’ve spent several years trying various desserts and Trader Joe’s, and I have a few favorites. What follows is my personal list of the best Trader Joe’s desserts. Note that some products may be seasonal or not available all year.
* Disclaimer: this is an opinion piece and is not a comprehensive list of TJ’s desserts. If you have a favorite Trader Joe’s dessert, feel free to — politely — share about it in the comments.
Trader Joe’s Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones
These mini ice cream cones are a longtime staple in the ice cream freezer at Trader Joe’s, and they won in the dessert category in TJ’s own customer choice awards this past year. The honor is well deserved. These are delicious little ice cream cones, and if you can manage to eat only one, they do less to sabotage your healthy eating goals. I’ve seen Trader Joe’s stock these in several flavors, including vanilla, chocolate chip, and chocolate.
Trader Joe’s Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches
These ice cream sandwiches are just as good — maybe even better — than the Hold the Cone! ice cream cones. I love how creamy the ice cream is, and the soft cookies sandwiching the ice cream are perfection. The mini chocolate chips coating the outside of the ice cream sandwich add some crunch and texture. These are simply wonderful.
Trader Joe’s Mini Dark Chocolate Ganache and Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean Sheet Cakes
My family is not a big fan of traditional cake. For birthdays, we often choose ice cream cakes, cheesecake, pie, or some other dessert to celebrate. However, these Trader Joe’s sheet cakes are amazing. They’re moist and flavorful, and the icing is excellent. The vanilla is my favorite because of the light, super vanilla-ey frosting. The chocolate cake has thick, rich frosting and is good if you’re a chocolate fan.
Trader Joe’s French Vanilla Ice Cream
I always like a good vanilla ice cream like this to serve with pie, cake, brownies, and other desserts. While this TJ’s vanilla ice cream doesn’t have the simple ingredients list that Aldi super premium vanilla ice cream has, it’s still fine in my view for dessert night.
Trader Jacque’s A Dozen Macarons
My kids adore these French macarons. This dessert is kind of fussy to make homemade, so when we want to indulge in macarons, I buy them from the grocery store. Aldi sells good macarons, and these TJ’s macarons are just as good. We happily eat them all.
Authentic Danish Kringle
This kringle is not exclusive to Trader Joe’s. TJ’s gets its kringle from O & H Danish Bakery in Racine, Wisconsin. Kringle originated in Northern Europe and features a ring-shaped pastry with a special filling and a sugar or icing topping. It’s very sweet and goes well with a cup of coffee or tea. Flavors at Trader Joe’s vary depending on the time of year and may include almond (pictured above), cream cheesecake, pecan, pumpkin, and raspberry. I often see kringle when I shop at Trader Joe’s, but I’ve heard that it does sometimes sell out because it’s so popular.
Sweet Cinnamon Filled Korean Pancakes
I love trying food that comes from other countries or is inspired by other countries. I bought these sweet cinnamon Korean pancakes at Trader Joe’s a while back. They’re a popular street food in South Korea. Serve them warm and sliced horizontally, and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream between the two pancake halves. Then eat it like an ice cream sandwich. You won’t be disappointed. Do make sure you have plenty of napkins.
Honorable Mentions
- Trader Joe’s Brookie — this combination of cookie and brownie is pretty scrumptious on its own or served with ice cream.
- Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Pie — this seasonal dessert shows up prior to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and is as good as any homemade pie I’ve had.
- Trader Joe’s Crispy Peanut Butter Filled Milk Chocolate Peanuts — found among the candy at TJ’s, these are shelled peanut-shaped chocolates with a creamy, crispy peanut butter filling. Perfect if you like Reese’s or other chocolate/peanut butter combos.
- Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers — not exactly a dessert, but these are the TJ’s equivalent of Swedish Fish. If you like gummy candy, these are good.
