Trader Joe’s Chunky Guacamole

Guacamole is one of my favorite dips. When I was younger, my mom used to make it using fresh avocados and those little envelopes of guacamole seasoning from the grocery store, and she’d serve it with Fritos for dipping.

These days, when I serve guacamole it’s often entirely homemade and I don’t use a recipe with specific measurements. I make it using fresh avocados, fresh minced garlic and onions, some salt, a generous sprinkling of cumin, and a squirt of fresh-squeezed lime juice. I serve my homemade guacamole with tortilla chips as part of taco or nacho nights in my house.

But sometimes when I’m busy, or when I don’t have time to let rock-hard avocados ripen on my countertop, I buy ready-made guacamole dip from the grocery store. Aldi sells some pretty good guacamole. Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi, also sells several types of guacamole to choose from.

I tried some TJ’s guacamole recently when I wanted a dip to go with some Trader Joe’s Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers with Mexican-Style Street Corn Flavored Seasoning. I went with a chunky dip that — interestingly — contains Greek yogurt.

Trader Joe’s Chunky Guacamole cost $3.99 at the time of publication. This appears to be a product that Trader Joe’s stocks regularly all year. It’s found in the deli section, and it should be kept refrigerated. The guacamole I bought on May 13th had a best-by date of June 9th, so it’s good for a decent amount of time.

This guacamole is vegetarian, and ingredients include Hass avocados, low fat Greek yogurt, tomatoes, red onions, lime juice, cilantro, sea salt, jalapenos, garlic, and black pepper.

If you’re watching out for allergens, this contains milk.

Nutrition information and ingredients, part one. (Click to enlarge.)

Nutrition information and ingredients, part two. (Click to enlarge.)

There are about 11 two-tablespoon servings per container. One serving has 30 calories, 2 grams of total fat (3% DV), no saturated fat, 100 mg of sodium (4% DV), 2 grams of total carbohydrates (1% DV), and no added sugars.

My family loves guacamole, and this dip didn’t last long in my house, but it’s one of the more unusual types of guacamole we’ve tried. That’s mostly because of the addition of Greek yogurt. I’ve never added Greek yogurt to my homemade guacamole, and I’ve never seen it called for in store-bought mixes. I’ve also never seen restaurants that make guacamole fresh at your table use any kind of yogurt.

This guacamole claims to contain 60% less fat and 50% fewer calories compared to Trader Joe’s regular guacamole (2 grams of fat and 30 calories per serving with this guacamole, versus 5 grams of fat and 60 calories with regular Trader Joe’s guacamole). I’m guessing that’s because they’ve replaced some of the avocado base with Greek yogurt. Avocados are fairly high in calories and fat, although it’s generally considered healthy fat.

What that means is that this guacamole doesn’t have the consistency of regular guacamole my family is accustomed to eating. The yogurt gives it a smoother, creamier texture, so I’d consider this more of a guacamole-style dip rather than a true guacamole. It tastes good, with just the right amount of zest from the onions, cilantro, jalapenos, and garlic. It’s not overly chunky and was easy to scoop up with corn dipper chips. While it’s a little different from our usual guacamole, I’d buy this again.

The Verdict:

Trader Joe’s Chunky Guacamole features all the classic components of guacamole, including avocados, garlic, cilantro, onions, and jalapenos. It also has one less common ingredient: Greek yogurt. The addition of Greek yogurt appears to be an attempt to reduce the calories and fat, and it gives this dip an interesting creamy consistency. It’s not traditional guacamole, but it’s good nonetheless.