I stopped by Aldi’s cousin Trader Joe’s the other week when turkeys arrived at the store in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Besides picking up a bone-in half turkey breast, I also bought some classic Thanksgiving sides so I could put together a mini-Thanksgiving feast on a recent weeknight. Among the other goodies I bought were refrigerated cranberry sauce and refrigerated, ready-made stuffing.
It ended up being a delicious dinner, in part because the stuffing was excellent. Here, I’m taking a closer look at Trader Joe’s Cornbread Stuffing with Roasted Apples, Dried Cranberries, and Savory Herbs.
Trader Joe’s Cornbread Stuffing cost $5.99 for a 17-ounce package at the time of publication. With about five servings per package, that comes out to about $1.20 per serving. You can certainly buy boxed stuffing mixes that cost less, but you’re getting some premium ingredients here. You’re also paying for the convenience of ready-made stuffing.
When this is in stock at Trader Joe’s, you’ll find it in the refrigerator case near the prepared soups and salads. The package I bought had a use-by date of only two days out, so keep an eye on use-by dates if you’re buying this for an upcoming holiday meal. I’m guessing you can freeze it if you don’t intend to serve it right away, and you’d just want to allow a day or so for it to thaw before heating and serving.
The back of the package states:
Whether it’s part of a holiday feast or a component of a weeknight supper, Trader Joe’s Cornbread Stuffing is a super convenient, 100% delicious addition to any meal. It tastes like you made it from scratch, yet goes from fridge to table in mere minutes. That’s a win, holiday and every day!
If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk and wheat.
The overall ingredients list is full of recognizable foods, including water, cornbread crouton, apples, celery, onion, olive oil, corn, butter, sweetened dried cranberries, honey, and less than 1% of chicken fat, chicken broth, sea salt, parsley, yeast extract, ground sage, ground bay leaves, black pepper, turmeric (for color), dried marjoram, and rosemary extract (to preserve).
One 1-cup serving has 160 calories, 8 grams of total fat (10% DV), 2 grams of saturated fat (10% DV), 5 mg of cholesterol (2% DV), 490 mg of sodium (21% DV), 21 grams of total carbohydrates (8% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 5 grams of total sugars, 3 grams of added sugars (6% DV), and 3 grams of protein.
Nutrition information, ingredients, and heating directions. (Click to enlarge.)
The back of the package has directions for heating this in a conventional oven or in the microwave.
To heat in the oven, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the outer sleeve. Lift one corner of the film and place the tray on a baking sheet on the center rack in the oven. Do not place the tray directly on the oven rack. Heat for 25 minutes or until heated through. Remove the film carefully before serving.
To microwave, remove the outer sleeve. Lift one corner of the film and heat on high for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 2 minutes. Remove film carefully before serving.
Stuffing after baking.
I baked this in my oven alongside the bone-in half turkey breast I also got from Trader Joe’s. All together, it smelled wonderful as everything heated for dinner. I had a little trouble peeling the plastic film off the tray the stuffing comes in, so I cut it with kitchen scissors.
A mini TJ’s Thanksgiving dinner with turkey breast, gravy, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.
This is classic stuffing, with plenty of soft bread crumbs. The cornbread provides a hint of sweetness, but this isn’t overly sweet, and I don’t think it’s as sweet as the Hawaiian stuffing mix Aldi often sells during the holiday season. It doesn’t have very many dried cranberries, but you could always add more if you really wanted to. The apple pieces are very soft and easily blend in visually with the cornbread crumbs so that you don’t notice them much, but they’re definitely there, and I liked them.
Even though this stuffing mix feels like an indulgence price-wise, I’d definitely buy it again. It’s very good.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Cornbread Stuffing features cornbread crumbs, roasted apples, dried cranberries, and plenty of savory herbs. It’s sold ready-made and refrigerated, so all you have to do is pop it in the oven or microwave. This stuffing exceeded my expectations in terms of taste, and even though it costs a little extra because it’s ready to heat, it’s good enough that I would not hesitate to purchase it again.
