Trader Joe’s: Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries

Pop Tarts are a terrible food nutritionally. They’re high in calories, carbs, and sugar. They contain processed ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors. They’re definitely one of those “sometime” foods to be enjoyed occasionally rather than something people should eat daily.

Trader Joe's Organic Pastry Roundup

Trader Joe’s, which is Aldi’s distant cousin, offers its own take on the popular breakfast pastry with its Trader Joe’s Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries. Make no mistake: the TJ’s version is still loaded with sugar, carbs, and calories, but hey, at least they’re organic. Trader Joe’s says one serving is two pastries, but because they’re so high in calories and sugar, it might be prudent to eat just one at a time, which still nets you between 175-180 calories and around 16-18 grams of sugar. (See nutrition info below.)

Trader Joe’s Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries cost $2.69 at the time of publication for an 11-oz. box containing 6 pastries, which comes out to about 45 cents per pastry. They come in two flavors: a traditional strawberry, and a more novel cherry pomegranate.

Ingredients include organic wheat flour, organic cane sugar, organic invert cane syrup, organic palm oil, and organic whole wheat flour, along with organic fruit puree concentrates. They also contain mysterious organic “cherry flavor” or “strawberry flavor,” which sound a lot like lab-produced natural flavors. People with allergies should be aware both the strawberry and cherry pomegranate varieties contain wheat and milk.

Because the crust for these contains whole wheat flour, they are a little more on the brown side compared to traditional Pop Tarts. My family thought the crust tasted fine, though.

The pastries can be eaten straight out of the package, toasted, or microwaved.

To toast them, remove the foil wrapper and place the pastries in a toaster set on light or the lowest setting. Allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before handling. Pastry and icing will be very hot.

To microwave, remove the pastry from its foil pouch and microwave on high for 10 seconds. Allow the pastry to cool before handling.

Read on for a closer look at each flavor.

Trader Joe’s Strawberry Organic Frosted Toaster PastriesTrader Joe's Organic Strawberry Toaster Pastry

Trader Joe's Organic Strawberry Toaster Pastry

Trader Joe’s Organic Strawberry Toaster Pastry nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)

These have a good strawberry flavor, similar to regular Pop Tarts, and the icing on top adds extra sweetness and a hint of crunch.

They contain 360 calories per two-pastry serving, with 8 grams of total fat (10% of your daily value), 4 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), mg of sodium (10% DV), 67 grams of total carbohydrates (24% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (7% DV), 35 grams of total sugars, 35 grams of added sugars (a whopping 70% of your DV), and 4 grams of protein.

Trader Joe’s Cherry Pomegranate Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries

Trader Joe's Organic Cherry Pomegranate Toaster Pastry

Trader Joe's Organic Cherry Pomegranate Toaster Pastry

Trader Joe’s Organic Cherry Pomegranate Toaster Pastry nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)

I like these because they are a unique flavor. The cherry adds sweetness while the pomegranate adds a touch of tart bite, and I like the sugar sprinkle icing topping. Even my kids, who don’t necessarily like tart foods, thought these were okay.

These contain 350 calories per two-pastry serving, with 8 grams of total fat (10% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (18% DV), 260 mg of sodium (11% DV), 67 grams of total carbohydrates (24% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (7% DV), 36 grams of total sugars, 34 grams of added sugars (68% DV), and 4 grams of protein.

The Verdict:

Trader Joe’s Organic Frosted Toaster Pastries are Trader Joe’s version of Pop Tarts. They come in classic strawberry or eclectic cherry pomegranate flavors. They’re both good, but I’m partial to the cherry pomegranate.

About Rachael

Rachael is the Co-founder of Aldi Reviewer. When she isn't busy shopping at Aldi, she enjoys cooking, gardening, writing gothic romance, and collecting more houseplants than she probably should. You can learn more about her at rachaelsjohnston.com.

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