Fans Aren't Sold On Trader Joe's Returning Gobbler Quesadilla
When fall rolls around, diehard Trader Joe's fans start getting excited. Every year, the organic grocer releases a much-anticipated batch of seasonal products that get customers talking. Last year, at TJ's fall 2021 product drop, Real Simple sang the praises of the Turkey & Stuffing En Croute and the Green Bean Casserole Bites. Delish recommended TJ's Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Bites and the "Everything But the Leftovers" seasoning. Fall 2022 promises an equally as interesting lineup, but one returning seasonal product is sorely absent from any news outlet's recommended list: the "Gobbler Quesadilla." This year, TJ's new Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce is also drawing mixed reviews, but the Gobbler Quesadilla is attracting an entirely different level of criticism.
The negative reviews started yesterday when Instagram fan account @tradersjoeslist posted a photo of Trader Joe's Gobbler Quesadilla. "This was literally the grossest thing I've ever put into my mouth, do not buy it LOL," writes one Instagram user. Similar reviews include, "What in the world," and "My nana just fainted." Some fans even say they threw the quesadilla away without finishing it. Already, TJ's customers have given it a try, and are diving headfirst into the comments section to talk about it. As of right now, the post has only been up for 16 hours, but it already has over 200 comments — and most of them aren't pretty. So, why is the product catching such a bad rap?
Unhealthy and bad flavor combo, says fans
At $4.49, "It's Thanksgiving in a quesadilla!" writes @traderjoeslist, which seems like an apt description. TJ's Gobbler Quesadilla contains roasted turkey, mozzarella cheese, butternut squash, kale, and cranberries packed into a tortilla. Several fans speculate that the kale or squash might be the culprits that stop this sandwich from working. One comment just reads, "The squash is raw." For fall 2022, The Pioneer Woman recommends TJ's Roast Turkey and Sweet Potato Burrito instead, with turkey, sweet potato, and cranberry salsa.
A few commenters yearn for the Turkey Gobbler Wrap, a similar product TJ's carried last fall. Instead of kale and squash, says lifestyle YouTuber Ms. Ming, the wrap contained roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and cream cheese, and only 290 calories compared to the quesadilla's 600. The Gobbler Quesadilla's uncharacteristically unhealthy nutrition label may be what's scaring many fans away. The product contains canola oil, fructose, 16 grams of saturated fat, and 1,010 milligrams of sodium. (The real Trader Joe would never allow this.)
One commenter rhetorically asks, "Do people like this?" Although, for some fans (admittedly very few), the answer is "yes." Positive reviews include "Yummy I'm glad it's back," and "I want thisss!" Other comments are more curious and playfully skeptical. One user tagged a friend in their comment and said "I feel like we gotta try this." Or, perhaps the greatest comment in the bunch sums up the general sentiment perfectly: "LOL just bought this."