Trader Joe's New Vegan Chicken Stir Fry Includes A Fruity Twist
What's not to love about Trader Joe's? There's the aisle of $2 wine bottles, the store-brand items you can't find anywhere else, and, of course, the employees' quirky Hawaiian shirts. Whether you're stocking up on paper towels or picking up a wrap from the grab-and-go section, a stroll through the freezer aisle is almost impossible to resist. There, you'll find some of the brand's most popular items, from oven-ready tikka masala to mac 'n cheese, per Eat This Not That, to one of the brand's latest product launches — a chicken-less cauliflower rice stir-fry.
Trader Joe's' new product launches are part of the reason it's evolved into a cult favorite grocery chain — and according to Veg News, its inclusion of both vegan and gluten-free items in those drops has only drawn in more customers. However, the new vegan chicken stir fry has received a mix of reviews on Instagram.
Trader joe's fans weigh in on its new vegan stir fry
Trader Joe's' newest product, the chicken-less riced cauliflower stir fry, is a vegan, gluten-free version of your traditional chicken stir fry — only minus the chicken and with an added fruity twist of pineapple. Instead of rice, you'll find riced cauliflower, a trendy ingredient that many customers seem to be tired of based on the comments on a recent Instagram post. Mixed into the cauliflower rice are veggies like corn, carrots, peas, green onions, and red bell peppers, along with typical stir-fry seasonings like garlic, ginger, and gluten-free tamari sauce instead of soy sauce.
Beyond the riced cauliflower, the stir-fry mix has a couple of other unexpected ingredients: pineapple (which adds a contrasting sweet and tangy flavor) and plant-based morsels (the product's defining "chicken-less" ingredient). While Trader Joe's claims that the morsels have been wildly popular in the brand's chicken-less mandarin orange, some Instagram commenters said that they tasted spongey and chewy in the new stir fry dish. However, other responses were more positive — one even claimed that they "LOVED it topped with a little soy sauce and chili oil." We guess you'll just have to try for yourself to know for sure.