15 Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Desserts, Ranked

Trader Joe's has all types of fascinating food, but what about gluten-free sweet treats? Our writers at Tasting Table have previously covered gluten-free Trader Joe's pastas, and it's deemed one of the top popular chain grocery stores for gluten-free snacks. So, I was interested in finding some tasty Trader Joe's desserts that don't have gluten in them. But which ones are worth the purchase? That is the question I set out to answer by trying out 15 gluten-free items.

I am not gluten-free, nor am I celiac, so the opinion comes from someone who eats gluten daily. Therefore, you can trust me when I say that some of these are absolutely delicious in their own right. They're not second-class picks; they're as tasty or even more so than the gluten-full counterparts that Trader Joe's sells. After trying these products, it's safe to say that TJ's has many gluten-free sweets and desserts that you should stock up on to make your household more accessible and friendly to anyone who doesn't eat gluten.

While a couple of options are disappointing for various reasons I'll dive into, most of these are quite delicious. I am ranking them based on the overall flavor, texture, and how likely I would be to eat it again or recommend it to others. I hope you have a sweet tooth!

Before we can make our way to the top, we have to start with a disappointing bag of Super Sour Scandinavian Swimmers. First of all, the name is incorrect as these oceanic sweets are not tart at all, leaving me wholly underwhelmed with the delivery. The second issue is the lack of variety; my bag was 75% red, star-shaped gummies, which, in my opinion, is the least interesting flavor (red berry, whatever that is). The huckleberry dolphin and strawberry clamshell are the best, followed by the orange tang fish. And then the starfish is ... there, taking over the whole bag. 

On the plus side, nobody would know these are gluten-free, so you could easily put them out for everyone. Alas, these don't deliver any sourness, and now that I picked my way through the best flavors, I'm left with a nearly full bag of red starfish I don't want to eat. Should you choose to get these, though, make sure to look at the bag to get something with a more even distribution of flavors.

These chocolate chip cookies are small and uber-crunchy; unlike the gummies, these actually live up to their crispy and crunchy name. The texture is as though you left a cookie out of the package for a week and then decided to give it a try — brittle, dry, and crouton-like. It's a type of cookie you need to dunk in a cup of coffee or potentially use to make an ice cream sandwich.

The advertised buttery taste falls to the wayside because the crunchiness is the only sensory element I can focus on, and there aren't nearly enough chocolate chips to make it chocolatey enough. These are fine at best, and only if you are a crunchy cookie lover. There are two much better chocolate chip cookies on this list, and even the next non-chocolate option is more flavorful.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies are available in the bakery area, hidden on the bottom shelf at my store. The pack comes with six total cookies, plastic-wrapped in two sets of three to keep them fresh. These are quite large with big pieces of coconut and oats. The cookies are sweet, and although they advertise the addition of raisins, I only saw one or two in the entire cookie. The rest of the sweetness comes from ingredients like brown sugar and brown rice syrup. I think more raisins might improve the taste, as these primarily taste like sugary oat coconut cookies without any other dimension to make it memorable.

I have mixed feelings about the texture, too, which is rough and jagged. The baked rolled oats and coconut flakes create tiny spears, ready to dig into the roof of your mouth. Essentially, it's dry and tough to eat. These are okay and suffer some flavor and texture issues, but I still prefer the coconut aspect over the previous dull-flavored option.

These gluten-free Joe-Joe's cremes are made with ground vanilla beans that provide those stunning vanilla bean specks. However, the flavor isn't too prominent, as it's overshadowed by the two crisp cookies on either side. The treats are a tad crumbly as the cookie creme center is covered in sporadic bits of chocolate cookie dust. It features ingredients like rice flour, oat flour, semisweet chocolate, and vanilla beans to give the cookies the advertised profile, but the chocolate cookie is not as cocoa-forward as I'd like. I want more vanilla from the creme and more chocolate from the exterior.

If you're gluten-free and craving Oreos (and don't have gluten-free Oreos nearby), then this may satisfy that craving — although I can't guarantee it. Although Gluten Free Joe-Joe's Chocolate Vanilla Creme Cookies are certainly better in taste and texture than the previous gluten-free eats, they're not too riveting, and there's no way I'd be able to finish the whole box. Although the cookies ranked second place in a gluten-free Trader Joe's snacks taste test, they were not stacked up against any of these upcoming desserts. There are a lot more interesting gluten-free treats coming up.

When I was pregnant, I craved sour candy, and nothing was able to hit the spot. Believe me, I tried a lot of brands. I wish I'd known about the Sour Jelly Beans from Trader Joe's, as they are as tangy as can be, leaving you puckering your lips as you chew — just what I would have wanted. The vibrant packaging gives off Easter vibes, but I'm glad they're a mainstay that you'll find hidden in the stands by the register, not featured in the aisles (likely why I'd never noticed them before). 

These colorful morsels impressed me with their sourness. Better yet, the actual flavors are all sour too: green apple, tangerine, blue raspberry, cranberry, and lemon. There's no attempt at making flavors like red berry sour, which I appreciate. The beans are perfectly chewy and wonderfully tart, but as it is, it's not something I'd reach for regularly. After eating about three, I felt satisfied. It's not something I'd consistently eat, so it gets the 11th spot.

The blood orange-flavored mochi didn't appeal to me by name alone, but the flavor is quite bright and alluring. The blood orange is a bit tangy, with the expected citrus quality. It's a unique blend of refreshing, sweet, and tart. The chewy and doughy mochi rice exterior creates a fantastic balance to the creamy center. Each pack comes with six mochi, making them perfect to serve as an after-dinner sweet for the family. The exterior starts off slightly tough but softens as it gets warm in the hand. 

I like the flavor and texture, while the cooling effect makes it different than anything else mentioned so far. I think more people would like the overall profile of this mochi over the very tangy jelly beans, however, I won't rank it higher because the tangy-tart flavor is something you have to be in the mood for. It reminds me of a treat you'd want to eat in the summer after a long pool day or running through the sprinklers. The next option, however, is more universal.

This Strawberry Mochi ice cream has a similar texture to the blood orange version, but the exterior is slightly softer — why they're different, I'll never know. The strawberry ice cream interior is perfectly sweet and creamy; it's a fruity, playful, and familiar flavor, while the soft and springy mochi brings a new texture into the mix. While the mochi manages to show sweetness in the form of cane sugar and tapioca syrup, the sweet rice flour and egg whites bring balance, so the result is not a cloying mess.

Because of these reasons, strawberry mochi received second place out of six Trader Joe's mochi flavors. I prefer these adorable pink snacks slightly over the blood orange mochi. The main reason is that I'd pick this flavor throughout the year, rather than associating it solely with the refreshing summer season. 

These Gluten Free Madeleine Cookies come individually wrapped in the box, so you get six total. They are very soft and moist with a mild almond profile — the box warns it may contain almond or hazelnut, but it's not called out in the ingredients list. They have a base made from rice flour, corn flour, potato starch, and rice starch, and they are one of the few items on this list that could be discerned as gluten-free.

These have an almost wet texture as you grip them for a bite. If I just let the cake sit on the palate without using my teeth, it virtually disintegrates in my mouth. The texture is slightly gritty, unlike other madeleines I've tried, which have an airier, more stable crumb. And still, the flavor and texture hold their own. I'd be happy to eat another one or serve it to guests along with tea and fresh fruit.

I tried three TJ's gluten-free muffins, and seeing as we made it all the way to No. 7 without a mention, you can already assume they're all pretty scrumptious. Blueberry muffins come in a cute little paper wrapping with a delicate streusel top. The baked treats are made with sour cream, which keeps them incredibly moist, a little too much so if you ask me; it feels wet and sticky as I tear off a piece. The consistency is slightly off-putting, but the flavor allows these fruity muffins to get the impressive seventh place. 

It's a tasty blueberry dessert, though; if you saw it at a bakery counter, bought, and ate it, you wouldn't pinpoint that it's gluten-free. It's made even better by heating it in a toaster oven for a couple of minutes to get rid of the sticky moistness that adheres to your fingers. I like the lighter, fluffy crumb, sweet profile, and fresh blueberries that bring a touch of tartness and burst of texture. These are a little more multi-dimensional than madeleines, giving them a bit of a lead in the ranking.

Chocolate Donut Holes grew on me. I ate one myself and offered one to my toddler during the drive home from Trader Joe's. At that time, they were cold, almost like they were thawing out. The icing was sticky and wet, clinging to other donut holes and my fingers. But I tried them later that day and then a couple of days after, and they got progressively better. That wetness went away as time passed, and I tasted a sweet (and perfectly set) icing with a dense cocoa donut hole. 

These are gluten-free and dairy-free (but not vegan as they contain eggs). They merely taste like a heavier, cakey donut hole; nothing screams gluten-free about it. As gluten-free donuts aren't too easy to find at my local donut shops, these are terrific to bring to a brunch or office party to cater to those avoiding gluten. I like the chocolatey flavor and frosting, but the next item is better because it's more cocoa-forward.

Trader Joe's Double Chocolate Muffins have a rich cocoa aroma right as you open the package, which made me hopeful I was about to dig into an ultra-decadent chocolatey muffin. The muffins — made with gluten-free flour that combines white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, and tapioca starch — face the same moist, wet-to-the-touch texture as the past two items. They are quite heavy, featuring a barely-there dome and pleasant fudginess thanks to the sour cream and cocoa. 

These muffins are delightfully rich with cocoa. They're not too sweet, which I enjoy, with the occasional chocolate chip tossed in the cake. The base has an obvious cocoa essence, but the double chocolate portion of the moniker is lacking. After nibbling my way through half a muffin, I only found one lone chocolate chip. I'm an enormous fan of chocolate, so I thought these would be more chip-laden. They get fifth place because I prefer the overall profile more than the flavor of donut holes.

Now that we've made it to the top four, I can safely say Gluten Free Yellow Sheet Cake is a stellar pick that could easily rotate in my kitchen based on the occasion. I've tried other sheet cake iterations from Trader Joe's, and this yellow one holds its ground and is quite delicious. It's made with a flour blend of white rice, brown rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, and tapioca starch.

Like the other TJ's sheet cakes, the buttercream frosting is incredibly sweet, so you have to be in the mood for a decadent, chocolatey topper. I like the cocoa-based frosting, but I feel like it could use half the amount. But this is the case for all the sheet cakes I've eaten.

The baked good is moist, not too sweet, and very crumbly — more crumbly than other TJ's sheet cakes, which is its biggest caveat. As I cut myself a portion, pieces began flaking off, making it pretty messy to eat. Nonetheless, it's a delightful cake for an office potluck or weekend movie night at home. It's the gluten-free sweet that TJ's fans swoon over, and I totally agree with the sentiment — you can even buy multiple and stack them up to create a layered elevated treat.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt are so easy to nibble on. I had to put them away, or else I was about to demolish them. They are packaged just like gluten-free oatmeal cookies, and the two are right next to each other in the bakery area.

They look like brown butter cookies, but the hue comes from brown cane sugar. The choco chunk cookies are made with oat flour, sweet rice flour, and brown rice flour base to keep them gluten-free. They're soft yet chewy with large bits of flaky salt to add dimension. It's a solid cookie, neither too dry nor moist, and it's a fantastic option to pair with a cup of tea or coffee. The salt tends to be concentrated in the center rather than throughout the whole cookie, but overall, I highly recommend these for any chocolate chip cookie lover out there — gluten-free or not. The next item beats it because it's fresher and even more scrumptious.

There's little better than a fresh, homemade cookie, but the Super Chocolatey Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough is the next best thing. Simply pop them in the oven to bake, and you have a gooey, warm cookie to devour. The cookies are made with rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and scrumptious semisweet chocolate chips. These are fantastic with lightly crisp edges and a softer center, making a dynamic combination I couldn't help but want seconds of. There is, however, a slightly gritty texture as you chew (likely the rice flour), but I'm willing to let that go because of the following.

The interior is wonderfully chocolatey and decadent, delivering everything that's promised in the description. I like that you can make them yourself, so you can cook the whole batch or one at a time, which means you can always have a fresh cookie on hand. They are great straight out of the oven, given that you wait the instructed 10 minutes to allow them to set. I cooked them 4 or 5 minutes longer than the longest cook time, because they didn't appear brown on the exterior. They came out perfectly delicious and speckled with chocolate, remaining sweet yet not cloying. 

If you're in the mood for coffee cake, gluten-free or not, Trader Joe's muffin version is a must-purchase. There are cinnamon bits throughout the muffin to provide a spiced punch with each bite, pairing wonderfully with the light and airy cake. The chunky sugar on top offers a crunchy texture that works nicely with the otherwise very soft and incredibly moist crumb, mostly due to sour cream and buttermilk. They could benefit from short toasting, but overall, these aren't as damp as other muffins. 

As a cinnamon lover, these are utterly delicious and something I'd purchase frequently. These muffins are so tasty that you could eat them without knowing they're gluten-free; nothing about the taste or texture is gritty or strange. I like the fluffy batter, cinnamon notes, and crunchy sugar on top. It's the ideal item to stock at home for when you want a genuinely delectable muffin. You don't have to be gluten-free to like these; they are incredible just as they are — point blank; that's why Trader Joe's Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins get the top ranking.

I purchased all items at my local Trader Joe's all in one go; however, I tried them over the course of several days, so I didn't have a total sugar overload. I judged the items based on the overall taste, texture, and whether I would recommend them to others. Items that were delectable and featured balanced and interesting flavors ranked high compared to one-note desserts. Pleasant textures also influenced the decision. Things that ranked low were underwhelming in flavor and general presentation.