The One Trader Joe's Ravioli We Won't Buy Again

Seasoned amorosos and burgeoning rotini boppers alike know that Trader Joe's has the pasta game on lock. The grocery chain's stuffed pastas come in a variety of flavors to deliver quick, low-prep meals on a dime. Still, convenience shouldn't come at the sacrifice of flavor — which is why, in Tasting Table's ranking of Trader Joe's ravioli, the spinach & ricotta raviolini fell to last place. As Tasting Table's taste-tester noted, despite being "unashamedly adorable," the overall flavor factor was as small as the raviolini themselves. 

"I don't know if it's because the raviolini are so small or if it's just because the filling lacks enough oomph, but I couldn't really taste them ... even the tiniest drizzle of one of my favorite olive oils (Pasolivo) completely overwhelmed the spinach and ricotta raviolini," wrote our taste tester, Emily Hunt. Ultimately, TJ's spinach & ricotta raviolini "didn't taste bad," it just didn't really taste like much of anything. Meanwhile, other offerings in the Trader Joe's ravioli oeuvre deliver bolder, better flavors that earned them higher rankings and bumped the spinach & ricotta raviolini to the bottom.

Hunt isn't alone on this take, either. An Instagram post by fan account @traderjoesnew dedicated to the "teeny tiny Spinach and Ricotta ravioli" echoes our feedback, with commenters that wrote, "Wow... tasteless?!" and "They are absolutely cute and tasteless." Elsewhere online, another TJ's ravioli ranking by the blog, Aisle of Shame, places the spinach & ricotta at a dismal 18 out of 20 for its "nondescript, faint" filling.

According to Trader Joe's, "it's very challenging to fill and keep closed such small ravioli." So much so that the grocer outsourced the help of "pasta pillow pros" in Italy. Even so, the product took an entire year of research and development for it to hone, delivering an even ratio of egg-durum flour pasta and filling. Cleary, no shortage of attention to detail went into these little pasta pockets. The price is right, too. A 10-ounce package of the raviolini costs $3.49 depending on the location. Alas, the flavor factor simply doesn't land. 

Instead, opt the one Trader Joes's that easily takes the crown for best: the goat cheese & caramelized onion ravioli. These ravioli delivered two strong flavors, while neither the spinach nor the ricotta in TJ's spinach & ricotta raviolini register. Still, it's worth pointing out that these bland raviolini could perform well as a mild, filling in dishes where other, bolder flavors do the heavy lifting — such as Hayley MacLean's creamy tomato tortellini soup. Here, those spinach & ricotta raviolini provide heartiness without overpowering the other flavors in the dish.