Trader Joe's Worst High-Protein Product Is So Bad It Should Be Removed From Stores

No matter what sort of meal you are trying to craft, there is always a wealth of options to choose from at Trader Joe's. And for those looking to add some protein to their diet without increasing their grocery bill too much, there are some tempting offerings available. In the case of the chain's chicken meatballs, though, that temptation might end at the first bite.

Tasting Table's Carmen Varner set about ranking 18 high-protein products from Trader Joe's, and these affordably-priced pre-cooked meatballs unfortunately came out at the bottom of the list with a review that doesn't have much nice to say. The low cost and relatively high protein stood out — 16 grams in four meatballs, with four servings per package and a price tag of only $3.99 — but that was where the positivity ended. When she got home and actually set about heating and eating, the experience turned bland and unpleasant. The ingredient list includes a variety of herbs and spices — basil, oregano, and granulated garlic and onion, to name a few — but all she could taste was chicken with a touch of pepper.

Now, blandness can be tackled with the addition of a good sauce, but textural issues are tougher to overcome, and Varner found the overall texture of the meatballs to be distinctly rubbery. Worse than that, they were also packed with bits of connective tissue that pushed the experience from bland and chewy to distinctly unpleasant. For her, these meatballs are a hard no.

Varner's experience is not unique. Online reviews also point out the distressingly gristly texture of meatballs that purport to be made from just ground chicken breast and thigh meat. Clearly, there needs to be a bit more trimming added somewhere in the process.

Others have reported that despite a relatively simple ingredient list, eating these meatballs resulted in some gastrointestinal distress. "The ingredients look normal,"one Redditor writes, "but for some reason I keep getting extremely nauseous after consuming them, and end up bloated for hours."

To be fair to the product, however, it must be noted that plenty of customers are happy — or even enthusiastic — about these chicken meatballs. Despite initial low expectations — which may be the key to enjoying this product — another Redditor shares, "I am going to make a trip and buy a few more packages of these. They were amazing!!!!!" Others in the thread tout the convenience of the precooked product, though most seem to be using them as a protein-heavy mix-in with other sauces or sauce-laden items that disguise at least one known issue.

In the end, only you can decide how you feel about Trader Joe's chicken meatballs. At $4 a package, it is not a big investment to make. But, if you want our advice, you're better off avoiding them. Try making your own French onion chicken meatballs instead, or whipping up a batch of these satay-style Thai chicken meatballs. It's more work than buying them ready to heat and eat, but when you make them yourself, you can be sure that they come out both flavorful and gristle-free.