8 International Foods At Trader Joe's To Buy, And 6 To Skip

As much as we love our hamburgers and hot dogs, even those with the most devoutly Americanized taste buds hunger to taste something new every now and again. Whether you're craving some good Italian, Japanese, French, or Caribbean food, it might not be particularly easy to satiate that itch for the slightly exotic — particularly if international eateries are sparse where you live. While you could always go the DIY route, you might appreciate picking up the goods from someone who's already done all the hard work for you. Someone like good ol' Trader Joe. 

Joe is no new player in the international food game. Sure, many of its takes distinctly cater to an American audience with American palates — looking at you, TJ's Mandarin Orange Chicken — but some are a fairly faithful, delicious replica of their home-country counterparts. The only thing left to figure out is which hold up and which fall flat. 

In that vein, I figured I'd pop by my local store and try several different international selections to see which ones Trader Joe's should get some recognition for. I made my following "buy" and "skip" determinations based on how true to form each dish was, by comparing them with others in their genre that I've had before. When I hadn't had a particular food before, I balanced my overall opinion of the dish with what online commentary from those more familiar with the dish said it should taste like. 

To put it quite simply, these cookies have ruined me. I'll never forgive the brand for putting Trader Joe's French Galettes on store shelves — after having tried them, how am I supposed to keep them out of my cart? These little morsels of buttery goodness are a deceptively simple concept, but don't let that fool you into thinking they won't satisfy a sophisticated palate. I actually found quite the opposite. Whenever I need a fancy treat to set out for teatime, these will be my go-to without a doubt. 

The galettes are like a cross between a croissant and traditional shortbread. They have that undeniably rich, buttery flavor that's characteristic of shortbread, while the inside is layered like a croissant. Add to that the gorgeous golden-brown sheen on each, and you've got a recipe for success: a sweet treat that's ultra-attractive and tastes good to boot. So, I'll leave you with a warning: Don't try these unless you're okay with being tempted to buy them by the crateful. Otherwise, have at it, and join me in my version of Heaven (which is now a broad landscape of these French galettes). 

The first skip-worthy dish on my list goes to an unfortunately lackluster version of one of my favorite dishes. I adore pretty much any type of Thai curry, and Thai red curry is no exception — well, save Trader Joe's Thai Style Red Curry Soup. I didn't even go into this particular tasting with high expectations, given that I often make my own Thai curry dishes at home. Still, despite my tempered attitude toward this offering initially, it quickly proved to be worth virtually no esteem. 

My qualms with this dish were numerous, and if this was a ranking piece, it definitely would have been a bottom-spot contender. For starters, the dominant flavor in the soup was lemongrass — I got very little curry flavor (not to mention, hardly any spice), and the lemongrass made the dish too aromatic to be palatable. Second, the soup had an incredibly oily mouthfeel. Finally, the soup's inclusions — chicken and some indiscernible vegetable pieces — were so small that they were barely noticeable. Skip this. You can make your own curry dish at home without expending much effort, and it'll taste way better. 

Let's leave the unpalatable in the past and move toward brighter horizons. One freezer-aisle find that you should definitely add to your cart is Trader Joe's Simit, a gorgeous expression of Turkish sesame bread. Despite being an international offering, there's nothing particularly foreign about this product. At the end of the day, it's kind of a cross between bread and a pretzel, and a particularly good one at that.

All of which is to say, if you love bread (and let's be real, who doesn't?), this is a must-have freezer staple. Its flavor has a similar maltiness to what you'd find in a sesame bagel or a pretzel, but it's a little more toasty, with some added complexity. The interior is chewy, again similar to a bagel or pretzel. I loved snacking on this solo, but you wouldn't be remiss to pair it with a dip. Beer cheese, hummus, and honey mustard would all be great contenders. 

I know right off the bat that suggesting you "skip" these may be a controversial take. If you adore packaged snack cookies, they aren't a bad buy. But when holding them up next to the aforementioned French galettes, they fall flat; moreover, even novice bakers could make a better version of these cookies at home. So, while I won't dock you if you happen to already love these, I'd say you could skip them if you're trying to be discerning with your purchases. 

The thing is, nothing about these cookies wowed me. They have a pleasant crunch and the chocolate and cookie are both present in equal proportions. It's not a bad cookie, but it's nothing to write home about, especially if you're used to whipping up your own oat-based sweets at home. However, were I trying this in a ranking of other packaged cookies, I'd venture a guess it would be positioned fairly high. 

If you're a fan of seafood and vegetable pancakes, buy this without hesitation. I'll start by saying that Trader Joe's Okonomiyaki isn't exactly my thing, but I couldn't let personal preference temper my recommendation here — this absolutely fits the bill for its intended target audience, and I have no doubt devotees will be keeping a stockpile in their freezer after trying this once.

Each package contains one pancake, and that pancake is big enough to suffice as a whole lunch. It comes with a sauce and tuna flakes to top things off. The result is really quite attractive, but even better, it's absolutely packed with flavor. I almost found it a little overwhelming. The vegetable pancake gets crispy on the outside but stays nice and soft on the interior, while the sauce brings a welcome blast of umami into the equation. I haven't had a real-deal version of this dish, but given all the flavor this packs, I imagine it's at least a fairly faithful representation. 

Trader Joe's definitely has the ability to pack flavor into its dishes, as the okonomiyaki proves. Unfortunately, that makes it all the more glaring when the chain fails to do so. Such was the case with its Filipino-style Chicken Adobo, which looked far better on the packaging than it did after being cooked. I'll admit, I wasn't necessarily surprised that this ended up being a lackluster product, but it still disappointed. 

The most glaring flaw in this dish was one I've noticed with several Trader Joe's foods I've tried in the past — it was far too salty. It's almost as if the company is trying to use only salt to amplify the meal's flavor, with very disappointing results. In terms of the non-salt flavors in the dish, I'd say they're fine, but they don't hold up to what chicken adobo should taste like. At the end of the day, this microwavable meal is really only a glorified chicken and rice dish dressed up with sauce. I won't be seeking it out again, and you shouldn't, either. 

This next pick is a personal favorite of mine, and it has been for year. Trader Joe's Tarte aux Champignons is effortlessly satisfying. I've been known to eat the whole thing for lunch or dinner, but it's also a favorite to whip out as a little appetizer when I'm entertaining. It's loaded with savory flavor — I adore the mushrooms on here, and the thin crust elevates it to something more sophisticated than your standard thick flatbread or pizza.

Looks can be deceiving, but with this flatbread, what you see is exactly what you get. I think this dish is beautiful. The golden-brown, bubbly cheese studded with mushrooms is too elegant, and there's some sort of white garlicky sauce that ties the whole thing together. I wouldn't recommend the tarte aux champignons to anyone who doesn't like mushrooms, but I'd suggest everyone else try it out on your next Trader Joe's run. Just don't be surprised if it becomes a permanent freezer staple thereafter.

I wanted to love Trader Joe's Japanese Mini Taiyaki so bad. By all appearances it should be a surefire winner of a dessert — everyone likes waffles, everyone likes custard, and a mashup of the two is supposed to be nothing short of decadent. So, this little fish-shaped treat disappointed me greatly, and I think it would only be satisfying to kids who appreciate some novelty in their desserts. 

I'll start with the singular pro I have regarding this dessert: The flavor is there in abundance. It tastes exactly how it should. However, the texture and ratio of custard to waffle are very off. My taiyaki was fully waffle until I reached the tail of the fish, which was indeed packed with custard. Though the custard tasted fine, it was too hard to be called custard, and not creamy in the slightest. I feel like this should be a relatively easy dessert to get spot-on, so the fact that it missed the mark was particularly disappointing; unless your kid is clamoring for a fish-shaped dessert, I'd pass on these. 

However, you'd be remiss by thinking that all of Trader Joe's international desserts are lackluster. Its Black Sesame Mochi is absolutely delightful. Not only are these little morsels pretty to look at, but they also satisfy that mochi ice cream cravings flawlessly; they're even on par with Bubbies' mochi ice cream, which I adore. 

If you're unfamiliar with black sesame, don't worry — you'll probably find its flavors quite familiar and easily endearing. Black sesame tastes very similar to peanut butter. There's a little more depth to the nuttiness of black sesame, and it's not quite as sweet as peanut butter, but if you like peanut butter, you'll probably love black sesame. The mochi's interior fit the flavor to a tee. I used to work for a gelato company that made a black sesame flavor, and this was very much on par with that selection. Moreover, the mochi wrapping was exquisite — easy to bite through, chewy, and very tender. If you're the type of person who likes to take a quick bite for dessert, this easily fits the bill. 

Sure, cannelés aren't the easiest dessert to make, but I still can't bring myself to recommend Trader Joe's version of the French dessert. I had similar problems here as I had with the taiyaki — namely, though the flavors were good, the texture was very off. I'll finish the box I have in the freezer, but I won't be buying this dessert again. Craving cannelés? Head over to an authentic French bakery instead of TJ's (or, even better, book a flight to Bordeaux). 

The pros? The interior of the cannelé is buttery and custardy in flavor, and I liked how it tasted quite a lot. But that was the one redeeming quality of this little treat. The outer shell of the pastry, which should be crisp and caramelized, was more akin to very tough rubber. I struggled to get my spoon through it, and it didn't have a very pleasant mouthfeel, either. Moreover, though the interior had a great flavor, it was a little too solid to be considered custard. This, unfortunately, won't satisfy a cannelé craving. 

You know what will satisfy a craving? Trader Joe's Korean Japchae Fried Rice. I regularly use the brand's vegetable fried rice as a meal prep component, but I hadn't tried its japchae fried rice before. After having it, this is definitely going to be my go-to frozen fried rice moving forward; I found virtually no flaws in this dish, and I like that it would easily welcome whatever protein you may want to add. 

While I've been known to eat an entire bag of TJ's vegetable fried rice for one meal, a whole bag of its japchae fried rice would almost be too much for a single meal, especially if you added protein to it. I ended up eating this over the course of a couple days, and I liked that it stretched further than the brand's other fried rice options. It's a vegan item, and I loved the flavor of the mushrooms in the dish as well as the texture that the sweet potato glass noodles gave it. And while I typically add some soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to upgrade Trader Joe's other frozen fried rice, I didn't think this needed any help being flavorful. It's nothing complex, but it's seasoned perfectly, and it's satisfying to boot. 

Ah, mole. Even if you've never had it before, a little bit of light reading will tell you what mole is supposed to taste like. Depending on the type of mole in question, it could have few or many ingredients, but there should be a common thread running throughout every type of mole: a deep, complex flavor profile that's warm, homey, rich, and comforting. 

While I doubt Trader Joe's version of the traditional dish is the worst to ever hit store shelves, it's definitely not on par with homemade mole. It doesn't taste as if it has had the time. The flavor is lacking the complexity that mole should have, and the dominant notes are just heat and smoke. Spice and char are both essential components of mole — however, they shouldn't be the only tasting notes to come through. That said, this dish wasn't bad. I'll finish what I have, and if I didn't know it was trying to be mole, I could even recommend giving it a try. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit the mole bill. 

I'm no newbie to Trader Joe's risotto, but I typically buy its asparagus risotto, which I simply love. I'll have a whole bag as an easy, satisfying lunch. I'm about to change my tune after trying Trader Joe's Risotto Semplice. I was a little suspicious about the glaring yellow hue of the dish until I found out that saffron is an ingredient. That amped up my excitement, and taking a bite of this was about as satisfying of a first taste test as I could have hoped for. 

This risotto is at once simple and complex, which I always love in a dish. It's very approachable in that it's cheesy, buttery, and comforting, but the saffron is tangible (though not overwhelming) and elevates the dish to new heights. Plus, the texture is great — both creamy and toothsome, with a good chew that doesn't stick to the teeth or feel laborious. My only serving suggestion is to top the risotto with cracked black pepper and maybe a small grating of fresh Parmesan, if you're feeling a little extra. Otherwise, just pop it on the stove, and enjoy!

Last but certainly not least — if you love plantains and have long resigned yourself to only getting them at Cuban or African restaurants, I'm happy to report that you can score a yummy prepped version of the dish in the freezer section at Trader Joe's. All you need to do to get them ready to eat is to pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes, and voila! You have small, gorgeous caramelized plantain slices that will easily satiate your plantain tooth.

The plantains are naturally sweet throughout, and the caramelized exterior only adds to that flavor; however, unlike many other dishes on this list, it wasn't the flavor that I was the most impressed with. Rather, the texture of these bad boys wowed me to no end. Cutting them with a fork was like cutting through soft butter or custard — they simply melt in the mouth and are incredibly soft without falling apart. Moreover, they're undeniably attractive. Trader Joe's Sweet Ripe Plantains won't disappoint any plantain fan, and they're a good entry point if the dish is new to you or if you're trying to introduce plantains to a pal.

Fortunately, I didn't have too much trouble judging the various offerings presented on this list. I find Trader Joe's to be generally lacking in certain cuisines, while it tends to nail others. Central/Latin American foods from Trader Joe's typically don't hit, while it does a great job at most European dishes and can go either way with its broad Asian selections.

I judged each dish based on how it would match up to a traditionally prepared version and compared them to versions of the dish I have had before. I based my perspective on overall appeal when I hadn't previously had the food. Judging for perceived authenticity occasionally swung what could have been a "buy" verdict to a "skip," as in the case of the chicken mole and the cannelés. You'll be better served seeking these out from locals. And while personal preference obviously played a role, I tried to temper that when making my final determinations — for example, though I won't be buying the okonomiyaki again, I absolutely recommend it to those who like such a flavor profile.