12 Trader Joe's Shrimp Products, Ranked

I have been a long-time Trader Joe's shopper, and yeah, I'm always discovering new-to-me products. Whether you're seeking low-FODMAP items or Trader Joe's vegan desserts for the family, there's a little of everything in the limited aisles. I love peering at people's carts as I wait in line because they vary so greatly, and I always see something I never knew existed. Rather than finding inspiration from other carts, this time around, I decided to focus on all shrimp offerings I could find on TJ's website. Some items I saw online were not currently in stock at the store during my visit, so this seems to vary. Luckily, I found some other shrimpy options in the store to swap in.

That's to say, if anything on this list sounds particularly delicious to you, call your store before you visit to see if they have it in stock. This will certainly save you some time. After ingesting 12 items, I can safely say that some of these shrimp products left me severely underwhelmed, while others were so delicious I'd go back to buy multiple packs. I ranked the product based on the complexity of flavors, whether I could taste the ingredients and noted flavor profiles, the intrigue of the textures, and the overall value for the price. Discover the best and worst shrimp products that TJ's has to offer.

When you look at the picture of the Fiesta Salad with shrimp on the Trader Joe's website, it looks pretty good. It appears as though there's a solid portion of beans, corn, and tomatoes, but that simply isn't the case once you mix it into the mound of shredded lettuce.

If you compare this to a restaurant salad, it is obviously a great deal at $6.99, but the amount of add-ins is pretty underwhelming. There is an appropriate amount of shrimp and certainly a lot of lettuce, but you only get about a tablespoon of each beans and corn, which makes the salad seem bland and mainly lettuce heavy. The shrimp is cooked well, the tortilla strips add a necessary crunch, and everything seems fresh, but overall, it's just not a good value unless you think lettuce and shrimp alone are worth the price. This didn't have enough beans and corn to justify buying again, and the flavor isn't too alluring. There was no fiesta in this salad, and I'd suggest skipping this one altogether.

It's interesting that two prepared refrigerated foods rank last. There's no other reason than the lack of flavor and interesting textures. The first thing I noticed about Spring Rolls with Shrimp was their slimy rice paper wrapper, but this could potentially be rectified by seeking out the freshest ones possible on the Trader Joe's fridge shelf. 

The rolls are a little spicy with the addition of chile peppers, and there's a generous amount of peanut sauce — easily the best, most flavorful part. The shrimp is cooked well enough, offering its mild sweetness and slightly chewy texture to the somewhat soft roll. There's romaine lettuce, a bit of shrimp, a smidge of mung bean noodles, and other ingredients. The peanut sauce is the only thing giving the shrimp dish a leg to stand on, though. 

I love a tasty spring roll, but these are not very good. I wanted more dimension all around and felt this didn't deliver what it said it was going to. Although it certainly costs more to go to a restaurant, you'll be much happier if you do so; alternatively, you can whip up your own light and fresh spring rolls in under 30 minutes, including prep time. I think the flavors are more successful than the salad, to give it a slightly higher ranking.

Part of me thinks that it's difficult to get coconut shrimp wrong, and yet here we are with the Trader Joe's version ranking toward the bottom of the list. It simply didn't impress me; Aldi and Costco easily have way better coconut shrimp offerings that I would confidently recommend to an average consumer. First, the texture of the TJ's shrimp breading is a bit sad and soft even after baking as instructed. I don't want soggy coconut breading.

The coconut texture felt lacking, too, in that it didn't seem to bring a crunchy, jagged texture into the breading that you'd expect from desiccated or shredded coconut. This likely contributes to the softer, unpleasant texture. Then, the coconut element isn't very pronounced, making the flavor mild and uncoconutty, which defeats the moniker. This is strange since coconut typically has a strong, noticeable taste that permeates every bite and affects the aroma. There's also no sauce, which seems odd, since the ones sold at Costco and Aldi both have some sort of condiment included. Since coconut shrimps are only slightly better-tasting than the spring rolls, I'd skip these too.

I was looking forward to the Honey Walnut Shrimp because the description sounded quite tasty, and if successful, this one would save me from ordering takeout. Sadly, it too suffered from flavor issues. The breading of the shrimp is bland, and yes, I know it's supposed to be covered in sauce, but even the sauce couldn't make up for the lack of flavor. 

The sauce is made with ingredients like cream, condensed milk, honey, apple cider vinegar, and pineapple, which makes it sound incredibly complex. But it comes across extremely sweet, with a touch of creamy and fruity notes that are hard to pinpoint. Worst of all, the amount of candied walnuts is comical, so it doesn't particularly deliver on that part of the entree's title. The shrimp texture is good, thankfully, and the sweet sauce and tiny portion of crunchy nuts offer some intrigue to place it above the coconut shrimp's poor performance. Still, I wouldn't get this again. You're better off making honey walnut shrimp yourself and making your own generous portion of toasted and glazed walnuts.

The frozen Shrimp Scampi was ... fascinating. Rather than having the sauce in its own package like the honey walnut shrimp, each shrimp was covered in frozen butter sauce, which made them look large. As it cooked down and the buttery sauce melted, the shrimp appeared to shrink into a tiny shell of themselves — they looked laughably tiny in comparison. I thought this was interesting, and it's an application I hadn't seen before. 

The sauce is a concoction of extra virgin olive oil, garlic puree, Romano cheese, dried parsley, butter, and other ingredients. I mainly taste the olive oil, butter, and garlic; the former two ingredients provide an oily residue and texture that lingers on the lips and on the tongue. The flavors are marginally more enticing than the honey walnut shrimp to ensure a higher ranking, but not all that impressive to go any higher. Although you get 13 ounces of product, a lot of that is the butter sauce, so I can't say it's a good value at $8.99 either. As you can see on my plate, that's all the sauce (aka oil) that melted off from my four shrimps. I likely wouldn't purchase this again.

I thought the Ginger Shrimp Lo Mein would be more flavorful just by appearance alone, but it fell flat. As ginger is the first word in the name, I figured it'd have a strong zesty ginger note, but it was hardly evident even with all the sauce in the packet. The ginger-shiitake sauce is supposed to contain shiitake mushroom powder, soy sauce, cloves, star anise, chili pepper, and loads of other fragrant and flavor ingredients, but the hoisin sauce and soy sauce come in the strongest — and even those seemed lost in the sauce (pun intended) as they absorb into the lo mein noodles. 

I counted around 19 tiny shrimps, which seems pretty appropriate given there are three servings per container. There's a fair amount of lo mein, but hardly any veggies. I prefer the range of ingredients over the shrimp scampi to give it the seventh position in the ranking. The noodle and shrimp ratio makes it a good offering for the price, too, but the overall flavor needs beefing up with added soy sauce or ginger. For $6.49, I might get this again to serve as a quick dinner, but I'd have to enhance it with added veggies and more seasoning.

The Wild Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp gets a middle ranking because it has potential. Alone, it's fine. This type of shrimp has a blend of meaty texture with slightly fishy flavor and aroma. It's naturally red, even before cooking, so it's not like the color changes all that much. Since it's the only plain ingredient I purchased during my shrimp taste test, I like that I can jazz it up however I want. I kept it plain purely to taste the basic flavor, but this is a great staple to keep in the freezer. They thaw in mere minutes, making it a breeze to whip them up when you don't have a lot of time. 

At $11.99, they're the highest-priced item on the list, but you get 16 ounces of pure shrimp, no sauce, noodles, etc. I've purchased this in the past and would get it again in the future. It's not a knockout, but it can transform into any number of dishes you decide to make with it. I'd seek these out over anything mentioned so far, purely for the flavor potential and versatility.

Tempura Shrimp was deemed a skippable item from Trader Joe's freezer aisles, and I partially agree. Like the coconut shrimp, I prefer Aldi and Costco's take on the dish — Kirkland's is actually one of the best frozen dishes you can get at Costco, in my opinion. So, if you really want tempura shrimp, get it from one of these stores instead. However, without the comparison to other retailers, the tempura shrimp is still the most interesting out of this list so far, beating Argentinian shrimps because it has more complex texture and flavor. 

Here, we have an airy, yet crispy batter to juxtapose the delicate shrimp. The batter isn't too flavorful, which is where the vital soy dipping sauce comes in. It's a thin and watery sauce with a prominent umami savoriness; the loose consistency means you can easily dunk the shrimp into it, and it absorbs quickly into the batter, soaking up the flavor. If you're a tempura shrimp aficionado, you might not like these much, but otherwise, they could be good to stock in the freezer for a quick appetizer.

At $8.99, Shrimp Boom Bah is one of the pricier items from this shrimp tasting. It comes with 16 ounces of battered shrimp and a sweet and spicy sauce, so the value is acceptable for what you get, seeing as there's nothing else to weigh it down. The battered shrimp is flavorful on its own with aged cayenne pepper-based hot sauce, brown sugar, paprika, and other add-ins to give it a punch. Then the sweet chili sauce has inclusions such as rice vinegar, chili peppers, and pineapple juice concentrate to give it finger-licking depth. 

The heat comes to the forefront, followed by a mild, barely-there fruitiness. It's not overwhelmingly spicy, but the heat is the main attraction. The batter is even, offering a light crunch, while the sauce softens the texture the longer it sits on the crustaceans. I like the captivating flavor and texture, and I think it's much more flavorful than the shrimp tempura. We've finally reached the part of the list where the item doesn't have any major flaws, and I'd be pleased to get this again to make a quick lunch or dinner. 

Gluten Free Breaded Shrimp surprised me enough to receive third place. I cooked it and thought nothing of it, especially after eating so many other lackluster shrimp offerings lower in the list. So, when I popped one in my mouth and actually enjoyed it, I was nothing short of ecstatic. The breading is a blend of tapioca starch, coconut flour, and other ingredients; it's delicate, not too heavy-handed, but it fully coats the shrimp. 

The taste of the breading is surprisingly flavorful despite nothing too complex being featured in the batter, but the flavor likely comes from the nutty coconut flour and light sweetness of tapioca starch. I cooked it on the stove top, and it attained a nicely browned, crunchy, and starchy exterior. I couldn't help but gobble up the four shrimps I cooked (whereas in other dishes, I only consumed one or two and didn't feel compelled to eat the four shrimps I portioned out). 

This is a fantastic entree, whether you're gluten-free or not, and it can only be enhanced with added sauces or seasonings. The most unfortunate part is the price tag: $9.99 for 12 ounces, but I like that it saves me from having to whip up my batter. Despite the much shorter ingredients list, this definitely has a better taste and texture than Shrimp Boom Bah.

I've tried Trader Joe's pork and chicken gyoza potstickers offerings, but not the Thai gyoza variety. The only reason I can think of as to why I overlooked it is the $1 price difference between the two. Trader Joe's Thai Shrimp Gyoza comes in a 16-ounce bag loaded with dumplings. These appeared browned on one side, as though they were partially fried before cooking, which I hadn't seen before. I followed the instructions and first fried them in a small amount of oil, then I added water to steam them. 

They turned out incredible, with a phenomenal texture that set these ahead of all other shrimp products I tried. The wheat and tapioca starch exterior is a mix of crispy and starchy, creating a compelling textural duo, while the filling is equally enticing. It has shrimp, cabbage, green onion, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil to make every bite wonderfully flavorful. Everything is evenly sized, so you don't have enormous chunks or anything similar to detract from the experience. I'll absolutely add this to my Trader Joe's frozen meal rotation, along with the pork and vegetable gyoza. The range of flavors gives the Thai Shrimp Gyoza an edge over the subtle gluten free shrimp.

I had to eat a lot of mediocre and underwhelming Trader Joe's shrimp products to find my new favorite dish: Shrimp Noodle Rolls. As it turns out, these are somewhat new, as I couldn't locate them and had to ask a crew member for help. Even a crew member hadn't seen them before, so they got another employee, and the three of us went to the freezer aisle to locate the package. That's all to say that you might need to ask someone if you can't spot it yourself, especially since it's a limited-time product (at least that's what it says on the website). 

If that's the case, I want to go back to get several bags to hoard; the flavors and textures are utterly drool-worthy. The exterior of the dim sum style noodles (made of potato starch, rice flour, and tapioca starch) is crisp and slightly crunchy thanks to a light fry in oil, but then some parts of it are chewy. It's a fantastic dynamic. The interior has an excellent filling made with carrots, jicama, marinated shrimp, ginger, coriander leaf, and more. Finally, I can taste the ginger, but there's also a lingering complexity from the soy sauce. The shrimps are perfectly cooked and pair wonderfully with the veggies. You get just under 10 ounces of product for $4.49, which seems like a bargain given the homemade-like nature. I gobbled up my portion at 10:30 a.m. and would gladly have eaten more if I hadn't already had several other shrimp items in my belly. Grab these while you can!

As you might expect, I found all of these products at my local Trader Joe's. But some things that are shown online were not available at my store when I went. I tried my 12 items over multiple days to space out the consumption of shrimp. Also, I took a few days to eat the various items because most of them required some prep time, and I didn't want to spend the whole day cooking. I ate the two fresh, ready-made items first to preserve the integrity, then had the frozen products after.

These are ranked based on flavor, how well they achieve the advertised flavors, the texture, and the value based on the price point. Therefore, I mentioned the price when it was part of my reasoning. Not all criteria show up for every item — there is some range — as some items have clear issues with one or more criteria. 

Generally, though, high-ranking products had a more interesting and complex flavor and texture combination, and they delivered what was promised. Lower-ranking items were boring, didn't offer the profile they said they were going to, and generally seemed lackluster and not worth purchasing.