7 Best Trader Joe's Beef Finds To Look For On Your Next Trip

Whether you love Trader Joe's for its easy frozen meals, its delicious snacks, or even its prepared foods, you know it can be a great place to stock up on groceries for the week. It turns out that it's also an excellent place for beef lovers to shop. The popular chain grocer offers some top-notch beef products, from fresh cuts to frozen foods with generous portions of meat. And if you're craving something hearty, satisfying, and full of protein, these items are a great place to start when you're considering what to make for dinner.

Not well-acquainted with Trader Joe's beefy options? No worries. We're taking a closer look at some of the store's best beef finds so you can try them the next time you shop at your local Trader Joe's. We've got options to check out, whether you want to cook a dish from scratch, prefer frozen options when you're feeling too lazy to cook, or are just craving a beefy bite or two at snack time. Once you give these beef-based Trader Joe's foods a try, you'll have yet another reason to shop there more often.

Making tacos at home is totally doable, but it does involve quite a bit of prep work. Not only do you have to cook the meat yourself, but you also have to chop and lay out all the toppings, which can be time-consuming. Well, you can easily heat up the Trader Joe's Mini Beef Tacos whenever you're craving that taco flavor and don't want to put in the effort to make them yourself. These tacos are filled with a surprising amount of meat. I wouldn't say they're absolutely packed, but you feel like you're getting a substantial amount of protein in every bite.

Keep in mind that these tacos are really simple — their only filling is some seasoned beef. However, there are enough seasonings to keep things interesting, and you can easily add some onions or cilantro on the side. These tacos are also perfect to pair with Trader Joe's salsa. Since the tacos are so small, they're easy to just dip into the salsa for an extra burst of flavor. And if you're looking for a spicy touch, load them up with hot sauce, which will also provide them with an extra boost of acidity. To get these tacos extra crispy, cook them in your air fryer (they'll be done in just 6 to 8 minutes).

In my ranking of store-bought prepared short ribs, I ranked Trader Joe's Korean Style Short Ribs as my absolute favorite variety. Although I cannot claim to be a Korean BBQ expert, I think they come shockingly close to barbecue quality for a frozen Trader Joe's product. They're just fatty enough to have a nice richness, and their marinade is mostly savory and umami with the perfect touch of sweetness to round out their flavor. All you have to do is thaw them, then cook them on the grill or in a pan to get nice and browned. Since they're so thin, they cook relatively quickly, making them an easy option on busy nights.

I've not found many frozen Korean-style short ribs at the grocery store, so the fact that Trader Joe's stocks this item makes them feel like a novelty. It's one of the many frozen items at the grocery store that offers a near-restaurant-level of quality for a fraction of the price. If you love eating beef ribs but don't want to go through the hassle of making them from scratch, this is a Trader Joe's beef find you have to check out.

There are times when you need to opt for a fattier variety of ground beef. You'll want higher-fat ground beef when you're making hamburger patties or meatballs, for instance, since that extra fat adds more flavor to the dish and also helps hold everything together. But if you're trying to cut down on the amount of fat in your diet, leaner ground beef is the way to go. Luckily, Trader Joe's offers Extra Lean Ground Beef that's 96% lean and only 4% fat. You won't find ground beef this lean at every grocery store, so I appreciate that TJ's always seems to have this kind in stock.

I buy this ground beef on a nearly weekly basis, and I've found that even though it doesn't have as much fat as most varieties, it still packs a lot of flavor. Even when I don't cook it with oil, it still ends up surprisingly juicy for such a lean cut. And since ground beef is such an essential ingredient in so many different recipes, from spaghetti bolognese to ground beef casseroles, it's great to keep on hand in the fridge or freezer. It's my most essential Trader Joe's beef find.

There are plenty of store-bought frozen meatballs out there, but sometimes, fresh meatballs just taste better. And although they're not technically that tricky to make, they can be time-consuming. When you're already making sauce and perhaps pasta to pair with your meatballs, having to prepare that meatball mixture from scratch may not sound that appealing. This is when you might want to stop at Trader Joe's. The store sells its Homestyle Angus Beef Meatballs in the refrigerated section alongside the other fresh meat, so you know you're actually getting fresh and not frozen beef.

In addition to beef, these meatballs contain breadcrumbs to give them extra body and a slightly fluffier texture. On the flavor front, they have onion and garlic puree, herbs, and even grated cheese to make them taste even more decadent. You can cook them in the air fryer or oven, then throw them into your pot of sauce or pack them onto bread for an excellent sandwich. These Trader Joe's meatballs are sort of the halfway point between frozen and homemade meatballs, and they punch well above their weight.

Another beefy favorite from Trader Joe's? The store's Sliced Bresaola. It came in at No. 3 in my ranking of deli meats from Trader Joe's, and for good reason. Unlike some bresaola you'll find at grocery stores, this stuff isn't too tough or chewy. Its relatively soft (but still appropriately chewy) texture makes it easier to work with, whether you're eating it simply with some cheese and crackers or you're incorporating it into more complete dishes. It's also super salty in the best possible way, with a richness that makes one or two slices more than enough for a flavorful, satisfying snack.

Trader Joe's refers to its bresaola as "beef prosciutto," which sums up another reason why it's an excellent Trader Joe's find. It's a solid option for those who want to build a charcuterie board from TJ's products but who don't eat pork. It has the same cured meat appeal in a slightly less fatty package. And even if you do eat pork, it can round out a charcuterie board, adding a slightly different flavor profile to the mix. It's definitely the snackiest of the beef items that appear on this list and a must-try for deli meat lovers everywhere.

During the winter months, I absolutely love making beef stew. A good, classic American beef stew with carrots and potatoes always hits the spot when it's snowy outside, and you're craving something comforting. A French beef bourguignon, on the other hand, is perfect when I want to spend the entire day attending to a time-consuming but absolutely worth it dish. And when I want a stew that's bolder, more acidic, and more tomato-forward, Puerto Rican carne guisada is a favorite. Whenever I start getting that beef stew craving, I head to my local Trader Joe's to pick up a package of Beef Stew Meat.

It's as simple as it sounds: pre-cubed meat you can throw directly into a pot to cook for hours until it becomes nice and tender. In my experience, this meat has always been juicy and flavorful, and it's available for a decent price. Admittedly, I usually end up cutting the chunks into even smaller pieces, but they're a great size if you prefer larger hunks of beef in your stew.

Sometimes, you need a prepared meat option that you don't have to season or marinate yourself. That's where Trader Joe's Santa Maria Tri-Top Roast comes in handy. At Tasting Table, it's considered the best marinated meat at Trader Joe's, thanks to its bold flavor, which comes from garlic, pepper, cumin, and marjoram, among other seasonings. It has enough fat to keep it tasting rich and decadent without dominating the cut of meat. And the best part? There's no one way you have to cook it. For a crispier exterior, try putting it in your air fryer. When you're looking for a more even cooking method, you can cook it directly in the oven. You can even pan-fry this roast for more control over the cooking process.

Pair this roast with some veggies on the side, and you have a hearty, complete meal that will easily serve several people. You'll get that homemade flavor you're going for with a fraction of the effort, since you don't have to do any of the marinating yourself.

I picked these Trader Joe's beef finds based on my personal experiences with these and many other Trader Joe's products in the past; I also considered other Tasting Table reviews of these products. I've found that each of these products offers a solid value for the price and delivers that beefy flavor you may be looking for in a meal. I selected beef products from different categories: frozen foods, snack foods, and fresh meat. In my experience, the products listed here all offer solid flavors and generous servings of beef.