Trader Joe's New Paneer Is Everything I've Been Waiting For

I can't live without a box of Trader Joe's paneer tikka masala in my freezer at all times. It's not just me, either — the humble carton of saucy paneer and green spinach rice ranks highest in a list of all of the Trader Joe's Indian foods, topping even the store's famously delicious frozen naans and fresh flatbreads. It even surpasses the chicken equivalent, which is a surprise given chicken tikka masala's popularity on restaurant menus; and while the flavorful masala sauce and the punchy green rice are worth talking about, the truth is that it's the paneer that really sets this entrée apart from the rest.

Paneer is a type of semi-soft cheese indigenous to India and made by combining acid with hot milk. Though it's a relatively simple cheese to produce, it's not always easy or affordable to find in grocery stores. That's why, when Trader Joe's announced that it would carry fresh blocks of paneer, I ran to the store to try it myself — not only because of the store's reputation for carrying great prepared paneer products, but also because I can usually trust the prices to be affordable. Block in hand, I headed home to try the cheese firsthand and review just how life-changing Trader Joe's newest addition could be.

I took many things into consideration when reviewing the Trader Joe's paneer. First and foremost, I considered the price, comparing prices across stores like Patel Brothers, Costco, Whole Foods, and Sprouts. I also considered the value, noting the size of the paneer versus other brands. I then unwrapped and sliced the paneer, tried some of the cheese plain, and used the paneer in a recipe that features it. 

I didn't use any special hacks to soften the paneer in order to avoid skewing the results, and instead added the paneer as written in the palak paneer recipe I followed, directly from the packaging. From there, I considered its cooked texture, how long it took to soften and become creamier, and whether the paneer was ultimately worth adding to my Trader Joe's shopping list.

Paneer is similar to Western cheese curds, but is made slightly differently. After acid is combined with hot milk, the curds are strained and pressed into a block to expel excess whey. The resulting cheese is texturally similar to a cheese curd or very firm tofu, but milky and mild in flavor and highly resistant to heat. Because cheese curds are made with added cultures and an extensive cheddaring process, their taste is much tangier and saltier than paneer, which is made only with milk, natural acid, and a straightforward press. High-quality paneer should actually not have much flavor at all; instead, it should be distinctly milky and bland, a sign that it was made correctly and with all-natural ingredients.

The Trader Joe's paneer is exactly that: bland and milky, the perfect blank canvas for stews like palak paneer or tikka masala. Before you question why you'd want bland cheese, think of it this way: Though there is a distinct difference between tofu and paneer, paneer should, like tofu, be a vehicle for flavorful sauces and broths to soak into. If the flavor is pure, milky, and scented like dairy, then the only thing to worry about is the texture — which can make or break the paneer (literally).

What is most noticeable about Trader Joe's paneer is that it is silky and spongy, not crumbly or dry. Often, what I have found in store-bought paneer is a crumbly texture, which makes cooking paneer-based recipes difficult. On the other hand, I've also tried paneer that is so densely packed that it never softens, even after long periods of stewing in sauces. What many recipes don't tell you is that you need to soften store-bought paneer before using it, which helps restore the moisture the cheese loses during pressing and packaging. This is not untrue for Trader Joe's paneer, which would benefit from additional moisture, but I noticed it still softened quickly in the stew without falling apart.

To test this, I made a batch of palak paneer, a recipe that starts with aromatics and a spinach puree and ends with blocks of paneer coated in bright green, spicy, creamy sauce. I added a few pieces of paneer early in the cooking process to observe how the blocks softened and absorbed the flavors of the sauce. To my delight, they softened to creamy cubes in about 10 minutes. They never fully dissolved, remaining completely intact for the remainder of the recipe. The remaining cubes, added towards the end, were noticeably less soft and flavorful, which suggests that the paneer should be cooked for about 10 minutes rather than added right at the end. With how durable the cheese is, I considered this a decent compromise to not having to soak the cheese in water first.

Though the best place to buy paneer might be an Indian grocer like Patel Brothers, which sells a 14-ounce block for around $5 (depending on your location), many (including me) don't have access to one or any similar grocer nearby. The next best place to find paneer winds up being Whole Foods, which prices paneer around a whopping $8 for a small 8-ounce block. Costco sells an impressive 32-ounce block for just a few dollars more, making it the best option — provided you're a Costco member and have room in the freezer for the extra paneer. Trader Joe's offering a Patel Brothers-equivalent means I finally have an accessible, affordable option nearby, which is why the store offering it is such huge news. The value is great; though 10 ounces looks small, the block can stretch to about four servings when served in a thick sauce with rice and a side.

Beyond value, it's also just a good block of paneer. It's creamy white in color, milky and mild in flavor, and silky and spongy in texture. It's firmer than tofu but not so dense that it doesn't soften, and it's far less crumbly than brands from other stores. Being a store I shop at frequently, I'm thrilled to have an affordable paneer I can use to make my favorite Indian recipes with, and I will likely make this my go-to source for my favorite Indian recipes.

The Trader Joe's paneer is available at Trader Joe's stores nationwide for $4.99 per 10-ounce block. The Indian-style cheese is found in the cheese section, between other semi-soft varieties such as the Asiago cheese block and the rounds of Dutch smoked cheese. The paneer is made from cow's milk in Wisconsin, using acetic and lactic acids to curdle the milk. The three simple ingredients are just 80 calories per 1-ounce serving with 6 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein.