I Tried Dozens of New Groceries Hitting Shelves This August — These Are the 13 I’m Most Excited About

This summer’s been hot, hot, hot … and that’s putting it mildly. Specifically for August, that phrase extends beyond the record-breaking weather, as grocery brands have been super busy launching uber-lit snacks, condiments, sauces, breakfast items, sweets, and more.

In fact, some food companies have been so fired up, multiple items and varieties are appearing on this month’s roundup! Here are the 13 most intriguing releases for the height of summer. 

Looking for a surefire way to cool off? Go to Jeni’s — or at least the supermarkets where this premium ice cream is sold. The At the Pool flavors have been rolling out in waves, and the most recent trio bowled me over. Butterscotch Popcorn channels kettle corn for a ‘lil something different and the vegan Lemon Bar uses coconut cream and lemon curd to channel the classic baked good, rounding it out with mixed-in shortbread bits. And the Bombastix Sundae Cone is no exaggeration, with crunchy chocolate-covered waffle pieces in a double vanilla cream.

Buy: Jeni’s At the Pool Collection Ice Creams, $12 per pint at Jeni’s, Publix, Kroger, Target, Whole Foods Market, and Fresh Markets

To me, there’s nothing quite like the fresh crunch of lettuce to immediately feel refreshed. That’s what makes it extra sad when your mix gets wilted, and why I love Little Leaf Farms. The crisp, hydroponically grown baby leaves are harvested and packed with so much care and airflow that I find they always keep longer than your average box of greens. And now, the company’s branched out to offer sweet, tender butter lettuce that only need a spritz of vinaigrette for a next-level salad. 

Find it in stores: Little Leaf Farms Sweet Baby Butter Leaf, $3.99 for 4 ounces at Stop & Shop, Big Y, and ShopRite

As plenty of hot-weather cultures know, sometimes you just have to steer into the skid and lean into the heat. That’s what this new condiment duo brings to your table. Either sweet with cranberries or savory with peanuts and garlic, both chile oils are textured with pepitas and sunflower seeds that break up the smooth heat. Try it with eggs, rice, beans, grilled meats — or those salad greens I just mentioned. 

Buy: Tia Lupita Foods Salsa Machas, $8.99 for 7.5 ounces at Tia Lupita Foods, Meijer, Albertsons, and Raley’s

These new Breakfast Bites reimagine breakfast in big, breaded, air-fried croquette form. They’re available in two varieties: Sausage or Meat Lovers (which just adds bacon). For a quicker-cooking solution, the new bowls in these same varieties sub in salty cauliflower tots that satisfy as much as the tater versions do. Drizzle that salsa macha on top; the sweet cranberry is great with breakfast sausage. 

Buy: Real Good Foods Crispy Breakfast Bites and Breakfast Bowls, $9.99 for 14 ounces and $7.99 for 7 ounces, respectively, at Real Good Foods, Kroger, and Publix

These electrolyte- and mineral-boosted TetraPak bottles will help you stay hydrated and add in a little something extra: 120% of your daily vitamin C and 30% of your daily zinc. The new Cherry and Elderberry flavors are faintly nostalgic of cough and fever relief, which is oddly comforting, and the Citrus includes a little pithy bitterness to effectively counter the hint of sweetness they all have. 

Find it in stores: Flow Vitamin-Infused Waters, $35.99 for a 12-count case of 16.9-ounce servings at Fred Meyer

Can’t take the overbearing sun overhead these days? Purely Elizabeth just launched a less sweaty way to get your vitamin D. Their new, extra-crunchy, gluten-free Superfood Cereals, available in Vanilla Blueberry and Almond and Honey Peanut Butter, deliver a quarter day’s supply via flakes and clusters made of oats, quinoa, chia, coconut sugar, and a lot of sharp cinnamon. You’ll like how extra crunchy they both are!

Find it in stores: Purely Elizabeth, $6.99 for 11 ounces at Purely Elizabeth and Whole Foods Markets

This leading global protein brand just joined forces with Perfect Day, the creator of the world’s first animal-free milk protein, to create a new protein powder called Whey Forward. How is that possible? They’ve trained microflora to follow the DNA sequence in traditional milk, allowing you to get the richness, smoothness, and familiar flavor of dairy without it actually involving any cows. I’d call this innovation wild, but with flora this domesticated, it’s anything but. 

Find it in stores: Myprotein Whey Forward, $39.99 for a 20-serving, 1.2-pound tub, $24.99 for a 10-serving, 9.6-ounce tub, and $4.99 per serving sachet at Myprotein

From its existing line of low-carb meals, we know this brand is the champ of chicken in disguise. The latest launch, however, doesn’t pretend to be anything different than what it is: heaping hunks of white meat chicken, wrapped in gluten- and grain-free breading made of chickpeas and whey. Bonus: Because the breading isn’t too thick, these bake up nice and crispy without drying out the meat.

Buy: Real Good Foods Chicken Nuggets and Strips, $8.99 for 20 ounces at Real Good Foods, Stop & Shop, and select Walmart, Albertsons, Safeway stores

Looking for a sauce to go with that chicken? The makers of one of Kitchn Editors’ favorite olive oil brands just launched several sauces that feature their signature product, becoming the first 100% Californian retail pasta sauce. The new line includes the three that are pictured above (Garden Basil, Roasted Garlic, and herbaceous California Style Marinara), plus two others (Portobello Mushroom with smoked paprika, and a cheesy Parmesan Vodka). All are made with bright, sunny-tasting California tomatoes that are crushed into a thinner sauce with chunky pulp.

Buy: California Olive Ranch Pasta Sauces, $7.99 for 25 ounces at California Olive Ranch, Sprouts, The Fresh Market, Hannaford, Earth Fare, and retailers nationwide

Another use for breaded chicken and pasta sauce? Pizza toppings! Try them on the new pre-baked pizza crusts from this flatbread brand. You can choose from low-carb cauliflower and coconut keto crusts or a traditional crust made with olive oil. The small 6-inch crusts are designed for making personal pizzas — put out a pack of crusts and some toppings and let everyone choose their own pizza adventure. The crusts keep for three weeks in the fridge and up to six months in the freezer, so you might want to buy several. 

Find them in stores: Atoria’s Family Bakery Pizza Crusts, starting at $3.99 at regional Whole Foods Markets, Sprouts, Fresh Thyme, and HEB or in bulk at Atoria’s Family Bakery

On the days you don’t feel like pizza, there’s always Chinese for instant easy. This pan-Asian brand, inspired by the cuisine along the Silk Road, just released a pineapple-sweetened sweet and sour sauce edged with Chinese Five Spice. With this, you can have the vinegar-spiked flavor with less sugar and none of the deep-frying. It’s gluten-free and certified Halal, joining Tikka Masala, Lemongrass Basil, Thai Red Curry, and Korean Stir-Fry in single-use pouches for no-fuss flavor.

Find it in stores: Saffron Road Sweet & Sour Simmer Sauce, $3.29 for 7 ounces at Kroger

In more Asian food innovation, A-Sha, the leading brand in air-dried, non-fried traditional Asian noodles (their original recipe from Taiwan is 100 years old!), has just come out with its own version of sauce-hugging cascatelli and is calling it the Meteor Noodle. Made with a patented dual blade for thicker 3D noodles with double the ridges of the already famous chewy Taiwanese noodles, it comes with a savory fermented soybean paste sauce that flourishes with the addition of scrambled eggs, chicken, broccoli, and Shanghai bok choy.

Buy: A-Sha Meteor Noodles with Fried Sauce, $13.99 for a 13.4-ounce four-pack  

This plant-based; dairy-, gluten-, and nut-free; and allergen-conscious brand just unveiled a recipe with 35 to 40% less sugar without filling in the gaps with substitutes or artificial sweeteners. Available in Chocolate Chunk and Sugar Cookie, the oat, tapioca, and potato starch doughs offer a new way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Bonus: Because the dough is egg-free and the flour is heat-treated, you can eat it raw.

Buy: Sweet Loren’s Less Sugar Cookie Doughs, $5.99 – 6.99 for 12 ounces at Publix, Stop & Shop, and coming this fall to Whole Foods Market

Which of these are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments below.