I Tried Dozens of New Groceries Hitting Shelves This October — These Are the 11 I’m Most Excited About

As we sail past the tidal wave of pumpkin spice-creations, we look beyond fall’s favorite gourd to other autumnal flavors. Maple, pecan, apple, caramel, and chocolate — these rich, warming flavors are here to bring us a little more variety this Halloween.

There are plenty of treats to be found in the supermarket aisles this month, and the tricks (like booze-flavored, yet alcohol-free coffees and lactose-free dairy) they offer are good ones. Here are the 11 items you’ll want to bring home by the bucketful this October. 

Taylor Farms’ autumnal-flavored salad kits make the best of this season’s harvest. Back for the fourth time is the Spiced Apple Chopped Kit, which doubles up on spiced apple-y flavor with honey-roasted mini apple chips and cinnamon puffed apples. The Maple Dijon Crunch Chopped Kit, one of my all-time favorites, is in its sophomore run. It’s an outstanding blend, with fresh diced apples, spiced crouton crumbles, cheddar, and a maple Dijon vinaigrette. Top with ham, turkey, and roasted sweet potatoes to turn it into a hearty dinner salad. And new for this year, available only through Thanksgiving, is Pumpkin Spice. The cornbread croutons and the vinaigrette are both pumpkin spiced, but the cinnamon-sweet pepitas are the real stars here. Light and refreshing, this salad is the perfect bridge between the seasons.

Find it in stores: Taylor Farms Chopped Salad Kits, $4.99 for 10.85 to 13.25 ounces; Maple Dijon available exclusively at Sam’s Club, Pumpkin Spice at Walmart, and Spiced Apple at Kroger, Albertsons, and Safeway 

Three seasons, one major rollout: That’s what this mega veggie brand has accomplished with the launch of springy Double Dill, summery Tropical Thai, and autumnal Maple Pecan. The Double Dill, with its fried pickle chips and thinner dressing, pairs well with air-fried chicken, like the ones RealGood Foods launched in August. Tropical Thai, with its sweet chili and toasted coconut, is perfect with rotisserie chicken, as is Maple Pecan, which is also tasty with ham and blue cheese crumbles (my own add-on). 

Find it in stores: Dole Chopped! Salad Kits, $3.99 for 6.9 to 9.5 ounces, now at Winn-Dixie and Giant Food; also retailers nationwide

Good news for those of us who (ironically) don’t feel so good when gut-friendly probiotics are delivered via dairy: It’s cottage cheese with all the benefits, but none of the lactose. This small-curd, full-fat brand is thick, creamy, and not too salty. With this reduced lactose dose, I can double up on the dairy. For instance, my favorite thing is to mix this cottage cheese with cherry almond Icelandic Provisions skyr for breakfast or a midnight snack.

Find it in stores: Good Culture Lactose-Free Organic Cottage Cheese, $1.99 for 5-ounce single-serve cups and $5.99 for 16-ounce tubs at Whole Foods

Dipping into a tub of hummus is satisfying, but kind of unsanitary if you live in a house of double-dippers. The new pouches — which come in Plain, Beet, and Red Pepper varieties — just made that a non-issue. This extension of the Ithaca brand is also lunch box-friendly because the squeezable hummus is made with sunflower butter instead of the traditional sesame-based tahini.

Find it in stores: Ithaca Squeeze Hummus, $2.99 for 3 ounces at Whole Foods, Fresh Direct, Big Y, Price Chopper, Albert’s Organics, and more

Football season is ramping up, which means it’s prime snacking time. This Kettle chip tailgate edition goes big on the Buffalo flavor, which is cooled down with blue cheese and a hint of celery. They chips are zesty and loud without being hot, and like all of the brand’s chips they’re satisfyingly thick and crunchy. This might be my new favorite flavor.

Find it in stores: Kettle Brand Buffalo Bleu Chips, $6.29 for 12.5 ounces at Kroger, Albertsons, and more

Goodles just spiced up boxed mac and cheese with iconic hatch chiles. The box promises “a chile popper … but in mac form,” and it delivers. The spiral noodles are accented with cream cheese, cornbread, and, of course, those namesake peppers. Like the rest of the line, this weeknight-friendly pasta is heavy on nutritive value — 15 grams of protein per cup, 8 grams of fiber with prebiotics — and cheese, too.

Buy: Goodles Down the Hatch Mac, $15.96 for 4 (6-ounce) boxes at Goodles

If you follow this column, you may remember I featured this brand’s dreamy Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Bars back in July. With fall comes a new seasonal, limited-time flavor: Maple Salted Caramel, with subtle syrup notes and a dash of salt to balance it all out. Pumpkin who? The “krispy” base is lovely, like extra-crunchy waffle bits in a doughy, melty bar, and delivers 11 grams of plant-based protein with only 2 grams of sugar. 

Buy: CanDo Keto Crisp Maple Salted Caramel, $35.99 for 12 bars at CanDo; $2.99 for 1.59 ounces at The Fresh Market and Erewhons

The leaders in almond innovation have just released two limited-edition “naughty and nice” winter flavors: Snickerdoodle, which struck me with a sharp cinnamon-y finish, and Peppermint Cocoa, which was earthy and cool. Snap these up as soon as you see them! They’ll only be on shelves through the end of December, and then that’s it until next year. 

Find it in stores: Blue Diamond Peppermint Cocoa and Snickerdoodle Almonds, $4.19 for 6 ounces at Albertsons, Walmart, Kroger, Whole Foods, Wakefern, Publix, Hy-Vee, Giant Foods, Stop & Shop, H-E-B, Giant Co, Giant Eagle, Meijer, Hannaford, SaveMart, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and Big Y.

If you ever wished that Twinkies were smaller with a little extra oomph, the new Hostess Bouncers Glazed Twinkies were designed for you. The wee Twinkies were the best of the new trio, which also includes Glazed Chocolate Ding Dongs, wrapped in their familiar chocolatey icing, and Cinnamon Donettes, which are intensely cinnamon-y (think: Big Red gum) cream-stuffed cake doughnut holes. With three to a pouch, they’re easy to grab, go, and share (or not). 

Find it in stores: Hostess Bouncers, $4.99 for 9.63 ounces at Walmart, Kroger, Target, Publix, and more.

It seems like just yesterday that the snack brand rolled out its Iced Pumpkin CupCakes, Caramel Crunch Donettes, and Pumpkin Spice Twinkies, but now that Halloween is almost here it’s time for Spooky Twinkies and ScaryCakes. The seasonal chocolate cupcakes switch things up with an orange frosting and the classic white frosting squiggle, and Spooky Twinkies are chocolate versions of the classic. Punsters will also want to note that these treats are filled with scream filling. Also new are the Creepy Caramel Ding Dongs, which we’re excited to get our hands on!

Find it in stores: Hostess Scary Cakes and Spooky Twinkies, $3.99 for assorted-quantity multipacks or $2.30 for individual packs, available at Walmart, Kroger, Target, Publix, Dollar General

Love the taste of spirited coffees, but not its effects? Fire Dept. Coffee has you covered with a line of non-alcoholic, boozy-flavored, ready-to-drink coffees. How do they do it? The beans are infused with real spirits before the alcohol is roasted out, leaving just the flavor behind. Irish Coffee and Vanilla Bean Bourbon are the first two to hit shelves. And if you’re looking for a smooth and simple zing, the other half of this launch collection includes Shellback Espresso Cold Brew and Nitro Latte Cold Brew.

Buy: Fire Dept. Coffee Ready-to-Drink Coffee Sample Pack, $15.99 for 4 (7-ounce) cans at Fire Dept. Coffee

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