The Shredded Cheese from Trader Joe’s Everyone Should Have in Their Fridge

Attention all cheese lovers: According to market research, Americans spend millions of dollars more on shredded cheese than any other form of cheese. With this in mind, one of Kitchn’s official taste testers, Amy Graves, sourced more than 20 bags of shredded cheese in four separate categories (cheddar, Mexican blend, mozzarella, and vegan mozzarella) and ultimately made a top pick for each. Curious for the results?

Read more: We Tried 20 Bags of Shredded Cheese — Here Are the 4 We’ll Be Buying Again

While there were four winners in total, there was one bag that stood out, head and shoulders, above the rest.

“Out of all the shreds that we ate straight-up, we couldn’t stop reaching into the bag of Trader Joe’s Unexpected Shredded Cheddar Cheese. It was sharp. It was creamy. It was crumbly in the best possible way,” Amy says. In addition to tasting excellent right out of the bag, these unexpected shreds also made for an utterly unmatchable grilled cheese.

More info: Trader Joe’s Unexpected Shredded Cheddar Cheese, $4.99 for 8 ounces

The fact that this particular shredded cheese was the ultimate grand supreme winner didn’t surprise me in the slightest. The block form of Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar (which has been around for more than a decade) is the most popular cheese at TJ’s, consistently ranking high in the annual Customer Choice survey.

So naturally when Trader Joe’s launched a shredded version of their most sought-after cheese, it was a hit. You could even say … that it was to be expected (ba-dum, chhh!), But what’s so unexpected about it? It tastes like an aged white cheddar, with surprising hints of Parmesan. It’s wonderfully crumbly in all the right ways and it melts perfectly. Oh, and maybe the price tag: Just $3.99 for a 7-ounce block, and $4.99 for an 8-ounce bag of award winning cheese! Maybe that’s the unexpected part?

So, if you’re among the millions of Americans who are spending millions of dollars on shredded cheese annually, add this cheese to your shopping list.

Have you tried Trader Joe’s Unexpected Shredded Cheddar Cheese?