I Tried Trader Joe’s Best-Selling Pasta — And I Have Some Thoughts

I buy a new package of pasta every time I go to the grocery store, even though my cabinets are already overflowing with boxes and bags of specialty noodles. I can’t help it; pasta is a delicious, quick, and relatively affordable base for many weeknight meals. I prefer traditional semolina wheat pasta, but I’ve been known to dabble in gluten-free options, like pasta made from lentils, peas, or brown rice. Which brings me to this Hearts of Palm Pasta from Trader Joe’s.

I recently learned that Trader Joe’s best-selling pasta isn’t a pasta at all. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s made from hearts of palm (not dough), which means it’s naturally gluten-free. I’ve been shopping at TJ’s for years — and yet I’d never tried this offering. How did I miss this?

Let’s back up a quick second: Hearts of palm are the tender inner core of palm trees. I’ve eaten them before, and in those cases, they were seared and served like scallops. I couldn’t imagine how they would translate to pasta, or if they’d actually satisfy my need for noodles. So naturally, I decided to cook a package. In the name of research! 

Luckily, my local Trader Joe’s had plenty of packages (apparently the hearts of palm pasta is so sought-after, it routinely sells out). I tossed a 9-ounce box in my cart and $3.49 later, I was the proud owner of one of the hottest-ticket items at TJs. 

The box notes that unlike most dried pastas, this should not be boiled before cooking. Simply add it to the sauté pan with a sauce of your choosing, and mix it all together for a few minutes. Voilà: pasta! I decided to keep things ultra simple and toss it with olive oil, fresh parsley, and a bit of aged cheese. I wanted the noodles to really shine. So did they?

There are definitely some positive qualities to this pasta, but there was also plenty in the cons column. For starters, I found the vacuum-packaging to be a little off-putting. These noodles are basically ready to eat — unliked dried semolina pasta — so this airtight packaging makes sense. But they oozed from the bag into the pan in, well, not my favorite way. (I would recommend cutting a small hole in the bag and draining the excess liquid out over the sink before adding the pasta to the pan.)

Now on to the taste: My favorite pastas are cooked al dente, with a slightly springy texture. In contrast, the hearts of palm noodles are fibrous and tough. (Which wasn’t surprising; a 3-ounce serving contains 7% of your daily fiber. All that rough stuff comes at a cost.) They required a lot of chewing, which caused my brain to associate the experience with “not pasta.”

They’re also pretty sweet, with a scent and flavor that dominates the rest of the ingredients. TJ’s says it’s a “mild” tasting pasta, but I don’t agree. I do think that olive oil was a bad choice and I could see this being more palatable with a heftier sauce, like marinara.

I am happy to report that the noodles did hold their shape well, and passed my fork-twirl test. Calorie count is not a consideration to me when choosing food, but if it’s important in your meal planning, you’ll want to know that these contain 20 calories per serving (before sauce, of course).

Overall, I do understand the hype. The hearts of palm pasta is vegan, gluten-free, and easy to prepare. But with so many other amazing pasta options available — both traditional and gluten-free — this is not the first box I’ll be reaching for the next time I want a plate of spaghetti. 

Have you tried these? Do you agree or disagree with my review?