Trader Joe’s Just Leaked Info on 16 New Groceries Hitting Stores This Spring

We already covered the not-to-be-missed Trader Joe’s groceries that came out earlier this month, but now we’ve got even more to share with you. In the latest episode of the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, which came out earlier this week, hosts Tara Miller and Matt Sloan are lighting the citrus-scented candles and ushering in a list of new and returning groceries just in time for spring. And there are plenty of delicious options to choose from.

The duo shared the 16 groceries they’re most excited about, including at least one that’s already on shelves. Others won’t be out until April, but that just means we have weeks worth of treats to look forward to. Let’s take a look!

Candle tins are some of the most popular products at TJ’s. This grapefruit-scented one, which first appeared in stores in 2018, is made with coconut soy wax and, according to Matt, “smells more like a Ruby Red Grapefruit than, say, an Oro Blanco.” Tara adds, “It just smells clean and springy to me.” 

Tara and Matt actually sampled these pastry rolls mid-podcast. So how were they? “There is a little sweetness on the outside of the dough. The inside is really flaky, but it has that nice creamy cream cheesy filling,” says Tara. “And there’s a brightness,” and “a little tartness,” adds Matt. Look for them in the freezer case starting mid-April.

Another cool (read: frozen) pastry coming to stores between mid-March and early April, depending where you live! These tiny custard tarts, or pastéis de nata in Portuguese, are a classic in Portugal, which is where these TJ’s ones are made.  

This sweet, tart, creamy, textured, and delicious limited-edition ice cream, according to Tara, is one we’re really going to like. It started out as a “very basic ice cream,” says Matt, but after multiple iterations “and some frustration and heartache along the way,” the team behind it added some combination of a crunchy thing, lemon curd swirl, pieces of lemon zest, and salt to give it the heft and flavor it has today. It arrives in stores in late March.

Made in Italy, with lemons grown in Sicily, this ravioli is filled with ricotta and lemon zest. Matt likes it “dressed up very, very simply just with olive oil, maybe a little bit of shaved cheese,” or with “a great big handful of some fresh bitter greens” like some arugula or radicchio. “That bitterness pairs so nicely with this lemon ricotta filling,” which you can find in the refrigerator section now Matt thinks.

This snack was another item that was sampled while recording (what a fun gig!). Upon opening the bag the overwhelming smell, according to Tara, was buttered popcorn, but the flavor is sour cream and “very oniony, in a wonderful way,” says Matt. They’re also gluten-free.  

Fancy cheese crunchies, according to Matt, are “classic cheese crunchies enhanced with truffle.” The new snack is all thanks to a product developer who discovered a producer’s truffle cheese crunchy during her travels and brought them back to the TJ’s team. And this spring, they’re bringing them to all of us.

In stores starting early April, this poppy seed dressing is a long time coming to Trader Joe’s shelves. As Tara explains, “We’ve never been able to find one that used the types of ingredients that we allow to be used in our products and still tasted the way you expect it to taste.” She’s even planning to use it in her summertime salad recipe instead of the homemade dressing she typically makes! 

“This is the newest addition into the very limited, but really high-quality line of skin care products that we have in our stores,” says Tara. Made with baobab tree seed oil, the night serum not only smells really pleasant (the two hosts opened a jar to investigate), but its price is also “awesome.” 

The name may sound familiar, but the packaging will be slightly different (and bigger!) this year. Spring Jangle, the spring take on Jingle Jangle, includes a mix of pretzels drizzled with yogurt, nonpareils with brightly colored sprinkles, dark chocolate Joe Joe’s cookie bark, butter toffee peanuts, and milk chocolate peanut butter cups. Instead of the canisters, the combo will now come in a yellow bag with a resealable top. 

Another candy item that’s returning, this dark chocolate bar is topped with pink and white yogurt-coated shortbread cookies and a mix of sprinkles. Although Tara and Matt did not sample this one during the episode, they did say it would be great as part of a little chocolate board, instead of the typical dessert setup. 

Arriving in stores in April, Matt describes this mix as “an egg hunt in cupcake form.” It’s an all-in-one, DIY project that results in “wonderful cupcakes with a nice green frosting” and “little chocolate caramel eggs” that are speckled. “They looked almost like little Robins eggs,” he says.

This sparkling tea is the third in a series of bubbly drinks (you might recall the Sparkling Black Tea with Peach and Sparkling Green Tea with Pineapple), and just like the two that came before, “It’s refreshing and incredibly easy to drink,” says Matt. He thinks it’s great out of the can, which are sold in packs of four, but can also see people using it as a mixer.

“Only special wines make it into this [Trader Joe’s] Reserve label,” says Matt, and this Merlot from the Oak Knoll district in Napa Valley, California, is one of them. “Merlot is fantastic,” adds Matt, who says the team is particularly “confident and excited about this wine.” 

Another bottle that’s donning the Trader Joe’s Reserve label, this wine comes from the Edna Valley, which, according to Tara, is “a really great place to grow Pinot Noir grapes because of the breezes coming off the coast and they have warm days and cool nights.” She also called it a nice, classic example of a California central coast Pinot Noir.

Shaped like mini cheeseburgers, these crunchy dog treats are back and at least a few dogs are thrilled about it: “Before I left my house this morning, I gave one of these to each of my dogs. They each went in a different direction to eat their treats so that I wouldn’t take it back and they wouldn’t try to steal from each other,” says Tara.  

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