The best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers can turn around even the crummiest party. Seriously, I’ll suffer through some lame small talk as long as I can post up next to the snack table and stuff my face with mini samosas and cocktail wieners wrapped in dough.
Trader Joe’s appetizers, particularly the ones you find in the frozen aisle, are a life-saver and time-saver for hosts, too. No need to roll out endless sheets of puff pastry when the best Trader Joe’s appetizers are as good as pretty much anything you’d put together yourself, unless you’re Ina Garten (in which case, hi, I love you, please make appetizers for me).
But not all Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers are worthy of your holiday party spread. Over the course of two separate taste tests, we cranked up the office oven and heated up more than a dozen varieties to separate the guaranteed crowd-pleasers from the bites that’ll wind up in the trash, crumpled-up into cocktail napkins. These were our seven favorite Trader Joe’s appetizers from the frozen aisle, some of them are newer offerings and some of them are perennial faves.
- Kalua Pork Spring Rolls
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Okay, this recommendation comes with a big disclaimer: These are extremely, extremely greasy. If you think greasy food is gross, this is not the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizer for you. Seriously, when you handle these, you can see pockets of grease moving around inside the spring roll wrapper. But, if you can get past that and focus on the flavor of the meat inside these spring rolls, you’ll be pumped. There’s a real fire-roasted pork shoulder flavor in these and it kept me going back for bites even after my fingers were slick with oil. These are a make-it-a-treat sort of Trader Joe’s appetizer for the intestinally fortitudinous among us.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Thai Banana Fritters
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If you’re regularly consuming very good Thai street food, these may not scratch your banana-fritter itch. But if you generally like greasy fried things that strike a lovely sweet-savory balance, Trader Joe’s Thai Banana Fritters are up there with the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers. The batter is light, nutty, and fruity tasting, thanks to the inclusion of coconut flakes, coconut milk, and sesame seeds. They’re definitely savory, but they’re sweet enough that you can serve them atop a mound of vanilla ice cream. Whatever you do, lay these out on a few layers of paper towels to soak up some of the oil before you transfer them to your party serving platter.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Buffalo Style Chicken Poppers
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Trader Joe’s Buffalo Style Chicken Poppers taste good. They’re surprisingly spicy. But I can’t for the life of me figure out why they’re called poppers. Poppers (not those poppers) should be round or oblong and, as the name suggested, easy to pop in one’s mouth. This Trader Joe’s frozen appetizer is a flat wonton filled with chicken—if I were tasked with coming up with a name for it, I’d call it a “pocket.” Anyway, format issues aside, these do taste good. The filling is a little dry, but serve these with a side of good blue cheese dressing and no one will mind. A lot of Trader Joe’s appetizers are incredibly greasy and these aren’t. That alone makes them one of the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers.
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Fried Olive Bites
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Okay, why aren’t fried olives more of a thing and who can I yell at about this? While I work on finding the right person to berate, allow me to extol the virtues of this cute, creative frozen appetizer. First of all, they probably aren’t what you’re expecting (i.e., breaded and deep-fried cheese-stuffed olives). Instead, they’re made of a macerated mixture of different types of salty, savory olives formed around a blend of creamy cheeses, which are then breaded and fried. I’m not certain why it was necessary to mash up and create a dough of something that was made to be stuffed with cheese in its original form, but I’m sure Trader Joe has his reasons. And if you’re concerned about the salt factor, I get it, but if you can handle fried pickles, you can handle this Trader Joe’s frozen appetizer.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Breaded Fried Ravioli
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Fried ravioli are never as good as you hope they’re going to be, especially at restaurants. Granted, I’ve never had real-deal St. Louis ravs (don’t come for me, Missourians), but whenever I order these things, I always wish I would have just gotten mozzarella sticks instead. I guess that’s why these Breaded Fried Ravioli from TJ’s were such a pleasant surprise. You might be expecting a filling of bland ricotta, but there’s something much more tasty going on here—the cheese is sharp and nutty and full of flavor. The breading is excellent too; it reminded me of Progresso Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, a pantry staple in my house. Heat up a little bowl of marinara sauce for dipping, and you’ve got your hands on one of the best Trader Joe’s appetizers.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds
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If you’re standing in the frozen aisle at Trader Joe’s and trying to decide between their breaded cheese curds and their fried mozzarella sticks, go for the curds. The cheese is salty and has a little bit of squeak, and the coating—which is more like a crispy, puffy batter than a breading—is spiked with a little black pepper. When it comes to Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers, these cheese curds aren’t the most flavorful thing you’ll find (Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling thought they were a little bland), but with the right dip, these will scratch that fried cheese itch. I recommend ranch or honey mustard. (In fact, TJ’s has a newish buttermilk ranch that’s really good.)
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Party Size Mini Meatballs
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Between the overall look and the zany font on the bag, I didn’t expect a lot from Trader Joe’s Mini Meatballs. Surely they’re like little rubber balls, no? No! These frozen meatballs are tender rather than dense and tightly packed. They taste like a good fast food hamburger. And if you’re looking for something versatile, these are absolutely one of the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers. You could put them in a hot dog bun with marinara sauce to make snack-size meatball subs or just serve them right out of the oven with a bunch of different dipping sauces. The best Trader Joe’s appetizers give you options, and these are great in that sense.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Mini Vegetable Samosas
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If you’re putting out a frozen appetizer spread for a crowd of vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, this is one of the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers to have in the mix. TJ’s Mini Veggie Samosas—filled with potatoes, carrots, peas, lentils, and onions—are crispy, spicy, and satisfying without including meat. I also think they might have amped up the heat a little bit here—I took a bite and actually coughed a little. Sometimes the best frozen appetizers are the ones that remind you you’re alive.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Portuguese Baccalhau Tartelettes
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Trader Joe’s Portuguese Baccalhau Tartelettes are a new addition to this list and I truly cannot recommend them enough. If you’re not familiar, bacalau is salt cod, and these are like itty-bitty salt cod pies (they even come in adorable little pie tins). They’re greasy and indulgent. They’re oceanic without being fishy. They’re sophisticated. This is the Trader Joe’s appetizer to serve if you want to fool people into thinking you hired a caterer for your party. I want to eat these on the pool deck at someone’s swanky mansion by the sea in Malibu, but they’d be no less enjoyable in my crummy apartment with the football game on TV.
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Mini Chicken Tikka Samosas
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When it comes to the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizers, you kinda can’t go wrong with meat wrapped in dough, and these Mini Chicken Samosas are proof. These are small, but they pack so much Indian-food flavor. All the hits are there: curry, cumin, coriander. And while the filling is a little mushy—I couldn’t really detect whole pieces of chicken—the dough cooks up so nice and crispy that it all just works. You’ll want to let these cool before you put them out—third-degree tongue burns are terrible party favors.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Trader Joe’s Pastry Bites with Feta Cheese & Caramelized Onions
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This Trader Joe’s frozen appetizer is a classic for a reason. No New Year’s Eve app spread would be complete without these. The consistency of the filling is so eggy and light—like a little souffle. There’s a little bit of salty bite from the feta, but it’s not too briny or dry. The caramelized onion is sweet, savory, and goes so well with the flavor of the cheese filling. The pastry is a little tough, but it’s not a deal breaker. We cooked these in our toaster oven, and they came out a little greasy on the bottom, but with all that flavor, I sort of doubt your guests will care.
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Parmesan Pastry Pups
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An excellent thing about me (if I do say so myself) is that I make pigs in a blanket for pretty much every party I go to. No matter what the host has put out, they’re almost always the first things to go. Besides having a cute name, Parmesan Pastry Pups are the best Trader Joe’s frozen appetizer you can buy if you want to make something that literally every omnivore wants to eat, and they’ll save you the effort it takes to wrap and bake dozens of cocktail franks. These are even more decadent than the pigs in a blanket you’re used to. The juicy mini hot dogs and buttery puff pastry combine to create a delicious, greasy slurry, and the parm on top gives them even more savory flavor. I think they would have puffed up a little more if I’d cooked them in a regular oven rather than a toaster oven, but the flavor is outrageous no matter what. You’re gonna want to put out toothpicks for these so you don’t have people covertly wiping their greasy hands on your couch cushions.
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Other products we tried: Spizzico di Pizza, Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese Bites, Mini Beef Tacos, Mac and Cheese Bites, Vegetable Bird’s Nests, Mozzarella Sticks
