One of the things I’ve always struggled with in my grocery shopping is…
For lots of frozen meals, the packaging looks pretty good, and then the actual meal is…well…not.
You know what I mean.
Limp, tasteless, under- or over-salted.
Should have just gotten takeout, right?
There’s only one store that has bucked this trend:
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Trader Joe’s.
How they’ve managed it, the world will probably never know.
But the fact is – they’ve done it. Somehow.
Because these frozen dishes all taste incredible.
Many of them taste better than restaurant-made. And at the very least, they’re equivalent and a heck of a lot cheaper.
Starting with my personal favorite of the bunch…
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Chinese takeout beef and broccoli is mostly “meh” at best.
And after getting TJ’s beef and broccoli, I will genuinely never order it from takeout again.
It’s that good.
Sweet and spicy, the beef has a nice chewy texture once you get past the fried part. The broccoli is good too – not limp and tasteless, but crunchy and robust.
This takes about 15 minutes to make in a pan, and you can cook TJ’s frozen rice in the microwave while you’re making it!
A simple, easy, delicious meal.
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Butter chicken is one of those staples at every Indian restaurant, and it’s usually…just fine.
Not amazing, not terrible, but recognizable and consistent.
Somehow, Trader Joe’s managed to make it better.
And frozen, too!
Just pop it in the microwave for five minutes (with a pause for stirring partway through), and you have a full, delicious meal that is frankly better than takeout.
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As you know if you’ve tried lots of grocery store frozen meals, most of them are…pretty bad.
And that goes double for something like orange chicken, which somehow has exactly the same taste across every takeout Chinese restaurant. (At least in my experience!)
Grocery store is never as good.
Except for Trader Joe’s.
I genuinely don’t know how they did it, but their orange chicken tastes exactly like takeout…and given my analysis of local menus, I’m pretty sure it’s better for you too. (Certainly it’s FAR cheaper.)
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I’ve always thought of lasagna as a “high floor, low ceiling” kind of food.
It’s usually good, and pretty consistent across the board – but I’ve also never had a lasagna that changed my life. You know?
This has been true anywhere I’ve had lasagna – at home, made from (semi) scratch, at restaurants, wherever.
Trader Joe’s meat lasagna tastes like…lasagna!
But it’s way cheaper than you’ll get at any restaurant, and you can cook it exactly how you like it.
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If you haven’t had TJ’s teriyaki chicken… stop whatever you’re doing, and go get some.
It’s that good.
Unlike takeout teriyaki chicken, it’s grilled instead of fried, so it doesn’t have the heaviness you usually associate with teriyaki chicken.
Instead, it’s lean and chewy, with lots of good flavor and no distractions.
Just add rice! (And vegetables, if you want them.)
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Trader Joe’s chicken shawarma bowl is a masterpiece of competing (and delicious) flavors.
You’ve got the spicy chicken (which, unlike “real” shawarma is in cubes, not shaved – but still excellent!), basmati rice, pickled red onion, and a garlic sauce (plus some other vegetables, but they don’t add a lot of flavor).
Shawarma is pretty hard to come by in the US anyway, but honestly this is one of the best examples I’ve seen stateside – and all you have to do is heat it up!
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If you like pad thai (and you should) but have trouble finding good, fully vegan versions… I’d highly recommend giving TJ’s vegan pad thai a try.
Is it better than chicken or shrimp pad thai? No, of course not.
But if you’re looking for a good tofu-based version…hard to go wrong with this one.
Especially because it’s under $4 for a full portion.
For takeout (and generally not very good takeout), you’ll generally pay…$10? $12? No thanks.
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Ok, sure, this isn’t a “meal” in the traditional sense, but:
A) Trader Joe’s rustic apple tarte is better than any apple pie you’ll get at a restaurant, and it’s not even close, and
B) Who said dessert can’t be a meal?
(Also, I never promised these would be all meals – just frozen foods! And it is!)
Trust me, you’ll love this – and it’s way better than Marie Callender’s.
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Well, there you have it – some of my absolutely favorite frozen foods from TJ’s.
What are yours?
What did I miss?
Let us know in the comments!
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