Trader Joe’s: What To Buy & What To Skip Shopping Guide

A new grocery store recently opened in my neck of the woods, Trader Joe’s! Many of you have e-mailed to ask if they have good deals, so I decided to walk the store to find out.

Trader Joe’s has mostly house brand items, so there aren’t any coupons available for most of the items in the store. This makes it harder to get the best prices there, but they still win on some items. We are going to talk about what to buy and what to skip.

They do accept manufacturer coupons for the name brand items they sell.

Things To Buy:

Fresh Flowers

There is a big selection of flowers and small plants that look great. They have a lot more plant and flower options than any other grocery store in my area.

-Big Bouquet, $3.99
-Small Herb Plants, $2.99
-Tulip Plants, $2.49

Produce

Their everyday produce prices are typically the same or a few cents more than the sale prices of other grocery stores. It is a good idea always compare with current sales before purchasing, but know that most items in the produce department are decent prices.

Keep in mind that Trader Joe’s doesn’t have scales. The produce is sold per item or by bag, so you need to be careful in comparing.

-Organic Baby Spinach, 6 oz, $1.99
(4¢ less per ounce than the typical price of $5.99 for 16 oz)
-Kale, 10 oz, $1.99
-White Button Mushrooms, 10 oz, $1.79
-Organic Whole Carrots, 16 oz, 89¢
-Avocados, 4 ct., $2.99 (74¢ ea.)
-Fresh Herbs, $1.69
-Bananas, 19¢ ea.
-Artichokes, 4 ct., $2.99 (74¢ ea.)
-Russet Potatoes, 3 lb, $2.29

Coffee & Tea

Trader Joe’s coffee and tea selection is made up of their house brand items. They have some more expensive premium options, but even the cheaper options are known for being very good.

–Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea, 60 ct., $3.49 (5¢ per tea bag)
-Trader Joe’s Dark Whole Bean Coffee, 13 oz, $4.99

Bakery Items

Trader Joes’s has a huge variety of breads. This is especially great if you are gluten free or prefer a certain type of bread. All of their bread is preservative free so keep in mind it may spoil more quickly.

-Udi’s Gluten Free White Bread, $4.99
-Ezekiel 4:9 Sprout Grain Bread, $3.99
-Organic Complete Protein Bread, $2.99
-Trader Joe’s Corn Tortilla, 11 oz, $1.49
-Ciabatta Multigrain Baguette, $1.29

Their fresh bakery items such as cupcakes and pastries tend to be hit or miss.

Specialty Cheeses

While Trader Joe’s everyday cheeses, like sliced cheddar, are cheaper in other grocery stores, you can get great deals on specialty cheeses.

-Trader Giotto’s Parmesan Cheese, $6.49 lb
-Gouda, $8.99 lb

Eggs

All the eggs that say, “No Additives, No Hormones”, are just your typical grocery store eggs, but they also have cage free, organic, etc.

-Large Brown Eggs, Dozen, $1.99
-Jumbo White Eggs, Dozen, $1.69
-Organic Extra Large Brown Eggs, Dozen, $4.29

Yogurt and Hummus

Organic yogurt, 32 oz, is $2.99. It comes in plain, vanilla, or Vanana. Stonyfield yogurt, 32 oz, rarely goes below $3 even with sales and coupons.

Trader Joe’s Organic Hummus, 8 oz,  is $2.29. You can get Roasted Garlic Hummus for $1.79.

Frozen Fruit

Trader Joe’s has a ton of organic and conventional frozen fruit options for great prices. For example, you can get frozen strawberries, 16 oz, for $1.69.

Grocery Items

Here are the grocery items that are great deals:

-Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats, 24 oz, $3.29
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 Liter, $5.99
-Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, 16 oz, $5.99
-Organic Marinara Sauce, 26 oz, $2.29
-Peanut Butter, 16 oz, $2.79 (only ingredient is peanuts)
-Clover Blossom Honey, 12 oz, $2.99
-Organic Apple Sauce, 4 pk., $1.99
-Organic White Quinoa, 16 oz, $3.49
-Luna Bars, 99¢
-Tortilla Chips, 2 lb bag, $2.99
-Smooth Almond Milk, 32 oz, $1.69
-Charles Shaw Wine, $2.99

Things To Skip:

Milk

You can find better prices on regular and organic milk at other stores, especially when it goes on sale. A gallon of milk can often be found on sale for $2.99 a gallon and is around $3.49 a gallon everyday at Publix.

Organic milk also goes on sale and is regularly priced around $5.19 at Earth Fare and Whole Foods.

-Milk, Gallon, $3.99
-Organic Milk, Gallon, $5.99

Meat

We can get meat for less when bought in bulk or stocking up while it is on sale. The prices at Trader Joe’s are not outrageous, but they aren’t the best.

-Whole Chicken, $1.49 lb
-Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs, $4.49 lb
-No Antibiotics, All Vegetarian Feed Whole Chicken, $1.99 lb
-Organic, Free-Range Chicken, $2.69 lb
-Organic Free Range Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, $4.99 lb
-Ground Turkey, 4.49 lb
-Pork Tenderloin, $4.99 lb
-Pork Chops, $5.99 lb
-90/10 Ground Beef, $5.99 lb
-80/20 Ground Beef, $2.69 lb
-Apple Smoked Bacon, 12 oz, $3.99

Butter

Butter is one item you can find for a lot less with sales and coupons. You can often get butter for less than $2 or even free. Organic butter will go as low as $3.

-Trader Joe’s Butter, 16 oz, $2.79
-Trader Joe’s Organic Butter, 16 oz, $4.79

Most Frozen Items

Buy one get one deals on frozen vegetables, especially with coupons, will beat Trader Joe’s prices any day. You can also easily get frozen pizzas for less than $4. Waffles have recently been FREE at Publix.

-Frozen Petite Peas, 16 oz, $1.29
-Frozen Organic Broccoli, $2.49
-Frozen Pizza, 15.3 oz, $4.29
-Waffles, 11 oz, $1.99

Breakfast Cereals

You are going to spend way more if you buy cereal at Trader Joe’s. With sales and coupons, you can get Kashi Cereal for $1-$2 and Cheerios or Frosted Flakes for less than $1.

-Kashi Go Lean Crunch! Cereal, 13.8 oz, $3.69
-Joe’s O, 15 oz, $1.99
-Frosted Flakes, 15 oz, $1.99

Grocery Items to Skip:

-Pasta, 16 oz, 99¢
(as low as FREE in other stores)
-McIntosh Apple Juice, 64 oz, $2.99
-Organic Real Fruit Toaster Pastries, 6 pk., $2.49
-Chocolate Chip Cookies, 7-18 oz, $3.99

Household Items:

With there being no coupons available, you aren’t going to get the best prices on household items at Trader Joe’s. Drugstores have the best prices on household items by far.

-Trader Joe’s Bath Tissue, 6 Rolls, $4.49
-Trader Joe’s Liquid Laundry Detergent, 128 oz, $9.99

In the end, you can find some nice deals at Trader Joe’s if you are savvy on prices. If you are someone who likes to shop sales and skip coupons, this is a great store for you. I will still be doing the bulk of my shopping at Publix, but might pick up some produce and other items at Trader Joe’s.

What are your favorite deals or items at Trader Joe’s?