Trader Joe's Hall Of Fame Items Ranked From Worst To Best

Mandarin Orange Chicken, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Unexpected Cheddar, Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets, and Soy Chorizo are the reasons the Trader Joe's Hall of Fame exists. Not spiritually. Administratively. These products kept winning Customer Choice Awards — they all won at least five times in their respective categories. Eventually, Trader Joe's had no choice but to pull them aside and say, "Okay, let's let someone else win for once." So, back in 2023, those items were officially retired from competition and inducted as the inaugural class of the Trader Joe's Product Hall of Fame.

Having those products out of the yearly competition paved the way for new favorites to shine, like Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. With Mandarin Orange Chicken watching from the Hall, the zesty chips surged ahead, winning Favorite Overall on the way to their own Hall of Fame induction in January 2025.

With the history out of the way, now comes the hard part — ranking these Hall of Famers. But how do you compare Soy Chorizo to Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups? It's like comparing apples to orange chicken. You'll find a full explanation at the end of this article, but the main factors were overall enjoyment, how each product stacks up against similar items, and star power. Yes, every product on this list is a star. That's why it's here. But as with any Hall of Fame, some legends shine just a little brighter than others.

This was my first time trying Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo, a vegan version of Spanish sausage. It comes in a plastic casing, so I squeezed a bit into a pan and cooked it like I would ground meat. I didn't add anything, eager to evaluate it on its own. Lesson one — Soy Chorizo is not meant to be tasted plain. Ever. What I had created was essentially hot, chewable paprika. I then mixed some with scrambled eggs. Lesson two — a little goes a long way. Long, long way. At this point, Soy Chorizo revealed its true identity. This is not a protein. This is a seasoning.

I've seen the photos that use this stuff as a meat substitute — tacos piled high with deep-red Soy Chorizo glowing with an oily sheen. But I would not add this to the list of taco meats to try at your next Taco Tuesday, unless it's mixed with abundant amounts of rice, potatoes, or beans. Restraint is key. Then add crema, cheese, avocado, and salsa. Basically, if you want Soy Chorizo to taste good, don't ask it to carry the dish.

And that's why Soy Chorizo lands last on this Hall of Fame list. Not because it's bad. It's just needy. Everything else in the Hall of Fame shines solo. Soy Chorizo shines as a seasoning. But if I want to add smoky spice to my food, it might be easier to reach for paprika than cook up a weirdly cased soy thingy.

They live in desks, backpacks, and glove compartments as reliable sidekicks. They also live in the Trader Joe's Hall of Fame as a repeat winner of Best Snack in the Customer Choice Awards. And they are wonderfully fine.

Covered in coarse salt, Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets are crunchy and addictive — just like almost every peanut butter–filled pretzel ever made. The filling is dense and slightly chalky, and not as creamy as I might dream it to be. At $2.69 for a 16-ounce package (prices may vary), they're competitively priced and easy to justify tossing into your cart without a second thought. That said, you could spend an afternoon ranking peanut butter pretzels and forget these entirely, which is both their strength and their weakness.

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets are good because peanut butter–filled pretzels are good. They deliver exactly what you expect, but they don't offer anything particularly special or redefine the category of peanut butter-filled pretzels. That predictability is precisely why they land on the lower end of the Hall of Fame list. Some Trader Joe's items permanently alter your standards. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, for example, may ruin all other peanut butter cups for you. The pretzel nuggets don't ruin anything. They coexist politely with all the other peanut butter pretzels out there.

First introduced in August 2011, Unexpected Cheddar Cheese refuses to behave like normal cheddar. You go in expecting sharpness. And yup, you do get that. But then it veers somewhere else. It becomes nutty and savory, like an aged Parmesan. It feels like a cheese that should be explained by a cheesemonger, which I am most definitely not. I just know it's a tasty and versatile hunk of dairy.

As you cut into it, you'll notice it crumbles more easily than expected. It seems like the cheese's way of begging to top salads. And yet, Unexpected Cheddar Cheese is also smooth and creamy, ready for melting in grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, and macaroni and cheese. But if the thought of shredding cheese sounds a little too rustic for your current lifestyle, Trader Joe's now also offers Shredded Unexpected Cheddar Cheese.

As for the original Unexpected Cheddar Cheese, it's snackable like an aged cheese and melty like a classic cheddar, which explains why it kept winning Best Cheese in the Customer Choice Awards. If you haven't enjoyed the Unexpected for yourself, it's one of those things from Trader Joe's that you'll wish you had bought years ago. Once you try it, you won't expect to find it anywhere else but in the Trader Joe's Hall of Fame.

Trader Joe's fans can't get enough of its Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, which debuted in 2010. The product went on to win Best Desserts/Sweets in the Customer Choice Awards again and again, and it's easy to taste why.

These cups are dessert minimalism done right. Chocolate and peanut butter. Classic combo. That's all you need. But the details bring these cups to another level. They're not just chocolate, but dark chocolate with that slight touch of bitterness. And instead of some sugary fluff, the filling tastes like real peanut butter, because it is. Slow-roasted Virginia peanuts are ground into a deliciously smooth and nutty filling.

To fully enjoy these cups, technique does matter. The first time I ever had one, I sucked it like hard candy, letting the chocolate melt away slowly until I reached the inner peanut butter. I now understand the error of my ways. These cups demand confidence, starting with a decisive bite to crack the dark chocolate shell. That way, the cocoa's bitterness is released. One or two chews, and the peanut butter warms and spreads, and then you can pause as the salty, sweet, and satisfying all blur together. Sure, you can simply suck on one for several minutes if you want. But these cups reward participation. And when you eat them the right way, it's obvious why Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups belong in the Hall of Fame and, ideally, in your mouth.

Trader Joe's Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips earned their Hall of Fame induction in January 2025, with past wins in both Favorite Snack and Favorite Overall in the Customer Choice Awards. Made from ground corn masa rolled into convenient snackability, they deliver an unbeatable price-to-crunch ratio with the zesty charisma of lime and chili. Convenient, crunch, and charisma. It's a triple crown that keeps these chips high on the list of Trader Joe's Hall of Famers.

The citrus and spice combo strikes a careful balance — noticeable heat but not too spicy. For better or worse, this means you can demolish a bag during a movie without ever needing to pause for water. If you happen to snack with the lights on, you'll notice a signature radioactive-orange glow. It looks suspicious, but the color actually comes from vegetable juice, paprika extract, and turmeric extract.

Trader Joe's product page suggests these rolled chips are an ideal vehicle for dipping, so you might consider adding Roasted Garlic Hummus or another one of Trader Joe's most popular dips to your cart. Personally, I think that's unnecessary. These chips are plenty flavorful on their own. No need to mess with the already perfect blend of citrus and spice and everything nice.

As someone who eats a lot of frozen foods, I can confidently say that Mandarin Orange Chicken isn't just the best frozen entrée at Trader Joe's — it's one of the best frozen entrées anywhere. While there's often a sadness that clings to frozen poultry, that doesn't happen here. Once cooked, the entrée tastes fresh, the chicken is tender on the inside and lightly crunchy on the outside, and the bright sauce is plentiful. The package calls it a mandarin orange ginger sauce, but the ginger is very faint. What's not faint is the delicious sweet and tangy sugar-and-vinegar combo. I would absolutely buy this sauce by the bottle.

The package is priced well compared to other frozen orange chicken options. Since Trader Joe's introduced its Mandarin Orange Chicken back in January 2004, other stores and brands have tried to match its tangy excellence. But even decades later, the Trader Joe's version still takes the top spot in Mashed's ranking of frozen orange chicken brands.

At this point, Mandarin Orange Chicken is practically synonymous with Trader Joe's itself. For many people, this was their first Trader Joe's meal, pulled from a freezer and cooked with cautious optimism. Then they tasted it. And then they bought it again. And again. So, feel free to compare apples to oranges. Just know that nothing compares to this orange chicken. It's the best of the best, zestily enshrined in the Trader Joe's Product Hall of Fame.

This ranking started with the list of six products that Trader Joe's has officially inducted into its Product Hall of Fame as of December 2025: Mandarin Orange Chicken, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Unexpected Cheddar, Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets, Soy Chorizo, and Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. I picked up all these items at my local Trader Joe's and went home to taste and ponder them.

Drawing on my firsthand tasting experience, I ranked these products based on my overall enjoyment, how each product compares to others in its category (e.g., taste, value, uniqueness), and star power. Products that offered an exceptional flavor experience or stood out in their category ranked higher, while those that were solid but less distinctive were placed lower on the list. Every item here earned its Hall of Fame status. But those ranking highest left stronger impressions than the others.