8 Trader Joe's Products To Add To Your Shopping List In September 2026

If you find grocery shopping catastrophically boring, check out Trader Joe's for a change. From ube-flavored treats to umami-rich seasoning blends, Trader Joe's quirky hidden gems make for a more exciting shopping experience overall. The store also debuts products on a regular basis, giving shoppers opportunities to discover something different. We checked out the website to see what's new for September 2026 and found lots of fun products to make the end of summer a little less glum.

Trader Joe's has more leeway to offer unique products because the majority of goods come from its in-store label. Our September selection aptly illustrates the store's love of uncommon snacks with sardine-shaped milk chocolates, potato bites, chewy coconut cakes, and other items you can't easily find elsewhere. The chain is also a pretty affordable place to shop — however, there are things Trader Joe's shoppers don't love about the store, with its large crowds and tight spaces being chief among them. Avoid the rush by visiting TJ's early on weekday mornings, especially midweek if you're able to. 

Let's address the elephant in the room: Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Sardines with Sea Salt contain absolutely no fish. As for the pairing of sea salt and chocolate, it's not as unusual as it may seem. Salt stimulates saliva production and makes taste receptors more sensitive, both of which help unlock chocolate's flavor potential. These sweet sardine snacks cost $3.29 per box and come in adorable individually wrapped fish shapes.

Trader Joe's raspberry filled donuts retail for $3.99 a box, require no baking, and can be conveniently stored in the freezer. Simply thaw the donuts in the fridge for about two hours and get to snacking. Each box contains six pink, powder-dusted donuts made with natural food dye and real fruit filling. 

The Italian Mascarpone & Mixed Berries Gelato Style Frozen Dessert is unique in that each component is separated in the carton (which retails for $4.99). This lets customers create their own concoctions with the desired ratio of mascarpone to fruit. In case you didn't know, mascarpone is a lightly sweet, ultra-creamy Italian cheese made from cow's milk and often used in desserts.

The process of making meringue is rife with challenges, but Trader Joe's offers a neat no-bake alternative. These premade Meringue dessert shells come in packs of two and retail for $2.99 each. For a delightfully tangy and impossibly quick treat, combine the shells with TJ's Lemon Curd. They're also great for an Eton mess, a British dessert featuring smashed meringue bits, heavy cream, and fresh berries.

If you're flummoxed by TJ's Tater Bites with Cheese and Chives, think of the chain's egg bites but with a potato base. The combination of potatoes, eggs, cottage cheese, chives, parmesan, Monterey Jack, and cheddar makes this an excellent breakfast option. Each pack costs $3.49 and contains 16 grams of protein, so you can start working on your macros early in the day.

Trader Joe's Chewy Thai Coconut Cakes bring a beloved street food within arm's reach. Kanom dok mai roughly translates to "flower sweets" in Thai, and TJ's version of the adorable blossom-shaped treats incorporates ube and sweet potato to enhance their color and taste. Each box comes with nine cakes and costs $3.79. 

If the flavor of most canned fish is too potent for you, boquerones (that's Spanish for "anchovies") in oil and vinegar are an intriguing alternative. This Trader Joe's delicacy, priced at $4.99, has a lighter taste thanks to the combo of olive oil, salt, and vinegar these anchovies are packed in. They can be added to salads and pasta, or served as part of an upscale appetizer spread. 

Vanilla O's from Trader Joe's are a wholesome way to satisfy your cereal cravings. The whole grain pieces are flavored with real vanilla bean and offer just the right amount of sweetness for just $3.49 a box. Like other popular cereal brands, Vanilla O's are fortified with essential vitamins and nutrients.