The 15 Most Overrated Items At Trader Joe's

Sriracha sauce can make everything better: bowls, roast chicken, potatoes, quesadillas, sandwiches, you name it. But not all srirachas are created equal. The standard rooster sauce in the squeeze bottle with the green tip that says "Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce" is the OG we all know and love — and it's way better than the Trader Joe's knock-off, says Lauren Koeppe of Create Hospitality (via Thrillist). 

The original is made in Irwindale, California by Huy Fong Foods. The Huy Fong factory mixes the chilis with salt, vinegar and preservatives and seals them in barrels, drawing from that stash to make sauce throughout the year. (Fun fact: 100 million pounds of chilis are processed in the factory every year!)

But the brand isn't without its troubles. In fact, there was a time when the city where the factory operates accused the factory of being too... well, smelly, and this could have threatened the product (via Time). And because sriracha sauce is fermented, it's not always going to be the same in every production, and the chilies can also change depending on supply. So, in comes the competition. 

The problem with Huy Fong's competitors is that some are too sweet or too salty or just lack the perfect garlic-chili-salt balance of the essential kitchen condiment. And TJ's is one of those brands, with Koeppe declaring their sauce "too sweet" and "not nearly as good as the OG Huy Fong/Tương Ớt Sriracha."

Good try, TJ's, but no.

One of the most divisive and stress-inducing Trader Joe's products, as discussed in online forums, is the brand's cauliflower gnocchi.

Some people say they're best made in an air fryer, while others say baking is the key. Others say to ignore the package cooking instructions all together. But despite the cooking confusion, some have loved the pasta since it launched in April of 2018, including gluten-free pasta-lovers who appreciate the fact that it's 75% cauliflower and completely gluten free (it's made with cassava flour and potato starch). And for anyone on a low-carb diet, it contains about half the carbs and 110 fewer calories than an equivalent serving of standard gnocchi made with potatoes, says Good Housekeeping.

But if you don't want to take your chances and diet isn't an issue, you should probably cook some classic potato and flour gnocchi and then roast some cauliflower on the side, toss it all together, and enjoy a more fool-proof version of cauliflower and gnocchi. If you still want to try them, you don't have to fear: We have an easy 5-ingredient recipe with the stuff here. 

Will whatever you do with Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi make an Italian grandmother proud? Maybe not. Is it overhyped? Probably.

Tea and lemonade "beverage"? Seriously? What a boring name for something you want people to drink. And Mantou Joe feels the same: "Is it because there was too much white space on the label? Doesn't tea & lemonade imply beverage?"

But other than that, the Trader Joe's product reviewer thinks it tastes okay. We're not convinced.

Hibiscus is a bit of a superfood. According to Meghan of After Noon Tea Reads, hibiscus tea is made from the flower and sometimes leaves of the hibiscus plant, which is native to tropical areas. It's believed to be high in antioxidants and can lower blood pressure and blood sugar, and it can possibly help manage your weight or even help you lose weight, the blogger reports.

Superfood or not, making lemonade with hibiscus is a good idea! That little acidic touch that it provides adds to the floral scent, so when combined with the 8 grams of sugar in TJ's beverage (not too much, not too little), this should be a great combo. And some people think it is; some people even say this Trader Joe's beverage is refreshing. And yet, some other people besides Mantou Joe think this product could use some work. Some even think it tastes more like erasers than delicious tea. 

Refreshing or eraser –- it's your call.

See above. Same gross sauce, faker protein and 16 grams of sugar per serving. Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels actually disappeared for a while, but due to the popularity of the with-chicken version, the company brought it back. They probably shouldn't have.

The "morsels" are fine if you want a quick meal that's animal-free, but according to Steve of Club Trader Joe's, this vegan version of the Trader Joe's Mandarin chicken just doesn't live up to the original. The only thing positive that Steve had to say was about the crunchy exterior after baking the soy-based faux chicken. Otherwise, the reviewer felt it was oily, rubbery, smaller in size than the chicken version, and tasted like cardboard. 

There's also a lot of breading and starch in there, which isn't the best choice if you're watching your carbs or if you want a gluten-free option. To be fair, there's about as much flavor in the real chicken version as in the fake chicken version, which is not much. But as with the regular chicken version, you might be better off tossing the sauce in the garbage and just air frying these chicken-less pieces as chicken-less chicken nuggets instead.

People say the Trader Joe's chili onion crunch is really just a knock-off of Lao Gan Ma chili crisp sauce, so most of the reasons to avoid the Trader Joe's store-brand sriracha (see above) apply here, too. 

The original version is darker in color and richer in flavor, and generally, it's just tastier. What's especially weird about the Trader Joe's version, though, is that it's made with olive oil and paprika, which isn't exactly known for use in Chinese food, so it's kind of like an Asian chili sauce via the Mediterranean –- which is not what you want in an Asian chili oil. Oh, and there's dried bell peppers in there, too. Again, weird.

Though also not the same, a good substitution made with super high quality ingredients would be the spicy chili miso oils/condiments from Toronto-based Abokichi. They're also MSG-free, unlike the Lao Gan Ma product. Trader Joe's version is also MSG-free, but it's just not as tasty as Abokichi. 

In case you prefer to make your own (it's easy), Serious Eats has what might be the ultimate home recipe.

The chocolate vanilla cream Joe-Joe's are the Trader Joe-brand version of Oreos, and like a lot of items on this list, they're overhyped. According to one Reddit user, when compared to Oreos, "they're pretty much the same, if not a little drier."

But what Trader Joe's fails with in regard to quality, it tries to make up for with variety. The store has introduced a bunch of other Joe-Joe's cookie flavors, including vanilla, neopolitan, mango, double chocolate and chocolate pumpkin for Hallowe'en. In that sense, they've provided plenty of cream-sandwiched cookie alternatives to the bigger name brand. 

Their most successful use of them, though, might be the in-house holidays ice cream flavor using crushed up candy cane-flavored Joe Joes cookies. But the regular chocolate-vanilla and chocolate-chocolate flavors just aren't as good as Oreos. They've already discontinued the matcha ones, and who knows if all of the other flavors will last. The gluten free version is also not as good as some other gluten-free chocolate cookies stuffed with a cream filling (via gluten-free baking). But if you're curious about which flavors people do like best, you can find a list at Spoon University. 

Yeah, Jbaquero, lots of people aren't feeling the Trader Joe's Elote Corn Chip Dippers either. 

According to a Reddit thread, people actually prefer a scalloped potato chip to these spiced chips –- a scalloped potato! Some people are even brainstorming how to give them away. One complaint is that these chips are too thin to dredge through guacamole without breaking, says another customer who prefers the regular restaurant-style tortilla chips (though they add that these are good on their own or with salsa). 

Eater thinks they're awesome, though. Writer Marian Bull had no problem dipping them in guac, and she said they're "sort of like Fritos crossed with Cool Ranch Doritos with a little extra heat." And at least they're organic?

So if you want an overly sweetened version of a Frito mixed with the after effect of ranch dressing and spices, this might be for you. You just might not want to breathe too closely to people for a while. Or maybe just wear a mask. Oh wait, that's everyone anyway right now...so eat away?

But all of these consumers are ignoring the philosophical question: Can you really be called a dipper if you're not guac-dippable?

There's no reason to put low-fat Greek yogurt in guacamole –- ever. You can be on a high-protein diet, but it's not acceptable. You can be on a low-fat and low-calorie diet (it does have 50% less fat and 40% fewer calories) and it's still not acceptable, we say. You can have some Greek yogurt on the side — weird, but fine — but not actually in your guacamole!

A lot of people love this product (not everybody, though), because it really doesn't taste awful, but the problem is that it's not really guacamole once you add yogurt. It's just misleading. It's more of an avocado-yogurt spread, but that probably wouldn't sell as well, would it?

Besides, Greek yogurt tastes way better when it's high-fat and creamy, not made with skim milk and thickeners. To make up for that delicious fat, his low-fat version uses pectin and agar to give it creaminess. That's seaweed (agar) and pectin (the stuff that sticks together jelly and is found naturally in apples and other fruits and vegetables). Would you put apples in your guac? Nope. Would you put seaweed in your guac? Probably not. 

Either way, you sure wouldn't call it guacamole.