If there’s one good thing about the (seemingly endless) month of January, it’s that we can count on Trader Joe’s to announce the winners of its Annual Customer Choice Awards. Each year, TJ’s invites its legions of customers to vote for the best products of the previous year, and the winners for 2023 (collected in early 2024) are officially in.
This year (the fifteenth!) included a mix of tried-and-true classics and new favorites. In the announcement of the winners on the Inside Trader Joe's podcast, hosts Matt Sloan, customer relations communications director, and Tara Miller, vice president of marketing at the grocery store chain, noted the presence of some new awards categories this time around. By creating new categories, Trader Joe’s can bestow its highest honor on an ever-evolving slate of items, instead of the same beloved products over and over again. As Miller put it, “Very few of our listeners will have tried all of these favorite products.”
As a reminder, the five Trader Joe's Product Hall of Fame inductees are no longer eligible to win a Customer Choice Award since they are already so well-liked. This includes Mandarin Orange Chicken, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter-Filled Pretzel Nuggets, Unexpected Cheddar, and Soy Chorizo.
10 Underrated Trader Joe's Items to Add to Your Grocery List ASAP
In years past, the awards were split into 16 categories, with one winner and four runners-up for each, for a total of 80 top-ranked Trader Joe's items. This year, the awards were simplified a bit and consisted of just ten categories, including a few new ones.
Get your grocery list ready and scroll on for the 2023 winners—these top items may give your next TJ's run a new purpose.
01of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Snack: Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ChiliandLimeChips-d0f57d2e6e8c403a9645b9e1f60da2ad.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (1)")
For the second year in a row, these spicy, zesty corn chips have swept the snack category, beating out the likes of the Ghost Pepper Potato Chips and the Snacky Clusters. “They consistently deliver on flavor and on freshness,” Miller said of the savory winners. For those who may be curious, the runner-up in this category is the Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers.
02of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Cheese: Goat Cheese
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GoatCheese-77a448181fee49a3ad5d2523743d4a23.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (2)")
As Miller noted, the iconic Unexpected Cheddar dominated this category for years. However, since it's now a member of the Trader Joe's Product Hall of Fame, it’s no longer eligible to win. Instead, the winner this year is goat cheese, which received hundreds more votes than any other cheesy choice. While Trader Joe’s sells many different varieties of goat cheese, no specific cheese came out on top. “I think one of the reasons [our customers] love buying goat cheese at Trader Joe's is that our prices are incredible,” Miller explained.
03of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Produce: Bananas
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/most-loved-trader-joes-products-GettyImages-1217053689-f3fe72c2a9d44452a4db4fdf60fdac0d.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (3)")
Let’s be honest, Trader Joe’s isn’t exactly beloved for its produce. However, it’s hard to ignore bananas that cost just 19 cents a piece. The runners-up in this category included Teeny Tiny Avocados, Honeycrisp apples, Persian cucumbers, and the Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit.
04of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Beverage: Apple Cider
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/AppleCider-387cd277bf5c4c429e6dd06accb8bfa5.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (4)")
This is yet another product that has many different iterations at Trader Joe’s, including the Sparkling Apple Cider and the Sparkling Honeycrisp Apple Juice, which won this category last year.
20 Trader Joe's Shopping Mistakes You Should Avoid at All Costs
05of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Breakfast and Brunch Item: Hashbrowns
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Hashbrowns-d90485468c93446ca880a4364ece2335.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (5)")
Perfect for breakfast or brunch, TJ’s hashbrowns are the perfect choice to take top honors in this category which is probably why they received nearly three times the amount of votes as the second place finisher. According to Miller, the hashbrowns are so popular that many stores can’t even keep them in stock! “Something wonderful just out of reach makes it that much more desirable,” Sloan quipped.
Need a way to prepare this brunch favorite? Go ahead and pop a few of ‘em in the air fryer for a real treat.
06of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Lunch and Dinner Item: Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ButterChicken-4851518eb1e94d54a43a7db40dfb98d0.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (6)")
This frozen meal is “darn good,” per Miller, which helps explain how it won this category for the second year in a row. Each serving of the Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice includes fragrant grains of Basmati rice, and chunks of chicken slathered in a mouth-watering curry made with crushed tomatoes, cream, onions, garlic, ginger, and butter.
The runner-up in this category is the Chicken Tikka Masala, which has had thousands of devoted fans for years.
07of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Appetizer: Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/SpinachArtichokeDip-fda8c577d4a3489db4a3c2cf71808b56.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (7)")
The top five products in this category are all frozen finds, but the Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip took the cake and nabbed the No. 1 spot “by a pretty large margin,” according to Miller. While it can obviously be used as a vehicle for chips and veggies, Miller mentioned that many shoppers also use it as a decadent pasta sauce.
The runners-up in this category are the Mac and Cheese Bites, the Parmesan Pastry Pups, the Greek Spanakopita, and the Vegetable Bird’s Nests.
08of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Sweet Treat: Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IceCreamSandwiches-3cfabf9023c74b989449d74028e7468f.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (8)")
If anything could dethrone the Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones in the dessert category, it would of course be the Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches. If you’re unfamiliar with this year's winner, each one features chocolate chip-studded vanilla ice cream sandwiched by two chewy chocolate chip cookies. “You will never be disappointed by a Sublime Ice Cream Sandwich from Trader Joe's,” Miller declared.
The runners-up in this category include the Chocolate Chip and the Chocolate Hold the Cones!, Mint Chip Ice Cream, and the Almond Kringle.
15 Best Trader Joe’s Items Under $5
09of 10
Best Trader Joe’s Bath, Body, and Home Item: Brazil Nut Body Butter
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/BrazilNutBodyButter-5d23890214b74c77a9d8a50e76bfdb68.jpg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (9)")
Sold in a bright pink tub, the Brazil Nut Body Butter is basically a mega-moisturizer that’s made with coconut oil, shea butter, açai extract, guarana extract, and, of course, Brazil nut seed butter. It also smells amazing, and is lauded for thoroughly hydrating and nourishing your skin.
10of 10
Best Overall Trader Joe’s Item: Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/trader-joes-most-loved-products-8924cad218a74b12a28831a7b619aed2.jpeg "Here are the 9 Most-Loved Trader Joe's Products of the Year, According to Customers (10)")
When it comes to Trader Joe’s products, there’s one that shoppers believe is a cut above the rest—snack category winner Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. Customers voted for this item in this separate category as well, meaning it really proved its worth for a second year in a row.
Other products in the running for best overall item include the Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings, the Steamed Pork & Ginger Soup Dumplings, Kimbap, and Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese.
