The Fan-Favorite Trader Joe's Dessert Cheese That Can Be Hard To Find

While cheesecake is considered a beloved dessert option for many people, dessert cheese is something entirely different. For the uninitiated, dessert cheeses are often served with fruit and nuts and are notable for their dense, rich texture. Along with common options like brie, shoppers at Trader Joe's can also indulge in an incredible dessert cheese that has achieved cult-like status among the store's biggest fans. However, its popularity can definitely be a bad thing, because the cheese is usually quite hard to come by.

Like many other grocery store chains, Trader Joe's has its own private-label brand. To ensure optimum customer satisfaction, the store takes great pains in selecting items for its private label, which means you can expect sustainable products free of artificial ingredients that meet a certain quality level. It's what shoppers have come to expect from the chain, and part of the reason why consumers love it so much. Trader Joe's iconic dessert cheese is no exception, which you're bound to discover if you can just lay your hands on this coveted item.

Among Trader Joe's veritable pantheon of exquisite desserts sits Baked Lemon Ricotta Cheese. In most cases, the cheese can only be sourced from locations in winter, specifically around the holiday season. However, it's possible to find it at other times of the year, namely during the late spring. It all depends on whether your location stocks the item during this time, and whether you can get to it before it sells out.

So, what makes Trader Joe's Baked Lemon Ricotta Cheese so special to customers and what sets it apart from other famed Trader Joe's cheeses? In addition to the delectable tanginess imparted by the lemon, the cheese also offers a gorgeous texture thanks to the inclusion of ricotta. Often made with cow's milk, ricotta is unbelievably moist and fresh. Its cloud-like texture is a major part of its appeal, but the mild, vaguely nutty taste of the cheese is also a perfect backdrop for the lemon. This dessert cheese can be enjoyed with crackers, fruit, or just eaten on its own. It retails for $13.99 per pound, which is slightly expensive but totally worth it when you consider just how delicious it is. Now comes the hard part: Where can you find it?

According to the Trader Joe's website, their Baked Lemon Ricotta Cheese is only available on a seasonal basis. The holiday season is specifically mentioned, with the caveat that the cheese is available "only as long as we can keep it in stock." Despite these dampened expectations, online chatter indicates that the famous cheese might make a surprise appearance in stores at different times of the year.

According to a Reddit thread, one lucky shopper was able to pick some up in November of last year, which makes sense because November marks the start of the holiday season for most people. However, a comment in that same thread claimed that the cheese was making a comeback for Easter, meaning March 2023. While there's no indication which stores stocked it, or how quickly those stocks were depleted, shoppers were able to find it in stores in April. That means this sought-after cheese may still be out there somewhere, just waiting to get picked up.