15 Of The Unhealthiest Items You'll Find At Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's likes to do things a little differently. The supermarket chain may have over 560 locations across the United States, but somehow, it still somewhat retains the look and feel of a locally-owned store, with its hand-illustrated branding and its wood-heavy decor. 

The company has always gone for this more unique vibe since its creation in 1967, with founder Joe Coulombe aiming the brand at well-traveled individuals who were looking for more diverse products. A key part of this development occurred in the early 1970s when Coulombe became invested in the health food movement and a shift away from packaged and processed products and towards fresh items — the Trader Joe's product line started to reflect this.

But has it stayed healthy since? Through the years, Trader Joe's has kept the sense that it offers nothing but fresh and wholesome products. But the reality is a little more complicated. Just like any other large supermarket chain, Trader Joe's has a host of items that are pretty unhealthy if eaten in high quantities. In some of these cases, the store disguises its unhealthier ingredients behind healthy-looking qualities. To save you from having to spend hours looking at nutritional labels, we put the worst of them right here.

Vegetarian diets can bring a range of health benefits, and people who eat plant-based may profit from lower risks of chronic diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular disease, according to Mayo Clinic. This is partly due to the fact that vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and sodium and prioritize whole food sources over processed ones, reports a 2022 study.

However, vegetarian foods can still be highly processed and unhealthy, as Trader Joe's Vegetarian Meatless Cheeseburger Pizza shows. This pizza piles meatless burger pieces onto a bed of cheddar cheese, burger sauce, and pizza dough, with pickles, tomatoes, and onions. While the vegetables are a pleasing addition, a few of the other ingredients skyrocket the pizza's saturated fat and sodium levels, with 5 grams of saturated fat and 790 milligrams of sodium per serving. And that's just for a third of a pizza, weighing in at 158 grams.

The sodium content is especially high, providing over a third of your daily value. Excessive sodium intake can result in higher blood pressure, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular conditions, explains the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You should aim for no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily to stay safe.

Orange chicken is a takeout favorite, and Trader Joe's seeks to lure you from your local restaurant with its own version. But the store's Mandarin Orange Chicken is far from a healthy alternative. A single cup of the chicken has a fifth of your daily value of saturated fat, with 3.5 grams per serving. It's also relatively high in sugar for a savory main meal, containing 6 grams in each portion.

What jumps out most, though, is the meal's cholesterol content. With 95 milligrams of cholesterol in each serving, this Mandarin Orange Chicken covers 30% of the daily value of 300 milligrams for individuals who aren't at risk of heart disease, as reported by UCSF Health. And while the stigma around eating cholesterol has died down somewhat, with carbs and fats now being understood to have more of an impact on cholesterol levels, according to the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, it doesn't mean that everyone can eat it limitlessly. Certain individuals are way more at risk of blood cholesterol being affected by the amount of cholesterol they have in their diet, and it can be tricky to tell which folks' bodies respond to it negatively and which don't.

People who follow a gluten-free diet have historically been excluded from baked goods. But not anymore. Trader Joe's has a range of gluten-free pastries and breads, and its Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins are made with a blend of rice flour and tapioca, potato, and corn starches. What they also have in abundance, though, is sugar. With 23 grams of added sugar, these muffins have a huge 46% of your daily value in a food item that weighs just 99 grams.

The fat content of these muffins is hardly low, either, with 21 grams per serving and 2.5 grams of saturated fat, and they also contain 370 milligrams of sodium for good measure. Furthermore, the gluten-free flour blend may be great for people who are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, but as it isn't enriched, it doesn't provide any additional vitamins or minerals. As these muffins show, a product can be both gluten-free and pretty unhealthy. And if you don't have a gluten intolerance, opting for gluten-free choices may also present unique problems. Because certain vitamins are frequently supplied through enriched wheat flour, removing them from your diet may cause a deficiency, explains Intermountain Health. ‌

Mac and cheese may be delicious, but let's be honest, it's rarely considered a healthy food. And Trader Joe's will likely do nothing to change your mind. Its Mac and Cheese Bites may be small, but they pack a lot of saturated fat into each mouthful, containing 4 grams per three pieces. This amount of saturated fat is notable as this product is clearly designed as a snack or as finger food, meaning that you wipe out a fifth of your daily value before you even get to your main meal.

The saturated fat in these Mac and Cheese Bites largely comes from, unsurprisingly, the cheese. While cheese is arguably a healthier protein source than red or processed meats, it's also fairly high in sodium. Although several studies have found that cheese may be associated with health benefits, a lot of those same studies were funded by the dairy industry itself (per the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health). Additionally, there's no getting around the fact that these Mac and Cheese Bites are highly processed and made with refined grains, which can cancel out any potential health positives that come from the cheeses used. ‌

Products made with organic ingredients can provide some comfort to customers, thanks to a lower risk of consuming pesticides or antibiotics. But the fact remains that on a nutritional level, organic items don't carry any specific advantage over non-organic ones. This can be seen pretty clearly in Trader Joe's Organic Watermelon Fruit Spread. 

"These don't get a passing grade when it comes to containing added sugars," nutritionist and NSCA-certified personal trainer John Fawkes says of Trader Joe's' organic fruit spreads, including this one, via Delish. And Fawkes is right: One tablespoon of this fruit spread has 7 grams of added sugars, only slightly less than comparable non-organic fruit spread products.

Fawkes also points out that while Trader Joe's Organic Watermelon Fruit Spread contains "natural flavors," this isn't necessarily a win. "Natural flavors can just mean so many things," he states. While natural flavors have to come from a plant or animal originally, they can still be highly processed and may still come from genetically modified sources. As well as this, it's really difficult to identify what exactly is in natural flavors, and this can lead to some health concerns and the potential for allergic responses (per Healthline).

Tteokbokki is a one-of-a-kind food, a Korean delicacy made from rice cakes simmered in a spicy, sweet, tangy sauce. And Trader Joe's version, named Tteok Bok Ki, certainly looks the part. Its flavor, however, is supplied by some pretty heavy-hitting nutritional stats. Each serving of Tteok Bok Ki contains 420 milligrams of sodium and 10 grams of added sugar per serving, supplying 18% and 20% of your daily values for each ingredient, respectively.

These added sugars also raise the carbohydrate count of the dish, which is already pretty high thanks to the rice cakes, meaning that each cup of Tteok Bok Ki has 61 grams of carbs. This might be problematic if you're eating this dish on its own due to the low protein count (5 grams) and low fat count (1.5 grams total) per serving. When you eat high amounts of carbs without enough protein or fat to balance them out, they go straight to your bloodstream, causing a blood glucose spike and a subsequent drop. Carbs aren't necessarily bad for you, but they should always exist as part of a balanced diet — and there's little balance in this dish. ‌

Trader Joe's Honey Walnut Shrimp has a few ingredients that seem to make it healthy. Walnuts, for example, are full of omega-3 fatty acids and compounds called phytochemicals, which may keep your brain healthy (per BBC Good Food), whereas honey is a source of antioxidants. However, the retailer undoes all that goodness with high amounts of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. In just one cup of Trader Joe's Honey Walnut Shrimp, there are 8 grams of saturated fat, 40% of the 20-gram maximum recommended daily for women. There are also 23 grams of added sugars, the same amount as one of the store's Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffins, and 670 milligrams of sodium, almost 30% of your daily value.

The saturated fat content is especially notable, as most of us think of shrimp as a lean protein. Eating too much saturated fat can lead to more cholesterol in the blood, which can, in turn, reduce the volume of arteries, raising the risk of cardiovascular disease (via the British Heart Foundation). Trader Joe's Honey Walnut Shrimp also has a high amount of cholesterol per serving, at 125 milligrams per cup of shrimp, 42% of your daily value. ‌

We love a drink that's both refreshing and nutritious, and with its health-boosting ingredients, Trader Joe's Turmeric Ginger Coconut Beverage certainly looks the part. But appearances are deceiving. "The big marketing draw of this drink is that it contains turmeric, ginger and it's vegan-friendly. So, many people may think that it's healthy because it has antioxidant power and it's dairy-free, but the big turn off is that it contains 5g saturated fat," says registered dietitian Amanda A. Kostro Miller, per Delish.

This saturated fat comes from the coconut cream the product's made with, which is rich in minerals like magnesium and phosphorus but doesn't have any specific health benefits. To add to this, there's a fairly high volume of added sugar in this drink, with 6 grams per serving. As Kostro Miller points out, the Turmeric Coconut Ginger Beverage also has no fiber and barely any protein, which may reduce how much it curbs hunger. We do have to give it props for including turmeric, however, which has been found to have a range of potential benefits, from lowering inflammation to reinforcing kidney health to reducing the symptoms of arthritis (per Johns Hopkins Medicine). ‌

Okay, so it's probably not a surprise that Trader Joe's Breaded Fried Ravioli is unhealthy — the name alone indicates that it's not exactly bursting with nutrition — but it's still worth discussing exactly why that's the case. "Trader Joe's Breaded Fried Ravioli is a less healthy choice due to its 10 grams of fat, including 3 grams of saturated fat per serving of four ravioli," warns registered dietitian nutritionist Maya Oueicek, per Eat This, Not That. Oueicek points out that eating too much-saturated fat can be risky, especially for cardiovascular health.

Oueicek also draws attention to the sodium content, which sits at 630 milligrams per serving, a very high amount for the small serving size of just 85 grams. It's important to remember that frozen foods like this can often be very processed, and this can lead to them having way higher levels of saturated fat and sodium, more ingredients, and higher calories overall. Indeed, it's pretty stunning how long the ingredients list is for this product. Oueicek recommends trying to make healthy choices around frozen foods, in particular, to avoid only picking items that are laden with non-nutritious additives.

There are few things more homely than a quiche, and the dish can serve as a vehicle for healthy additions. But not even the presence of broccoli in Trader Joe's Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Quiche can make it nutritious. This quiche is awash with fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. In addition to its 28 grams of saturated fat and 12 grams of saturated fat (60% of your daily value in a single 170-gram quiche), there are 160 milligrams of cholesterol and 670 milligrams of sodium, substantial quantities of all the ingredients.

The fat and saturated fat come largely from the eggs, milk, cheese, and butter in the recipe, but they also come from the inclusion of palm shortening. An alternative to regular shortening or butter, palm shortening is made from palm oil and, as a non-hydrogenated fat, is arguably healthier than some other, more traditional fat alternatives. But there's no denying that palm shortening is high in saturated fat, and with that comes all of the nutritional concerns that you'd have with saturated fat from any other source.

Trader Joe's has a range of bake-it-yourself pastry options designed so you can make a café-worthy breakfast at home. But its 4 Cheese Pastry Rolls may set you up for the day in the wrong way. Each pastry weighs just 62 grams but provides 9 grams of saturated fat, almost half of the maximum amount you should be eating each day. And while you might expect this item to be savory, it's actually designed to be sweet, meaning that every pastry has seven grams of added sugar.

Because the cheese used is cream cheese, it's also lower in protein than you might expect, with just four grams per pastry. This is slightly problematic as getting good levels of protein for breakfast, instead of prioritizing carbs, will keep you full. A study published in Nutrients found that when people ate a high-protein breakfast instead of a carbohydrate-centered one, they remained satisfied for longer. Furthermore, the carbs used in these pastries aren't exactly the most nutritious. There's no fiber anywhere to be seen, and the pastries are made from enriched wheat flour, a refined grain. With barely any vitamins or minerals, either, there aren't many benefits. ‌

Cheesecake is an indulgence that we all love, and Trader Joe's has several in its line, including a classic New York Deli Style Cheesecake. But you shouldn't expect it to be healthy at all. "It should be no surprise that the Trader Joe's New York Deli Style Cheesecake qualifies as one of the least healthy frozen items," registered dietitian nutritionist Sheri Berger told Eat This, Not That.

Each portion of the cake has 15 grams of saturated fat and 25 grams of added sugars, which, as Berger points out, is almost the maximum of what we should be consuming each day — in a single dessert. "The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to no more than 25 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men," says Berger. "For saturated fat, the AHA recommends limiting to no more than 5-6% of daily calories, which is about 13 grams per day for a 2000 calorie diet." All of these quantities are being provided in a mere 125 grams of cake. There's also a small quantity of trans fats (0.5 grams) and a minimal amount of fiber per serving.

While some of the sweet items in Trader Joe's make attempts to be healthier, some of them are, at the end of the day, pure candy. And this is the case with its Candy Coated Chocolate Peanuts. In just two tablespoons of these candies, there are 12 grams of added sugars, enough to cover almost a quarter of your recommended daily value. The combination of chocolate and peanuts also means that they're high in saturated fat, delivering 3.5 grams, or 18% of your daily value, in one serving.

One thing that is pleasing about these Candy Coated Chocolate Peanuts, however, is the use of natural colorings, which may be less controversial than using artificial food dyes and which reduce the risk of these candies causing hyperactivity in children (per Healthline). However, the sugar content, in particular, stops them from being good for your kids. Giving children too much sugar will not only cause them to get pretty excitable, but it can also lead to a higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and dental issues like tooth decay or cavities (via the NHS).

At their core, breaded cheese curds are delightfully simple: Pieces of cheese curd covered in a breaded coating and deep-fried. But unfortunately, every element of their construction is unhealthy. And while Trader Joe's Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds are oven-baked or air-fried, they still pack a wallop of fat, with ten grams of fat and 5 grams of saturated fat per four pieces (which weighs in at just 85 grams).

Additionally, these cheese curds are super-salty and have 620 milligrams in each serving. This is down to the triple-punch of salt in the ingredients, as an element of both the cheddar and Romano cheese used and as its own additive. The bread coating on the curds is also lacking in fiber, with the product giving just one gram per serving. And we'd be remiss if we didn't point out the calorie count, too. A serving of Trader Joe's Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds delivers 230 calories in every portion, roughly 10% or more of the average adult's daily caloric needs. That's especially notable given that this food item is not a main meal or even an ingredient for one, but a snack or finger food.

Trader Joe's Cheese Filled Fiocchetti with Pink Sauce is a distinctive take on stuffed pasta. Skipping the standard tortellini or ravioli, the retailer opts for the bag-like fiocchetti shape, into which they stuff ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, and taleggio cheese, bound with breadcrumbs and served in a cream sauce. But while tasty, this combination of full-fat dairy and starchy carbs makes this pretty unhealthy. This pasta dish has a huge 10 grams of saturated fat per serving, enough to cover half of your daily value of the nutrient, and 290 calories in one 133-gram serving. For reference, that's about the same weight as a medium-sized peeled orange(which, incidentally, contains 62 calories).

There's also 65 milligrams of cholesterol in every portion, 22% of your daily value. The cheese and added salt also spike the sodium content, taking it up to 370 milligrams per serving. And while there's some calcium and protein content thanks to the cheese and no added sugars, everything else is somewhat lacking. There's only one gram of fiber and a pretty throwaway amount of minerals like iron and potassium, with just 4% of your daily value for each one.