It’s Fall at Trader Joe’s! Here Are 34 Items to Snag Before They Sell Out
There once was a time when I thought the holidays were the most wonderful time of the year—that is, until I became a person who experienced the unmatched joy of stocking my shopping cart to the brim with Trader Joe’s fall items. As someone who not-so-embarrassingly signed a petition for Trader Joe’s to carry their seasonal Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese year-round, I can confidently and honestly say that the release of Trader Joe’s fall items is to me as The Superbowl is to football fans.
After weeks of stalking my local Trader Joe’s, I’ve finally been able to add all of the pumpkin, butternut squash, cinnamon, maple, and pepita goodness to my cart. Get ’em while they’re hot! It’s fall at Trader Joe’s, and these items are going to sell out before you can mutter the words pumpkin spice latte:
1. Pumpkin Bagels
Year after year, I look forward to these pumpkin bagels to grace my local Trader Joe’s, and now that they’re here, I’ll be consuming them in overwhelming amounts. I’m currently on a two-bagel-per-day consumption ratio, and, truly, I’ve never been happier. They carry the most ideal, subtle pumpkin flavor and pair well with plain cream cheese and a warm cup of coffee.
2. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread
No fall is made complete without the addition of TJ’s very own Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread. It’s the perfect way to take your breakfast from “fine” to “fall” in no time flat and is one of the items I truly wish that they stocked year-round. There once was a time when I searched the entire city of Chicago for this stuff and, since first spread, I haven’t turned back.
3. Pumpkin Brioche Twist
This pumpkin-flavored brioche tastes phenomenal on its own (just toast and add butter for the simplest breakfast/dessert of all time), but I just had a brilliant-beyond-brilliant idea that I can’t stop thinking about. Hear me out: this bread, but make it french toast. Based on how well it performs independently, I can’t imagine that this twist will be anything less than perfect.
4. Butternut Squash Ravioli
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’s Butternut Squash Ravioli, and she absolutely knocked my socks off. This stuff (found in the refrigerator section) was incredibly easy to make and tasted like it was born in the kitchen of a five-star restaurant. After bringing a pot of water to a boil, adding the ravioli, and letting it gently boil for five minutes, I tossed it in olive oil, added a generous amount of parmesan cheese, and dug in. It was sweet without being overwhelming and truly hit the spot. I didn’t need to finish all three servings in one sitting, but what can I say? It was that good.
5. Pepita Salsa
As someone who can appreciate a traditional salsa and also carries the philosophy of “why ruin a good thing? into many aspects of life, I can’t lie: I didn’t really expect much from this stuff. But with one tortilla scoop of this salsa and the delectable sweet heat that followed, I was absolutely hooked. With bell pepper, chipotle spices, and pumpkin seeds, this salsa did the impossible by outshining its traditional, plain Jane sister salsas. And for that, I say, bring on the pepita.
6. Maple & Sea Salt Kettle Corn
When I tell you that I’m currently shoveling this kettle corn into my mouth, I mean it. This stuff is good. I’ve always been a fan of kettle corn because it’s sweeter than your average popcorn, but my love for sweet popcorn usually ends there (I’m talking to you, one-way-ticket-to-a-cavity caramel corn). When I picked up this kettle corn, I was a little worried that it be a bit too sweet, but I’m happy to report that this is not the case. The semi-sweet maple flavor is perfectly balanced with a hint of sea salt and is like the love child of a pancake and a piece of popcorn. Needless to say, I’m here for it.
7. Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps
I’ve been in a love triangle with the TJ’s Fig & Olive Crisps and the Raisin Rosemary Crisps for as long as I can remember, so when I saw these Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps, I knew I had to throw them into the firey flames of my love affair, no matter the complexity. My S.O. and I made a cheeseboard last night with these crackers, and they absolutely stole the show. They’re perfectly crunchy with just a hint of sweetness, which paired well with spicy jams and sharp cheeses.
8. Pumpkin Flavored Joe-Joe’s
As a certified Joe-Joe’s stan, I had high hopes for the pumpkin-flavored version, and let me tell you: They did not disappoint. If you’re looking for a sweet taste of fall, start here. I don’t think I’d be able to eat these in mass amounts as I do the traditional Joe-Joe’s (what can I say, I’m partial to the OGs), but I’ll be turning to this variety while they’re in stock in an effort to soak up as much of the season as I can.
9. Pumpkin Blondie Brownies
If blondies are your idea of a good time, look no further than TJ’s Pumpkin Blondie Brownies. With white chocolate chips, pecans, and the most decadent pumpkin flavor of all time, ever, these things are a must-add to your “to buy” list. Gift them to your friends, bring them to all of your fall events, or eat them by yourself with a spoon in one sitting… go ahead, we won’t judge.
10. Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix
I’m a sucker for baked treats in the fall, but to my (and my grandmother’s) disappointment, my talents for baking ended with the use of my Easy Bake Oven circa 2004. Besides the fact that I want my home to smell like an autumnal haven, the idea of simply adding oil, eggs, and water sounded like my cup of tea. If you want a seamless one-way ticket to a warm, inviting fall treat, look no further—this Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix has your back.
11. Pecan Pumpkin Instant Oatmeal
Oatmeal fans, unite! These days, it’s a miracle if I can wake up early enough to whip up a breakfast other than a granola bar or instant oatmeal so I was absolutely stoked to see that, for a limited time, Trader Joe’s is offering a pecan pumpkin version of their traditional instant oatmeal. If you’re looking to add a bit of festivity to your day without breaking a sweat, this low-maintenance, high-reward oatmeal is all you’ll ever need.
12. Pumpkin Cereal Bars
These Pumpkin Cereal Bars are truly a gift from the Autumnal Gods above. If you’re a fan of Fig Newtons but also an admirer of fall, these things have your name written all over them. For a quick grab-and-go snack that will give you immaculate spooky season vibes, pick up a box of these things—trust me… you won’t be able to have just one.
13. Sweet & Savory, Lightly Spiced Pumpkin Spread
We love a solid cheeseboard on a good day, but the idea of making a fall-themed charcuterie board with this Sweet & Savory, Lightly Spiced Pumpkin Spread has me itching to make one STAT. If you ask me, jams and jellies are the unsung heroes of a good cheese board, and this sweet-yet-spicy spread will be my new go-to until an empty Trader Joe’s stockpile tells me otherwise.
14. Cinnamon Bun Spread
If you only get one fall item from Trader Joe’s this season, let it be this Cinnamon Bun Spread. My love for cinnamon rolls knows no bounds, so my initial instinct was to attack this stuff with a spoon. With a lazy attempt to refrain, I reached for the only feasible, edible vessel I had in my fridge: stale naan bread that I attempted to bring to life with a quick nuke in the microwave. Despite the fact that I absolutely set this spread up for failure, it performed the best out of every single item on this list. And in true “me” fashion, I’ll be creating a petition to convince TJ’s to keep this one around year-round.
15. Pumpkin Butter
And to round out our favorite fall spreads, we’re excited to (re-)introduce Pumpkin Butter… the sweet, sweet spread that will teleport you to another dimension where it’s fall year-round and where spiced cider is always flowing. This Pumpkin Butter carries a perfect sweet to spice ratio and pairs well with just about anything you could imagine—your favorite, baked fall treats (bagels and brioche and pancakes, oh my!), oatmeal, smoothies, sweet potatoes, or yogurts. If you’re in the market for an easy AF meets tried and true way to get into the season, this Pumpkin Butter has your back.
16. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancake Mix
Gluten-free friends, you can have your (pan)cake and eat it too. If you’re in the mood for pumpkin pancakes (let’s be real, when are we not in the mood for pumpkin pancakes), pick up this pancake mix that’s as easy to make as it is delicious. A Sunday morning with Hocus Pocus and pumpkin pancakes is our love language so we’ll be stocking up on these for year-round use. Bonus points will be awarded if you add chocolate chips.
17. Pumpkin Pie Spice
If you plan on doing any fall baking or whipping up an at-home pumpkin spice latte, this Pumpkin Pie Spice is what I would consider a fall essential. This spice pairs well with lattes, baked goods, yogurts, and sweet potatoes and is a quick way to turn any food into a fall delicacy. If you don’t already have one in your pantry, this is your sign to pick one up on your next TJ’s run.
18. Pumpkin 4 Cheese Greek Style Yogurt Dip
This 4 Cheese Yogurt Dip is the fall find you didn’t know your life was missing. Think of our all-time favorite Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese but more savory, put it into a dip, and sub pasta for any dipping vehicle you’d like. Paired with crackers, crostini, pretzels, and beyond, this cheesy meets seasonal goodness will keep you coming back for more.
19. Pumpkin Spice Hummus
This year, Trader Joe’s added to their ever-growing list of hummus dips by birthing this seasonal, Pumpkin-Spice Hummus to the fam, and we are not mad about it. We really have a thing for dips, so when we say that we added this pumpkin-infused hummus to our carts with unmatched speed, we aren’t lying. This stuff definitely lies on the sweeter side and, if you ask us, truly tastes like a pumpkin pie. While you could definitely enjoy it with your average hummus vehicles like pita, tortilla chips, or naan, we can’t wait to experiment with apples, English muffins, or graham crackers.
20. Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
If I could only have one meal for the rest of my life, this Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese would undoubtedly be it. When I first tried this stuff three years ago, I made the grave mistake of only buying one package. After a quick walk home, I discovered the cheesy and so-easy-even-I-can-cook-it goodness that it held and actually called my mom to tell her about it. The next day, I returned to my local Trader Joe’s to stock up, only to find that—gasp! They were sold out. Now, whenever I see them in stock, I always grab at least three of them. Lesson learned.
21. Pumpkin Empanadas
Whoever said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend must have never had these found-in-the-freezer-section Pumpkin Empanadas from Trader Joe’s. If you like your empanadas sweet with a touch of savory, then you’re going to want to pick these guys up STAT. They make for the perfect late-night snack and are the equivalent of a warm hug wrapped in a flaky pastry. We dare you to try to eat just one.
22. Autumnal Harvest Soup
If I could pick one comfort meal to eat for the rest of my life, it would most definitely be grilled cheese and tomato soup. So when I saw this fall harvest take on an average tomato soup, I about lost my shit. When I tell you that this creamy, tomato-based soup with pumpkin and butternut squash is the perfect pair to your go-to grilled cheese recipe, I mean it wholeheartedly. When I dipped my brie, mozzarella, and cheddar grilled cheese into this soup, I may or may not have seen stars. If you see me grabbing seven jars of this stuff on my next trip to TJ’s, respectfully, no you didn’t.
23. Butternut Squash Soup
I’ve never been the type of consumer who has gone out of her way to get Butternut Squash Soup, but after years of prepping my palate with TJ’s famous, seasonal Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, I decided that this year was the year that I’d lean into the hype surrounding Butternut Squash Soup. In the name of soup season, I picked up their regular Butternut Squash Soup and also their organic, low-sodium version in hopes that it would blow me away just the same.
And in the most predictable fashion of all time, I am here to report that, while I’m willing to make some sort of sacrifice in the name of health, you just have to go with the higher-sodium variety this time around. It was a lot more flavored, thicker, and brighter and, in my book, worth the extra sodium splurge. I served it with a dollop of heavy whipping cream, a dash of cinnamon, and a side of ciabatta bread, and I will 100 percent be whipping this up when I’m in need of hassle-free, ready-in-five comfort food.
24. Pumpkin Bisque
This sweet-meets-savory Pumpkin Bisque soup is the fall version of heaven on Earth. When the leaves change, the weather becomes just crisp enough to sport that oversized blazer you’ve been dying to wear, and you’re longing for a comfort meal that feels like home, you’ll want to have this soup stocked and ready to whip up. With fall spices and the perfect amount of pumpkin flavoring, it’s the fall treat you’ll turn to again and again.
25. Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce
I never thought I’d be a person to like a pumpkin/butternut squash-infused pasta sauce, but since falling head-over-heels for Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese two years ago, my affinity toward seasonal pasta flavors has grown beyond my wildest imagination. I cooked this stuff up with Banza Noodles, garnished it with fresh basil, and topped it with (a very generous amount of) parmesan cheese. It felt like a seasonal dish from my favorite Lincoln Park Italian restaurant, and for that, I’ll be inhaling this sauce faster than one could say, “bon appétit.”
26. Pumpkin Cheesecake
There aren’t too many things that I love more than cheesecake but making it from scratch in the comfort of my own home is just not the journey for me. So when I saw that TJ’s was featuring a pumpkin cheesecake pre-made and ready to eat from the box, I about lost my marbles. Catch me eating this stuff at midnight straight from the original packaging with a spoon. I’m not embarrassed.
27. Pumpkin Ice Cream
For the days where you want something cool and sweet, opt for this brand-spanking-new Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ice Cream. Whether you eat it straight from the tub or use it to top off a warm, crisp apple pie is your prerogative… just make sure you hop on it soon because this ice cream will be flying off of shelves long before you can say “two scoops, please.”
28. Pumpkin Waffles
Two words, 14 letters… say it and I’m yours. Pumpkin Waffles. There aren’t too many breakfast foods that I would do backflips for (note: I don’t actually know how to do a backflip), but for these Pumpkin Waffles, I’d make it happen. While waffles are traditionally considered breakfast foods, let’s be real: waffles make for great desserts. So on the days where I want a sweet treat to end my day, I’ll be reaching for these waffles which are easy to cook up and tasty AF.
29. Maple Oat Milk
One of my greatest griefs with Trader Joe’s is that, aside from during the fall season, they don’t have a great selection of flavored oat milk, which, for me, is key in making my signature homemade lattes. But when summer comes to a close and the leaves begin to change, I can always count on this Maple Oat Milk to have my back for the easiest at-home beverage of all time. Simply froth a cup of this flavored oat milk and pair it with your espresso of choice for a latte that feels fancy AF with little to no effort at all. We love a good pumpkin cream cold brew, but this make-at-home, seasonal coffee concoction is arguably just as good (and a whole lot cheaper).
30. Pumpkin Spice Coffee
Switch up your average morning cup of joe with this medium-dark roast Pumpkin Spice Coffee. If you’re not a person who likes to add a ton of flavored creamer, oat milk, or syrups to your morning cup of caffeine but also happen to be someone on the hunt for something seasonal, this Pumpkin Spice Coffee is a great solution. With orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground vanilla beans, and pumpkin spice flavor, this ground coffee is sure to make your mornings a lot more festive.
31. Spiced Cider
Move over Pumpkin Spice Lattes, the original fall drink is back and better than ever. There’s something about a spiced cider paired with a cinnamon sugar donut that gets us going and this Spiced Cider from TJ’s is no exception. If you’re looking to jazz things up, look no further than the easiest fall cocktail of all time—just add a bit of rum, brandy, or bourbon to this Spiced Cider for an instant fall cocktail you’ll turn to again and again.
32. Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Mix
Fall baking just got infinitely easier because this Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Mix has entered the chat. On days where you want to tap into your inner Betty Crocker but don’t want to deal with engaging in a scavenger hunt at your local grocery store, opt for this pre-portioned cookie mix which has everything your favorite fall cookie recipe would ask for. Get your bake on without making a fuss, this stuff is the real deal.
33. Vanilla Pumpkin Scented Candle, Honeycrisp Apple Scented Candle
Fall-scented candles are a pretty obvious hero of the season, and these Trader Joe’s soy candles take the cake for so many reasons. First, we have a price that you simply can’t beat. There aren’t too many places where you can pick up a scented candle for $3.99 while stocking up on produce, and with that fact alone, these guys are an automatic win. And while the affordable price could potentially foreshadow a candle that you light once, quickly extinguish, and toss lovingly into the trash, this is (thankfully) not the case. I lived off of the Pumpkin Vanilla Scented Candle last year (it’s warm, inviting, and a pumpkin-meets-vanilla dream), but I lit the Honeycrisp Apple Scented Candle last night, and it’s sweet, fresh, and made my stale one-bedroom apartment feel like a fall oasis.
34. Pumpkin Body Butter
I’m not one to pick up too many non-edible items from TJ’s, but this Pumpkin Body Butter has me rethinking my entire weekly Trader Joe’s game plan. Maybe I should make hitting up the beauty aisle commonplace after all. I bought this body butter in the spirit of fall and expected to use it a few times and to subsequently let it sit far past its expiration in the back of my medicine cabinet. But hear me out, team—this thick AF body butter made my hands so soft (note: as a nurse who uses hand sanitizer between each blink at work, I have not said this in months) and gave the perfect hint of pumpkin scent without being too overwhelming. Its non-greasy formula absorbs quickly and has a beautiful, subtle smell that’ll I’ll likely use up before the season ends.
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