18 Trader Joe's Seasoning Blends, Ranked

Here we have, it folks: the worst seasoning blend at Trader Joe's. We admittedly went into this taste test a little skeptical, especially when we didn't see any nutritional yeast listed as an ingredient on the bottle on this seasoning blend — which we typically believe to be the best powdered cheese alternative. TJ's Cheesy Seasoning Blend promises the taste of cheddar cheese with a blend of herbs, but instead this leaves an inedible flavor of artificial cheese on the tongue that is hard to shake or mask.

Despite containing familiar ingredients like cheddar cheese and garlic, the overall taste is reminiscent of processed cheese, like Cheez Whiz or those little powdered cheese packets you get at pizza parlors — but much worse. Whether sprinkled on popcorn or pasta, Cheesy Seasoning Blend seems to ruin everything it touches. This one is a big no-go for us.

Trader Joe's Pizza Sprinkle Seasoning Blend claims to infuse dishes with the flavors of a classic pizza, but honestly, we'd rather get our pizza taste with pizza. With a bland and uninspired flavor profile, this pizza seasoning seems to be completely devoid of character. It tastes like pizza-flavored seltzer water with a bunch of ice left to melt in it, if we can compare it to anything at all.

While it contains traditional pizza ingredients like tomato powder, garlic, and oregano, we can hardly discern any of these flavors at all. We tried this blend by itself, on snacks, and even on some pasta, and none of it seemed to work. We think that if we were to taste this seasoning blend in a blind test, we'd never guess "pizza" as the intended flavor. Stay away and save your money. 

TJ's answer to Dash and other no-salt seasonings is its 21 Seasoning Salute. And as suggested by the name, there are a ton of spices mixed in here — everything but the kitchen sink, it seems, from orange peel to mustard. With no single ingredient taking the lead, it's hard to say what this seasoning blend tastes like, exactly. The best answer we can come up with is "too much."

While marketed as a no-salt seasoning, the lack of sodium means that the blend is, unfortunately, missing a key flavor component. It simultaneously and paradoxically tastes like way too much and of nothing in particular. We are truly lost as to what we could possibly use this blend in, but nothing but a recipe for pickles comes to mind. Seek out something more focused.

Trader Joe's Italian Style Soffritto Seasoning Blend offers a mix of dried minced onions, tomato flakes, garlic, and chili peppers. Here's the thing, though: It's not really Italian soffritto. You can't use this stuff in place of the real thing — as a base for sauces. We're not sure that this is its intended usage, but the labeling does concern us that some might perceive it as such. 

Beyond that, this blend is very chunky, so it would be difficult to add it as a topping or finishing ingredient without getting some large, unpleasant, tough bites of dried bits under your tongue and in your teeth. Blech. Third strike? Something in this blend gives off a really bitter note, and it's a turnoff, sadly.

With all that said, we think the best application for this blend would be for use as a pickling spice, or as an infusing agent for flavoring olive oil. Because of its particle size and flavors, it's hardly suited for anything else.

Trader Joe's Salmon Rub Seasoning Blend is made with brown sugar, smoked paprika, and thyme, but it tastes like the emphasis is on brown sugar — this stuff is very sweet, almost to an overpowering point. We don't mind some caramel flavors on our salmon from time to time, but we think it's a little too sweet to use as an all-purpose, everyday rub. That said, the paprika's smokiness adds some complexity to the sweetness of this blend, which hints to us that this product would lend itself well to rubbing on salmon before smoking it.

We found that, under less time-consuming cooking methods like searing or baking, this blend is best accompanied by something spicy to balance the sweetness. We're not totally sold on this stuff, and our bottle will probably last a while, but we're not upset about that.

Being a savory allium blend, Trader Joe's Onion Salt is like garlic salt, but much better. This particular blend, in spite of its name, actually includes minced onions, garlic, scallions, and chives, which makes it multi-dimensional and much more complex than your run-of-the-mill garlic salt. In fact, we happen to think that this seasoning blend even tastes a bit like ramps — those fleeting spring onions that are fawned over by chefs since the last decade or so.

While TJ's Onion Salt is rather consistent and even complex to a certain extent, this seasoning blend is definitely on the saltier side (hence the name), so use it sparingly — it's certainly possible to overdo it. We think that this stuff is best used in marinades, rubs, or lightly added to dips and dressings. How about an extra allium-y sour cream and onion dip? 

Trader Joe's surprised us with its Green Goddess Seasoning Blend, which ended up being quite a pleasant one, we must admit. This seasoning is a mix of herbs and spice that tastes pretty on par with the namesake salad dressing. Interestingly enough, the flavor also reminded us vaguely of sour cream and onion chips, but in the best way.

With plenty of garlic, chives, and onion, this blend has a rather refreshing profile that is neither artificial-tasting nor overpowering, but perfect for adding to salads, creamy dips, or even on yogurt (green goddess tzatziki, anybody?). This blend reminded us of spring — all those new vegetables popping up in the garden, waiting to be seasoned with something light and bright. Trader Joe's green goddess seasoning is a pretty versatile addition to any kitchen, good for sprinkling on roasted vegetables or mixing into homemade dressings.

Inspired by Italian flavors, Trader Joe's Aglio Olio Seasoning Blend packs a punch with its overtones of garlic and chili flakes. This stuff is intense; we love that the garlic and pepper are so strong and aromatic, but aren't overbearing. After the heat and allium flavors subside, the palate is balanced by the freshness of parsley.

We were honestly surprised by Aglio Olio — it's a lot better than typical "Italian" dry herb seasoning blends we've tasted, and the addition of sea salt helps draw out the flavors of the other ingredients in the blend. We love using this seasoning on starchy things like pasta, potatoes, and corn; as a topping or garnish on snacks like popcorn, crackers, and chips; or even as a pick-me-up for a simple vinaigrette. 

As one of the most beloved fan-favorite Trader Joe's products, Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend captures the essence of an everything bagel within a convenient shaker. It tastes almost exactly like an everything bagel, so we say this seasoning blend succeeds in its mission.

With a harmonious mix of sesame seeds, garlic, onion, poppy seeds, and sea salt, this seasoning's components are all just about the same size and mixed well, so the seasoning tastes consistently the same throughout (unlike some competing brands, such as the version sold among the lineup of Kirkland spices and seasonings at Costco). Whether sprinkled on chips, mixed into creamy dips, or generously added to plain bagels, this seasoning features a consistent flavor and a really nice crunch. The more we eat this stuff, the more stuff we'd like to try it on.

In our evaluation of Trader Joe's seasoning blends, we applied a systematic approach, focusing on three primary criteria: truth to form, palatability, and versatility. We began by assessing how accurately each blend represented the flavor profile advertised on the bottle. This involved scrutinizing taste, aroma, and overall fidelity to the blend's intended flavors. Did it surprise us? If so, was the surprise good or bad? If not, were we satisfied anyway?

We then judged each blend's palatability blend to determine its overall deliciousness, taking into account factors such as flavor balance, intensity, and any discernible unpleasant tastes. We learned that, unfortunately, cheese, ranch, and pizza are difficult for Trader Joe's to replicate in a powder; bagels and mushrooms, however, were not.

Finally, we explored the versatility of each blend by testing it on a variety of foods, particularly starches like chips and fries. This allowed us to assess how well each blend complemented and enhanced different basic, neutral foodstuffs. We thought it important to taste each blend by itself and then on a vehicle for the flavor, in order to ascertain both the theory and practice of each seasoning.