9 Trader Joe's Boxed Mixes, Ranked

Trader Joe's is often thought of as the store that you visit to stock up on snacks, frozen meals, and all things savory. But, its baking aisle is also worthy of note. For being such a small grocery store, it offers a plethora of different boxed baking mixes that are designed to make whipping up a cake for a celebration, batch of brownies as an after-school snack, or a tray of cornbread as a side for your meal easy.

I admit, I'm not a frequent TJ's shopper — mainly because I live about 45 minutes from the nearest one. But, considering my experience as a home baker — and as someone who can appreciate the convenience that a boxed mix can provide — I was excited to sample and try the array of products that the store offers. I prepared each of its boxed baking mixes according to the package directions and sampled them. Then, I ranked them based on their flavor and texture, ease of use, and overall value.

Trader Joe's limited-edition Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies have a ton of promise. A batter brimming with chocolate, pretzel pieces, caramel, coconut flakes, oats, sea salt, and nuts? What more could you want from a cookie?

When I made this boxed mix, I immediately noticed the structural issues in the batter. It called for creaming a stick of butter with an egg before adding in the bag of dry ingredients — an immediate red flag. While creaming butter is a critical step for homemade cookies, it seems laborious for a ready-made box mix — especially considering that other cookie mix brands call for melted butter or pea-sized pieces, instead. I was lucky to have a trusty KitchenAid at my side, otherwise, I would have been out of luck.

The batter was super dry and barely stuck together. In fact, I had to resist the temptation to grab another egg to add to the batter. Moreover, forming the cookies was nearly impossible because of how dry the batter was. So as a result, the batch came out wildly misshapen — with butter leaking out onto the parchment. It's not a good look.

The cookies' flavor wasn't bad. There were definitely buttery notes, as well as the textural contrast of the cookie add-ins. But, the bottoms came out a little too dark, since the butter all leached out, and the cookies themselves didn't look very attractive. If Trader Joe's re-worked this recipe a little bit and called for more moist ingredients, it would have all the makings of a good cookie. But as it stands, it's not something I would buy again.

Banana bread is a staple in my house, so I was glad to see a product on the shelf that could expedite the process of measuring and mixing the dry ingredients together. All you need to do is add bananas ... just kidding! I was enamored to find that this mix already contained all of the fruity goodness I needed, no extra bananas required.

This box gives you two options; you can either bake a loaf or muffins. I opted for the latter. I was displeased to find out, though, that I had to swap out the oil that the recipe called for creamed butter instead. It put me in the same situation as the Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies; you can't assume that everyone has a stand mixer or an electric beater — especially when a classic banana bread recipe doesn't call for creamed butter in the first place.

I immediately noticed that the odor of this box mix was synthetic and not brimming with those fresh banana notes that I was craving. Though, once I got through the ridiculous prep steps, I was pleased. The coating on the outside of these muffins was similar to the cornbread; it was shiny and beautiful. But, the taste leaves a lot to be desired. There was a mild banana flavor poking at the back of my palate, but it wasn't enough to come out doing jumping jacks saying, "Hey! I'm a banana muffin!" I could have easily mistaken it for a bran muffin, which was disappointing.

This is one of the only products that Trader Joe's should modify to make more complicated — by calling for at least one actual banana. It would give it more punch and more clear direction, which is what this mix really needs to be successful.

I'm far from gluten-free, but I'm always appreciative of brands trying to push the envelope and make gluten-free products better than the ones of years past. While folks may have had to settle with gritty brownies or flavorless cookies, they can now get the upper hand with Trader Joe's gluten-free chocolate brownie mix. The majority of this mix is sugar and brown rice flour, which gives it a delectably soft bite and sugary sweet flavor. Moreover, it's so easy to make; just mix water, eggs, and oil together with the mix and bake it in the oven.

The main thing that I didn't like about this mix is that it recommended baking it at 325 F for upwards of 30 minutes. The other brownie mix in this lineup was perfectly fine at 350 F, so I think that Trader Joe's could expedite this process a little more for the sake of time. But, the bake was remarkable. It had that delectable brownie crust I was looking for, along with a slightly molten consistency. When I went to slice them, though, I noticed how the brownie failed to slice evenly through. This was really unfortunate, considering how beautiful the crust was pre-slice. I assume that this was because the brownie didn't have the elasticity of the gluten to help support it. Moreover, despite following the cooking directions, I thought that these brownies could have fared better with about 10 more minutes in the oven.

The gluten-free brownies were delectably fudgy and soft, but I noticed that the base had that gritty, ground rice-like texture to it. I don't think you'd be able to tell that they were gluten-free right off the bat, but I think they may make you think "Huh, something is wrong with these brownies." All-in-all, these brownies weren't bad; TJ's just needs to take a look at its baking instructions and tweak things as needed. The simplicity of the recipe gave it a few brownie points (pun intended) and pushed it ahead of the lower-ranked items.

Trader Joe's chocolate almond flour cookie mix was one of the easiest cookie mixes out of the lot to bring together. It only required melted butter or oil (I used the latter), milk, and, oddly enough, vanilla extract. I think it's rather strange that a ready-made box mix would include this ingredient in its list. Oil, butter, eggs, and milk are understandable for your typical box mix, but it seems like Trader Joe's should have found a way to add this extract in powdered form to the mix so that the home cook wouldn't have to go out of their way to purchase it (part of the draw of box mixes in the first place).

The cookies themselves baked well and easy. I found that they had a crinkle-esque appearance to them and came out in perfectly round. Although the cookies get bonus points for presentation, the flavor of them was rather lackluster. I didn't get any immaculate chocolate notes, and I found that the flavor was more chocolate powder than chocolate chip. They were missing those perfectly melty bits that a proper chocolate chip cookie offers. However, I was glad that despite being made with almond flour, these cookies didn't have that gritty, mealy texture that I was expecting.

All-in-all, these aren't bad cookies. But I wish TJ's had simplified its mix, since it seems like calling for extra vanilla was a bit out of left field. Oh, and more chocolate please.

The Trader Joe's Celebration Cake mix is supposed to be a play on a funfetti mix. Unlike the other mixes on the list, this one has everything you need for a party; each box includes the mix, frosting, and a tiny bag of sprinkles to go along with it. When I looked at the box, I was surprised to read that it made not 12, not 18, not 24, but 15 cupcakes. Box mixes usually serve portions in even numbers, so it was odd to see a number that is, well, odd. If you're throwing a birthday party for a kiddo, you'd have to do some math to decide how many boxes you need to purchase to feed everyone.

But, the flavor of these cupcakes was slightly redeeming. I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of funfetti cake mixes, but this one was right on the money. It had a perfectly soft texture that was accented by small, yet still discernible, vanilla notes. The sprinkles in the cake batter were barely noticeable, which meant that the cake itself didn't leave a cloying flavor in my mouth. But when combined with the sugary icing, studded with sprinkles, I felt like I got knocked over by a sugary wave.

However, the sweetness of this cake mix and accompanying frosting is relative. You buy a funfetti cake mix and canned frosting because you know it's going to be sugary and sweet — this is why it's a kid-favorite, after all. If you're looking for a nuanced cake mix with a balanced flavor, this is far from the one you want to go for. But, flavor aside, the value of this box is incredible. You can use it for cake pops, whole cakes, or cupcakes, and don't have to go through the arduous process of making a classic buttercream frosting at home. So, the value component was a saving grace for this mix and earned it a spot in the middle of this ranking.

Blueberry muffin mixes are something I am all too familiar with, and this one required a bit more work than the other brands I've worked with in the past. This box mix came with a separate pouch of dehydrated blueberries and called for three additions: eggs, milk, and melted butter. I thought it was a little much to call for 10 tablespoons of butter for a single box of mix, which barely made a dozen standard-sized muffins. But in the end, the buttery, golden brown-hued muffins that came out of the oven were well worth it.

The biggest drawback to this baking mix was definitely the time it took to rehydrate the blueberries. It added an extra 10 minutes to my baking time, which isn't ideal when you need to throw something in the oven for a breakfast party relatively quickly. But other than that, I was thoroughly impressed by the flavor of these muffins. I liked that it wasn't really all too sweet and had a homestyle flavor to it that I didn't expect from a store-bought muffin brand. While this blueberry muffin mix is far from the most convenient option on this list, it's sublime taste and bouncy, buttery texture earned it some brownie (err, muffin) points in the end.

I'll admit that I was really wary to try anything that listed "truffle" on its label. It conjures up a Lindt Lindor truffle breaking, revealing an oozy, decadent layer inside. And honestly, that's really not something that I associated with a store-bought brownie mix.

This boxed mix doesn't really explain how it emulates the mouthfeel of a truffle — it just notes that it's made with Dutch cocoa and chocolate chips. So, in other words, it's a good brownie. And after tasting it, I can confirm that this is indeed a good brownie.

This mix can be used for chewy chocolate chip cookies or brownies, as the label notes. It calls for melted butter and eggs and comes together in about two minutes; it doesn't get much easier than that. The bite of this brownie was as I expected: molten, chocolatey, and balanced in sweetness and richness. It was a solid brownie recipe, but it didn't wow me like some of the top contenders in this race did. And when you're working with really delicious mixes, there has to be some Trader Joe's whimsy to push it up and over the rest.

It doesn't get as point-and-shoot as store-bought cornbread mix. This was one of the simpler Trader Joe's products to make, and I found that it came together far easier than many of the other boxed mixes I sampled. The cornbread mix even came with whole chunks of corn in it, which added an element of texture and unique flavor to an otherwise standard product.

This cornbread mix called for eggs, oil, and milk. I opted to make this recipe in a muffin tin, since it was easier to review and bake, but I don't see why you couldn't make this in a regular skillet, pan, or even mini-muffin tins. The cornbread came out perfectly baked; it had a beautiful golden brown topping that had a beautiful crust on it. When I bit into it, I immediately found the texture of the cornmeal to be absolutely sublime. It wasn't too gritty, nor too fine. I also appreciated that the muffins had a balanced sweetness to them. You could eat it with a pat of butter on top, or add some chopped jalapeños or bacon to make things a little savory.

Overall, this cornbread ranked in the top of the Trader Joe's mixes because it was not only convenient and easy to make, but it's also useful enough for a ton of different occasions. But, it didn't have the "wow" factor to push it over the edge into the top spot of this ranking.

Blondies are the brownie's hip, fun cousin. And Trader Joe's really shows that it knows what it's doing when it comes to its blondie bar mix. Each box requires an egg and a stick of melted butter, which is easy enough to throw together (none of this creaming nonsense, thank goodness). The mix came together with the perfect sticky consistency. It wasn't too thick, but I was able to mix it well without it getting too stodgy on me (which is all too common with anything in the blondie or brownie family).

These blondies looked absolutely delectable when they came out of the oven. They had a deliberate, distinguished sheen with small chocolate chips well-distributed throughout — just like the photo on the box. The only real drawback that I noticed here was that these bars were really oily, but that's just because they're made with so much butter. But, the brown sugar flavor was tantalizingly toffee-like — meaning that the butter was worth it. It was sweet with subtle notes of caramel. I didn't really get too much of the chocolate flavor (and I think TJ's could have gone without it and still had an amazing product) but I wasn't complaining about anything when it came to these bars.

There's not much that you can do to dress up a good blondie, but I don't think that this mix really requires anything more than the butter, egg, and mix, to be successful. It's one dessert I would highly recommend for serving at the office, to kids, or really anyone with a hankering for something sweet.

I purchased every one of the baking mixes that Trader Joe's offered at one of its few Rhode Island stores. This list only includes one limited edition item, the Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies; the rest were year-round offerings. I baked each product according to the package directions and allowed them to cool before slicing or biting into them to ensure that the batter had properly set.

I reviewed each of these products based on its taste, consistency, and flavor. Above all, I looked for a product that reflected the standard consistency and flavor of the respective product (for example, a blueberry muffin should have a balanced sweetness, soft bite, and small bits of berries scattered throughout). I ranked products that were easy to make higher than those that required a lot of extra steps, as a baking mix should simplify the task, rather than make it more complicated than it needs to be.