10 Best Thanksgiving Items At Trader Joe's In 2024

Preparing Thanksgiving dinner from scratch can be a monumental task, especially if you're doing it all on your own. Luckily, Trader Joe's offers you a few shortcuts (as well as a few snacks that can stand in as certain dishes, or just offer you a Thanksgiving-themed snack to nosh on while you cook). Every year, Trader Joe's rolls out some holiday classics and not-so-classics that will make you grateful that you live in a time when this grocery store exists.

Which of these Thanksgiving products should you check out before the big day arrives? Well, we've tested out some of the brand's Thanksgiving offerings, and we're here to tell you that the following products should be on your must-get list this Thanksgiving. Whether you're hosting a big Thanksgiving party at home, looking for something to bring to a potluck Friendsgiving, or just want to snack on some holiday-adjacent goodies, Trader Joe's has you covered. Just be sure to go in advance, because the store won't be open on Thanksgiving Day itself.

Blessedly, Trader Joe's Nuts About Rosemary Mix feels appropriate for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, so you can restock if you happen to run out of these light, herbal spiced nuts. We love that this mix comes with so many different types of nuts. Open the canister, and you'll find pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, and almonds, all covered in a sea salt, sugar, and rosemary mix that offers an ideal balance of flavors. The sweetness here is really subtle, allowing the salt and rosemary to shine while offering a complexity you won't get from your average container of salted mixed nuts.

If you're like many people and find that rosemary reminds you of the holidays, then this is definitely the nut mix for you. The subtle rosemary doesn't jump out at you but rather makes this an approachable and easy-to-love snack that the whole family will love. Just make sure you don't fill up on them and ruin your appetite before the turkey comes out.

You have all kinds of casseroles in the oven, side dishes galore, and maybe even a meat-free "turkey" in addition to an actual turkey. But let's be honest: You're still missing the important part of the Thanksgiving meal. That part is the stuffing, and it's an essential aspect of any good Thanksgiving table. The only problem? It can be a pain to make, especially if you feel the need to prepare it from scratch. If you ask us, though, it's worth it to get some help from good old Trader Joe's, which is why you'll find the brand's cornbread stuffing on our Thanksgiving table this year.

This stuffing is made from cornbread croutons and is packed with herbs like parsley, giving its signature flavor. Sage takes center stage, offering that holiday-specific flavor we all love, and the addition of cranberries and roasted apples gives the stuffing a bit of brightness, acidity, and sweetness, which balances the whole dish. Take it out of its plastic container, and nobody will realize you didn't make it from scratch.

Trader Joe's has achieved what we would have believed impossible until we opened a bag of the store's Thanksgiving stuffing seasoned kettle chips: Making a snack that tastes exactly (and we mean exactly) like Thanksgiving dinner. We're not quite sure how they pulled it off, but we're eternally grateful for it. This Trader Joe's fan favorite is returning this season, and while we don't suggest skipping Thanksgiving dinner altogether, you can get a preview of the real meal just by popping a few of these crunchy chips in your mouth.

Salt, thyme, sage, and celery are the all-important ingredients in these chips that make them taste so much like Thanksgiving dinner. We think they're particularly fun to crunch on while you're making the main meal, but they're also a great snack to take out after dinner's been put away and you don't feel like going back for yet another round of turkey and mashed potatoes. Give them a try, but don't expect to ever be fully satisfied by another bag of potato chips again.

Don't love traditional cranberry sauce? You're not alone — it can definitely be one of the more polarizing dishes on the Thanksgiving table. At the same time, cranberry sauce plays a vital role in the meal, providing an acidity that's missing from basically every other Thanksgiving dish, and is sorely needed when you're drowning everything in gravy. That's why you may want to look for an alternative to the classic. Trader Joe's South Asian-inspired cranberry ginger chutney is a great option.

Yes, that cranberry flavor is still very much present in this chutney, but the addition of ginger gives it a twist you probably weren't expecting. You'll taste the ginger, of course, but you can also feel it — it actually boasts a bit of spice that gives it some added complexity and a savory touch that allows it to pair well with other savory dishes. Whether you're serving other South Asian-inspired food at your dinner table or not, this chutney will undoubtedly brighten up your plate.

If you're the kind of person who always has the savory dishes down but absolutely dreads turning on the oven to actually bake, you're not alone. Not everyone is talented at baking, and it can take a lot of time away from your main course of the night. That means you may want to outsource all that dessert-making to Trader Joe's, where you can snag a delicious pumpkin pie without breaking the bank.

This is a pretty classic pumpkin pie, so it's ideal if you want to keep things simple and easy. It has that typical pumpkin purée that yields an almost velvety texture, and the crust itself has just the right firmness. The one thing that sets this pie apart from other store-bought pumpkin pies we've tried is the fact that Trader Joe's is a bit heavy-handed on the cinnamon. We like that, as it gives the pie a warmth and complexity you won't find in every grocery store bakery section.

Whether you're gluten-free yourself or you're just trying to cater to a gluten-free person who's coming to your Thanksgiving, gravy may not be the first element of the meal you think of. However, it's an important one — it gives otherwise dry dishes some much-needed moisture, and it ties the rest of the dishes together into one coherent meal. Unfortunately, though, a lot of store-bought gravies you'll find out there do contain gluten, which means they're definitely not appropriate for people who either can't have gluten or prefer to avoid it.

That's where Trader Joe's gluten-free turkey gravy comes in. The gluten-free version of this stuff may be even better than the original. It has a lovely, silky texture to it, with enough seasonings to flavor even the blandest piece of turkey breast. Spiked with turkey meat and fat, it has all the decadence you're looking for in gravy — without the gluten, of course.

Homemade cranberry sauce requires a surprising amount of work, which can be annoying if there's nobody at your table who's a particularly big fan. That doesn't mean you should skip it altogether, though, since it's an important element to the meal, nor does it mean that you're relegated to one of those sad cans of jiggly so-called cranberry sauce. Instead, just head to Trader Joe's, where you can snag a container of fresh cranberry sauce that requires absolutely no prep work at all.

This sauce is made with only three simple ingredients: Cranberries, of course, along with sugar and water. The result is a thick sauce with berries that are still intact. They pop as you eat them, bursting with that juicy tartness that cranberries are known for. Drizzle it over everything on your Thanksgiving plate for the most delicious results, or snack on it straight out of the container — yes, it's seriously that good.

Here's another product for all the certified snackers out there. It's Trader Joe's Thanksgiving stuffing seasoned popcorn, and it delivers all the same deliciousness as the kettle chips mentioned above in a slightly lighter and less crunchy package. The flavor profile is similar to that of the chips, with the spice mix ingredients including herbs like thyme, black pepper, sage, and parsley. The result is a savory, easily snackable bag of popcorn that seems to deliver Thanksgiving dinner in a bag.

This is a great snack to set out on the table while guests are waiting for the main course, as it whets the palate for those Thanksgiving-centric flavors. Even if you're not hosting a big Thanksgiving, though, it's worth giving this popcorn a try. At the very least, you can feel grateful you took a chance on an unconventionally spiced bag of popcorn. Trust us, that risk really does pay off.

Have you ever gotten all of the Thanksgiving dishes on the table and ready to go only to realize that you're missing something light, fresh, and green? It's happened to the best of us, especially considering that Thanksgiving is a holiday that really elevates heavier and more intense dishes. But don't worry — you don't have to make some fancy, well-thought-out salad from scratch if you pick up Trader Joe's harvest apple salad kit.

Let's be honest, there are a lot of store-bought salad kits that simply aren't that tasty, but that's not a problem you're going to have with this salad kit. It features a mix of different greens in addition to dried apple chips, grated Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar Cheese, and crunchy pecans, all in a dressing rich with the flavors of apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard. When it all comes together, you'll have a delicious salad that takes no time at all to prepare. Just empty all the ingredients into a bowl, toss everything together, and you have a salad that will complete your Thanksgiving spread.

The official dessert of Thanksgiving may be a deep-dish pumpkin pie, but not everyone out there is a pumpkin lover. If there's any other type of pie that should get a place on the table, it's apple pie. Trader Joe's apple crumble pie is just what you're looking for if you don't actually feel like making an apple pie from scratch — and we can't blame you for that.

The component that makes all the difference in this pie is the apple slices themselves. They're quite thin, and they're stacked on top of each other to create a really interesting textural experience. Sure, you could technically pull this off at home, but it would be a lot (and we mean a lot) of work. The buttery oat-based crumble, on top of those apples, offers even more textural variation and brings the whole dish together. On its own, this pie shines, but serve it with some vanilla ice cream if you really want to wow everyone around the dinner table.