The One Trader Joe's Salsa You Should Never Add To Your Cart

Along with its impressive cheese selection, unique chips and crunchy snacks, and specialty dessert products, Trader Joe's has a lot to offer in the salsa department. With options from blended to chunky, tomato to pineapple, and restaurant-style to authentic, there's sure to be a jar to please every shopper. And while everyone has different tastes, we thought we'd streamline your grocery shop by ranking Trader Joe's jarred salsas as objectively as possible. Skip the Salsa Verde — it stands out more because of its underwhelming flavor than it does because of its green color.

What makes a good green salsa is a tomatillo- and chile-forward flavor. Tomatillos are more tart than their red cousins, and chiles are obviously spicy, so green salsa should be tangy and hot. TJ's version is neither, although it might make you pucker your lips for another reason: It's way too salty. When scooped onto a tortilla chip, this salsa under-delivers on fresh produce flavor and over-delivers on sodium content, so we recommend sparing yourself the disappointment. Luckily, the grocery chain has a few top-notch salsas that do deserve a spot in your cart.

Trader Joe's didn't get the memo on the ingredients everyone should be adding to salsa verde, but it has some jars that are worth grabbing for your Taco Tuesday or Mexican-inspired meals. The grocery's Cowboy Caviar is a super flavorful mix of corn, peppers, and black beans. The Sweet Pineapple Salsa is good in a pinch when you can't get your hands on the actual fruit; try tofu burgers with pineapple salsa for a unique meatless dinner. TJ's pepita salsa is the store-bought salsa you should use on pork chops; marinate the meat in it for a few hours or add it all to a slow cooker to simmer together.

If you bought a jar you find subpar, you can easily upgrade store-bought salsa with a few simple ingredients. Try mixing in some beans, tropical fruit, fresh herbs, or avocado. And if you follow the top tip to choose the best tortilla chips to pair with salsa (they should be thick and salty!), nobody is going to complain about what's on them.