14 Best Trader Joe's Snacks For Sweet And Salty Fans

It's hard not to fall in love with the snack aisle at Trader Joe's. There are so many unique treats, chips, and crackers to try that you could easily fill a shopping cart with snacks alone (and many customers at Trader Joe's manage to do just that). The only downside is that most of Trader Joe's snacks don't stick around throughout the year, leaving fans to stock up on their favorites while they still can. 

There's one particular snack category that Trader Joe's tends to do especially well: sweet and salty snacks. Trader Joe's never shies away from experimenting with bold, varied flavor combinations — and trust us when we say that sweet and salty is one of those flavor profiles you're bound to find a lot of at the grocery chain.

So, if you're a fan of contrasting flavors, Trader Joe's is a go-to store for shopping for snacks. But which ones to choose? Whether you're looking for a reliable year-round favorite or a seasonal delight to be on the lookout for, we've got you covered. These are the absolute best of the best.

Coated in sesame seeds and flavored with honey, these sweet and salty almonds make for the perfect savory-and-sweet treat. They're extra crunchy and ever so slightly sweet — ideal for a charcuterie board of epic proportions or a standalone snack.

Sesame honey almonds have been known to appear in the fall and winter seasons — and there's also a similar variation made with cashews, which are a little more common to find in stores. Trader Joe's frequently discontinues and later restocks many of its beloved snacks, so keep an eye out for this sweet and salty favorite to make a reappearance. You should also know that these almonds make up part of Trader Joe's "A Trio of Almonds" snack tin (along with plain salted almonds and caramel coffee almonds), so don't be shy about stocking up on those tins (which typically appear during the holidays), either.

When we ranked the very best snacks from Trader Joe's, these sesame honey almonds made the cut — an achievement worthy of congratulations.

Trader Joe's has excellent chocolate candy products, and who doesn't love a good peanut butter cup? With a super-salty interior and a sweet, chocolaty exterior, Trader Joe's chocolate peanut butter cups are a quintessential sweet and salty snack.

Retailing for about $5 per box, these miniature peanut butter cups are all about value, considering you get a full 16 ounces of cups per pack. They're also the reigning champion of Trader Joe's dessert aisles, with many buyers agreeing that peanut butter cups are their favorite dessert snack of all time. They're delightfully sweet and creamy and feature the perfect chocolate-to-peanut-butter ratio. You'll find the mini peanut butter cups available in both a dark and milk chocolate version at Trader Joe's. Better yet, the cups contain absolutely no preservatives — so you can feel good about polishing off the whole box (trust us, we've been there).

These mini cups also list of the best Trader Joe's snacks of all time (a high honor). They were so consistently popular with Trader Joe's official Customer Choice Awards (where customers vote on their favorite snacks, meals, desserts, and more) that they were indicted into the Trader Joe's Hall of Fame. Don't hesitate to pick up a box (or two) next time you stop by Trader Joe's — if they're not sold out already, that is.

Synergistically seasoned popcorn is known for being ... a little odd. The bright orange snack is slightly controversial within the Trader Joe's community thanks to the sheer variety of flavors it produces. It's sweet. It's strangely sour. It's salty. It's smoky. It's even a little spicy. When I tried it, I wasn't sure what to think. But there are many dedicated fans of the popcorn — probably because it's a snack that you truly cannot find anywhere else. Admittedly, the taste makes it a snack that's hard to stop eating.

Like many Trader Joe's products, you won't find synergistically seasoned popcorn in the aisles year-round. The grocery store chain regularly takes the bags on and off its shelves, making it a seasonal product that is more likely to appear for a short time around spring.

Though it's not strictly sweet and salty (because it contains so many other flavors), it's certainly worth a try. Maybe you'll love it, maybe you'll be too confused to enjoy it. But if you're a fan of odd food pairings or mixed flavors, synergistically seasoned popcorn is probably for you.

Ah, mini pretzels — another hallmark of sweet and salty treats. Trader Joe's produces many, many delicious varieties of miniature pretzels throughout the year — like its seasonal mocha latte- or ube-flavored mini pretzels that captured the hearts (and the shopping baskets) of Trader Joe's customers. But the milk chocolate mini pretzels are a classic that you'll find at Trader Joe's all year long — so you can safely rely on them as a dessert snack staple.

You won't find a sweet and salty bargain much better than these pretzels, which retail at around $4 for a 12-ounce bag. There's also a dark chocolate counterpart, which is just as full of salty and sweet goodness (although maybe slightly less sweet, thanks to the dark chocolate).

Just be warned that once you start, it's hard to stop eating them. Pro tip: You can also pop them in the refrigerator to help prevent the chocolate from melting as you snack. Plus, this makes for a deliciously chilled treat.

If you didn't already think Trader Joe's was the king of creative snacks, you certainly will after you hear about the brand's infamous umami crunchies. These tiny, puffy rice crackers are so small and delectable, customers say it's hard to stop eating them. They're crispy, sweet, and savory all at once — a highlight for a party snack board or for eating straight out of the bag.

Now, some fans of the sweet and salty umami crunchies argue the snack is a little bit greasier than they were expecting. According to some taste-testers, the oil leaves too strong of a taste — which isn't helped by the crackers' super small size. If you're not a fan of rice oil (one of the primary ingredients of the little crisps), you might want to steer clear of this one. But many people aren't bothered by the oil at all, so this flavorful snack is still worth a shot thanks to its genius flavor pairings. As with many favorite Trader Joe's snacks, however, you'll just have to wait for it to come back in season again. We've often spotted this popular snack on shelves around springtime.

There's nothing that's not to like about a chocolate-covered almond. It's perfectly crunchy, gently sweet, and oh-so salty; the best pick-me-up there is for the middle of your work day or for a post-dinner treat.

Like its peanut butter cup counterparts, the chocolate-covered almonds are available in both dark chocolate and milk chocolate versions. In fact, you'll find a lot of variations on chocolate-covered almonds over at Trader Joe's, and all of them are worthy of their own taste test if you're a sweet and salty fan. Many varieties of the brand's chocolate almonds feature their own ratios of salt to chocolate, so if you're a fan of super-sweet treats, you might want to look out for the colorful blue, green, yellow, and pink ones coated in candy. Prefer an extra-salty snack? The turbinado sugar and sea salt almonds are for you.

The grocery store chain's sweet and salty almond offerings rotate seasonally. You can expect candied varieties to appear around the winter holiday season, but they'll often join the shelves in a variety of flavors throughout the rest of the year, too.

There's nothing better than a bag full of assorted sweet and salty snacks. Drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with a healthy portion of salt, you'll find all different kinds of crispy, crunchy treats in this snack mix — from chocolate-caramel popcorn to chocolate-coated potato chips (trust us, they're worth a try). Roasted salty peanuts and peanut butter pretzels round out the snack mix with toasty, nutty flavors. 

A lot of sweet and salty fans agree that you literally can't do better than this snack mix at Trader Joe's if you're searching for the perfect balance of salt and sugar. The dark chocolate drizzle balances out the salt levels in the peanut butter and peanuts, and every snack in the bag pairs perfectly with one another — whether you're eating it one piece at a time or just grabbing handfuls.

This snack often appears around the winter holidays. You'll usually find it in November or December, sold in an irresistible bright red bag for just under $5. 

If you've never had plantain chips before, you might be wondering whether this type of banana will make a good chip. But contrary to actual banana chips (which are much sweeter and fruitier), plantains don't have much of a sweet flavor unless they're very ripe. They're also commonly used in savory dishes for their starchy consistency, which makes them perfect for chips.

Trader Joe's plantain chips are delightfully salty with just the tiniest hint of sweetness from the plantain. The texture is crunchy, but with more crispiness and chew to it than you'd find in a typical potato chip. They would be perfect for pairing both with mild dips like hummus or spicier picks like jalapeño dip. On their own, though, they truly do make for a delicious sweet and salty snack.

If you want an even saltier flavor profile from your plantain chips, then TJ's plantain crisps are definitely for you. Many taste-testers say that these plantain chips are much, much saltier than the regular roasted plantain chips, which makes them resemble more of a potato chip with just a tiny hint of sweetness. Though both of these snacks sometimes disappear from store shelves for a short time, you're likely to find at least one of these options at your local Trader Joe's all year long.

Love the slight sweetness and amazing saltiness of Trader Joe's regular plantain chips? Why not make them even better (read: sweeter) by adding chocolate? Trader Joe's chocolate-covered plantain chips come with a little bit of a chocolate drizzle to coat each chip. Maybe you've never been fortunate enough to try a chocolate-covered potato chip before, but we can promise you this snack isn't just another culinary experiment gone wrong; it's a legitimate sweet and salty favorite.

Trader Joe's adds sea salt to its chocolate-covered plantain chips for the ultimate salty-sweet snack. Just know that customers report that these plantain chips tend to melt quickly, making them difficult to eat. If you want to combat this issue, you can store them in the fridge — or even in the freezer — for a colder, longer-lasting, and less messy snack. Otherwise, just be sure to have lots of napkins on hand or to eat them quickly.

Trader Joe's sugared rice cracker stars are just what the name implies: a crunchy, star-shaped rice cracker coated in sugar. Even the bag the stars come in can attest that this snack walks the line between sweet and salty. Those who have gotten to try it say that it's a simple, sweetened variation on a rice cracker (with a wonderful new shape, of course).

Not everyone is a huge fan of the snack, however. There are some who say it's just too sweet to be defined as a cracker. Is it a cracker? A cookie? Something else entirely? We can't quite say. But it definitely succeeds at being both sweet and salty (even if it's a little sweeter than many people expect it to be). Go in with an open mind and you can decide for yourself whether it counts as a snack or a dessert.

These stars are seasonal, so don't expect them to stick around once winter is over. They typically make an appearance in November or December when the holidays first begin.

Alongside the many variations of sweet and salty pretzels Trader Joe's has to offer are the butter toffee pretzels. These tiny pretzels are super crunchy and completely coated in a buttery toffee topping, which adds an extra salty-sweet crunch. They're definitely more of a dessert pretzel offering, but at just around $4 for a 10-ounce bag, we certainly don't mind.

This is also a pleasantly unique sweet and salty snack, because the buttery flavor is partly in charge of providing the salty notes. This effectively turns each pretzel into its own sweet cookie-like snack, reminiscent of the most delicious Trader Joe's baked goods. The topping isn't too overwhelming, but it's definitely the main flavor present with its buttery sweetness. You'll find actual sugar granules present on the outside of the pretzels, which makes the topping crunchy and textured without being sticky or completely coated. The pretzel is mostly there for crunch, but don't worry — you'll still get a little bit of flavor from that, too.

If you want a snack that walks the line between dessert and food, the dark chocolate rice cake thins are what you're after. These are great for their versatility; you can eat them plain or top them with other desserts. If you want to spread some peanut butter on them and make a sandwich, go for it. Or, top them with marshmallows, caramel sauce, or chocolate chips for an extra sweet treat. You can even pop them in the microwave to melt the topping slightly or put them in the fridge for a cool and crunchy bite.

Just keep in mind that you might want to add your own flair, as many customers recommend. Because they're so thin and not coated with much chocolate, they provide a bit of flavor but tend to work best as a vessel for dips or desserts. You might even want to add more salt to the rice cake mix if you don't think it's salty enough (which a few customers have admitted). But it's a snack that has a lot of potential even if you're not a fan of eating it plain. You can't deny that when it comes to dessert charcuterie boards or sweets that you can dress up, dark chocolate rice cake thins are a winner.

Bambas are essentially peanut-flavored corn puffs — they're big, airy, and have a peanut-buttery taste. This puffy, fluffy snack normally doesn't come filled — but then again, Trader Joe's loves to think outside the box when it comes to designing snacks. This is a variation on Trader Joe's ordinary Bambas that comes with a delicious hazelnut filling, doubling the nutty flavors of the snack.

Thanks to the peanut flavor present in Trader Joe's Bambas, the puffs themselves are pleasantly salty. But the real sweetness comes from the hazelnut filling. Each Bamba is stuffed with a sweet, smooth, hazelnut-flavored cream, making them taste so good (and arguably even better than the basic version). The gentle crunch from the puffy exterior is the perfect contrast to the rich cream inside — the ideal sweet and salty pairing all in one snack. Some fans even say they're grateful Trader Joe's made the product seasonal, since they can't stop themselves from buying it.

These crackers are a charcuterie board classic that look fancy with the bits of olives and figs inside each piece. This combo gives them a gentle sweet and salty flavor. Pairing two of cheese tastings' finest partners (figs and olives, of course) in a cracker is absolutely genius — you don't need any other ingredients to bring out all the key flavors of your cheeses, dips, and spreads.

Brie, feta, and camembert are a few cheese board classics that you'll find pair perfectly with the olives in each cracker. If you haven't tried goat cheese and figs before, you're seriously missing out, or mix it up and opt for a cheese dip or hummus spread. The great thing about these crackers is that you can play up either the sweet or salty flavor depending on the dips and spreads you pair with them. Want a saltier and brinier taste? Just add olive tapenade. Prefer the sweet, fruity taste of figs? You can't go wrong with a little fig jam on top, then.

We had some tough choices to make, but our choice came down to popularity, consistency, and personal experience. Of course, we only considered snacks that had a firmly sweet and salty flavor profile for this list. They also needed to be consistently well-reviewed on social media — if the majority of taste testers agreed they didn't like a certain snack, you definitely won't find it in this selection. 

We wanted snacks that were either available in stores year round or came back consistently if they were seasonal. Though Trader Joe's often swaps out the snacks on its shelves, you're very likely to find every single snack on this list reappear at a Trader Joe's near you sometime soon. We did not rely on local stores to fill this list; rather, nationwide reviews (along with the Trader Joe's website) were used to ensure we weren't missing any options.

We also relied on personal experience to help us narrow down the selection. Some of the snacks on this list made our other headlines recently, and we tried others specifically for this article. Don't think we just went off of our personal flavor preferences — we just wanted to make sure each snack on the list was truly sweet, salty, and matched up well with what other reviews were saying.