7 Trader Joe's Bagged Popcorn Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

Trader Joe's isn't a store merely known for having a few tasty snacks. The ever-popular grocery chain is absolutely notorious for having some of the best snacks out there, be it something from the frozen aisle or something from the chip aisle. Of course, if you are the type who likes to peruse the chip aisle, then you'll know that there's quite a few more snacks lurking there than just chips. Amidst the various types of chips include bagged popcorn — not the stuff you find in a box and need to microwave, but ready-to-eat, fully popped popcorn that's just begging to be a part of your next movie night.

Though the variety of Trader Joe's bagged popcorn can vary depending on the time of year and seasonal availability, the store has a handful of staples that you should be able to find year-round. As a loyal TJ's shopper — and someone who has done numerous snack rankings, including Trader Joe's snacks you can cook in your air fryer and Trader Joe's best chocolatey treats, I felt very well-equipped to put the chain's bagged popcorn to the taste test. When ranking these popcorn flavors, I considered how good the taste was, texture, and if any of them had a particularly winning flavor or one that made it stand out amidst the competition.

In a relatively small but stacked lineup, one popcorn had to come in last place, and that is Trader Joe's organic popcorn with organic extra-virgin olive oil. I should clarify that there's nothing egregiously wrong with this popcorn, but there's also nothing really right about it. At its absolute best, the popcorn is just fine, but at its worst, it's incredibly forgettable, to the point where TJ's could remove it from its shelves and no one would be losing any sleep over it.

If you like to eat organic whenever and wherever possible, then that's perhaps the one silver lining that this popcorn has to offer. But the flavor is so incredibly bland, with maybe the slightest bit of olive oil flavor, but not enough to make this popcorn particularly memorable. Even just a little bit of extra salt would go a long way in making this popcorn a little more enjoyable, but as-is, there's just not enough going on here to make it a strong contender in this ranking. I should acknowledge that the texture of this popcorn is fine, a little bit crunchy as popcorn should be, but again — nothing special, nothing worth flocking to your nearest Trader Joe's for.

Trader Joe's popcorn with herbs and spices boasted a whole lot of potential. The savory popcorn, which features additions like celery salt, dill, and onion powder, certainly looked like it would be packed with flavor, just by looking at a bowlful of the stuff. The spices and herbs were apparent, yet once I tasted this popcorn, I still felt like it was really missing something, and the flavor was disappointingly mellow.

I expected this popcorn to be the most flavorful (or at least one of the most flavorful) of all the options on this list, but it simply wasn't. I do think that this popcorn was very celery salt-forward, but this flavor alone was not nearly enough to make the snack as a whole particularly interesting or memorable. I didn't catch any notes of dill, and maybe just a slight aftertaste of onion, but a muted one at best. Like I said, the potential was there, and for what it's worth, the popcorn does deliver in being savory. But I think that the flavor was way too mellow for this popcorn to stand out as a whole, so this isn't a popcorn that I'd see myself repurchasing anytime soon.

Though I don't typically seek out white cheddar popcorn over classic buttery popcorn, I'm still a fan of the flavor. In fact, I even compared the respective white cheddar flavors of Smartfood and Skinny Pop popcorn, so I consider myself pretty well-versed in spotting a solid white cheddar-flavored popcorn. Trader Joe's offers its own version of the cheesy flavor, and like many of the other weaker flavors on this list, I found this white cheddar popcorn to be a little disappointing all-around.

To start with the positives, this popcorn did have a distinct white cheddar flavor along with that notable velvety-like coating. The white cheddar flavor tasted good, but it felt a bit muted, and my biggest complaint is simply that I wanted more. Like other TJ's popcorns, I also felt that a little extra salt might help elevate this popcorn and help that white cheddar flavor really pop. As-is, however, this popcorn felt like a true middle-ground option. I didn't hate it, but knowing that Smartfood offers a white cheddar popcorn that's so much tastier than TJ's version, I don't see why I'd ever opt for this knowing that there are better options out there.

Many people think that the only difference between kettle corn and regular popcorn is the fact that the former has a sticky sweet coating on the outside. Kettle corn, however, was traditionally made over an open fire — in a cast-iron kettle — and to get that notable sweet flavor profile, sugar was added. The special treat was (and still is) commonly available at festivals and carnivals, and if you've ever bought kettle corn from such a place, then you know that the sweet, fresh flavor is pretty hard to beat.

So, needless to say, Trader Joe's kettle corn doesn't exactly live up to the tasty history that fresh, open-fire roasted kettle corn comes from. And, I can only fault it so much for that, because this stuff is bagged and shelf-stable, so it's only going to retain so much fresh flavor. That said, I do think this kettle corn had a nice flavor, offering a balance of sweet and salty flavors that I'm personally a big fan of. I do think that there should have been a bit more all-around — more sugary coating, more crunch, more salt. I liked this kettle corn but I didn't love it, making it a good middle-ground option.

It's really, really hard to beat classic, buttery, "movie theater" popcorn, yet so few brands manage to get it right. One of the most exciting aspects of going to a movie is getting that freshly-popped, butter-doused popcorn, and no matter how much a microwave brand boasts a movie theater flavor, it just never quite gets it right. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say that Trader Joe's movie theater popcorn has cracked the code by successfully duplicating movie theater popcorn, because it hasn't. But, as far as store-bought, bagged popcorns go, this one was pretty darn tasty.

The most successful aspect of this popcorn was its rich, buttery flavor. There was something about this popcorn that did feel movie theater reminiscent, and though it's not completely the same, it was similar enough to impress me, and to earn a spot in the top three on this list. Sure, nothing will ever beat true movie theater popcorn, but for those movie nights at home, Trader Joe's movie theater popcorn is a good option.

The only way to make kettle corn even tastier is to go all-out with the sweet aspect — or, at least, that's what Trader Joe's did with this chocolatey drizzled strawberry kettle popcorn, with much success. This snack features a kettle corn base along with chunks of freeze-dried strawberries and a chocolate drizzle. Chocolate-covered strawberry fans, like myself, will no doubt love this popcorn, or just fans of sweet treats in general.

Something I really appreciate about this popcorn is that, despite featuring so many sweet elements, there's still a nice saltiness to balance it all out. The chocolate drizzle isn't too overbearing, so it doesn't taste like you're eating popcorn that's completely bogged down with chocolate. Moreover, because the drizzle is relatively light, the popcorn still retains that crucial crunch, and the freeze-dried strawberries also help add a whole new dimension of crunchiness on top of that. The strawberries also add a distinctly fruity, acidic pop that isn't something you might expect to find in popcorn, but something that works nevertheless. This popcorn isn't available at TJ's year-round, and it often pops up around Valentine's Day — so definitely make it a priority to try it if you still see it stocked at your local store.

When I first saw that Trader Joe's offered a popcorn seasoned with nutritional yeast, I was hesitantly optimistic. For those unfamiliar, nutritional yeast is a type of inactive yeast that boasts a slew of vitamins and a savory, cheesy flavor, despite being completely vegan. There are plenty of creative ways to use nutritional yeast, including adding it to a stew, mixing it into a salad dressing, and of course, sprinkling it onto popcorn. Along with the nutritional yeast, TJ's piquant popcorn also boasts onion and garlic flavors, so I was hopeful that I was in for a savory treat with this one.

Much to my enjoyment, Trader Joe's piquant popcorn did deliver on all of the savory flavors that it promised. I was impressed by the sheer depth of flavor that this popcorn had to offer, with each kernel emanating a distinctly cheesy, savory, and umami-rich flavor profile. Unlike the less-successful popcorn with herbs and spices, I could really taste all of the flavors that were meant to be in this popcorn, including the nutritional yeast, salt, onion, and garlic. Any savory snack lover would be wise to keep this TJ's staple stocked in their pantry, as this is a unique and truly tasty popcorn that you really can't find anywhere else besides Trader Joe's.

When ranking Trader Joe's bagged popcorn, the most important factor was flavor. More specifically, I paid attention to those popcorn varieties that delivered on their promised flavors and those that fell short. For example, the popcorn with herbs and spices certainly boasted a snack chockfull of savory and earthy flavors, but ultimately, I found the popcorn a little bit bland and disappointing, hence its lower ranking. On the other hand, there was Trader Joe's piquant popcorn, another savory option that was really successful in its flavor delivery, earning it the top spot on the list.

Though I did enjoy those popcorn options that promised and delivered on big flavors, I also enjoyed those that kept it simple but did so well. The movie theater popcorn is the best example of such a success. Despite having a simple, buttery flavor with no drizzles or other additions, I still ranked this popcorn third overall because the flavor was still quite tasty. I also didn't favor sweet or savory popcorn varieties either way but rather considered them equally, trying to offer fair representation to those snackers who might prefer one flavor profile over another. Though a savory popcorn ultimately took the top slot, a sweet popcorn came in a close second, so it's safe to say that Trader Joe's has bagged popcorn flavors that successfully cater to just about anyone's taste buds.