Trader Joe’s 16th Annual Customer Choice Awards Winners Are Here

As a recipe developer and, perhaps more importantly, a food-obsessed person, I have a list of must-haves for every grocery store. Kroger has the deli ham I like, while Fresh Market has my favorite cookies, and when it comes to Trader Joe’s, the list of essentials is long.

I know I’m not alone in this—TJ’s has devoted shoppers who anticipate seasonal drops and know to stock up on all their favorites before they sell out (or discontinue).

Every year, Trader Joe’s taps its fanbase to come up with the Customer Choice Awards, which recognize customer favorites from the freezer section to the snack aisle. Some years, there are big upsets, but for its 16th year, the Customer Choice Award winners are mostly repeats, suggesting that, like me, Trader Joe’s customers already know exactly what they like. Here are the winners:

Overall Winner (and Best Snack): Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips

I predict that these wildly popular Taki dupes will soon make their way to the Hall of Fame, as this is their third year straight in the number one spot. It’s easy to see why they’re so popular. With their tangy, lightly spicy flavor, a bag can be hard to put down. Throw in some queso, and these rolled chips disappear fast.

Favorite Trader Joe’s Beverage: Spiced Cider

Last year, Apple Cider, in all its many forms, was the fan favorite TJ’s beverage, but this year, the honor goes to one specific cider, TJ’s seasonal spiced cider, which the store has been selling every fall for the past 20 years. Warmed by all the classic autumnal spices—allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and a hint of orange zest—this sweet (but no sugar added) cider is fine on its own but shines when warmed up and spiked with a shot of rum.

Best Trader Joe’s Cheese: Goat Cheese

TJ’s shoppers know you can’t go wrong with a log of goat cheese, whether its the classic creamy, fresh chèvre, the crumbles, or a cheese-plate-friendly herb-rolled log of goat cheese. But true Trader Joe’s stans anticipate their seasonal favorites, like cranberry chèvre and caramelized onion goat cheese, all year long.

Favorite Trader Joe’s Appetizer: Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Trader Joe’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip has been crowned favorite app yet again, and that’s probably because of the not-so-secret way super fans love to use it—as a pasta sauce. While the dip itself might be a little loose and salty compared to other similar dips, as the jumping-off point for a big bowl of pasta, it’s a well-loved wonder. And its small size makes it a great choice when you just need a little personal crock of dip.

Favorite Trader Joe’s Dessert: Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches

I spend a lot of my Trader Joe’s trips looking for new sweet treats in the frozen dessert section. And while the new and seasonal products are exiting, I must admit that we tend to lean on our favorites, like Hold the Cone and the Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches, which is the Customer Choice award winner again this year. Pro tip: Buy two boxes at a time because these four chocolate-chip studied ice cream cookie sandwiches will go fast.

Best Trader Joe’s Lunch & Dinner: Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice

Guess who’s back? It’s TJ’s frozen butter chicken, a flavorful complete meal that can be ready in under 10 minutes. Rushing to snag a hot, filling lunch? Enter butter chicken. Can’t be bothered to turn on the stove for dinner? Sounds like a job for butter chicken. Throw in some of TJ’s frozen naan and a dollop of chutney, and that’s one less meal you have to worry about.

Most Loved Trader Joe’s Produce: Teeny Tiny Avocados

In a surprise upset, TJ’s bananas have been unseated as top produce pick by the store’s wee avocados. If you’ve ever thrown away half of an avocado after letting it go brown on the counter, you will instantly understand the appeal of these slightly smaller avocados (about the size of a lime), which are the perfect portion for avocado toast or a single serving of huevos rancheros. 

Best Trader Joe’s Breakfast and Brunch Item: Hashbrowns 

Hashbrowns are easy to love, so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that these frozen hashbrowns are wildly popular, often selling out. These restaurant-quality potato patties come to life when prepared in an air fryer (but you can also heat them on the stovetop or in the oven). At $2.79 for 10 hashbrowns, this affordable breakfast and brunch item is a very good deal worth stocking up on. 

Favorite Non-Food Product: Brazil Nut Body Butter

Winter is a tough time for our skin, between the bitter cold dry air of the outdoors and the heaters we use to keep ourselves toasty, so it’s the perfect time to dip into Trader Joe’s Brazil Nut Body Butter, which takes the honors again this year for favorite non-food product. Highly moisturizing with a silky, not greasy feel, this lotion, which combines shea butter, açai extract, and Brazil nut seed oil, presents a perfumey tropical scent at first that mellows over the course of the day.

Best New Trader Joe’s Item: Cashel Blue Cheese Irish Potato Chips 

Watch out, Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips, there’s a new favorite snack in town. This year, customers chose the funky, salty blue cheese-flavored Irish potato chips as the best new product in the store. Do yourself a favor and grab a bag to accompany a big bowl of buffalo chicken dip at this year’s Super Bowl party.