It's clear that fall is right around the corner when Starbucks starts selling those world renowned PSL's, but why is no one fan-girling over pumpkin Trader Joe's items? Being pumpkin lovers ourselves, we can assure you that Trader Joe's is THE place for everything pumpkin-flavored, scented, and spiced this fall season. And yes, you can take our word on this one. We hunted up and down every aisle of the Holy Land for all the seasonal pumpkin items, taste-tested 'em all, and have gathered our opinions to share with our fellow pumpkin lovers out there.
We hope this article serves as a guide for your next grocery run so you don't have to go as pumpkin-crazy as we did for this article. Or, go just as pumpkin-crazy. We won't judge.
Breakfast Foods:
Pumpkin Bagels- Sometimes, you just really need a bagel. And Trader Joe's pumpkin bagel, especially when paired with a healthy shmear of their new Pumpkin Cream Cheese, is the perfect treat to start off your fall season right.
Pumpkin Cereal Bar- They weren't great, they weren't terrible. A little sweet and a little sticky. Not our top recommendation, but not too bad.
Pumpkin Seed Granola- I was biased coming into this one, as this is my go-to granola for yogurt, açai bowls, or just for a quick breakfast. It has the perfect crunch and it's not too sweet.
Pumpkin O's- Unfortunately, not our favorite purchase. The pumpkin flavor is a bit off, and each piece is coated with a sugar crust. Wouldn't recommend.
Pumpkin Toaster Pastries- These Trader Joe's brand poptarts are interesting. The pastry base is much thicker and chewier than a normal one, but if you are already a fan of the base, you'll probably enjoy these. The pumpkin flavor is spot-on, and I would recommend if you already enjoy Trader Joe's poptarts.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread- When paired with the pumpkin bagels, the combo is the ultimate fall breakfast. The pumpkin cream cheese has just the right amount of pumpkin where it's not overpowering, but also not invisible. Spread on a normal bagel is a strange sensation, I would definitely recommend on top of the pumpkin bagels.
Pumpkin Greek Nonfat Yogurt- Wow. I am not a fan of normal greek yogurt, but I would buy this version any day. Especially when paired with the granola mentioned earlier, it's amazing.
La Colombe Pumpkin Spice Draft Latte- This is on the same playing field as the Pumpkin O's. The pumpkin flavor was like someone dusted pumpkin on there, and you are struggling to find it. The whole coffee in a can concept was a bit foreign to me in general (and I'm a coffee fanatic). Overall, would not recommend.
Pumpkin Waffles- Yes. Just, yes. 10/10, I would buy these any day of the week, any season in the year.
This Pumpkin Walks Into A Bar- These cereal bars were more like fig newtons. Not the worst thing I tried, but I wouldn't go out and purchase them. There are definitely better pumpkin options than these.
Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix- I think they taste the exact same as the pumpkin waffles from the box. If you want the same flavor, but the experience of making your breakfast, I'd recommend.
Lunch/Dinner Foods:
Pumpkin Tortilla Chips- These did not taste too pumpkin-y, and I think they were fine, but don't waste your money on them when they taste so similar to regular tortilla chips.
Pepita Salsa- This was by far the best lunch/dinner pumpkin purchase. This salsa (for lack of a better word) takes the cake. It was the perfect combination of sweet and savory, and it was a nice change from normal salsa. Highly recommend.
Pumpkin Butternut Squash Bisque- This was very disappointing. It simply tasted like butternut squash soup, which is very tasty, but there was no pumpkin present. You might as well buy normal butternut squash bisque and save your money on the novelty of this item.
Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli- These hands down had the most unexpected taste out of everything. They're like someone made the regular pasta part of ravioli and filled it with pumpkin pie filling. So they were sweet, and felt more like a dessert item than dinner. You could put any sauce on them (maple syrup, pasta sauce) and it would work.
Fall Zucchette Pasta- This was pretty underwhelming. Though it's not a directly pumpkin-related item, we figured we'd review it just in case. And I gotta say, it's just normal pasta. There's nothing fall about it.
Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce- This was similar to the pasta in that it simply tasted like normal pasta sauce. I would not recommend.
Desserts:
Pumpkin Joe Joe's- Wow. Just wow. Oreo's could never. A sweet pumpkin cream sandwiched between two crispy cookies, which taste very similar to the infamous Biscoff cookies. Nothing wrong with these babies, that's for sure.
Petite Pumpkin Spice Cookies- If this were a pumpkin spice Olympics, these cookies would win gold. The cookie itself is a yummy sugar cookie base, but the icing, oh the icing, is what puts it over the top. They're not sickly, but they also satisfy a sweet tooth without feeling ~too~ guilty.
Pumpkin Ice Cream- At first mouthful, it's not too bad. Pretty sweet, and definitely tastes like pumpkin. However, the more you eat it, the more sickly sweet it gets, and it eventually gets nauseating. I would only recommend this item to people who are die-hard pumpkin fans and would never get sick of the flavor.
Pumpkin Butter- This item should be marketed more as a jam or jelly, because the consistency is closer to that than of butter. I give it a 0/10 because it was just not good. There's no eloquent way to describe it other than after a few bites of it smeared on the pumpkin bagel, I threw out the whole jar.
Note- we did not try the pumpkin cheesecake they had because neither one of us like cheesecake, so it would've been biased.
Pumpkin Rolls- I saved the best for last with this one. The rolls were very easy to make, it took about 30 minutes in total. The warm rolls fresh out of the oven combined with the sweet, pumpkin-y icing were to die for. If you buy one thing from this article, buy either these or the bagels.
We Pumpkin-Promise
This article idea was truly a journey. From galavanting up and down the aisles of Trader Joe's, to lugging all the pumpkin goodies back home, to feasting, we got the full experience. We hope our reviews help you make more informed choices before putting on the pumpkin-colored goggles and going wild. Happy fall!