The 9 Best New Trader Joe’s Items for Spring, According to Employees

Here are the must-try products coming to stores now.

There is so much to love about Trader Joe's: the great prices, the unique products, the ever-changing line-up. But one of our favorite things about the store is how forthcoming its employees are with product recommendations—because anyone who's ever been to a store on a Sunday knows things can get overwhelming quite quickly.

On the latest episode of our favorite podcast, "Inside Trader Joe's," hosts Tara Miller and Matt Sloane went over all things spring. The pair shared the most highly-anticipated new and returning products coming to stores as early as this week, and we got the inside scoop. Here's what you should be buying at Trader Joe's this spring, according to the people who work there. Lemon lovers, you're not going to want to miss this.

The Best New Products at Trader Joe’s This Spring

Dulce De Leche Ice Cream

Let's kick it off with the inside scoop on Trader Joe's ice cream. The latest pint arriving to Trader Joe's freezers is a brand-new flavor to stores: Dulce de Leche. The product features caramel-flavored ice cream with a smooth caramel swirl, and, according to the hosts, it would be incredible with a shot of espresso to make an Affogato or topped with Bananas Foster. This is a limited-time product expected to hit stores mid-March.

If you need more convincing to try it (not that you probably do), let host Matt Sloane explain what sets TJ's ice cream apart. In the U.S., ice cream is sold by volume, not weight—but not all pints are created equal. Some are unnecessarily aerated and light, but this one is "heavy...dense and rich," according to Sloane. And that's a good thing—meaning you're getting higher quality ice cream and not paying for air.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Glazed Donut Holes

Speaking of dense and rich, these chocolate donut holes have been the talk of the town—and our team—for the past month since they arrived in stores. That's because the inexplicably delicious and somehow gluten- and dairy-free donut holes have been flying off shelves...and directly into our editors' hearts.

Host Tara Miller says these are "better than most commercially available donut holes I've ever tasted"—gluten or no gluten—and we're inclined to agree. You would never know they come with any qualifiers if the package didn't say so. Several staffers have tried them and found it's entirely too easy to eat an entire package—but is that really a bad thing? Luckily these are sticking around, at least for the time being.

Piquant Popcorn

Next up, a snack you won't be able to put down. This zesty popcorn is seasoned with onion, garlic, sea salt, and nutritional yeast, a seasoning that has an "aged cheese-like flavor," according to Sloane, resembling Parmesan but without any dairy. The umami-rich popcorn is in stores now, and could be a permanent addition to the TJ's snack line-up if the store gets enough good customer feedback on the product.

I was especially excited to try this product because one of my favorite snacks is BjornQorn, a brand of "sun-popped" popcorn seasoned with nutritional yeast. However, BjornQorn can be hard to find, so I was hoping this TJ's could become my new back-up. I'm happy to report that Piquant Popcorn is absolutely delicious, albeit not as cheesy-tasting as BjornQorn, with a more onion-forward flavor. New go-to snack unlocked.

Sicilian Organic Lemon Juice

Another new product is this Sicilian Lemon Juice, here to add some sunshine to your spring dishes. This is a shelf-stable lemon juice made with organic lemons from Sicily, Italy (where they are famous for their more fragrant, sweeter lemons).

Miller explains what sets this lemon juice apart; "Oftentimes the lemon juice that you find in bottles in grocery stores is lemon juice from concentrate, so it's all pressed and concentrated and then reconstituted to be bottled later on. This is freshly pressed and pasteurized." When life gives you Sicilian lemons, make the best lemonade you'll ever have. This is a new permanent product (at least for now) and is arriving in stores as we speak.

Lemon Sheet Cake

Speaking of lemon, here's a returning treat that shocked Trader Joe's employees last year by selling out in two weeks. This is a spring version of the super popular sheet cake some customers have called their "death row meal." As is the case with all of TJ's sheet cakes, they're perfect for parties and even stackable, creating a fancy bakery-quality layer cake in seconds. This one has a light lemon flavor and a sour cream base, making it even more tangy and rich. For just $5.49, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better cake at such a great value.

After last year's record-fast sell-out, the store has more than doubled its inventory of Lemon Sheet Cakes. So, while it's rolling out to stores mid-March, it will (hopefully) be around through May, pending stores' ability to keep it in stock. And psst—it freezes well, so stock up on a few now, while you can.

Cinnamon Danish Twist Pastry

Now for another inside peek at what's coming to the TJ's bakery section. Following the success of the Scandanavian-inspired Brown Sugar Cardamom Buns, Trader Joe's is introducing another product from Denmark. Like a Kringle-meets-cinnamon bun, the large-format Cinnamon Danish Twist Pastry is technically the true Danish version of a Kringle. It features "a round coiled pastry [filled] with cinnamon and custard and sugar" in the shape of a big twisted wreath.

The shareable pastry is even better after 3-5 minutes in the air fryer, according to the hosts. In short, Sloane has this to say for it; "Every cinnamon roll born in a mall food court dreams of achieving this level of deliciousness.

Raspberry Kringle

To round out the bakery section, Trader Joe's Bakery Category Manager, Amy, confirms the Raspberry Kringle (the other kind of Danish Kringle we're more familiar with in the States) will be back in the bakery this spring. If you know anything about about the seasonal O & H Bakery Kringles, they have a cult-like following and tend to sell out fast.

Both the Raspberry Kringle and Cinnamon Danish Twist Pastry will arrive in late March and stick around until Easter and hopefully Mother's Day, if supplies last that long.

Brown Sugar Boba Mochi

Another sweet treat arriving in stores this spring is one like we've never seen before. Each individually packaged candy features a squishy sweet rice flour dough wrapped around a little boba pearl. Texture fans, this one is not to be missed, and you can try it in stores now.

Thai Peanut Satay Sauce

Now for the savory side of the season. This Thai-inspired peanut sauce is now in stores and is making quite the splash on social media. Not surprising, as Miller describes it to be "better than any of the peanut sauces" the store has carried. It features Thai red curry paste to give it a little kick and is, of course, delicious alongside grilled chicken skewers, but I can't stop dreaming about mixing this into noodles for the easiest 2-ingredient dinner ever.

Read the original article on All Recipes.