Did Trader Joe's Discontinue Its Popular Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes?

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A lot of Trader Joe's items have loyal followings, to put it lightly. Some of these products are downright close to cult status, to the point that it's deeply upsetting when they vanish from store shelves. It's not just that Trader Joe's keeps its prices cheap; the store's items are popular because they're genuinely tasty, fairly low in artificial ingredients, and often contain unique flavors not seen in most other grocery stores. The Taiwanese green onion pancakes are a prime example of all this.

Thin and savory, customers love that these tasty disks can be air-fried to crispy, flaky perfection and dressed up with a variety of sauces, cheeses, and veggies — you name it! The ingredient list is short and sweet as well. To top it off, the pancakes are actually made in Taiwan and inspired by local dim sum scallion pancakes. Being less than $3 a package has helped fuel the fandom, too. But are these popular pancakes even still around?

Customers speculated that Trader Joe's discontinued the Taiwanese green onion pancakes, with many noting on Reddit and TikTok in late 2024 and early 2025 that they had mysteriously vanished from store shelves. While there's been no official announcement from TJ's on what happened here, the beloved pancakes no longer show up in product searches on the Trader Joe's website as of mid-2025. However, before you get too sad over their demise, be sure to check out your local TJ's. The Taiwanese green onion pancakes may be right there in the frozen section because it appears they weren't discontinued after all. Even if they're out again, you may still be able to find a great alternative: the scallion pancakes, or "pajeon."

So many people thought Trader Joe's discontinued its Taiwanese green onion pancakes that some customers were sharing their own alternative recipes online. The pancakes are still missing from the store's online database, and it's unclear if they're firmly back at every location. But, since the pancakes did vanish for at least a short while, what happened?

Truthfully, there could be a host of reasons. To start, popular items are known to sell out occasionally at Trader Joe's. Even so, there has been no Trader Joe's statement on why the pancakes were temporarily missing from stores. What we do know is that the company has experienced supply chain issues in the past, which may be a result of Trader Joe's being very particular about the ingredients used in its food. TJ's also issued a recall for green onions in late 2024, but this appeared to affect produce only, not frozen items containing green onions. Aside from that, there has been speculation that Trader Joe's products may be affected by tariffs, both in terms of pricing and availability. Along with this, Taiwan (again, where the pancakes are actually imported from) is red hot right now as a global supplier of food and manufacturing items, and there's been some supply chain reshuffling. All of these factors could have had an effect on those beloved green onion pancakes, and they could still affect their availability in the future.

If your local TJ's is still missing the Taiwanese green onion pancakes and you're worried that nothing else at Trader Joe's can suffice, fear not. There's always those pajeon scallion pancakes as a close alternative, or the okonomiyaki Japanese vegetable pancakes, a slightly thicker savory pancake that has cabbage, yam, and green onion. 

Going beyond TJ's, you can also find frozen packages of scallion pancakes at most Asian grocery stores. They may not be exactly the same as Trader Joe's version, and they don't come with the quirky, fun atmosphere TJ's is known for, but, if anything, they may taste even more authentic. Trader Joe's Taiwanese version may be famous among shoppers, but the truth is that these types of pancakes are popular across a wide range of Asian cultures. For example, H Mart sells a Korean scallion pancake in its frozen section (among other great items to buy if it's your first trip to H Mart).

Still, some of the best Asian grocery stores in the United States are family-run, non-chain stores and offer a huge variety of ingredients and food products from various Asian countries. A tip before you head to any Asian grocery store in search of pancakes: They go by a lot of different names, often dependent on the specific culture they're from. Common versions you might see include Thai chive cakes, or "kanom gui chai" or "gui chai tod;" Chinese scallion pancakes, or "cong you bing;" and Korean green onion pancakes, or "pajeon." Can't get to a physical store? No problem: You can order the CJ Korean pancake mix and adding some freshly chopped green onions yourself!