14 Trader Joe's Nuts, Ranked Worst To Best

Despite living almost an hour away from Trader Joe's, I do consider myself to be a TJ's aficionado. The store doesn't just have staple frozen products that fuel your simple weeknight dinners, but it also carries a bounty of wacky, only-at-Trader-Joe's items. Its nut section is the perfect balance of this; it's both simple and plain and downright eclectic. While most grocery stores carry basic nuts, like almonds, cashews, and mixed nuts, you'd be hard-pressed to find a bag of honey sesame cashews, mesquite-smoked almonds, or chili lime cashews in a store besides Trader Joe's.  

I'm no stranger to the Trader Joe's nut aisle, but I wanted to see whether my top picks would remain my top picks after I had sampled more of its nutty offerings. So I packed up my reusable bags and made my pilgrimage to the nearest Trader Joe's to sample and rank its nuts. Since Trader Joe's has so many nut-adjacent products, I excluded anything that may be considered a trail mix (meaning it includes fruits, chocolate, and/or olives ... which one mix I accidentally grabbed did have), and focused on the nuts-only varieties. These selections span a spectrum from wacky, unique flavors to sensible coffee table staples. As I snacked, I ranked each of the nuts based on their flavor, quality, and how well the seasoning balanced the core nutty element. 

Trader Joe's has very few "miss" products. This Everything but the Bagel (EBTB) Nut Duo, however, is one of them. I was on the EBTB train for a while and bought these nuts years ago thinking that they would be something niche and punchy and fun. And, I hate to see that Trader Joe's hasn't improved this product, because it does have the potential to be an absolute knockout. While other products, like the sesame honey cashews, were positively loaded with seasonings, this one is like a musty, dusty bite. There isn't much EBTB seasoning to see here; the cashews and almonds are coated with just enough for a slight crunch, but not enough to convince me what flavor they were if I were blindfolded. The onion and the garlic are noticeably absent, and I was craving a bit more salt.

The only good thing about these nuts is that when you eat them together, you get the softness of the cashews and the crunch of the roasted-but-not-quite-enough almonds. They're a definite skip. 

Black pepper is an ingredient best enjoyed in small doses. On kettle chips? Fine. In baked goods? Fine. Absolutely covering a bag of garlic-less almonds? Not fine. 

Weirdly enough, the black pepper on Trader Joe's Garlic and Black Pepper Almonds translated more as sweet than it did hot. It was enough black pepper to make my nostrils uneasy, and I had one single almond before I put down the bag and said, "Nope, not for me." I suppose if you wanted a nut that was spicy without being spicy in the conventional sense, it could be a good option? But when black pepper is the only flavor at play, since garlic decided to fly the coop, it makes for a bite that I just don't want to be a part of. The nuts also weren't as crunchy as they could have been, but that's secondary to the fact that the seasoning here was out of whack. Turns out Veruca Salt isn't the only bad nut after all. 

The last thing I was expecting to see on my Trader Joe's nut haul were literal Makrut lime leaves (also called kaffir lime) in a bag of almonds, but here we are. These Thai Lime and Chili Almonds bear some resemblance to the other cashew products from the grocer, but only these nuts boast dried lime leaves in them, as well as the seasonings like lemongrass, lime oil, and dried chili peppers. I can't say including the whole dried leaves was a good decision as they kind of taste like an accidental bay leaf left in a simmering soup — woody and wholly out of place. The lime flavor itself is absent until the end, when I got a brief glimpse of it before my tongue was left prickled by the chili. These nuts aren't inherently as spicy as the bag suggests they'll be, so I could see them having appeal among some spice-loving snackers. 

In short, these nuts just didn't impress me. It's like Trader Joe's just wanted to check an "international nut" option box, rather than engineer a quality product that had more going on than just spice. It's not a bad snack — it's just not a good one. 

I love garlic-seasoned things, so I was excited to see what Trader Joe's could bring to the table with its Chile and Garlic Cashews. I would definitely say that these were the spiciest nuts of the lot, though even I (someone who doesn't absolutely love spice) wasn't tempted to grab a sip of water afterward. The garlic flavor is suggestive — not really as punchy as I was expecting (and at this point, craving) it to be. Trader Joe's uses garlic oleoresin (as well as onion and capsicum oleoresin) in its nuts, which are like an essence and an oil combined. I suspect this is why most of the garlic flavor in these nuts is stale and dull rather than punchy. Interestingly enough, Trader Joe's also uses more onion powder in its recipe than it does garlic powder, so I think that these nuts would be better named "savory chile" rather than "chile garlic." That way, it wouldn't get customers' hopes up. 

The spiciness was nice, I guess, but these nuts still didn't do much for me. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a bag of them, considering Trader Joe's has so many better cashews (and nuts as a whole). 

Trader Joe's clearly devotes most of its nut space to savory offerings, but that doesn't mean there can't be a few sweet ones to make up its ranks. This includes the Coconut Flavored Almonds, which are a treat I admit I've never seen on its shelves prior to this review. These little almonds are coated in a brown-sugar, toffee-like coating with a light dusting of coconut. It's not enough coconut that your palate is overwhelmed, and the primary texture here is the sugary shell on the outside of the nuts — not coconut. The coconut essence is suggestive, which I was glad to see, as coconut can be a very overwhelming flavor that can be sunscreen-y if used too heavy-handedly. Some almonds are more coated than others, and when you get the coconut and the brown sugar shell together, it's almost like biting into a Samoas Girl Scout cookie, sans the chocolate.

The sugar shell on the outside of the nuts is very hard and almost uncomfortable to eat. I also think it's too sweet and hides the nut underneath. If Trader Joe's dialed back the sweetness and added some chocolate it could have a winner on its hands.

It amazes me that Trader Joe's completely dropped the ball on its Thai Lime and Chili Almonds, but did comparatively well with these cashews. Maybe it's because the softness of the cashews helped absorb more of that lime flavor, because it's definitely more prevalent in these nuts than it is in the almonds. The chili note didn't really hit me at first, until I had a few and felt the sensation of Pop Rocks on the tip of my tongue. It's that kind of spice and heat that lingers, though not in an overwhelming or unpleasant way. Their flavor is much more well balanced than the chili-adjacent flavors that came before it.

While these nuts weren't bad for mindless snacking per se, I do wish that the lime flavor was more fresh (like Takis). Perhaps more garlic or lemongrass could also help lighten up the bite. As it stands, these nuts are heavier on the palate than they should be, though the chili does liven things up a little. If you like spice, they're worth trying, but I don't think they're so good that anyone should rush out tomorrow and buy a bag. 

Trader Joe's Candied Pecans are one of the most unique options on this list, mainly because they don't fit into the savory camp — but also because they're a nut more commonly used for topping things. While the savory selections on this list are really only useful for snacking, these candied pecans are just as comfy perched atop a sweet maple frosted cupcake as they are incorporated into a sweet snack mix or an autumnal salad. I usually don't like candied pecans because the sweetness is overwhelming and relentless. Trader Joe's takes the high road here and instead lets the natural freshness of the pecan shine. It's sweet, just enough to convince me it leans sweet rather than savory, and the crunch on the exterior is divine. 

However, I just don't get the compelling urge to eat handful after handful of these nuts. They have a time and place in the snacking world, but amid a sea of more unique Trader Joe's offerings, they just can't compete.

Trader Joe's does carry some nut options for folks who don't want to explore too far beyond their comfort zone. This snack mix is made of roasted and salted cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, and pecans. It's very basic, very easy to eat, and it shows that Trader Joe's knows its stuff when it comes to all things nuts. The nuts in this mix are all high-quality, crunchy, and not overly salty. This would be a good snack mix to put out if you're hosting a party or if you like keeping a little serving out on your coffee table for when the mood arises. 

Despite the basicness of this snack mix, it shows that Trader Joe's isn't afraid to recalibrate and focus on offering its customers quality — not just out of the box — products. That being said, this mix wasn't anything cosmic and lacks the same snackability as the top-ranked options. But I certainly wouldn't complain if a tin found its way to a coffee table near me. 

Honey-roasted nuts are not uncommon, though they are a step up from a plain snack mix. Trader Joe's adds roasted and salted macadamia nuts and cashews to this party. The macadamia nuts are definitely more honey-forward than the cashews, though they aren't so sweet that you want to stop eating them after three bites. The saltiness isn't really present on either of the nuts, and if anything, it just serves to intensify the sweetness, rather than balance it. 

These aren't the best roasted macadamia nuts I've ever had (considering I've eaten them freshly roasted on a trip to Hawaii), but they are pretty darn passable for a packaged nut mix. While they lack some of the "fun" factor as the higher-ranking selections on this list, I don't think you should discount them for being boring. They're still a great option and would be an excellent addition to your snacking routine — there are just ones that were more compelling. 

The concept is simple: cinnamon and brown sugar cashews topped with just a little bit of honey — but it's so well-executed that Trader Joe's deserves a pat on the back for it. These nuts are exactly like the roasted nuts I remember getting from the general store as a kid. They have that same sweet aroma and familiar, but still decadent flavor. They're not as overtly sweet as the Coconut Flavored Almonds, and they don't miss the "caramel" note as much as the next-highest ranked nuts. But they still have just enough sweetness to get by, and I can definitely appreciate them for that. 

I was really conflicted about where to place these nuts on my list, as they are plain and not as snackable as the nuts that ranked above them. If you want to get out of your comfort zone and try a nut that's not exactly "plain," but hasn't received Trader Joe's entire whimsy treatment, they're a good place to start. 

Trader Joe's is a brand that does coffee-flavored things quite well; its coffee granola is one of my favorite breakfast items to buy from it. These almonds look positively decadent; they almost shimmer in the bag and practically beg me to take a handful of them. On the first taste (and whiff), the coffee notes are very prevalent. The caramel isn't as prominent, which is not really what I expected from the brand. The outside of the nuts us crunchy, slightly bitter, and gives way easily to a quality almond center. But where is that caramel? 

There is a subtle sweetness going on with these almonds, but I can't really pinpoint its flavor as being very caramel-forward. If I'm being honest, I don't miss it, seeing as I'm here for the coffee and the coffee only (oh, and the nuts — this is a nut ranking after all), but I can't rank this product any higher if it doesn't deliver on its flavor promises. However, it was still the "sweet" nut that sent my hand back for handful after handful. 

I've had the Sesame Honey Cashews before and I'll admit that they have grown on me a lot since I first tried them. These nuts are absolutely covered in sesame seeds, unlike some of the other "lightly dusted" nuts at the grocer (cough, cough, EBTB), and that subtle honey sweetness adds a little hint of sugar, without making this a super sweet nut. As a result, you can get a couple of handfuls of these nuts before finally putting the bag down for good. I can appreciate, as someone who works with sesame seeds often, that Trader Joe's was very intentional not to make the sesame seeds crusting the exterior of these nuts taste "burnt." Instead, they give off a slightly umami essence that really elevates the whole snack. 

However, I do still associate this bag with being a snack, rather than a nut, because Trader Joe's doesn't allow that natural cashew flavor to shine. It shrouds it in, admittedly delicious, seasonings, but it takes away from the nut flavor underneath a little too much for my liking.

If there was one thing I wanted every person who had never been to Trader Joe's to know it's that the brand is absolutely unapologetic with its flavors. Such is the case with its Ranch-Seasoned Cashews, which blow the tails off some of their other savory (and sweet) competitors. And this is a very big compliment coming from me — a person who doesn't really like ranch all that much. These cashews are like taking a mouthful of buttermilk powder, mixed with all of the familiar spices you'd expect to see in a ranch seasoning mix. 

Unlike some of the other nuts on this list, Trader Joe's doesn't lose sight that there are cashews beneath all that seasoning — cashews that are fresh and deserve to be highlighted just as much as any other nut. This is a super likable bag of nuts, and I will be picking it up on future trips to this beloved grocer. It just doesn't have the textural "wow" factor as my top pick. 

I had a hunch that these Mesquite Smoked Seasoned Almonds were going to soar above the competition in this race, mainly because I have been a devoted follower of them since the beginning. They got me through a lot of my college years, as they were the perfect snack to shovel into my mouth on my way to class or practice. As you can see by the bag, these nuts are heavily coated in a savory, smoky seasoning. It's so salty, so savory, and a little too overwhelming for someone who doesn't like to have that kind of depth from their snack. But I personally can't get enough of these nuts because while Trader Joe's does zero in on the seasoning, it never loses track of the nutty essence underneath. These nuts are delectably crunchy and so well-seasoned that every bite is filled with very clear and very obvious mesquite flavor. 

I guess I never noticed until I compared the size of the mesquite-smoked almonds to the other nuts that they're so small, but that just means you can eat more of them. You'll want to pack Wet Wipes as they do leave a seasoning trail everywhere you go, but they are worth it.

In order to ensure peak freshness, I sampled each of these nuts on the day I purchased them from Trader Joe's. I excluded trail mixes (meaning products that contained non-nuts) and tried to focus less on the standard, non-seasoned nuts (like plain roasted almonds and cashews) and more on the distinctly Trader Joe's varieties. As a whole, the nuts I sampled were of excellent quality and very fresh, so it was mostly up to the flavor of the nut and its respective seasoning. The seasoning should not only be representative of the flavors listed on the label, but it should also balance the nut it's covering. Whether it leaned sweet or savory, there had to be some sort of tantalizing and snackable quality that sent me back for more (since who only eats one single cashew?). 

The top-ranked nuts on this list were compelling enough to warrant eating a handful of them (and potentially more, as is the case with the Mesquite Smoked Seasoned Almonds). Their seasonings were bold, and they really set themselves apart from the competition based on their complexity, overall flavor balance, and high-quality nut base.