6 Best Trader Joe's Appetizers For Holiday Hosting

When it comes to throwing stress-free holiday get-togethers, aside from preparing a handful of homemade recipes, offering your guests a variety of pre-made appetizers and snacks is essential. Fortunately, Trader Joe's has a longstanding reputation for housing a wide range of easy-to-prepare snacks and fun seasonal foods centered around every major holiday. 

Sure enough, if you've been on the hunt for festive appetizers to enjoy this holiday season, Trader Joe's has you covered. Whether you're looking to build the ultimate charcuterie board at Trader Joe's or simply feed your guests a variety of specialty snacks, TJ's always has a mixture of reliable staples and fun new items worth adding to your cart. If you're a weekly TJ's shopper, then you're already familiar with the store's epic variety of frozen snacks that are beyond easy to heat and serve. Though, next to regularly grabbing a few boxes of Trader Joe's frozen Mac and Cheese Bites and the brand's Greek Spanakopita, you may also enjoy the store's vast selection of cheeses which are near the brand's colorful assortment of refrigerated dips and spreads.

However, beyond the staple, appetizer-friendly foods that are available at Trader Joe's day-in and day-out, there are more and more products making their way to stores near you — especially throughout the months of November and December. While there are countless new products to consider, here are six of the best Trader Joe's appetizers you need to try this holiday season.

Instead of risking the pimento cheese mistake you should avoid when making this cheese-based appetizer, save yourself time and effort with Trader Joe's new, limited time cheeseball spread. While TJ's Totally Cheeseball Cheese Spread is not the same as pimento cheese, it does contain both Trader Joe's cheddar and Syrah Toscano cheeses.

Better yet, these two distinct cheeses are mixed together with extra ingredients like parsley, garlic, and almonds to create an ultra-savory cheeseball flavor that pairs well with crostini, fresh sliced vegetables, and Trader Joe's Pita Bite Crackers.

Considering the range of Trader Joe's nuts ranked worst to best, the newest seasonal variety rests among the brand's top contenders — especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner. Next to Trader Joe's Caramel Coffee Almonds and Cinnamon Sugar Cashews made with honey and brown sugar, the niche grocer recently started offering a maple-spiced nut mix just in time for the holidays.

Trader Joe's maple-spiced nuts include maple and rosemary-infused almonds and pecans along with pepitas and dried cranberries for an extra bit of sweetness. Feel free to serve bowls of this signature mixture during a pre-dinner holiday cocktail hour or add some to your next snack board filled with various meats, cheeses, and crackers.

If you're looking to add more sweet snacks to your appetizer spread this holiday season, grab a container of Trader Joe's smooth and creamy cranberry orange spread. It can serve as a fruity foil to three-ingredient pumpkin spice truffles, made with crushed gingersnaps, pumpkin pie mix, and melted white chocolate,

This new seasonal dip is composed of cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and sour cream, and infused with tart cranberries and sweet orange puree. Pair Trader Joe's Cranberry Orange Dip with sliced apples, cinnamon-sugar-dusted pita chips, or homemade graham crackers.

For another unexpected food item that could lean on the sweeter side, Trader Joe's Baked Lemon Ricotta Cheese is one of those seasonal items TJ's shoppers look for every holiday season. This one-of-a-kind ricotta cheese is mixed with lemon peel, lemon extract, and sugar and then baked, giving it a spongey, almost cheesecake-like texture.

Especially when situated between dried fruit, nuts, and crostini, this bright, citrusy cheese is a delicious addition to your go-to lineup of appetizers. Though an added benefit of TJ's lemon ricotta is that it can be consumed in other creative ways. For next level aglio e olio, upgrade your garlic and add a few cubes of this creamy lemon cheese. Or, for dessert, enjoy a few chilled slices with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

If you're after more classic appetizers to serve at your next holiday party, you can't go wrong with a creamy wheel of Brie. Fortunately, Trader Joe's offers two sizes during the holiday season: a classic 8-ounce wheel, which is available year-round, or a larger, 16-ounce wheel, which is offered exclusively during the holiday season.

Perfect for serving a crowd, TJ's 16-ounce wheel of Brie is available for just $9.99. Feel free to wrap it in a few puff pastry sheets and bake it with fruit for your own version of Brie en croûte. Or, utilize the best way to serve Brie cheese, which happens to be at room temperature. Just don't forget the accompanying crackers, pretzels, fruit, and cured meats.

If you enjoy warm and creamy appetizers, you should definitely take advantage of Trader Joe's fried olive bites. These pre-frozen, seasonal snacks are composed of both chopped Castelvetrano and Kalamata olives mixed into a soft dough with a blend of mascarpone, Roquefort, and cream cheeses. 

Since these bites come covered in crispy panko breadcrumbs, they're sure to excite your taste buds with both tangy and creamy flavors as well as creamy and crunchy textures. Next to whipping up a three-ingredient hot onion dip made with mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and chopped onions, Trader Joe's fried olive bites are another easy pre-dinner holiday snack to enjoy with friends and family.