The Trader Joe's Shrimp Product You Should Avoid Buying According To Customers

Most people love shopping at Trader Joe's for seasonal products, easy-to-heat frozen entrees, and prepared foods to eat on the go. However, not all of TJ's conveniently prepared meals and snacks taste as good as they look. Next to the five items you should never buy at Trader Joe's, including the organic mayonnaise and frozen pie crust, TJ's Spring Rolls with Shrimp is another item you may want to leave on store shelves. According to certain customers across social media platforms like Reddit and TikTok, these prepared rolls are disappointing in more ways than one, from taste to texture.

Factually speaking, at Trader Joe's, a pack of (two) Vietnamese shrimp spring rolls with cashew dipping sauce costs $5.99. Besides shrimp, they contain ingredients like mung bean noodles, carrots, red cabbage, and spearmint. When it comes to how they taste, one customer on Reddit claimed that the rolls are both dry and bland, and gave them a 4/10 rating. The cashew dipping sauce has more mixed reviews, with one user on TikTok finding the sauce to be surprisingly tart and almost spicy. Another person made a point to mention that Vietnamese spring rolls are traditionally made with a sweeter peanut sauce as opposed to a sour-tasting, cashew-based condiment.

While you may be able to pump up the overall flavor of these lackluster rolls with one of the many Trader Joe's seasonings that deserve a spot in your spice cabinet, their unreliable texture is another factor worth considering. Unfortunately, the texture and presentation of each batch proves to be unpredictable at best.

Believe it or not, the taste of TJ's shrimp spring rolls isn't what bothers people the most. In terms of their consistency, certain customers find the rolls to be gummy, messy, and hard to eat. More specifically, one Vietnamese reviewer on TikTok felt like the rolls were overly thick and chewy, suspecting they had been kept too long in cold storage. Even people who enjoy the taste of TJ's shrimp rolls seem to have trouble keeping the rolls intact.

Part of the problem is that traditional spring rolls should be consumed on the day they're prepared for the best taste and texture. While rice paper wrappers need water to become pliable, this added moisture eventually lessens and may cause tears in prepared foods like spring rolls.

Another factor customers seem to have an issue with in regards to these prepared rolls is the cost. While one container of shrimp spring rolls comes with two rolls, both rolls together are only 240 calories. Customers find the rolls to be more of a light and refreshing snack than a meal. Though paying $5.99 for two spring rolls may not seem outrageously steep, the cost may also feel more jarring to those who regularly buy TJ's meals like the frozen beef, cheese, and bean burritos for under $5. All in all, you may have better luck making your own Vietnamese shrimp summer rolls and peanut sauce at home.