• I'm originally from the UK, but now I live in the US and absolutely love shopping at Trader Joe's.
• I love Trader Joe's frozen silver-dollar pancakes and Mandarin-orange chicken.
• The chain's seaweed snacks and frozen jasmine rice are also staples in my house.

Although I'm a Brit who has lived in the US for over a decade, I'm still pretty enamored by Trader Joe's.

A real-estate agent introduced me to the American chain when I moved here from Singapore many years ago, and I fell in love with the variety of fun freezer staples and delicious snacks you can't find anywhere else.

Here are my favorite things to buy at Trader Joe's for my family of four.

Trader Joe's tasty pastry bites with feta and caramelized onions are great for entertaining.

I love entertaining, but sometimes I don't have time to make food from scratch, so Trader Joe's is my go-to for quick and easy frozen appetizers.

Its pastry bites with feta and caramelized onions are my favorite. They take 10 minutes to bake in the oven and taste homemade.

I keep a few boxes in the freezer for emergencies.

The maple-pecan clusters cereal is a great breakfast on school days.

My daughter is hooked on Trader Joe's maple-pecan clusters cereal. She'll have a bowl with milk for breakfast and usually another as an after-school snack.

The cereal contains clusters made of oats and pecans, cornflakes, and multigrain flakes.

I usually stock up on these when I see them since they don't last long in my house.

Trader Joe's fig-and-olive crisps are a real crowd-pleaser.

Trader Joe's crunchy fig-and-olive crisps are great for elevating a cheese plate, and I bring them out every time we entertain.

They contain dried mission figs from California, brined Kalamata olives, and flax, sesame, and sunflower seeds.

These tasty crackers pair well with Brie and goat cheese, too.

The Dorot Gardens frozen crushed-garlic cubes speed up cooking prep.

I regularly use garlic, but don't enjoy peeling and crushing it — it's fiddly and hard to get the smell off your hands.

So, I love the Dorot Gardens frozen, hassle-free garlic cubes because you simply pop them into the pan for instant flavor. A cube is equivalent to one clove of garlic.

I keep a couple of boxes in the freezer and use them in everything, from soups to stir-fries.

I add organic roasted-seaweed snacks to my kids' lunchboxes.

Trader Joe's organic crunchy seaweed sheets are one of my go-to savory lunchbox snacks, as my kids love them.

I've seen them come in several flavors, including original, sesame, and my kids' favorite, teriyaki.

Trader Joe's frozen silver-dollar pancakes are a quick and easy breakfast for busy weekends.

I love making pancakes or waffles on the weekend, but between my kids' sports and other activities, mornings are often a rush.

So, I keep a box of Trader Joe's bite-sized silver-dollar pancakes in the freezer.

You heat them in the microwave for a minute, then add your favorite toppings, like maple syrup or banana slices and Nutella. They're so easy to prepare that my kids often do it themselves.

Trader Joe's Mandarin-orange chicken is an easy weeknight dinner and a family favorite.

When my husband and I don't want to cook after work, the award-winning Mandarin-orange chicken is a quick and easy weeknight entrée. A bag is enough for my family of four.

We simply bake the battered chicken for 20 minutes, heat the orange-ginger sauce in a pan, then combine and serve.

It's easy to see why it's been voted Trader Joe's best product by shoppers for several years.

The frozen chocolate lava cakes are always a hit.

I'm usually not a fan of chocolaty desserts, but Trader Joe's gooey, chocolate lava cakes are irresistible. My kids love them with whipped cream.

I often stash these in the freezer to whip out for last-minute entertaining since they can be microwaved.

Trader Joe's organic jasmine rice makes weeknight cooking a breeze.

Trader Joe's organic rice is a real time-saver and a freezer staple.

Stick a precooked, frozen pack in the microwave for three minutes, and you'll have fluffy rice that's ready to eat.

It's the perfect accompaniment for the Mandarin-orange chicken — I usually use two pouches for the four of us.

It's way more expensive than a regular bag of rice, but the ease of preparing it makes it worth it.

My kids love the Joe's Diner mac and cheese.

Joe's Diner mac and cheese is always a hit with my kids. It's the ideal meal when we're in a rush after school and they need a quick, tasty dinner.

Creamy, cheesy, and flavorful, this pasta contains cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, and Havarti. I keep one or two boxes in the freezer to whip out in a hurry.

I love Trader Joe's great selection of fresh flowers that don't break the bank.

Having fresh flowers in my home always puts a smile on my face, so I usually add a bouquet to my shopping cart.

The store usually has a mix of everything, from classic roses to mixed bouquets of all sizes.

The lilies are my favorite — they're affordable, smell divine, and last a while.

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This story was originally published in July 2022 and most recently updated on March 31, 2026.

Read the original article on Business Insider