Trader Joe’s Nut Selection Is Amazing — Here Are Our New Faves

Nuts have so many amazing health benefits: they can help prevent against cardiovascular disease, they may aid in weight loss, they’ve been shown to lower cholesterol… in short, they’re pretty amazing for us all around. But the price-per-pound in most stores can be rather eye-watering, which can keep us from incorporating these tasty little health boosters into as many dishes as we’d like.

Of course, that’s until we discovered the Trader Joe’s nuts section. We’ve been big fans of Trader Joe’s (and their inexpensive, healthy snack options) for a long while, but nowhere is their value really seen like it is when it comes to their nuts. Here are all of our absolutely favorite nut options — including some new items that you may not have tried yet:

Everything But The Bagel Nut Duo

Trader Joe’s is still riding the popularity wave of its iconic Everything But The Bagel Seasoning, a blend of black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, salt, black pepper, and onion, which was introduced in 2017. Currently, you’ll find the seasoning on newer products like Everything But The Bagel Potato Chips, but have you tried the Everything But The Bagel Nut Duo? The nuts include almonds and cashews. The seasoning on the nuts isn’t as salty or strong as the version in the spice jar, but it doesn’t have to be: it’s delicious and the subtlety is appreciated.

Mixed Nut Butter

Get the superpowers of four different nuts in one spoonful or serving of Trader Joe’s Mixed Nut Butter. This is one of the most luxurious-tasting nut butters we’ve ever tried: It’s a blend of dry roasted and salted almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and pecans. We don’t know why we haven’t seen something like this before. It’d be absolute heaven in a smoothie or açaí bowl. A little goes a long way.

Photo Credit: Tamara Palmer

Old Fashioned Blister Peanuts

Leave it to the Trader Joe’s nuts selection to give us blister peanuts, which are shelled and salted peanuts that have been soaked in water before roasting, which somewhat counterintuitively gives them an extra crunch. If you’re a crunch monster, check these out for snacking and making peanut-centric recipes.

Bazaar Basket Snack Mix

This trail mix-esque bag combines the light crunch of dried chickpeas with almonds and pistachios as well as dried apricots and sour cherries. They’re a tasty and healthful treat, but if you were pick out all the delicious sour cherries first, well, that would be a pretty relatable experience.

Guara Almonds

These smooth and supple shelled Spanish almonds are similar in texture to Marcona almonds, which also hail from Spain. Guara almonds are a good substitute for a fraction of the price. Of all of these picks, this one comes with a small warning: Guara almonds are high in healthy fats and they’re also super salty, so if you’re supposed to be watching your sodium levels, be mindful before you start snacking. They’re also rich-tasting and filling, so you may be satiated with a small serving.

Almond Butter Almonds

On the splurge side: Almond Butter Almonds, which sounds ridiculous, but hear us out: these almonds are enveloped in a sweetened almond butter coating that’s a vast improvement over the yogurt-dipped almond phenomenon. If your household is anything like ours, you may have to ration these to make them last longer.

Sweet and Spicy Pecans

Don’t miss one of the all-time faves in the Trader Joe’s nuts section. If you like a little dash of sugar and spice, a small handful of these not-too-sweet, not-too-hot pecans will shoot some flavor electricity into any salad.