Reddit Is Packed With Trader Joe’s Hacks You Need To Try

Reddit has long been the place where anyone with a stroke of creativity could hop on and share their bright ideas with the masses. And, typically, it’s nothing over the top or too polished. It’s simple hacks that real people could use in their own lives. So, it makes sense that the thread r/traderjoes would be lush with good ideas to bring their typical groceries into a whole new light. Trader Joe’s is already one of the best grocery stores for an easy and satisfying dinner (I mean, their frozen food section is famous for a reason), but Reddit is taking it to a whole other level. These are the three best hacks we found that we can’t wait to try out for our next lazy meal at home.

Videos by Sporked

Frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken Hack

The frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joe’s is as essential of a Trader Joe’s item as it gets. It’s their most popular frozen food for a reason: it’s not only delicious, but the value and versatility make it unmatched. But, it’s essential to keep your mind open in order to really make the most of their potential.

Reddit suggests taking the orange chicken and making it in the air fryer at 400 degrees for between 10-15 minutes. Not only is this going to make them extra crispy, but if you throw out the sauce packet they become perfect little nuggets for you to conquer dinner with. From barbecue to Buffalo, the possibilities are endless.

Cereal For Dessert

The Strawberry Yogurt O’s are already one of our favorite cereals from Trader Joe’s. It’s not that they’re super packed with strawberry flavor, but rather that they have that subtle strawberry milk essence that’s deeply reminiscent of childhood. Plus, the little chunks of freeze dried strawberry and yogurt throughout give it a nice variation throughout. This cereal is one we simply keep coming back to.

But r/traderjoes enlightened us to the fact that we haven’t been maximizing this cereal’s potential. You see, cereal is sweet in its own special way that never gets questioned in its appropriateness for breakfast. And hey, we’re not going to start today. But, it should be mentioned that cereal makes a great base for a simple, no fuss dessert, too.

Add some of the frozen chocolate covered strawberries or bananas into the bowl of cereal, cover with milk (or maybe even chocolate milk if you’re looking to max out on the chocolate strawberry combo), and voilà! In a mere matter of seconds you can have a sweet and satisfying sweet treat that spices it up from your typical cake, cookies, and ice cream dessert patterns. And you’ll have a box of our favorite Trader Joe’s cereal on hand to enjoy, too. It’s a win-win.

Frozen Naan Pizzas

Trader Joe’s makes a lot of things well… but I can’t say their frozen pizzas fall into that category. There’s always just something a little bit off. Whether it’s under-seasoned or simply just the wrong texture, we’ve been burned too many times by trying all the different Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas to continue down that path. But, that’s not to say that you can’t make a great pizza from the Trader Joe’s frozen section.

Reddit suggests picking up a pack of their frozen garlic or regular naan and whatever frozen veggies you like on your pizza (the frozen pepper blend sounds especially good to us) before heading over to the refrigerated section. There, pick up a pack of their prepared pesto and mozzarella. Not only is it endlessly customizable as a personal pizza, but you can have the ingredients on hand for anytime that a frozen pizza strikes your fancy without much fuss at all.