Are Trader Joe’s Best Bakery Items In Its Freezer Aisle?

Baked goods and the freezer mix well. There, I said it! That might sound like sacrilege, but honestly, your deep freeze is your best friend when it comes to storing loaves of bread or bagels past a couple of days – and I defy anyone to tell me that a few slices of frozen sourdough placed in the toaster, if stored correctly and not for too long, don’t taste almost the same as bread toasted fresh. Where I do concede that fresh is better, though, is with more complicated baked goods, like pastries: A freshly baked croissant or kringle is a thing of beauty. One stored at subzero temperatures and partially covered in ice crystals…is not. 

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Unless you’re getting them from Trader Joe’s, that is. Customers have routinely been stunned by the quality of its frozen croissants, and it’s time we showed them some respect. 

Trader Joe’s Frozen Croissants

We were reminded anew of the quality of Trader Joe’s frozen croissants a few days ago, when I was scouring its subreddit and found a thread in praise of them. “The frozen almond croissants are SO FIRE,” said the Redditor, and the floodgates subsequently opened, with people chiming in in agreement. “I was so skeptical because a croissant just doesn’t seem like something that could possibly be good frozen, but I totally agree,” said another person. “Finally tried them, and I’m obsessed!”

Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants have received similar praise from Trader Joe’s customers, with people saying they’re better than the ones they’d get at their local bakery. Words and phrases like “exceptional” and “next level” are thrown around fairly routinely when describing them – and it also helps that they’re not outrageously expensive. At $5.99 for a four-pack, there are cheaper options out there, but you’re not paying café prices here. 

So, Why Are They So Good?

Unlike a lot of other frozen pastries, Trader Joe’s frozen croissants require a proofing stage: You have to leave them out overnight, allowing them to come to room temperature and swell in size. This makes them lighter, with the butter layers separating, giving the croissants a better crisp and an airier texture. Although this requires an extra step, it brings them closer in line with the kind you’d find in a bakery – but unlike in a bakery, where croissants may sit for a few hours before being served, you get to eat these straight away. This doesn’t mean that Trader Joe’s doesn’t do great fresh bakery items (the cherry almond kringle it’s been stocking recently is testament to that), but these croissants are undeniably a winner.