What to Buy at Trader Joe’s in August

Thank goodness for the anchor that is Trader Joe’s in the discombobulating month that is August. August doesn’t really have any major holidays, some schools start but others are still very much on summer break, it’s hot out but stores start stocking pumpkin spice and Halloween candy. Sometimes it feels like the month’s whole purpose is to keep the general population in a fugue state, teasing fall but keeping it at a distance.

Luckily, our favorite way to pass the time is to explore new items from Trader Joe’s, where August’s nebulous nature hasn’t been a distraction from cranking out inventive, delicious findings that we feel like we can probably bill to our insurance as medicine (for the soul). Maybe we’ve got beach days on the schedule. Maybe we’re packing our kids’ lunches. Maybe you just need to eat. Wait, yes, definitely, you do. Stupid August, confusing us out of basic human needs. TJ’s, we need brain food, stat!

Apricot Shortbread Cookies

Fresh apricots may have a short season, and so, too, do these shortbread cookies. Available for a limited time, they may be your only chance to see apricots that aren’t dried and floating around at the bottom of that backpack you bought for a hike you were totally going to go on except you forgot the new season of Squid Game was dropping that same day. A classic shortbread is great, so imagine how much they’d improve with the addition of freeze-dried apricots and apricot juice concentrate! Except you don’t have to imagine! You can go buy them! You have free will! These are as great for solo snacking as they are on a charcuterie board at your next party, where the mature guests can appreciate the sophisticated take on a classy flavor, and the less mature guests can giggle at how the cookies look like they have a butt on them.

Read our roundup of the best cookies from our taste tests

Black Pepper Barilotti

Barilotti means “barrel” in Italian, but it’s also Sporked for “bring that sweet semolina lovin’ into my mouth.” Crazy how languages work! This pasta is already infused with black pepper, so expect extra flavor and a little tingle with every bite. Whether you want to add some intrigue to your potluck pasta salad or built-in pepe to your cacio e pepe, starting with a black pepper-infused pasta is a sure way to give a dish a leg-up in the flavor department.

Read our ranking of the best alfredo sauce

Hot Honey Popcorn

This is one of the most efficient snacks we’ve ever seen. Spicy, salty, sweet, and savory all at once, the presence of this one snack checks more boxes than our dating profile to anyone looking for self-depricating freelance food writers with a penchant for Trader Joe’s and meta jokes. This isn’t a snack so much as it is a bag full of hundreds of opportunities to enjoy the tactile experience of eating a crispy-yet-airy flavor bomb. Toss back a handful during a movie or graze while you gossip with friends, just make sure you take a meditative moment at the end of the day to reflect on how lucky we are to have hot honey popcorn in our lives. 

Read our ranking of the best bagged popcorn

Deli Sandwich Style Potato Chips

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a bag of potato chips to layer into his deli sandwich. But that whole definitely-taken-verbatim statement is a little antiquated. Look at the progress that’s been made breaking down the constraints that confine fortune to only the men! Thankfully, we’ve made more progress in expanding deli flavors. Now, chips themselves have those same notes of ham, dill pickle, cheese, and mustard. They can stand alone as a snack or accompany a sandwich for double the deli sandwich fun! Take a third sandwich and blend it up to wash everything down. See how many ways you can consume those flavors, then ask yourself if the bit was worth it. Hey, at least you know these chips already have the Sporked seal of approval (with a solid 8.5/10 Sporks)!

Read our review of Trader Joe’s Deli Sandwich Style Potato Chips

Black Sesame Mochi

If there’s one thing we’re always saying, it’s that there’s not enough black sesame stuff out there. Well that, and “I wish there was a way to nap and eat at the same time, because I hate deciding between my two loves.” Science hasn’t quite figured out the latter (though we’re sure TikTok is right on the brink), but we’re happy TJ’s addressed the former. The ice cream and the mochi are infused with ground black sesame seeds, giving it a nutty flavor, an addictive hint of savory, and a black hue that make this the perfect aesthetic snack for Wednesday Addams. 

Read our ranking of the best mochi ice cream