Trader Joe's has become a go-to destination for individuals seeking unique, delicious, and budget-friendly low-carb options. For those embracing a ketogenic lifestyle, navigating the grocery aisles can sometimes feel like a daunting task. This comprehensive guide unveils over 90 of the best keto-friendly foods available at Trader Joe's, designed to streamline your shopping experience and ensure you stay on track with your dietary goals. Whether you're a seasoned keto veteran or just embarking on your low-carb journey, this list will provide inspiration and clarity as you fill your cart.
Why Trader Joe's for Keto?
Trader Joe's stands out for several reasons when it comes to keto shopping:
- Unique Selection: TJ's offers a variety of items you might not find at your typical grocery store.
- Affordability: Many keto-friendly products are priced competitively, making it easier to maintain your diet without breaking the bank.
- Organic Options: Trader Joe’s carries a ton of organic offerings.
- Convenience: With pre-packaged and ready-to-eat options, Trader Joe's caters to busy lifestyles.
While Trader Joe's doesn't have a dedicated "keto section," knowing what to look for is key to a successful shopping trip.
Keto Essentials at Trader Joe's: Aisle by Aisle
Let's explore the various sections of Trader Joe's and highlight the must-have keto items in each:
Produce Section: Fresh and Versatile
TJ’s has a smallish produce section, but it’s definitely not lacking! This section is very typical to our regular keto grocery shopping list.
Read also: Trader Joe's Mediterranean Finds
- Avocados: Trader Joe’s Hass avocados are usually $1.59 each, which is actually a bit cheaper than we typically find in our local grocery store.
- Serving: 1 oz.
- Zucchini Spirals: Looking for a pasta fix but want to remain in ketosis? Give these zucchini spirals a try!
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Cauliflower: Cauliflower is an excellent veggie to stock up on if you follow a keto diet.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Frozen Veggies: These frozen veggies from Trader Joe’s are a super convenient way to add some green to your dinner.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Jicama Wraps: After the 2nd or 3rd time using them we really started to love the jicama wraps. They add a nice crunch and freshness to taco night.
- Serving: 1 wrap
Meat & Poultry: Protein Powerhouses
They do have more grass-fed options than your typical Winn Dixie or Publix offers.
- Chicken Drumsticks: These chicken drumsticks are delicious, perfect for some backyard BBQing, a high-protein snack, or a full meal.
- Serving: 3 oz.
- Turkey Breast: This turkey breast is like cold cuts but without the nitrates and nitrites.
- Serving: 1 oz.
- 85% Lean Angus Beef: TJ’s 85% lean angus beef is a staple of our keto Trader Joe’s shopping list.
- Serving: 4 oz.
- Branzino Filets: If you’re looking for a great deal on some lighter meat, we recommend TJ’s branzino filets.
- Serving: 2 oz.
- Uncured Bacon: Bacon is like a keto dieter’s sixth food group. We work bacon into at least one meal a day most days, and this uncured bacon from TJ’s makes us feel good about that.
- Serving: 1 oz.
- Bacon Pieces: I also love that they have uncured bacon pieces. I like to cook these up and add them to roasted brussel sprouts.
- Serving: 1 oz.
- Breadless Egg and Sausage Sandwich: These breadless egg and sausage sandwiches are truly a work of art. They’re super delicious and have just 3g of net carbs per sandwich.
- Serving: 1 sandwich
- Grilled Chicken Strips: These grilled chicken strips are pre-cooked, pre-packaged, and super convenient for the keto dieter on the move or with limited time for meal prep.
- Serving: 3 oz.
- Fully Cooked Pork Belly: Pork belly is honestly one of our favorite meats because it’s super fatty and usually very tender. This fully cooked pork belly is perfect for a quick, no-fuss dinner.
- Serving: 3 oz.
- Chicken Burgers: If we had to use just one word to describe these chicken burgers, it would be “heavenly.” We love the flavor packed into these patties, and they’re ideal for a quick keto snack.
- Serving: 4 oz.
Cheese & Dairy: Low-Carb Delights
I love the assortment of cheeses that TJs has to offer. Not only do they have a bunch of cow’s milk cheese varieties, they also have a bunch of sheep’s milk and goat milk cheese available as well. Even raw milk and grass-fed cheese options! And if that wasn’t good enough, they also have goat cheese cream cheese, goat milk, and goat yogurt.
- Cheese Wraps: These cheese wraps are low carb and are perfect for keto tacos or a small keto wrap.
- Serving: 1 wrap
- Cheese Party Tray: Having guests over and looking for the perfect low carb snack to serve? Pick up this cheese party tray, and no one will be disappointed!
- Kerrygold Butter: Kerrygold butter seems to be a part of every keto dieter’s shopping list, so we were happy to see that Trader Joe’s carried it. It’s just $3.49 for a half pound, and they carry both salted and unsalted varieties.
- Serving: 1 Tbsp.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese: Fresh mozzarella cheese wrapped in uncured prosciutto with no nitrites or nitrates. Need we say more?
Snacks: Satisfying Your Cravings
- Epic Bars: Epic bars are the perfect snack made entirely of meat and seasoning, so they’re low carb and keto friendly.
- Serving: 1 bar
- Guacamole: We love guacamole, and these prepackaged cups are ideal for a keto snack on the go. Convenient and easy to store in a small lunchbox, we always have a few of these ready to go at a moment’s notice in the fridge.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs: If you love hard-boiled eggs as much as we do but don’t like waiting for them to cook and cool, pick up a bag of these hard-boiled eggs from TJ’s.
- Serving: 2 eggs
- Smoked Salmon: We can’t get over how tasty this smoked salmon is with one of our favorite TJ’s seasonings. It makes a great keto snack any time of day, and it’s just $5.49 for a quarter pound.
- Serving: 2 oz.
- Marinated Antipasto: If you need a quick side and don’t feel like roasting veggies yourself, we recommend this marinated antipasto. Heat it up and you’ve got a perfect, 60-second keto side perfect for any meal.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Beef Sticks from Chomps: These beef sticks from Chomps are delicious and nutritious. With zero grams of net carbs and 9 grams of protein per stick, we always stock up on these when we go to Trader Joe’s.
- Serving: 1 stick
- Hazelnuts: Sometimes it’s best to go basic, and that’s truly the case with these hazelnuts. This is a simple, single-ingredient snack that offers 17g of healthy fat and just 1g of net carbs per serving. You can’t beat that!
- Serving: 1/4 cup
- Roasted Flavored Cashews: Trader Joe’s has a wide selection of roasted nuts that make a perfect keto snack, and these flavored cashews are at the very top of our list as far as keto snacks go.
- Serving: 1/4 cup
- Crispy Cheese Bites: These crispy cheese bites always satisfy our urge for something crunchy and comforting. You can grab a bag for under $3, so we always stock up.
- Serving: 1/4 cup
- Tapenade: This tapenade is perfect when you’re craving a little salt or when you have keto guests over. Serve with our signature keto crackers, and you’ll be the talk of the town.
- Serving: 1 Tbsp.
- Quest Bars: There aren’t many keto protein bars available at Trader Joe’s, but they have our favorite: Quest Bars. Luckily, they usually have a wide variety of flavors in stock, so you can pick and choose to your heart’s content.
- Serving: 1 bar
Condiments & Sauces: Flavor Boosters
Condiments can elevate any dish but not if they contain added sugars and artificial ingredients.
- Keto Pasta Sauce: Keto pasta sauce is sometimes a tricky thing to find, but Trader Joe’s has this pomodoro sauce that delivers just 4g of net carbs per serving.
- Serving: 1/2 cup
- Caesar Dressing: Looking for a low carb dressing that’s still delicious? Look no further. This Caesar dressing from TJ’s has less than 1g of net carbs per serving, so you can indulge guiltlessly.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Hot Sauce: This hot sauce is like our Frank’s: we put it on everything!
- Serving: 1 tsp.
- Green Goddess Salad Dressing: This Green Goddess Salad dressing is one of our favorites for salads, but we also have used it to marinate chicken and other meats.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
Baking & Spices: Keto-Friendly Ingredients
- Cacao Powder: This half-pound bag of pure cacao powder is perfect for making keto desserts, like our fudgy keto brownies.
- Serving: 2 Tbsp.
- Almond Flour: This almond flour is great for making your baking experiments keto friendly.
- Serving: 1/4 cup
- Coconut Flour: Okay, this might be a cooking ingredient more than a baking ingredient, but we use it for things like desserts when we don’t mind a mild coconut flavor.
- Serving: 1 Tbsp.
- Stevia: Stevia is one of our favorite keto sweeteners, and this vial from TJ’s is just super convenient. It’s ideal for coffee because it always blends perfectly and won’t settle at the bottom. If we plan to use stevia to sweeten baked goods, we pick up this powdered stevia extract from Trader Joe’s.
- Serving: 1 Tbsp.
Other Notable Keto Finds:
- Brown Eggs: Trader Joe’s brown eggs are a little on the expensive side at $3.49 per dozen, but they come from cage-free chickens, so you can feel a little better about buying them.
- Ghee: Ghee is a staple of most keto diets, and TJ has an amazing deal on their brand on their clarified butter. We use olive oil almost every single day, so we’re always resupplying when we shop.
- Serving: 1 Tbsp.
- Keto Collagen: On our most recent trip we found this keto collagen in the supplements area at Trader Joe’s.
- Serving: 1 scoop
- Olive Oil: We use olive oil almost every single day, so we’re always resupplying when we shop.
- Serving: 1 Tbsp.
Items to Avoid: Hidden Carbs
- Cauliflower Gnocchi/Pizza Crust: Just because something is made with cauliflower does not make it keto friendly. Often these products will use cauliflower in addition to wheat-based flours and other high carb ingredients.
- Light Ice Cream: Sadly the answer is no. They have recently come out with a “Light Ice Cream” but it is not low carb.
- Keto Bread: Unfortunately not, but there is hope that they will someday carry keto bread. Grocery stores like Sprouts, Whole Foods, and even Aldi have begun carrying keto bread, so Trader Joe’s could follow suit soon. For now you can make our keto bread recipe or order online from The Great Low Carb Bread Company.
Tips for Keto Shopping at Trader Joe's
- Read Labels Carefully: Always double-check nutrition labels for hidden sugars and carbs.
- Focus on Whole Foods: Prioritize fresh produce, meats, and cheeses.
- Plan Ahead: Create a shopping list based on your meal plan to avoid impulse buys.
- Explore the Aisles: Trader Joe's is known for its unique and seasonal items, so be open to discovering new keto-friendly options.
Read also: Keto-Friendly Finds at Trader Joe's
Read also: Trader Joe's Keto Guide