Memorial Day weekend lands Monday, which gives you a Friday-Saturday shopping window to lock down the grill menu before the long weekend. Trader Joe’s just dropped a wave of cookout-ready finds — pre-marinated proteins, snackable sides, refreshing cans, and freezer desserts — that let you skate through the holiday without standing over a cutting board all afternoon. Here are 12 worth your cart.
1. Angus Chuck, Brisket & Sirloin Beef Patties
These pre-formed patties blend three cuts of Angus beef — chuck for richness, brisket for fat, sirloin for clean beef flavor — so you get a juicy backyard burger without standing at the meat counter weighing trim ratios. At a third of a pound each, four patties cover a small Memorial Day gathering, and the only prep is salt, pepper, and a hot grill.
- Price: $11.99 for a four-pack (one-third pound each)
- Taste Test: Beef-forward and seasoned with restraint, so you taste the meat first and the salt second. The blend leans savory rather than peppery, which means the patty plays nicely with sharp cheddar, smoky bacon, or a simple slice of red onion. Great straight off the grill with nothing but a soft bun.
- Texture: Coarser grind than a standard frozen patty — you can see the meat structure, not a smooth puck. The brisket fat keeps the middle juicy as long as you pull them at medium, and the third-pound thickness gives a clear pink line in the center.
- Make It Better: Press a dimple in the center before grilling so the patty stays flat instead of puffing into a dome, then finish with a slice of Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar in the last 30 seconds for a salty, crystalline melt.
- Verdict: Buy. A near-foolproof grill option that beats most freezer-aisle patties and saves the trip to a butcher counter.
2. Carne Asada Ranchera
Sirloin flap steak pre-marinated in citrus, vinegar, garlic, and Mexican spices, sliced thin enough to cook through in two or three minutes per side. The package opens, hits a hot grill, and turns into the centerpiece of a taco bar without anyone touching a blender.
- Price: $11.99 per pound
- Taste Test: Bright and tangy from the orange-and-lime marinade, with enough garlic and cumin to feel like a taqueria order rather than a grocery shortcut. The vinegar tenderizes the meat as it sits, so even the thicker bites pull apart cleanly when you slice against the grain.
- Texture: Thin-cut flap meat with visible marbling — supple at medium-rare, slightly chewier at medium. The marinade keeps the edges from drying out even if the grill runs hot.
- Make It Better: Char it hot and fast (high direct heat, 2-3 minutes per side), then let it rest five minutes before slicing across the grain into half-inch ribbons. Pile onto warm corn tortillas with chopped white onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
- Verdict: Buy. Easiest cookout protein in the store for the price, especially if you do not feel like grinding spice blends from scratch.
3. Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs
The chicken counterpart to the Carne Asada — boneless, skinless thighs pre-marinated in achiote, citrus, and a low-grade chile kick. Thighs forgive a distracted grill better than breasts, which is exactly what you want on a holiday weekend.
- Price: $6.99 per pound
- Taste Test: Warm spice on the front end (cumin, paprika, a touch of oregano) and citrus on the back, with just enough heat to notice but not enough to chase guests away. The marinade caramelizes into a sticky glaze when the grill marks land.
- Texture: Thick, even thighs that grill to a tender, juicy bite. Skin would crisp up better than the boneless cut, but the trade-off is that these are ready in eight minutes flat.
- Make It Better: Grill over medium-high until you get one good char band per side, then let them rest for five minutes covered. Slice into strips for soft tacos, or chop and pile onto a Mexican-style chopped salad with avocado, queso fresco, and lime.
- Verdict: Buy. Cheaper per pound than the carne asada and tougher to overcook — the safer pick if the grill master is also the cocktail mixer.
4. Spicy Cheese Crunchies
Trader Joe’s answer to the orange-finger cheese puff aisle, but colored with paprika and turmeric instead of synthetic dyes. Same shape, same chip-bowl footprint, no questions about what is on your fingertips.
- Price: $2.49 for a 7-ounce bag
- Taste Test: Tangy cheddar up front, then a slow warm chile build that backs off before it becomes a problem. Not actually spicy on a hot-sauce scale, but plenty assertive next to mild dips.
- Texture: Light, airy, and audibly crunchy — closer to a Cheeto Puff than a chip. They hold up in a serving bowl for the afternoon without going stale.
- Make It Better: Crush a small handful and sprinkle them over deviled eggs or a chopped salad for a salty-cheesy crouton substitute that nobody will guess started in a chip bag.
- Verdict: Buy. The cheapest crowd-pleaser on this list and the bag will be empty before the burgers are done.
5. Korean Style Bibim-Guksu
A chilled noodle salad built around somen, kimchi, sesame oil, and a sweet-spicy gochujang dressing — Trader Joe’s take on a Korean summer staple. It lives in the refrigerated case and is ready to scoop straight into a bowl, which makes it the most low-effort side on the table.
- Price: $4.99
- Taste Test: Funky-sour from the kimchi, sweet-hot from the gochujang, finished with a nutty sesame backbone. Cold and bracing — exactly what you want next to a smoky grilled protein.
- Texture: Thin, slippery somen noodles with little chewy pickled-vegetable accents. Stays bouncy in the fridge for at least a day after opening.
- Make It Better: Top with a halved soft-boiled egg, a handful of julienned cucumber, and a pinch of toasted sesame seeds to turn the side into a full plate. A quick squeeze of lime brightens the dressing if it tastes too rich.
- Verdict: Buy if you have one adventurous eater in the crowd. The kimchi heat is gentle, but the format will still feel new to a meat-and-potatoes table.
6. Chopped Salad Blend
A pre-chopped bag of carrots, endive, escarole, radicchio, and red cabbage — a bitter-sweet mix that holds dressing without wilting into mush. The kind of salad you can actually plate at a buffet two hours after dressing it.
- Price: Check in-store pricing
- Taste Test: Bitter from the endive and radicchio, sweet from the carrots and cabbage, with the kind of vegetal crunch that wakes up a plate after grilled meats. Not a soft butter-lettuce salad — this one fights back, in a good way.
- Texture: Sturdy, crunchy, and slow to wilt. The cabbage and carrot ribbons hold their bite for hours, which is exactly what an outdoor party needs.
- Make It Better: Toss with a sharp vinaigrette (Dijon, red wine vinegar, olive oil) and finish with crumbled feta and toasted sunflower seeds. Add sliced strawberries for a Memorial Day spin that picks up red and white tones.
- Verdict: Buy. The smartest two-minute side dish in the produce wall — far better than a sad iceberg toss.
7. Cherry Cola Prebiotic Soda
Trader Joe’s prebiotic-soda line aimed straight at the Olipop/Poppi shelf, in a cherry-cola flavor that drinks like a diner fountain refill. Five grams of gut-healthy fiber per can, sweetened with fruit juice, no high-fructose corn syrup.
- Price: $1.99 per 12-ounce can
- Taste Test: Real cherry up front, classic cola spice in the middle, and a clean finish — much closer to a fresh-pressed cherry-vanilla than the medicinal note you get from diet sodas. Surprisingly low on the sugar-bomb scale.
- Texture: Fine, persistent carbonation. Not as aggressively bubbly as a mainstream cola, which makes it easier to drink slowly over a long afternoon.
- Make It Better: Pour over a tall glass of ice with a wedge of lime and a couple of fresh cherries for a non-alcoholic option that still feels like a cocktail. Or split a can into two short rocks glasses with a splash of bourbon for the grown-ups.
- Verdict: Buy. Cheaper than the name-brand prebiotic sodas and the cherry-cola flavor is the strongest in the lineup.
8. Strawberry Vanilla Prebiotic Soda
The sweeter, dessert-leaning sibling of the cherry cola — strawberry juice and vanilla over the same prebiotic-fiber base. Reads almost like a strawberry cream soda without the cloying corn-syrup finish.
- Price: $1.99 per 12-ounce can
- Taste Test: Ripe strawberry up front, soft vanilla on the back, no artificial-flavor pinch. Tastes like a strawberry milkshake reduction without the dairy, and the vanilla keeps it from coming across one-note.
- Texture: Light, frothy carbonation that pours with a foamy head. The mouthfeel is closer to a craft soda than a mass-market can.
- Make It Better: Float a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream in a tall glass and pour the can over the top for a homemade strawberry float that will pull the kids away from a screen for at least eight minutes.
- Verdict: Buy. The Memorial Day pick if you have non-drinkers, kids, or anyone tapping out of caffeine.
9. Campanology Peach Ale
A 7-percent ABV wheat ale brewed with real peach puree and apple-pineapple juice — Trader Joe’s house-label nod to the fruit-forward summer beer category. Sits squarely between a hazy IPA and a fruited sour.
- Price: $7.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
- Taste Test: Ripe peach on the nose, a soft tropical sweetness on the palate, and a clean, slightly tart finish. The wheat keeps it from veering into juice territory, and the 7-percent strength stays well hidden.
- Texture: Hazy pour, medium body, low-to-medium carbonation. Drinks more like a wheat beer than a fruit beer, which means it pairs with the grilled food instead of fighting it.
- Make It Better: Serve well chilled in a stemmed glass with a sliver of fresh peach on the rim. Pair with the Carne Asada or the chicken thighs — the fruit echoes the citrus marinade beautifully.
- Verdict: Buy if you like a fruit-forward beer. The price-per-ounce on the tallboy four-pack beats most craft alternatives on the shelf.
10. Graham Cracker Squares
Plain, unflavored graham squares engineered for one purpose: s’mores. No honey-glaze, no cinnamon, no chocolate dusting — just the structural crisp half of the classic camp dessert in a holiday-sized box.
- Price: $3.49 for a 14-ounce box
- Taste Test: Lightly sweet, mildly toasty, neutral enough to let the chocolate and marshmallow do the work. They do not break the moment a hot marshmallow lands on them, which is the whole point.
- Texture: Snap-crisp out of the box, with a clean break along the perforation lines. Holds up to a melted marshmallow without crumbling into the patio chair.
- Make It Better: Pre-stack the chocolate squares on the graham bottoms on a sheet tray, then bring the tray to the grill or fire pit ready to torch marshmallows on demand. Try a square of TJ’s dark chocolate with sea salt under the marshmallow for an upgrade.
- Verdict: Buy. The cheapest dessert improvement on this list — beats a box-store store-brand graham every time.
11. Organic Freezer Pops
Organic, real-fruit-juice freezer pops in three flavors, colored with natural fruit and vegetable extracts. The push-up plastic tubes that need to be cut at the top — exactly the format your nephews remember from the 1990s.
- Price: $3.79 for a 10-pack
- Taste Test: Brighter and fruitier than the synthetic versions, with each flavor reading as its actual fruit instead of a generic sugar candy. Sweet but not sticky-sweet, and the after-taste fades cleanly.
- Texture: Firm freeze straight out of the freezer, slushy after two minutes on the counter. Easy to push up as they melt without the tube collapsing.
- Make It Better: Pop a few in a bowl of ice on the dessert table so kids (and tired adults) can grab one without rummaging in the freezer. Dunk one in a glass of seltzer for a five-second fruit slushie cocktail base.
- Verdict: Buy. The dessert that lets you exit kitchen duty — set them out and walk away.
12. Cookies ‘N Cream Ice Cream Sandwiches
Two soft chocolate-chunk cookies sandwiched around cookies-and-cream ice cream — Trader Joe’s freezer-case answer to the classic boardwalk ice cream sandwich, but heavier on the cookie. Four to a box, individually wrapped, so they survive a cooler full of ice.
- Price: $4.99 for a four-pack
- Taste Test: The cookies taste like a fresh-baked chocolate-chunk batch — buttery, slightly underbaked in the middle, with real chocolate chunks rather than chips. The ice cream layer is sweet vanilla studded with cookie crumbles, which doubles down on the chocolate.
- Texture: Cookies stay soft and pliable even straight from the freezer, so you can bite without cracking a tooth. The ice cream stays scoop-firm long enough to eat the whole thing without it dripping down your wrist.
- Make It Better: Let one sit at room temperature for two minutes before serving — the cookie goes from cold to chewy. For a quick sundae move, halve one with a serrated knife and top with a drizzle of warmed peanut butter and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
- Verdict: Buy. The single best frozen dessert in the store for under five dollars right now.
