9 Unbeatable Trader Joe's Finds For $3 And Under

You know what's expensive these days? Groceries. We've been complaining about prices ever since the pandemic, and, for various reasons, it doesn't look like they'll be getting better anytime soon. Thank goodness, then, for Trader Joe's, which, by selling private-label goods with canny marketing, offers low prices while still having the feel of an upscale supermarket. Trader Joe's may not be inspired by European markets like Fresh Market, but it feels like a treat even though you're shopping on a budget.

But how low can you go, price-wise? Well, some of the most popular dishes on offer at Trader Joe's, like those loaded mashed potatoes customers rave about, will cost you about $6 a package. But what can you get for half that — just $3 and under? While prices may vary by location, we looked up some of the best snacks, mixes, and more you can get from Trader Joe's for just a few bucks, so you'll be able to enjoy a wonderfully eclectic snacking experience on a budget.

Trader Joe's is known for its take on a few different famous snack foods, such as its Trader Joe's Hall of Fame entrant Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla chips (which are sort of a boosted version of Takis). These guys aren't exactly Funyuns — they're made from lentils and rice, and baked rather than fried — but they'll scratch that same funky, crispy, onion-y itch for $1.99.

With this one, it's all right there in the name. For just $1.99, you'll have your own jar of sesame seasoning, mixed with salt and poppy seeds, as well as dried bits of onion and garlic. As the name promises, it has all the ingredients that go on an everything bagel, apart from the bagel itself. If you have a plain bagel you want to turn into an everything bagel, you can go ahead and use this — or you can put a generous dusting on your chicken or salad.

Jiffy may be an old reliable, with a recipe as stable as its vintage packaging, but it's not the best cornbread mix around. That honor may have to go to Trader Joe's, which offers a mix that makes a fluffy, robust cornbread for just $2.99. It's sweet but not too sweet, fluffy without being insubstantial, and livened up with a few corn kernels that provide a welcome bit of texture. Serve it as a side dish or just keep some on hand for snacking, and that's money well spent.

Pink Lady apples are tart, sweet little beauties; famously, they're the first cultivar of apple to bloom in the spring, and the last to be harvested in the fall. If you can't get your hands on a fresh Pink Lady to bite into, these delectable fruit chips from Trader Joe's, seasoned with cinnamon sugar for that lovely apple pie taste, will do the trick nicely for just $2.29. (If you have a dehydrator on hand, you can make apple chips yourself, but that's specialty equipment.)

What's bamba, you may ask? Well, it's a certain kind of puffy snack food, not unlike Cheez Doodles, flavored with peanut butter. In Trader Joe's case, they (or the supplier they get it from, anyway) stuff those puffs with a creme filling flavored with hazelnut, which they sell to you for just $2.29 a pop. Anyone with a taste for sweet and savory (who doesn't have a peanut allergy) will probably go to town on these.

If you've ever been to an Indian restaurant, or even just ordered it for delivery, you probably know about the wonders of naan: that warm, flaky, unleavened bread perfect for smearing with butter or dipping into your curry. Well, with the help of Trader Joe's, you can get some warm, doughy flat bread from your freezer for just $2.99: the texture holds up remarkably well, to the point where you can hardly tell it was ever frozen. If you're the type to make curry at home, this is a great side to have on hand.

Speculoos cookies are caramelized, cinnamon-sweetened biscuits that originated in Belgium; you may know them as those Biscoff cookies you get on airplanes. As you might guess from the silly-sounding name, it's a Dutch word, but you won't hebben een serieus probleem with Trader Joe's speculoos cookies, we can assure you. For just $2.49, you can enjoy these crumbly, sweetly spiced treats, on their own or served with coffee and tea. They're so tasty that Trader Joe's even made a Nutella-esque spread out of them.

Another entrant in the Trader Joe's Product Hall of Fame (that is, the most popular items as voted by customers), these are just what they sound like: little purses of pretzel, filled with sweet and salty peanut butter. Made in Pennsylvania (home to the so-called Pretzel Belt for its snack-making prowess), these pretzel nuggets are a perennial favorite for just $2.69. How good are they? Despite Trader Joe's being infamous for discontinuing your favorite products, these bad boys have been kicking around since 1992.

If there are two foods the gorgeous and proud nation of Ireland has on lock, it's potatoes and butter. So it stands to reason that these crinkle-cut chips, rich with buttery flavor and a nice pungent hit of garlic, slap as hard as they do. These things are hugely popular, getting snapped up almost as soon as they're set out on the shelves  — and for just $2.99 a bag, can you really blame Trader Joe's customers for filling their carts?