12 Trader Joe's Meats To Avoid At All Costs, According To Customers

Is Trader Joe's in a decline? By many metrics, seemingly not. In 2026 the Cali-based grocery giant was voted the country's favorite supermarket chain in an American Customer Satisfaction Index poll, usurping the previous list-topper, Publix. The yearly revenue drawn out of its well-over 600 locations across the U.S. reaches into the tens of billions of dollars. The busiest Trader Joe's in the world — in NYC's Upper West Side — is closing for renovations,. and people don't know what to do with themselves. All seems well in Joe-ville.

At the same time, there are strands of disappointment within TJ's customer base. At least according to subreddits, Instagram posts, and the like. They've taken to social media to publish gripes about drops in quality and altogether shoddy, subpar products. Much of this has been directed at the Trader Joe's meat inventory.

When people come across meat that's just not cutting it, especially from one of the more prominent supermarkets out there, their voices will be heard — probably in all caps. But, it's probably a good idea to hear those voices, because not-good meat can lead to all kinds of not-good results. Here are 12 meats to avoid buying at Trader Joe's, as per the comment-o-sphere of the world wide web. See if you agree.

Teriyaki, as we know and love it today, is not the same teriyaki of Japan's centuries-past Edo period. This one was born, or rather reborn, in Seattle (with Hawaii involved as well, replacing the traditional sweet rice wine with sugar). A teriyaki restaurant culture eventually sprouted in The Emerald City, and it begat the teriyaki the entire country would be eating.

No surprise then that Trader Joe's would utilize this most common of Americanized meat flavorings, by including it in a pre-marinated skirt steak. Problem is, not all the plebs are crazy about this seasoned item, with either the cost or the meat itself. "I bought it this week (not realizing how expensive it was)," began a commenter on Reddit, "and was super disappointed." The steak was so chewy as to be inedible, they claimed. Others had similar experiences.

A popular food influencer on Instagram even railed against the "garbage ingredients" in the product, roll-calling undesirables in the nutrition facts, like caramel color, excess sugar, and other "BS." The phrase those two letters signify is probably the last one you want associated with beef you're going to eat, by the way.

The aforementioned food-grammer who decried the teriyaki skirt steak, Wasim Syed, also has opinions on Trader Joe's ground beef. The grass-fed one he's all good with it. The non-organic, conventional offering however? "Avoid," he urged, describing the source cows as being GMO-fed, disease-prone, and probably miserable. The proof of this seems to be in the pudding — or rather, in the public opinion.

Let's start with one Redditor: "I won't buy their ground beef anymore. Too many times it looked odd." Another commenter leaned into, well, the beef's leanness, especially for what you pay: "The meat is so much more expensive than Costco. I have zero idea why would you want to buy ground beef that lean."

Readers might also have zero idea why anyone would purchase it, but for a slightly different reason. At least after hearing this Reddit brow-raiser: "Bought ground beef twice that smelled like farts when I opened it and had to throw it out. I avoid ground beef at all costs there now." Well, you would, wouldn't you. Although, they did admit to buying fart-beef twice. You'd think that would be a one-time lesson.

The unworldly among us might be fooled into thinking this is real-deal bulgogi. And, it's hard to imagine that's not totally the point. It's a wily, phonetic approach from Trader Joe's: Reference a cuisine culture without having to claim you're being authentic to that same cuisine culture. Just say you're inspired by the dish and you can get away with almost anything. Good business, if nothing else. And, to some customers who have bought this bul-faux-gi (does "bull-bul" work better?), there really isn't much else.

A TikTok mom, and devout Trader Joe's fan (who actually likes the frozen version of this), expressed her extreme disappointment with the fresh product, calling it "horrible." Some Redditor literally used the same adjective to describe their own bool kogi experience, rating it a "0/10 – Would not buy again."

Another commenter posited that the problem with the item is in its very essence: "You can't have prepackaged bulgolgi that's been pre marinated properly because leaving it too long with those enzymatic tenderizers will eventually completely digest the meat into goop." At least Gwyneth Paltrow might eat that. By the way, show of hands, who had "enzymatic tenderizers" in their article bingo?

There are few more soul-stirring sights in the world than that of gyro meat rotating on a vertical spit. There needs to be a gyro anthem one can whisper-sing to themselves as they gaze upon such a glory. Shame that Trader Joe's has reduced this meat magic into a desultory boxed product. 

One annoyed customer on Reddit had to do a bit of their own modification since the product is "pretty gross and unseasoned," going so far as to add "smoky paprika, fennel, salt, pepper, zaatar." That sort of work defeats the whole purpose of a frozen meal, doesn't it? The poor quality of the gyro slices also inspired another person to start a detractory subreddit, comparing them to "hot dog meat."

A blogger-reviewer had her own unflattering take on the Grecian-ish meal, saying it "won't fool you into thinking you're eating street‑side gyro." Echoing above sentiments, she saw them as little more than "a base waiting to be upgraded." Some of the anti-superlatives also heaped upon the gyro slices from commenters on Reddit include: "Tastes like soft cardboard," "disgusting," "very greasy and a weird texture." Not sure what this would all equate to in a Rotten Tomatoes score, but safe to say it would be a splat. 

When talking about Trader Joe's being on a downturn, it's in the chicken breast where that seems most apparent, at least to more than a few customers. "I've been purchasing chicken breasts at Trader Joe's at least once a week since the store opened," went a Reddit post. "Recently, the chicken has been chewy and tasteless." They also went on to describe other chicken breast buys that "smelled awful" after just a few days.

That comment is from 2025, but the quality issue has been going on for quite some time, for folks like this one: "I stopped buying chicken there a couple years ago now. I found the quality of the organic breast suddenly nose dived". This may have to do with the chain's suppliers, namely Perdue's Petaluma Poultry farm — singled out as having particularly poor chicken-rearing conditions by an animal rights investigator.

Even TJ's organic grilled chicken breast with rib meat, the kind you just heat and serve, has also come under fire from shoppers. A Trader Joe's rating website revealed that only 19% of customers said the product was worth buying. Seems no matter how the chicken breast is sold, folks just aren't digging it.

Chicken adobo is considered, at least unofficially, the national dish of The Philippines. Zesty, succulent, garlicky, it's a delish hunk of marinated poultry over rice that's enjoyed by both Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's attempt at chicken adobo seems to be disappointing, dismal, and even downright offensive to the authentic version.

"I've rarely had such a bad frozen meal," withered one food blogger, in regards to the boxed offering at TJ's. She's in plentiful company when it comes to the criticizing. "Chicken adobo literally could not be worse," titled a subreddit, a pic of the box captioned with "Zero flavor, texture like dog meat. Inedible."

The puzzling lack of flavor seems to be a common theme with the TJ's adobo. According to a food-centric Instagrammer: "My take: it's bland...like really BLAND, which is an amazing feat when two of the main ingredients are soy sauce and vinegar." Another Redditor concurred with this assessment, totally getting the disappointment: "It's frustrating when a product doesn't live up to expectations, especially for a dish with such rich tradition." Way to sabotage an entire cultural heritage, Trader Joe's.

The Jalisco-born meat stew that is birria was traditionally made with goat, but beef is now the usual go-to stateside. Once you get to know birria, you'll realize that, regardless of the flesh used, the flavor should be rich with herbs and spices. For a dish that goes back some 500 years to the onset of colonization in Mexico, it didn't take Trader Joe's very long to mess it up.

"Shockingly bad," went one subreddit headline. "I can't imagine anyone eating this stuff in this state and having a good time." A different commenter followed up with an even harsher critique after partaking: "Absolutely horrid ... Breathtakingly bad." Someone even found it so overly salty that they "added half a package of the TJ's steamed lentils" just to save their palate.

There's another customer that echoes the famous joke in "Annie Hall" about the food not only being terrible at a place, but the portions are too small. "I tried the Beef Birria," began their subreddit, "and can confirm, there's little beef." The beef that was there, according to the accompanying comment, was "half fat" and "half gristle." A TikToker backed up the claim of fat overabundance in the meat. "I probably won't buy again," read the captions on the video.

Since there are ways to make flavorful butter chicken at home, it might be a good idea to skip out on Trader Joe's attempt at the popular South Asian dish. It's a pretty straightforward meal, as delicious as it is. You'd think Trader Joe's could put out a decent version. This, according to customers, does not seem to be the case. Although, apparently, it was once a pretty solid offering from the grocery chain once upon a time.

An opening salvo of a subreddit headline reads: "Anyone else think the butter chicken is overhyped?" The ensuing comment: "To say I'm disappointed in the lack of spice and taste is an understatement."

One Redditor, who seemed to have a deep affinity for this product, turned up the melodrama when eulogizing its lapsed quality: "The butter chicken has lost what it once was..it used to have the flavors of India and tonight...as I write this crying...the butter chicken has lost its soul." Here's a tissue. And, also, here's a fellow Redditor offering a path to help the poet get over their lyrical heartbreak: "Lidl has better frozen butter chicken." 

By the time we get through this list, Trader Joe's is going to have offended a huge portion of the Asian diaspora. This cuisine transgression centers around orange chicken — itself a Chinese-American invention — and the fact that it's been called everything from "perplexing" (on the more positive end) to a full-on gross-out experience.

"I hated it," a subredditor wailed. "I threw it all away." Commenters on Facebook ("What a disappointment.") and Reddit ("super disappointed") were both kindred spirits in orange chicken let-down. The latter continued with an exasperated question: "What happened to the sauce??"

Even someone who tried to give the item the benefit of the doubt wound up getting burned, initially thinking, "'ok how bad can it be?'" They found out the ugly truth. "Y'all, you were totally right ... I'm sad." Lesson here: If people are going to go junky Chinese-American orange chicken, just go to Panda Express. It sounds like you'll save yourself a whole heap of Trader Joe's dissatisfaction by doing so.

We're heading a bit more west on the world map to find the next overseas-inspired Trader Joe's meal that everyone seems to be ripping on. Kebab is a type of dish that originated deep in ancient history, probably in and around Mesopotamia and Anatolia (generally modern-day Iraq and Turkey, respectively), spreading from there. Eventually, after a few millennia, it reached the Trader Joe's test kitchen. The results are not pleasing to many.

It's the blandness that's sending people onto the likes of Reddit to air grievances. "No seasoning. Like wet hamburger meat," bristled one commenter, going on to give it a big, fat zero out of ten. Another Redditor, after sampling the kebab meat, asked the question, "aren't they supposed to be seasoned?" Not a good sign. The answer is yes, by the way.

Yet, bafflingly, a separate but equally steamed Redditor complained of too much of a particular seasoning: "These are soooo salty." A respondent to that post agreed, albeit probably after blow-burping a bit of reflux: "I was going to say the same thing. Like these give me heartburn all the time because I think they are overly seasoned. lol" If you're going to disappoint people, Trader Joe's, at least make it make sense.

Say it ain't so, Joe. Are you really messing up pork belly now? Pork belly? That's borderline criminal. There are few things the animal kingdom has given us that's more delicious than the paunch of a swine. It's the divine source of bacon, chicharrón, crackling, hong shao rou, and the ideal brisket for barbecuing. It's practically been engineered by nature to taste good. Even pigs are like, "bruh, what else do you want from us? We're giving you gold here." 

"Disgusting," claimed a vomit-emoji-ing Facebook poster. "Avoid." Those two words say it all. Yet, there were plenty of more words from a wide swath of other people. For one Redditor, it started with the meal prep, which "took longer to cook (especially as fully cooked meat), tasted off (didn't smell, look, or feel like it went bad), didn't crisp correctly." A little later, they were "having subtle reactions as if i had very minor food poisoning ... I'm just disappointed and a little nauseas from this experience."

They weren't alone in Reddit-world, like this poster accompanying the misery: "I've had a similar experience. The last time I had the pork belly, I woke up in the middle of the night with painful stomach aches. Won't be eating it again."

A Redditor's experience was so texturally poor with this product, they questioned their general fortune in life: "Korean Short ribs, is it just bad luck mine are always tough/chewy?" This is despite trying to cook them in various ways too. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting a different outcome, what's the definition of doing a different thing but still getting the same outcome? 

Turns out the answer is customer dissatisfaction "This is the only TJs product I've ever returned," bemoaned a Redditor. "Nasty." The abysmal performance of the meat product has even sparked unflattering speculation from at least one commentor: "They use lower quality bc it's so cheap." 

Someone else backed up this notion ... sort of: "It's not a good product. Hard to replicate for a fraction of the cost!" Well, replicate TJ's did. And, they say imitation is greatest form of flattery. The exception seems to be this and a load of other meat products at Trader Joe's.

Scouring the inter-webs for TJ-opining of the highest order (and if I was lucky, the lowest order), I relied mostly on the unholy trinity of Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok — with a sprinkling of wizened, old Facebook and other, sundry review sources (such as food bloggers). I included commentary that was a little bit dated, when relevant, to showcase a sustained dissatisfaction with a particular meat product.

It should be noted this doesn't mean everybody hates these products. On the contrary, some items have a pretty robust fanbase. Here, however, I'm going to be more cynical than I am in real life, by allowing the bad to outweigh the good. That's what you came for anyway, isn't it?