14 New Finds Trader Joe's Perfect For Making Your Summer Cookouts 10x Better

Trader Joe's May Fearless Flyer is out, and the new products have, of course, a summery theme. Flavors are lighter and fresher, and many of the items can make for a nearly effortless al fresco meal. Of course, there does seem to be another element at play — all of the new meat products, as well as new snacks, salads, drinks, and desserts, seem to spell backyard barbecue, and we're all here for it.

Some of these new finds are actually old favorites — barbecue staples that are either appearing in an updated form or are something not previously carried by the grocery chain. (Trader Joe's is smaller than the average grocer, so it can't stock everything – prior to this past February, it didn't even sell its No. 1 requested meat cut, boneless chuck roast.) However, other suggest a new twist: a globally inspired meal with Latin-flavored entrees, an Asian-style salad, and all-American desserts. Of course, Trader Joe's wouldn't be Trader Joe's if it didn't include a few mom-approved healthy(ish) snacks that won't get the kids too wired on artificial ingredients. New offerings even include a few sodas with nutritional benefits, as well as a super-summery beer that can complement anything on the menu.

Even an ordinary burger tastes better when cooked outdoors on the grill, but Trader Joe's Angus Chuck, Brisket & Sirloin Beef Patties really up the ante with a custom meat blend meant to provide maximum juiciness. These ready-to-cook patties weigh in at a generous ⅓ pound each, and a package of four is selling for $11.99.

Trader Joe's Carne Asada Ranchera consists of thinly-sliced sirloin flap steak marinated with citrus, vinegar, and spices. It cooks up quickly, and once it's done, you can wrap it in in a tortilla (either corn or flour will work), sandwich it in a baguette, or serve it atop lettuce or rice. It comes packaged in 1-pound portions and is priced at $11.99.

A few years back, Chipotle offered pollo asado as a tasty new protein, but this citrusy, spicy chicken has since been dropped from its menu. Fortunately, Trader Joe's stepped in to fill the gap. Previously, it offered pollo asado made from chicken breasts, but since many people feel that chicken thighs are better for grilling, the retailer read the room (or the yard, as it were). As of now, Pollo Asado Chicken Thighs are available for purchase at $6.99 per 1-pound package.

Al pastor is a delicious dish with an identity crisis — it's Mexican but with Lebanese roots, and the name translates to mean "shepherd-style," since it was originally made with lamb. These days, however, al pastor tacos are made with pork, and the easiest ones start with Trader Joe's Al Pastor Diced Pork Shoulder ($6.49 per pound). A marinade of citrus and pineapple juices, along with the chiles, oregano, and cinnamon used for seasoning, form a fantastic fusion of tropical tastes married to Middle Eastern flavors.

As many of the above-mentioned meats are Latin-inspired, we suggest serving them with a side of taco sauce —Trader Joe's Organic Spicy Taco Sauce, to be specific. The heat isn't super-intense, but the flavor is nicely balanced between jalapenos, cayenne, black pepper, chili powder, garlic, oregano, tomato paste and vinegar. Use it to baste your meat as it grills or drizzle it on the finished product. It's also great with vegetables and can add some zing to dips and salad dressings.

First came Flamin' Hot Cheetos, the snack that inspired a mixed bag of a movie, and then came hordes of imitators. However, Trader Joe's take stands out from the pack because it's made with healthier coloring agents. Cheetos' signature neon orange hue comes from artificial red and yellow food dye, whereas the TJ's version uses paprika, turmeric, and vegetable juice. These snacks are also pretty budget-friendly — Trader Joe's sells 7-ounce bags of Spicy Cheese Crunchies for $2.49.

Korea has a climate that's similar to many parts of the United States, including hot, humid summers. Its cuisine, therefore, includes such delightful warm-weather dishes as the cold noodle salad called bibim-guksu. Trader Joe's has recently started carrying its own Korean Style Bibim-Guksu, made with somen noodles, kimchi, and sliced vegetables tossed in a gochujang dressing. At $4.99, it makes an excellent alternative to plain old pasta salad at picnics and barbecues.

Fresh green salads also pair well with barbecue, and some of the easiest salads can begin by opening a bag. Trader Joe's Chopped Salad Blend combines carrots, endive, escarole, radicchio, and red cabbage, all cut into bite-sized bits. You can serve the salad as-is (just add dressing) or look at it as a blank canvas. Paint your masterpiece with shredded or crumbled cheese, bacon bits, hard-boiled eggs, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, croutons, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

Prebiotic sodas have been around since the 2010s, but now it seems as if every major brand has its own variation. Both Coke and Pepsi came out with prebiotic colas in 2025, and Trader Joe's has now joined in the fun. It's going those major makers one better, though, by offering not one but two prebiotic sodas: Cherry Cola and Strawberry Vanilla. Both sodas contain 5 grams of gut-healthy fiber and are flavored with real fruit and natural sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia. They're sold in single 12-ounce cans priced at $1.99.

Fruit-flavored beers go surprisingly well with barbecue, and the seasonal Peach Ale from Trader Joe's in-house brewery Campanology is no exception. It's a wheat beer brewed with real peach puree and enhanced with apple and pineapple juice for a flavor that's slightly sweet, slightly sour, and 100% refreshing. At 7% ABV, this beer is pretty potent, too. It comes in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans that sell for $7.99.

To make classic s'mores, you need plain, unflavored, square-shaped graham crackers with no bells or whistles. Surprisingly, Trader Joe's did not carry such an item, opting instead to offer tubs of rectangular, cinnamon-flavored grahams. It has now remedied that deficiency; the May Fearless Flyer lists 14-ounce boxes of Graham Cracker Squares at $3.49.

Ice pops are an ideal dessert for an outdoor get-together. Unlike popsicles, their plastic sleeves keep them intact, and refreeze easily if they happen to melt. That being said, anyone even remotely health-conscious may shy away from these pops on account of their neon hues and dubious ingredients. However, Trader Joe's Organic Freezer Pops have no such issues, because they're made with real fruit juice and natural coloring. For $3.79, you get a package of 10 pops in three different flavors: orange, berry, and cherry limeade.

If you like cookies and cream ice cream for the chocolate cookie bits, you'll love it even more when it's sandwiched between two full-sized chocolate chunk cookies. That's exactly what you're getting with Trader Joe's Cookies 'N Cream Ice Cream Sandwiches: cookies inside ice cream inside cookies. A box containing four of these self-referential cookie sandwiches costs $4.99.

Red, white, and blue desserts are de rigueur for the Fourth of July, but they're not out of place on other patriotic, barbecue-friendly holidays. It checks out, then, that Trader Joe's would drop its Red White & Blue Cookie Bites just in time for Memorial Day. This is one of those hard-to-categorize desserts, since it consists of small round cookie balls covered in colorful candy coating. Are they cookies? Are they candies? Does it even matter? All you need to know is that the cookie centers are vanilla, while the red coating is cherry, the white one is lemon, and the blue one is raspberry. Also, a 10-ounce tub of these confections will cost you $4.99.