Every fall, people across the country anticipate the drop of exciting fall items in their beloved stores. From pumpkin spice to apple cinnamon, these flavors are enjoyed by most in treats, meals and even drinks. One of these awaited moments is the seasonal fall foods launched by Trader Joe’s. These fan favorites come in different fall flavors, shapes and sizes ranging from cakes and cookies to even mac and cheese! After seeing the plethora of items available, I have decided to structure my review, starting with bakery goods, then going to pantry staples and finally finishing off with savory foods. Keep reading to see what products could be worth your time and money. 

Heading into the classic pumpkin spice flavors, I decided to start with the Pumpkin Spice Mini Sheet Cake. Personally, Trader Joe’s sheet cakes are one of my favorite things that they have. They are the perfect size to finish quickly, are always moist and are topped off with the best cream cheese frosting. The Pumpkin Spice Mini Sheet Cake was no different;it had the perfect amount of pumpkin spice to where it wasn't too overpowering, but you could definitely taste it, and the cream cheese frosting added the best touch of sweetness as I wouldn’t consider the cake to be too sweet. The only downside to this would be the price, as it is typically $5.99 for one pack, which is a little bit on the higher end for something this small.  Overall, I believe that this item is 100 percent worth the hype it gets, and should definitely be something you check out this fall. 

The other bakery item I tried was the Apple Cider Donuts. These caught my eye and they looked intriguing due to the flavor. These are cake donuts that are made using apple cider and coated with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. Personally, I wouldn’t say I'm the biggest fan of cake donuts as I can find them heavy and somewhat cloying; unfortunately this seemed to be the case with this product. The donuts felt very heavy, dry and somewhat indigestible. Although I could taste the apple cider flavor, the cinnamon flavor from the cinnamon sugar was definitely overpowering,to the point where I could barely taste the initial apple flavor. With this product coming in at $4.99 for a pack of six, I personally say that it isn’t really worth it, especially if you are looking for that apple cider taste. 

The next item that I tried was the Honeycrisp Apple Granola. This granola was also an item that seemed interesting to me as I had never seen apple flavored granola before. I definitely love granola and headed into trying this product with an open mind. I found that the granola itself was not flavored, but that there were freeze-dried honeycrisp apple bits inside. The granola was sweet, and tasted really nice and I found it better than regular store bought granola. The apple bits complemented it by adding the perfect crunch. I think that this item would be perfect with a bowl of yogurt! With it being priced at $3.99 for a 12 ounce bag, I would definitely say that this item is worth it. 

The final fall flavored item that I tried was something pretty different from the others as it was a savory item. Many relate fall flavors to sweet treats but according to Trader Joe’s, the Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese bites fit into the fall category as well. This item is a ball of macaroni and cheese mixed in with butternut squash, and coated with a layer of breadcrumbs. The idea sounded very interesting, and I love mac and cheese balls so I was hoping this would taste similar to the ones I’ve had, but it had some major differences. For one, the inside was a bit more mushy than what I would’ve preferred, and this was definitely due to the butternut squash. I also think that the butternut squash had little to no flavor overall. The outside was somewhat crispy but the ball was not very easy to eat nor appetizing. I may have critiqued this one a little harshly since I went in with higher expectations, but with this being sold for $3.99 for 10 small bites, I don’t think that this is worth the money especially since they have much better freezer food options. 

I think that Trader Joe’s is a great place to go if you are a fall flavor connoisseur, or if you’re just looking for some interesting treats to spice up your season. The store offers a variety of options and though I couldn’t try them all, I will say that even though there were some iffy products, overall there were many more that are worth trying!