Trader Joe's has a delicious copycat of a Chipotle favorite

What’s your favorite Trader Joe’s snack? If you’re a Trader Joe’s shopper, you probably have one. And there’s a good chance some of your favorites are listed among the retailer’s annual Customer Choice Awards, where customers rate their favorite foods in 11 categories. 

Ever snacked on the Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips? That was the top overall pick for 2024. Other customer favorites from the most recent awards include the Best Cheese — honors went to Trader Joe’s Chevre (goat cheese). Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip took the Best Appetizer award, while Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice got Best Lunch/Dinner item. 

And the list goes on. 

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While grocery shopping isn’t all about the snacks and specialty items, plenty of Trader Joe’s loyalists are always watching to see which items make it onto the shelves permanently. 

The permanent items are mostly staples like eggs, milk, cereal, bread, and the like — but plenty of extra items catch on and appear seasonally or year-round. One thing all these foods have in common is budget-friendly pricing. 

Trader Joe’s has fewer items than many grocers

Trader Joe’s, as most shoppers quickly realize, is a small store that carries a fraction of the items found in bigger chains. 

A mainstream grocer like Safeway typically has more than 30,000 items, while Walmart might have 140,000 (granted, they have lots of items besides groceries). 

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Trader Joe’s has around 4,000 items. The smaller footprint helps them keep prices low, as does the number of private-label items they carry. 

That said, you’ll find an astonishing array of sauces and salsas — more than a dozen at the moment, including one that’s very similar to a topping you’ll find at Chipotle.

Trader Joe’s version rivals Chipotle’s

Anyone who is a Chipotle fan knows all about the salsa selections. There are three main varieties: the mild pico de gallo, the medium tomatillo green-chili, and the hot tomatillo red-chili. 

Then there is the corn salsa, that honestly could be an actual side dish. 

But who needs to DoorDash a Chipotle burrito bowl when you can whip up your own version at home and top it with a Trader Joe’s salsa that is every bit as good — or even better, since you can open a jar whenever you have a craving?

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The Chipotle corn salsa consists of sweet corn kernels, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. 

The Trader Joe’s Corn and Chile Tomato-less Salsa copycat version contains sweet corn, jalapeno, onion, coriander seed (aka cilantro), mustard seed, red bell peppers, and a few other ingredients. Pretty darn close. 

As with so many Trader Joe’s favorites, there is a passionate community of Redditors who just love the stuff. 

@homefin writes, “It’s really good in all ways. We use it on shrimp or fish tacos, nacho topping, scooped with chips, mixed into avocado/guacamole, thrown into salads….”

And @datadriven2 says, “Chile & Corn Tomato-less Salsa is my savior. I’d like to know if anyone feels as strongly about [it] as I do. I put it on everything: salad, rice bowls… I’ve even used it in veggie soup. I can’t get enough. Most of my water glasses at home are empty corn salsa jars.”

If that isn’t an endorsement, what is?

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