We Tried Trader Joe's Most Popular Frozen Appetizers—Here's What We Loved (and What We Didn't)

Here at REAL SIMPLE, we adore shortcuts, and frozen appetizers are high on our list of more-than-acceptable entertaining timesavers. Whether you're serving only store-bought apps or mixing and matching with homemade bites , frozen appetizers can be clutch. This holiday season, my colleagues and I launched a quest to find the store-bought frozen appetizers that we'd be happy to serve at our own parties.

Of course, we immediately thought of Trader Joe's, the brand famous for high-quality frozen foods , like Cauliflower Gnocchi and Mandarin Orange Chicken. But, how would TJ's appetizers stack up? It's one thing to scarf down a box of frozen apps for dinner while we're watching Netflix, but nibbles offered to our friends and family must both look appealing and taste delicious. In the name of journalism, and less stressful hosting, we set off to taste test Trader Joe's most popular frozen appetizers.

How We Tested Pros from the Dotdash Meredith Test Kitchens in Birmingham, Alabama purchased the products and then cooked them precisely according to the package directions. Five of us tasted the appetizers , along with products from other brands. We didn't know which nibbles were from Trader Joe's; it was truly a blind tasting. As we sampled, we individually made notes on each app's taste, texture, and appearance. We ranked the product from 1 to 10 and noted whether or not we'd serve it at a shindig of our own. Without further ado, here are the results, ranked from our most favorite to our least.

of 07 Parmesan Pastry Pups Our winner by a wide margin, these fancy pigs in blankets got high marks from almost everyone. The pastry was tender, buttery, and flaky. One tester said, "I love how the Parm on the outside is almost like frico." Tasters also praised the juicy, flavorful hot dog. But the biggest pro of these puff-wrapped pups was how appealing they looked, beautifully browned and textured thanks to the cheesy topping. One weirdo (me) didn't love the flavor of the cheese. But, everyone else did, so invite these to your next get-together without a second of hesitation.

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of 07 Vegetable Spring Rolls While they weren't an overwhelming favorite like the pastry pups, these classic spring rolls filled with cabbage , mushrooms, edamame , tofu, and kale were well-liked. Tasters appreciated the rolls' golden color and relatively crisp exterior. The wrap had an appealing chewy texture and crunchy bite. We enjoyed the flavor, although one tester noted it was on the less pleasant, sweet side. The only other negative note was that the wrapper felt a little greasy. Overall verdict? These are solid, if not standouts.

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of 07 Trader Joe's Quiche Lorraine Unlike some other brand's quiches we tasted, TJ's version was large, not bite-sized mini quiches. But, nothing's stopping you from slicing a full-sized quiche into thin slivers to serve as an hors d'oeuvres. In fact, that's pretty chic! Size aside, reviews were mixed. On the plus side, most of us liked the quiche's look (important when you're serving at a party!), with its golden top and flaky crust. The ham and Swiss cheese filling, though, received only lukewarm reviews, with one taster calling it "moist with an eggy taste." (A compliment, I think?) Others were even less positive, calling the filling "watery and underwhelming" and "slightly artificial tasting."

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of 07 Mini Vegetable Samosas These curry-flavored nibbles had some fans, but in the end, our reaction can be summed up in one word: "meh." The crust was slightly sweet and at least somewhat crispy, which in the frozen appetizer world is not a given. The filling, which includes potatoes, lentils, carrots, and peas was under-seasoned. One taster surmised that there were more peas than potatoes , leading to an overly earthy flavor. The takeaway: while we didn't hate them, we wouldn't necessarily serve them to our friends and family.

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of 07 Small spanakopitas—those crispy phyllo triangles with spinach and feta tucked inside—are a party classic. Like the Quiche Lorraine, Trader Joe's version is full-sized, so you would cut it into wedges for a party. Or, after reading this review, maybe you wouldn't. Let's start with the positive reactions. One taster noted the spinach pie's crispy brown edges approvingly; another called the filling "tasty and juicy." It all goes downhill after that with reactions ranging from "sour flavor and wetter filling," to "soggy and sad; filling tastes of stale onions." Enough said.

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of 07 Mixed Mushroom and Spinach Quiche About half the size of Trader Joe's Quiche Lorraine, this one would be even cuter sliced into small slivers for a party. Overall, our tasters liked the look of this vegetarian quiche . But, only one of our ranks really enjoyed eating it, saying that the filling—made with both button and oyster mushrooms —was "creamy and well-seasoned" and that the "crust is good and crisp." The rest of the reviews were middling to poor. Two tasters called the filling "watery," while a third said it was "very wet."

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of 07 Potato Pancakes Finally, these latkes were our least favorite of the Trader Joe's frozen appetizers we tried. We had high hopes before tasting because we appreciated their appearance. They're a perfect size for an appetizer, perhaps topped with sour cream and applesauce. They were thin and misshapen, but in a good, homey way. The exterior was also nicely golden and crisp-ish. Unfortunately, the interior did not live up to expectations. One taster noted that it was "very onion-y and a little harsh-tasting." Another said the insides were "squishy and slightly bitter." A third complained of a bad aftertaste. The consensus was that they tasted less like potato and more like onion, which is not ideal for a potato pancake.

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