Trader Joe's Gluten Free Breaded Shrimp

On special occasions as a kid, if my parents asked me for any input about where I'd like to go for a big meal, I'd almost invariably choose Bonanza Steakhouse at the local mall. They knew before we even got to the restaurant that I'd order fried shrimp with cocktail sauce. I loved that stuff. The fact that my favorite video arcade, Aladdin's Castle, was right next door was also a bonus. I mean, Ponderosa and Hoss's offered scrumptious seafood and salad bars too, but the promise of blowing my entire weekly allowance on Golden Axe or Double Dragon before my parents even finished their dessert tipped the scales in favor of Bonanza every time.

My love of fried shrimp followed me into adulthood. Popcorn shrimp, coconut shrimp, honey walnut shrimp—you name it. If it has breading and shrimp, I'll eat it and most likely love it. 

Enter: Trader Joe's Gluten Free Breaded Shrimp. Having sampled many, many gluten free offerings from TJ's throughout the years, I had a pretty good idea I'd be fine with their GF shrimp, even if the batter wasn't wheat based.

And I was right. Tapioca and coconut flours do the trick just fine. Six minutes in the air fryer had these delicious morsels sizzling and ready to be thrown into our shrimp soft tacos with corn tortillas, salsa verde, feta cheese, and freshly chopped onion. I did try them on their own, as well, and they're just as good as wheat-battered shrimp. They go great with sweet Thai chili sauce.

Ten bucks is a little steep for a 3 serving Trader Joe's product, but decent shrimp is pricey anywhere these days. Add to that the fact that these meet a very important dietary requirement for gluten intolerant folks, and the price tag seems downright reasonable. 

Sonia and I would buy this product again. Imported from Thailand. Eight and a half out of ten stars from both of us on Trader Joe's Gluten Free Breaded Shrimp.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.