Haul & Oats, August 2026

image generated by Gemini

Time for another big Trader Joe's run. Yet again, we bought as many brand new products as we could get our hands on. We also bought dozens of classic items like salsas, drinks, and sauces. Sonia bought her favorite unsweetened instant oatmeal, too. That's why I've dubbed this one Haul & Oats, get it?

She likes Trader Joe's Unsweetened Instant Oatmeal for the multiple grains: oats, quinoa, and amaranth. She also likes that it's unsweetened in this case so she can use honey and berries to sweeten it herself. $3.79 for 8 packets. Gluten free. Kosher. She gives it 9 out of 10 stars. Looky here for nutrition info.

Let us know in the comments which products you'd like us to review first. We've already sampled a good many of these new items and have a few reviews coming down the pipeline, so stay tuned. Please check out the haul video in YouTube and like, share, hype, and subscribe! Thanks for watching.

Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions

Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions are all about the convenience factor. For $3.29, you get 12 oz of the tangy, crunchy condiment. Sure, you could make your own. But will you? For some folks the answer is yes, and they're already in the habit of chopping and pickling their own onions right in the kitchen. For others, the answer is "I could, but I know I won't."

Both answers are valid. Sonia and I sometimes buy a jar of pickles and then when we've finished the product within, we save the juice and pickle whatever else needs pickling: onions, cucumbers, jalapeños...you name it. I just don't trust myself to get the vinegar to salt to sugar ratio quite as perfectly as a company that's been pickling stuff professionally for decades.

Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions are quite vinegary—more so than other pickled onions I've tried. That's certainly not a bad thing, especially if you like the acidic taste of vinegar. There's plenty of onion flavor and the garlic, salt, and black peppercorn adds a faint but noticeable background essence. I think I prefer the Lime Pickled Onions from Broken Taco when it comes right down to it, but they tend to be a bit more expensive.

These pickled onions add a nice tang to tacos, burgers, and salads. We're especially fond of putting them in beef tacos—see pic. They're also legit on hotdogs and avocado toast. I threw some on top of an omelette as a garnish and it worked just fine. The sky's the limit. The only question is: how will we use the leftover pickle juice once the onions are gone? If we throw little cucumber slices in the jar will we get oniony pickles?

Sonia and I would both buy this one again. Just as good as Trader Joe's Pickled Jalapeño Slices. The beautiful wifey will go with eight out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions. I'll throw out seven and a half.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.