Trader Joe's Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs

This blog post completes what will inevitably be known as the What's Good at TJ's Meatball Trilogy of June 2025. The series began with Trader Joe's Meatball Calzone. The adventure continued with Trader Joe's Homestyle Angus Beef Meatballs. And now we find our heroes returning to poultry with a Japanese flair as our story concludes with teriyaki meatball subs and pineapple stir fry rice bowls.

We heated these puppies in the air fryer. They weren't dry in the slightest. Their flavor wasn't overbearing at all. It was a typical chicken taste but also slightly sweet with plenty of teriyaki tang. I think I liked the meatballs by themselves as much as I liked our meatball sub and stir fry dishes.

They went well with every sauce we tried them with. It's just a matter of what you're after. Soy sauce gave them extra saltiness. Soyaki sauce gave them saltiness as well as sweetness. Yangnyeom did the same but with a bit of spiciness, too. I don't think I'd throw them in any tomato based sauces, but if you've tried that and liked it, let us know in the comments.

What else could you do with these? I've heard good things about pineapple teriyaki chicken meatball pizzas and flatbreads. I've heard you can just throw them in a bowl of noodles, spicy or otherwise. It might be easier to ask what you can't do with them rather than what you can.

$4.29 in the refrigerated section for about 24 meatballs. Fully cooked. Gluten free. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars a piece from Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

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.

Trader Joe's Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches is without a doubt my favorite style of cake, so we actually picked up this specimen from Trader Joe's for my birthday last week. It comes frozen, but it's quite simple to prepare: thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for three hours.

Predictably, I was ready for cake before the beautiful wifey, so I simply started eating the product straight out of the cardboard container that it comes in. It was still a bit frosty on the inside, so I had to wait a bit longer to finish my piece. Like the recently reviewed macarons, this is another one you actually want to thaw fully before consuming.

Sonia skipped the part where she scolds me for eating straight out of the product packaging since it was my birthday and all, and she managed to salvage an only slightly mangled piece from the cardboard container. She's been eating tres leches pretty much her whole life, while I only came to know and love the spongy Latin milk cake as a young adult.

We both agree this selection from TJ's is great. It's not the number one best tres leches we've ever had, but it's definitely up there. 

Considering the convenience and price: $8 for four servings, it's definitely something to check out if you're not familiar with tres leches or if you need an easy dessert for a small gathering or family meal.

Kosher. Found in the frozen section. Would buy again. Sonia and I will go with eight and a half out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Tres Leches Cake.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.