Every devoted Trader Joe’s shopper has at least one seasonal product they eagerly keep an eye out for once the time is right. As someone with a big sweet tooth, most on my list are in the dessert category, like the Dark Chocolate-Covered Peppermint Joe-Joe’s that appear during the holiday months or the springtime-only Ube Mochi Waffle Mix.
The exception is my favorite summer snack. It’s savory and so delicious—I grab multiple bags when it makes its way back on store shelves: Trader Joe’s Patio Potato Chips.
Trader Joe’s Patio Potato Chips
Price: $2.99 for a six-ounce bag
Why I Love It: Every handful tastes a little different thanks to the mix of salt-and-vinegar, dill, ketchup, and barbecue chips in the same bag.
Credit: Simply Recipes / Trader Joe’s
Why I Love Trader Joe’s Patio Potato Chips
I regularly pop into the Trader Joe’s subreddit to see what other fans are talking about. It’s a great way to get intel on new arrivals, gather meal ideas, and, most importantly, catch updates on returning products. Because the ones with devoted followers—like my beloved potato chips—are bound to get a shout-out once shoppers see them in the wild. Of course, as soon as I heard that the Patio Potato Chips were back, I immediately squeezed in a trip to my local TJs, and luckily, there were plenty available.
Trader Joe’s Patio Potato Chips combine four flavors in one bag: Sea Salt & Vinegar, Delicious Dill, Homestyle Ketchup, and Smokin’ Sweet BBQ. On paper, it sounds a little chaotic, but the mix works. The website describes it as a “greatest hits collection” of backyard barbecue flavors, and that’s exactly what they taste like. The chips are salty, tangy, smoky, and slightly sweet all at once, and every handful tastes a little different depending on which flavors you grab together.
Part of the appeal is that the flavors stay distinct instead of blending into one seasoning. You can easily tell the dill chips apart from the barbecue chips, and the ketchup and salt-and-vinegar ones bring a different tanginess to the party. Together, they balance each other out in a way that makes the bag surprisingly easy—and fun—to keep reaching into.
Since launching in 2019, the chips have developed a pretty loyal following, and shoppers were especially disappointed when they disappeared for a period after a fire impacted the supplier’s production facility. Now that they’re back again for the season, people (read: me) are already stocking up.
They’re the kind of snack that works for almost any summer situation: cookouts, road trips, beach days, or hanging out on the deck while sipping my other recent favorite find, the sparkling lychee juice.
I’ll keep buying multiple bags every summer as long as Trader Joe’s keeps making them. Some seasonal products are fun to try once, but Patio Potato Chips are the kind of snack I end up craving every year—and judging by how quickly they disappear from shelves, I’m not the only one.
To learn more about our approach to product recommendations, see HERE.
Read the original article on Simply Recipes
Dining and Cooking