Whether it's fresh produce, prepared salads, or pre-packaged lentils, Trader Joe's is your go-to grocery store when you want to get quality vegetarian friendly foods and beauty products on the cheap. The best Trader Joe's products for vegetarians range from flavorful falafel to Italian sausage — sans sausage — to body lotion and bath scrubs. If you're a new vegetarian, and you're finding the selection of available foods and cruelty free products a bit of a yawn, the Trader Joe's vegetarian product list proves that saying goodbye to animal products doesn't mean you have to embrace a bland boring life.
What's more, Trader Joe's is super affordable. In fact, Laura Turner decided to replace a week's worth of meat in her meals with vegetarian options from Trader Joe's. The catch? She could only spend $25. Turner documented her experience on the blog Little Things. While she actually spent $27, she was able to get some pretty good deals that she turned into delicious vegetarian meals.
If you like to cook, there are plenty of meat substitutes you can get at Trader Joe's to make your favorite recipes. If you're more into grab and go, Trader Joe's also offers complete vegetarian meals that don't taste like cardboard. Seriously, the vegetarian products from Trader Joe's are so good that you won't even miss meat.
1Cauliflower Gnocchi
If you haven't been paying attention, cauliflower is the new kale. This vegetable can be used to make almost anything. From cauliflower rice to cauliflower pizza crust to cauliflower mash, this crunchy white stalk is finally getting all the love it deserves. The newest cauliflower craze is Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi. It's made in Italy, you can make it in the microwave in minutes, and it's only $2.69. Add your own seasonings to create your signature cauliflower gnocchi dish.
2Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels
Often when people aren't sure how to describe a vegetarian food they say it tastes like chicken. Well, in the case of Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels, it's actually true. In fact, one Twitter user posted they bought these by mistake but ended up loving them. You can score these faux-chicken bites for $3.29. Add them to your favorite dish, or eat them alone.
3 Yellow Jackfruit Curry with Jasmine Rice
If you haven't gotten on the jackfruit train, and you love curry, Trader Joe's Jackfruit Curry with Jasmine Rice is so delicious you won't believe it's actually vegetarian. If you, like me, think tofu tastes like a dirty sponge, jackfruit is a great meat alternative that you'll actually like.
4Trader Joe's Lentils
If you love you some lentils, but you don't love cooking them, Trader Joe's has pre-cooked lentils that you can instantly transform into a meal. Use them as a meat-substitute in tacos, make a lentil curry, or add them to your favorite salad.
5Soy Chorizo
OK, I'm generally suspicious of non-meat products that claim to taste like meat. Case in point, tofurkey. However, the buzz around Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo just might change my mind. The company that produces this product for Trader Joe's specializes in chorizo, which might be why it tastes so close to the real thing. It's definitely worth a try.
6Lavender Salt Scrub
If you want to score some boss vegetarian bath products that are guaranteed to be cruelty free, Trader Joe's takes the guesswork out of all of that label reading. All of Trader Joe's personal care products are cruelty free, including the Lavender Salt Scrub. I recently discovered salt scrubs, and I can attest that they are the best way to slough off that old winter skin to reveal your soft summer glow. The best thing about this product is that it's sold places other than Trader Joe's, which is good if there's not a location near you.
7 A Midsummer Night’s Cream Moisturizing Cream
If you're sensitive to additives in bath and body products, Trader Joe's A Midsummer Night’s Cream Moisturizing Cream might just be the best body lotion out there. Vegetarian, cruelty free, and also available on Amazon, this moisturizing cream will leave your skin feeling like silk. It's weightless, dries completely, and it's unscented so it won't leave you smelling like the duty-free shop at the airport.
8Dark Chocolate Orange Sticks
Sometimes it can be tricky to be a vegetarian because animal byproducts tend to show up in unexpected places, like candy and chocolate. For veggie lovers with a sweet tooth, the Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Orange Sticks are a must try.
9Mango & Sticky Rice Spring Rolls
10Churro Bites
A go-to summer snack that will transport you back to summer trips to the county fair, Trader Joe's describes its churro bites as "golden nuggets of churro-riffic goodness." Basically this is a brown sugar corn puff that's so delicious it will be difficult not to eat the whole bag in one sitting.
11Riced Cauliflower
If you're not in the know, cauliflower rice is the bomb, but it's a total pain in the butt to make. Enter Trader Joe's Riced Cauliflower. Because Trader Joe's does all of the work for you, this product is so popular that Trader Joe's had to ration it last year when they couldn't keep it in the shelves. Aside from the traditional rice cauliflower, you can also score rice cauliflower stir fry mix, and tons of other cauliflower-based goodies.
12Cucumber Avocado Body Butter
You already know that avocados and cucumbers are great for your skin. Now, Trader Joe's makes it easy to give yourself all of the green goddess love with its Cucumber Avocado Body Butter. And, while it looks good enough to eat, I recommend sticking to the real thing for your lunch.
Need some more recommendations? Grab your Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer each week to see the latest vegetarian and vegan products to hit shelves. In the meantime, head to your nearest Trader Joe's location where there's always some amazing to discover.
