Here is another item I’ve not seen in Trader Joe’s before, so I thought I would give it a spin and see how it tastes! Clearly, Trader Joe’s is trying to cater to the Vegetarian/Vegan crowd out there with mixed results. Some of their products push the boundaries of what is acceptable food in pursuit of being vegetarian. When I saw this in the frozen section a few days ago, I figured here is another dud in the faux meat department. I’m glad I was wrong on this one!
First let’s talk about what’s in the bag. It’s basically a bag of these Tofu nuggets that are impregnated with edamame and little chunks of carrots. Based on the picture, I thought there might be a packet of dipping sauce in the bag, but nothing. From the exterior of the nuggets, they look very much like chicken nuggets but you can see the pea-like edamame and carrot chunks through the skins.
They preparation directions come in two flavors, oven and microwave. This is one of those times I opted for the extra time for warming up the oven becuase I knew that if I nuked them in the microwave they would get mushy. Maybe next time I will heat one up in the microwave to see how the texture is, but for now I only recommend using the oven to heat these things up. I put them on your standard cookie sheet and waited…
They came out of the oven with a nice crisp looking brown skin and smelled great. If you are expecting anything similar to chicken nuggets you can forget that right now. These have a decidedly asian flair to them, eventhough they aren’t seasoned in any way. It must be the combination of tofu, edamame and vegetables that make it taste that way. You know we have a lot of Asian food out this way near Seattle and these remind me of one of the dishes you get regularly at Dim Sum restaurants. They were decent on their own, but they really needed something to dip into. I tried a couple of different things. I tried a sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and soyaki all from Trader Joe’s. Of all of them, I really like the sweet chili sauce best and then the soy sauce.
So would I buy these again? I think I would! They make a decent appetizer at a party or a nice side dish for an Asian meal.
I’m going to rate this 8 Bells!
OMG! I am eating these right now and they are so delicious. My boyfriend said they taste like chicken nuggets & I agree. The flavor is wonderful- not to strong & not bland (sometimes Trader Joes can really bland food out). Cant wait to try this one again!
I am eating some now. They are Fantastic! Dipping the in a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce! YUM!
[…] some Trader Joe’s Tofu and Edemame Nuggets on top (4-6 pieces) pre-cooked in microwave or oven (could use chicken, shrimp, or other […]
Our stores have been sold or for weeks! Supposedly getting more mid June.
Hi I shop at the trader joes in Reston Virginia and they stopped selling these how can I get them back in my life????!
My 4 year old BEGS for these! While we aren’t vegetarian or vegan, I do struggle to get him to eat healthy (or anything remotely considered healthy) food. My only complaint is I live almost 3 hours from a Trader Joe’s and I only bought 1 bag!
I discovered these a couple of months ago and bought a bag. They were delicious as an accompaniment to something else for lunch, and surprisingly tasty. I too enjoyed them with sweet chili sauce. Funny how you can always find treats you’ve never seen before at TJ’s.
I purchased both the Tofu Edamame Nuggets and Japanese Style Fried Rice after reading your reviews, and I have to say THANK YOU! I made both items for a quick dinner one evening and they were delicious! I baked the Tofu Edamame Nuggets in the oven and cooked the Japanese Style Fried Rice on the stove, rather than microwaving either item. These items are now on my list of quick dinners when I don’t have time to cook from scratch!
I agree, they are both still some of my favorite foods at Trader Joe’s. Easy go to food!
These nuggets are oh so good! I always have to pick up a bag when I got to Trader Joe’s!
My fiancée and I like be these little nuggets so much!! She makes a homeade dipping sauce out of chile oil, seseme oil, soy sauce, and roasted seseme seeds…yummy! Sadly we went to the Naples, FL Trader Joe’s today to stock up (over an hour from our house) and the sales associate said that they discontinued them a few weeks ago ? Does anyone know if we can order them online and have them shipped?