Trader Joe’s snack section is pretty much unbeatable. The fact that within that snack section there’s an entire bagged popcorn section just proves my point. And the fact that most of those popcorns are pretty darn good proves it even further. Their Herbs & Spices Popcorn made it on our best bagged popcorn ranking. Their new Chocolatey Drizzled Strawberry Kettle Popcorn absolutely wowed one of our writers. So, I had high hopes for Trader Joe’s new savory Piquant Popcorn—and not just because I’m a sucker for alliteration. Were we pleasantly pleased or profoundly perturbed by this Piquant Popcorn? Read on to find out.  

New TJ’s Popcorn

Is this popcorn going to change your life? No. Is it a totally new flavor experience? No. But is it good? Yes. 

Pros: If you like nutritional yeast on your popcorn, then you will love this. Not only because it has plenty of nutritional yeast in the flavoring mix, but because the mix actually sticks to the kernels. If you’ve ever topped homemade popcorn with nutritional yeast at home, you know how that goes. You end up eating almost flavorless popcorn and you’re left with a bowlful of nutritional yeast flakes at the bottom, which, if you’re like me, you scoop up and eat like a monster. The popcorn itself is crunchy and fresh. And it’s satisfying for how low cal and low fat it is (140 calories and 7g of fat in 2.5 cups). I could easily eat a whole bag of this stuff.

Cons: You really only taste the nutritional yeast. I didn’t detect any onion or garlic, and there wasn’t that much salt, either. And, as I said, this isn’t some boundary breaking snack. It’s just good popcorn. 

I can’t say you should run out and buy it immediately, but if you’re perusing the popcorn possibilities, Piquant Popcorn will treat you right. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

7.5/10

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