Trader Joe’s 12 Best Budget-Friendly Name-Brand Food Dupes
Trader Joe’s might seem like the slightly more upscale cousin to Aldi, but don’t let that fool you. They’re still all about saving you money. Less than 20 percent of what they sell is name-brand—everything else is their own store label, and a lot of it is intentionally designed to mimic popular products you’d pay way more for elsewhere. Some of these dupes come and go (RIP the Thin Mint copycats), but these twelve are still on shelves and absolutely worth grabbing.
The Uncrustables Dupe – Crustless
Smuckers Uncrustables are the crustless PB&J standard. Trader Joe’s Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches are so similar, Smuckers is suing. Pending lawsuit aside, they’re vegan, less sweet, and cheaper. $3.79 for 8.89 ounces. Uncrustables at Safeway? $4.99. Grab them while you can.
A Takis Spicy Alternate
Chili and lime rolled tortilla chips? That’s Takis territory. Trader Joe’s Chili & Lime-Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips are their milder, wallet-friendlier version. A 9-ounce bag is $2.99. Takis at Walmart? $4.08 for barely more chips. Your wallet feels the difference.
Marshamllow Easter Eggs
Peeps have their fans and their haters, but they’re undeniably the Easter candy. Trader Joe’s new Marshmallow Eggs are giving them competition. Four natural colors, vegan, actually tastier according to some. $1.49 for three. Same price as Peeps, but better ingredients.
Airline-style Onion Pretzels
If you’ve ever flown Southwest or Alaska, you might recognize that salty-sweet onion pretzel snack they hand out. Trader Joe’s version is called Sweet Onion-Style Pretzel Twists, and they taste nearly identical. The difference? A 12-ounce bag is $3.69, versus the several hundred dollars you’d spend on a plane ticket to get the original. Even Target sells the brand-name version for $5.99. Easy choice.
Squiggly Style Noodles
David Chang’s Momofuku noodles are great, but $9.99 a bag adds up. Trader Joe’s Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles are half that price. Spicy or regular, both are $5.49. Same artisanal noodle energy, way less money.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tate’s Bake Shop cookies are thin, crispy, chewy, perfect. Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Crispy & Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies are nearly identical. $4.99 for 7 ounces. Tate’s at Kroger? $5.99. Taste the same, pay less.
Spicy Cheese Crunchies
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos have a movie about them. Trader Joe’s Spicy Cheese Crunchies might be better. One Redditor said you can actually taste the cheese, not just “hot and red 40.” $2.49 for 7 ounces. Cheetos at Target? $4.79. You do the math.
Trader Joe’s Joe-Joe’s
Oreos are everywhere. Trader Joe’s Chocolate Vanilla Creme Joe-Joe’s are their version. No high fructose corn syrup, just sugar. Some say they taste better. $3.49 for 13.4 ounces. Oreos at Safeway? $4.99. Easy win.
Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese
The box even looks like Annie’s. Trader Joe’s Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese is 99 cents for 7.25 ounces. Annie’s at Kroger? Double that for a smaller box. Same manufacturer, rumor has it. Half the price.
McDonalds-ish Special Sauce
McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is legendary. You can’t buy it in stores, but random limited-edition bottles go for $100 on eBay. Trader Joe’s Magnifisauce is their take on it—ketchup, mayo, relish, secret spices. $3.49 for a squirt bottle. Spread it on everything.
Their Seasonal Sugar Cookies
Last fall, Trader Joe’s dropped sugar cookie dough imprinted with pumpkins. Clear dupe of Pillsbury’s Shape cookies, but with natural dyes and no jack-o-lantern face. Out of season now, but the plain sugar cookie dough is still there, $3.99. Fingers crossed for fall.
Knockoff KitKats
Trader Joe’s says their Chocolate Covered Wafer Cookie was inspired by a Polish dessert. Everyone else recognizes it as a KitKat dupe. Crunchy wafers, cream filling, milk chocolate. They even have a peanut butter version now. Both are $1.19. A 1.5-ounce KitKat at Target? Two bucks. No contest.
