The latest employee-backed Trader Joe’s holiday list available here is from the 2025 season—not a confirmed guide to what is in stores in 2026. It highlights products discussed by Trader Joe’s employees and Inside Trader Joe’s cohosts Tara Miller and Matt Sloan. These 12 are the first 12 items in a 16-product roundup, not an official ranking. Check your local store for current stock before making a trip.
Which picks work best for gifts and hosting?
These packaged sets and cheese-board additions make the most sense when you want a ready-to-share option. The descriptions below reflect the 2025 roundup; seasonal products may not be available now.
Italian Tomato Pasta Sauce Trio
The set includes three sauces made with tomatoes grown in Puglia, Italy: Puttanesca, Datterino Cherry Tomato and Roasted Garlic, and Italian Tomato and Roasted Vegetable. Matt Sloan suggested it as a gift.
Trio of Flavored Honey
This gift box pairs lemon-, lavender- and ginger-flavored honey in reusable 8-ounce glass jars. Tara Miller said it would not be around for long, a comment about its 2025 season rather than a current stock guarantee.
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3 Spreads for Cheeses & Toast
The fruit-spread trio includes Strawberry & Black Pepper, Rhubarb & Vanilla Bean, and Mango & Yuzu. The 2025 roundup suggested serving them with cheese or toast.
Cranberry Chèvre
This goat cheese log has cranberries on its exterior and mixed inside. The 2025 article described it as a returning favorite.
Rank #2
- Ideal for Gifting
- Ideal for a bookworm
- Compact for travelling
White Stilton with Cranberries
A young, crumbly Stilton with dried cranberries throughout, this is another cranberry-forward option for a cheese board.
Holiday Cheer Unexpected Cheddar Cheese Spread
This seasonal spread combines cranberry, Riesling and cinnamon flavors. Sloan called it a “holiday cheese ball fondue spread”; the cohosts also suggested stirring it into pasta or spooning it onto a baked potato.
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What should you choose for a quick appetizer or meal?
Mini Filet Mignon En Croute
This small beef Wellington-style appetizer wraps beef tenderloin and mushroom duxelles in puff pastry. Sloan described it as a “very satisfying meal-worthy appetizer.”
Truffle Risotto
The ready-made frozen risotto is prepared on the stovetop in a few minutes, according to the 2025 article. Sloan’s caveat is worth noting: choose it only if you enjoy truffle flavor.
Rank #4
Organic Peeled & Cooked Chestnuts
The roundup described the chestnuts as mild, buttery and sweet, and suggested adding them to stuffing, salads or rice. It also proposed blending them into soup; that recipe idea is separate from the employee-highlighted product.
Which picks are best for sweets and coffee?
Almost a Kilo of Belgian Chocolate Bars
This trio includes dark chocolate with sea salt, milk chocolate with crunchy corn, and dark chocolate with crunchy caramel. Sloan called the milk chocolate-and-corn bar “the sleeper hit.” Miller said it was “the chocolate product that I am most excited to have on the shelves.”
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- It can be a gift option
- Comes with secure packaging
- Helpful in various ways
Cinnamon Spiced Coffee
This Mexican medium-roast ground coffee is flavored with cinnamon. It first launched in 2024, according to the 2025 roundup. Sloan called it a “perfect pairing” with one of the chocolate bars and suggested it as a drink for carolers.
Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches
Vanilla ice cream is sandwiched between gingerbread cookies. Miller named ginger, cinnamon, molasses and brown sugar among the flavors and ingredients.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to use this list when shopping
- For a host gift: consider the pasta sauce trio or flavored honey, if available.
- For a cheese board: the three fruit spreads, Cranberry Chèvre, White Stilton with Cranberries and Holiday Cheer Unexpected Cheddar Cheese Spread offer different sweet, tart and savory options.
- For a warm appetizer or fast meal: look for Mini Filet Mignon En Croute or frozen Truffle Risotto, keeping the latter’s truffle flavor in mind.
- For a cook’s pantry: chestnuts can be used in stuffing, salads or rice.
- For a sweet pairing: the cinnamon coffee and Belgian chocolate bars were paired in the employee discussion; gingerbread ice cream sandwiches are the separate frozen dessert choice.
These selections are based on the first 12 entries in The Kitchn’s Dec. 1, 2025 roundup of 16 new and seasonal products discussed by Miller and Sloan. The source did not present them as a ranked top 12, and its coverage does not establish 2026 availability or current prices. The two cohosts also discussed a 12-product holiday list in Trader Joe’s official 2024 podcast transcript; that historical format does not confirm this year’s lineup.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
