I ate Trader Joe’s fall meals to see which are worth buying before the season ends and which you can skip

The butternut-squash mac and cheese is one seasonal product I buy every year. It’s delicious even for a meal that can be prepared in the microwave. 

Although the pasta typically takes five or six minutes to microwave, I used the conventional oven method this time around. I removed the plastic film from the tray, popped it in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes, stirred it, then heated it for another 12 minutes.

I really like how the mac and cheese turned out in the oven. The noodles were perfectly al dente, and the sauce was creamy and cheesy.

I also enjoyed the strong notes of butternut squash and sage, which made this a really comforting meal for the season.

The mushroom-and-black-truffle flatbread is one of the few seasonal items I found that isn’t squash, apple, or maple, and I was hopeful it would be good. It comes topped with wild mushrooms, mozzarella, and truffles. 

I like truffle, but I know the flavor can sometimes be overpowering. I really wanted that not to be the case here, since the flatbread looked so delicious on the cover.

I baked it as directed at 425 degrees F for eight minutes and broiled the flatbread to get the cheese nice and golden.

The sauce on my flatbread wasn’t spread evenly, so some spots had a strong truffle flavor while others were a little more bland.

Overall, it was OK, but I think there are tastier fall meal options that would keep me from buying this again.

I’d seen this butternut-squash lasagna gaining some attention on social media, so it wasn’t too surprising that I got the last one available at my local Trader Joe’s.

The frozen lasagna contains ingredients like puréed carrot, rosemary, and smoked cheese layered between pasta sheets.

Instead of microwaving it, I baked it at 450 degrees F for 45 minutes. That seems like a long time, but it was still easier and quicker than making lasagna from scratch. 

The butternut-squash lasagna was very cheesy and tasted just a little earthy from the squash and pumpkin. I really liked the hints of sage, when I could taste them.

The inner layers were very soft and gooey, but the bread crumb and pepita topping added a nice, crunchy contrast. I thought this was delicious, and I appreciated that it made enough to feed me for a few different meals.

I hoped the pumpkin samosas would blend sweet, savory, and spicy elements.

The samosas looked tightly folded, so I wasn’t worried about the filling leaking out while baking. I baked these at 400 degrees F for 16 minutes.

The pastry turned out really nice and flaky. The filling consisted of pumpkin, cumin, and paneer, which all worked really well together.

The samosa were spicy and savory, and the soft, saucy interior contrasted the crisp exterior. These will be a fall staple for me, and I think I’ll pair them with a yogurt-based dip in the future.

Trader Joe’s creamy Toscano cheese dusted with cinnamon is supposed to be rich and creamy but I was skeptical about combining cheese and cinnamon. 

If it was good, I predicted this cheese could work for all types of meals: cheese boards, pastas, and sandwiches all came to mind.

The cheese was pretty crumbly, great for adding to a snack board but not ideal for grating or shaving.

I really liked the variation between the tangy cheese and the spiced cinnamon coating, although I didn’t taste that cinnamon in every bite. 

Still, I enjoyed this cheese on its own, and I thought it was a unique twist inside of a grilled cheese. 

When I think of risotto, I think of a creamy, cheesy, decadent dish. The chain’s riced-cauliflower and butternut-squash risotto has an autumnal twist and features a butternut-squash sauce, carrots, and riced cauliflower.

Although I knew this wouldn’t be as soft and creamy as classic risotto because it subs rice for cauliflower, I still thought it might turn out pretty luscious.

The risotto was neither creamy nor cheesy, in my opinion. There was cheese in it, but it tasted unsurprisingly like cauliflower and squash.

Despite cooking it for nearly double the amount of time directed on the package, the veggies in this didn’t soften. This ended up being slightly crunchy with every bite. Between the flavor and the texture, this is one meal I won’t be eating again.

Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest soup features rosemary, sage, tomatoes, pumpkin, and butternut squash. 

The soup, which comes in a shelf-stable jar, is easy enough to make, either in the microwave or on the stove. It only took me a few minutes to heat up a small portion of it in the microwave. 

I thought this was more of a tomato soup with some pumpkin and butternut squash purees added. I barely tasted any of the squash. It was more tomato-, onion-, and garlic-forward.

The chunks of tomato and onion gave the soup a chewy and sometimes slimy texture, which I didn’t love. Because this is so similar to tomato soup, I’d prefer a classic, non-chunky tomato over this.

Trader Joe’s offers quite a few fall soups this time of year, so I also tried out the bisque made from pumpkin and butternut squash.

I like that this was available in the refrigerated section as a fresher product.

The texture was mostly smooth, not surprising for a bisque. I appreciated the creamy squash flavor but I wished I’d tasted more sage. 

I also paired the soup with a grilled cheese made with the Toscano cheese dusted with cinnamon, and I liked the hint of cinnamon and tanginess from the cheese paired with the rich, earthy flavors of the soup.

I’d buy this again, although I might add some extra sage next time.

The honey-roasted pumpkin ravioli is typically one of my fall staples.

I typically pair it very simply with some browned butter and maybe a little sage and Parmesan cheese. With several other fall pasta-based dishes available this year, I was curious how this would stack up. 

I paired the ravioli with brown butter, and it was a simple but tasty comfort dish. The pasta was perfectly al dente, and I enjoyed the richness of the sweet yet savory pumpkin filling.

I tend to whip up simple pasta sauces on my own, so I usually skip premade ones.

Still, I was excited for the easy prep and to try the combination of a tomato sauce mixed with squash and fall seasonings.

As with the Autumnal Harvest soup, I didn’t taste much pumpkin or butternut squash in this. It was good, but it tasted like a standard tomato-and-cream-based pasta sauce.

Interestingly, this sauce reminded me of childhood classic SpaghettiOs. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I expected. 

Either way, I’d probably make my own sauce in the future instead of buying this. 

I’ve enjoyed many of the gnocchi options at Trader Joe’s, including the tri-colored mini gnocchi, frozen cauliflower gnocchi, and even the kale gnocchi that came out a few years ago.

I had a good feeling about the pumpkin one. 

These only took a few minutes to cook, and I loved that the pumpkin flavor was present but not overpowering. Each bite was soft but chewy.

This gnocchi could also be versatile. I tried it with the brown butter to start and also with the cinnamon-dusted Toscano, and the combination of pumpkin, butter, cinnamon, and tangy cheese was a hit.

The dish would also be tasty with some crushed pecans or sage.