Why Trader Joe's Customers Avoid This Prepared Meal At All Costs

Trader Joe's offers quite a breadth of prepped dishes, ranging from the "Product Hall of Fame" Orange Chicken to a diverse lineup of salad kits and fan-favorite mini pies. Understandably, not every offering is a 10/10, with customers expressing especially strong distaste toward the overnight oats. For a retailer known for gourmet renditions of global foods, it's surprising that such a straightforward item receives abundant negativity.

On a Trader Joe's Reddit thread dedicated to the Vanilla as well as Apple Overnight Oats, users didn't hold back. "The vanilla flavoring tastes so fake," wrote one Redditor, adding that the apple contains "sooo much cinnamon it's making my mouth dry." The distaste for the apple oats continues on other social media platforms: "For some reason, their overnight oats always have an unpleasant, gritty texture to me," critiqued an Instagram reviewer.

Meanwhile, on another Trader Joe's Reddit thread, the seasonally available Pumpkin Oats also drew copious negative attention. "The texture killed it for me. It reminded me of wet, raw bread dough with a flavorless graininess," wrote one commenter. A TJ's-focused YouTuber wasn't a fan either, noting that they "didn't think the pumpkin spices and ... puree really work." Granted, these gluten-free breakfast cups only cost $1.99 for a 5.5-ounce serving, so if you do happen to throw a package into the cart, the damage isn't too steep.

In addition to the apple, vanilla, and pumpkin flavors, Trader Joe's also sells Peanut Butter and Strawberry Overnight Oats. Not all feature an identical composition; the strawberry variety employs a "coconut beverage," while the vanilla utilizes an almond liquid, for example. Subsequently, some containers draw more mixed reviews than others. When evaluating several flavors, one TikToker wasn't impressed across the board, but did express a slight preference for the peanut butter flavor — though they added it "still [needed] something."

Ultimately, while other prepared dishes save money and time, a batch of overnight oats is easy to make from scratch. Stick to a simple overnight oats ratio, and you can customize the breakfast item using varying milk types, flavorings, add-ins, as well as the level of sweetness. Refrigerated, the resulting oatmeal remains good to eat for up to three days, making the food a great candidate for batching, too. Ultimately, it's fair to say this breakfast item benefits from homemade construction rather than an already prepared purchase.