The Best Trader Joe's Olive Oil Has A Distinct Peppery Finish

Trader Joe's is a veritable mecca for good food, with everything from prepared meals for under $8 to some of the most unique sweet snacks around. While the number of SKUs a store carries at any given time is far fewer than you can find in a traditional supermarket, the chain is still jam-packed with great items, including multiples of certain products. For example, Food Republic ranked the best TJ olive oils — it seemingly carries an option for everyone and every purpose — and felt the Sicilian Selezione Extra Virgin, which currently retails for $10.99 and has a distinct peppery finish, took the top spot.

Described by our taste tester as "deliciously zesty in all the right ways," this EVOO (to use Rachael Ray's term) is packed with flavor, featuring not just a peppery kick, but also brightness from fruit notes — there is a distinct but delicate lemony-ness to it — that would subtly liven up anything in which you'd use it. Plus, if provenance is important to you, its olives are all grown in Italy — specifically Sicily. Further, it's a bit nutty, a bit buttery, and altogether a complex yet versatile EVOO that you'll find yourself reaching for again and again.

While the Trader Joe's Sicilian Selezione works as an all-purpose, everyday cooking olive oil, its distinctive flavor makes it especially well suited for certain applications where it can truly shine. One of the best ways to use it is as a base for a dressing. While it's true you could simply pair it with vinegar to dress a salad, it lends itself perfectly to a variety of additions, like aromatics such as garlic and shallot, Dijon mustard, and even freshly squeezed lemon juice, to bring out its citrusy undertones.

The Sicilian Selezione is also excellent for drizzling when "finishing" dishes, like pasta, grilled meats, and even ice cream, and some people even favor it for baking in place of butter. Further, the internet gives top marks to this EVOO when it comes to adding herbs and creating a savory carb accompaniment; one Redditor even wrote said that they'd "never seen the big deal about dipping bread in olive oil until I tried [it] with the Sicilian."