13 Healthy Trader Joe's Snacks That Are Actually Delicious

Trader Joe's is known and loved for many things, including its overall affordability, popular frozen meals, and its friendly employees, to name a few. But one of the biggest reasons why this grocery chain's loyal customers love shopping here is the plethora of fun and interesting branded snacks that line the aisles.

Whether it's sweet treats that shine all summer like Trader Joe's signature Hold The Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones or picnic-perfect snacks like the fan-favorite Cacio e Pepe Puffs, there's no shortage of munchable goodies. But are there any Trader Joe's snacks that are actually healthy ... and delicious? The answer is yes — and there are lots of them!

Before we get to the list, let's define what makes a Trader Joe's snack "healthy." We're talking about packaged items that meet most, if not all, of these qualifications: They have a short list of easily recognizable ingredients, low or no added sugar, and are made with better-for-you oils (like olive oil or avocado oil) — all of which make them more health-conscious options. So without further ado, here's the roundup of snacks available at Trader Joe's that won't force you to sacrifice nutritious for delicious.

The great thing about popcorn is that it's a low-calorie, fiber-rich snack. However, some of the ingredients we add to it push it into "junk food" territory: the caloric butter we coat the kernels in, the chemicals inside that microwaveable bag, the sugars, sodium, and artificial ingredients added to the many flavored varieties. But when this Trader Joe's popcorn is prepared with a healthy fat like olive oil, it can be a perfectly sensible snack choice — and an extremely tasty one, too.

It's no secret that olive oil — specifically extra virgin olive oil — is one of the best things you can put in your body. This healthy fat is full of polyphenols and anti-inflammatory compounds, and its benefits are vast and numerous.

Sure, this Trader Joe's bag might not hit you with as much flavor as some of the more fun varieties like Buffalo Ranch or Pickle Popcorn, but it's subtly delicious and just salty enough.

Trader Joe's Oven-Baked Cheese Bites are made with 100% cheese — a blend of semi-aged cheese and grana padano cheese (classic Italian cheeses imported from Italy). When it comes to healthy snacking, it's often true that less is more; so with cheese as the only ingredient, it's hard to beat the simplicity of this one.

And with cheese as the only ingredient, that also means that these tasty, tangy nuggets make for a savory snack that's low in carbs (less than 1 gram per serving) and high in protein (nearly 13 grams per serving).

And as far as being delicious ... let's face it, pretty much everyone can agree that cheese tastes good. But bake it and turn it into a crunchy, poppable bite? Even better. As long as you don't stay away from dairy for any reason, these little bites are a great choice that taste amazing in soups, on salads, or simply on their own.

You know what they say: fruit is nature's candy. And the beautiful thing is that when you dry or dehydrate fruit, it really can taste like candy. And Trader Joe's Organic Dried Mango does a pretty good job of scratching that sweet, chewy candy itch that so many of us are familiar with.

It's only made with one ingredient: organic mango sourced from Mexico. This is another simple, one-ingredient snack that'll help satisfy that sweet tooth. Mango is not only naturally sweet and tropical, but it's also a good source of fiber, potassium, and antioxidants, which can support eye, hair, and skin health. Be sure to opt for the unsulfured and unsweetened dried mango at Trader Joe's, rather than varieties with added preservatives and sugars. 

These crispy, salty roasted seaweed sheets from Trader Joe's are low in calories, carbs, fat, and sugar ... yet they're still delicious. If you're more of a savory or salty snack person, this pack will definitely satisfy your cravings and give you the perfect crunch with every bite. 

Aside from its flavor and texture, seaweed is a great food to snack on because it's a superfood that comes with lots of health benefits. While different types of seaweed offer unique nutritional profiles, seaweed as a whole is full of vitamins and minerals (like calcium, potassium, and vitamin K), as well as natural plant chemicals (called phytochemicals) that act as antioxidants and help protect the body against damage and disease.

This product also uses high-oleic sunflower oil, which is made to contain at least 80% oleic (aka monounsaturated) acid. Monounsaturated fat can also be found in avocado and olive oil and has numerous health benefits. In many cases, high-oleic sunflower oil is a better choice than conventional sunflower oil (which contains more polyunsaturated fat).

Who doesn't love a crispy, crunchy, airy bite that's covered in chocolate? Trader Joe's Organic Dark Chocolate Half-Coated Rice Cake Thins are a little sweet, a little salty, and a lot yummy. They're a solid snack choice for any time of the day.

These tasty snacks keep it simple with just two ingredients: organic dark chocolate and organic brown rice. While dark chocolate itself does come with some added sugar (this snack contains around 5 grams for two rice cakes), it's a relatively low amount of sugar for a sweet snack.

High-quality dark chocolate is one of those foods where the health benefits tend to outweigh the drawbacks. While it's high in calories and contains saturated fat, it's also packed with antioxidants called flavanols, which have been found to support heart health and memory, lower the risk of certain diseases, prevent blood clots, and more. 

This chewy dried fruit snack, which hails from Thailand, is for tropical flavor lovers. The small squares combine mango and passion fruit to create a tart and tangy treat. And bonus, the 17 squares are individually wrapped, so you can enjoy one or two at a time and take as long as you want to go through the bag.

Like some other items on this list, these little bites come with some added sugar, but we are talking about snacks here. They have 1 gram of sugar per piece (4 grams of sugar for a serving size of four), which is more than reasonable.

Passion fruit, like mango, has many positive health benefits. This sweet yet tart, slightly citrusy tropical fruit is also packed with a ton of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Passion fruit is a great source of vitamin A, which helps support the skin, eyes, and immune system, and it's also high in fiber. 

Trader Joe's Slightly Coated Dark Chocolate Almonds are another sweet and satisfying treat that both tastes delicious and keeps things pretty light and healthy. The almonds are dry roasted, then lightly tossed in dark chocolate and finished with a dusting of cocoa powder and sea salt. What's not to love?

According to the Trader Joe's website, the chocolate-to-nut ratio in this bag ends up being around 20/80, so the product is aptly named; its just-sweet-enough coating keeps you coming back for more. It has only 3 grams of added sugar per serving and is sweetened with maple sugar, which is made from pure maple syrup and has a lower glycemic index than white granulated sugar.

Almonds make for a fantastic snack thanks to those same monounsaturated fats that you find in healthy oils and other nuts, which are great for healthy cholesterol and overall heart health. They're also low in carbs, high in calcium, and can help reduce inflammation.

The Bamba Puffed Peanut and Corn Snacks, arguably one of the tastier snacks you can find on the shelves at Trader Joe's, are everything you want them to be: light, puffy, crunchy, and oh so peanut buttery. They're actually a very popular snack food in Israel, but they're a little harder to find here in the States (except at Trader Joe's). Just be warned that they can be extremely craveable, so you might want to reach for the bag at all times.

The main ingredients in these puffs — which are beloved by adults and kids alike — are peanut butter and corn grits, making them a simple snack. The corn grits are essentially air-popped, and then coated in a liquid version of peanut butter. Just a note that products in certain locations might be made with palm oil, so if you can find the ones made with high-oleic sunflower oil, you'll be much better off.

This one sounds a little wild, so stay with us. Then again, if you're a regular at Trader Joe's, you're probably no stranger to some of the unexpected food concoctions found on its shelves. But the Sweet Chili Black-Eyed Pea Tempeh Chips are actually surprisingly snackable. Their seasoning blend of chili, sugar, and garlic gives them an umami flavor and a spice kick that will make you reach for more. 

This bag contains more ingredients than others on this list due to the seasoning, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't eat them. The crispy chips are primarily made from tempeh — which is traditionally the result of fermented legumes (often soybeans) that are formed into a sturdy square. However, this particular snack is made from fermented black-eyed peas instead, which are fiber-rich and full of nutrients the body needs, like folate and vitamin A.

There's that dark chocolate again — but it's a regular guest on this list for a reason. Not only is chocolate undeniably delicious, but dark chocolate in particular happens to be a powerhouse of antioxidants (which come from the cacao itself) that benefit everything from the heart to the brain and even help regulate blood pressure.

This specific bag of Dark Chocolate Thins from Trader Joe's contains no added sugar (the Colombian-made snack uses allulose instead). They are an awesome zero-sugar snack that'll still help you get through that mid-day slump or finish the night with a little something sweet.

Some dark chocolate can be a little bitter depending on your taste, but the Colombian chocolate and roasted cocoa nibs in these thins give the chocolate a rich yet subtly fruity flavor. The pouch comes with 12 individually wrapped dark chocolate pieces, which, like the name indicates, are perfect for eating on the go.

There are sadly no other cookies on this list because it can be challenging to find cookies that qualify as a healthy snack. But as far as cookies go, the French Galettes Butter Cookies at Trader Joe's are among your best options for a packaged sweet with simple ingredients and a reasonable amount of sugar. 

You probably don't need to be convinced that a cookie with "butter" in its name tastes pretty darn good, whether you're biting into it on its own or enjoying it with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. These French cookies are crispy, crumbly, flaky, and, of course, buttery.

The ingredient list includes wheat flour, cultured butter, sugar, eggs, and sea salt — all the things you need in a cookie, but nothing you don't. And while sugar does make an appearance here, it amounts to 8 grams of added sugar (9 grams total) for a serving size of two cookies. Less than 5 grams per cookie isn't too shabby!

This is the last dark chocolate snack — we promise. But the Dark Chocolate Coffee Buzz Bar at Trader Joe's needs its moment, especially for all the coffee lovers out there — because that chocolate-coffee combo is pretty magical. Its rich, roasted flavor is delicious and it even doubles as a nice pick-me-up, thanks to the caffeine.

Similar to Dark Chocolate Thins, this bar has Colombian roots; it's made with roasted cocoa and ground roasted coffee beans, giving it that rich flavor that tastes similar to a 70% dark chocolate. The whole bar contains the same amount of caffeine as a shot of espresso.

You know why dark chocolate is great, but did you know that coffee beans come with their own health benefits? This food has always been a source of health controversy, but coffee has since been shown to be beneficial in helping to prevent various diseases, largely thanks to the polyphenols (those helpful plant chemicals) found in each cup.

Last but not least, more almonds! These Roasted & Salted Rosemary Marcona Almonds are for the more savory snack goers, as each nut is coated in a generous layer of herby rosemary. They're amazing for cheese and charcuterie boards, but are just as good as a stand-alone snack.

What makes Marcona almonds different? This is a specific type of almond that only grows along the Mediterranean coast in Spain. They're widely considered a higher-quality almond, and they're slightly sweeter and less dense than other types of almonds, which results in a lovely texture and an extra-delicious nut. Of course, they come with all the same benefits — these almonds are high in healthy fats and are a good source of fiber. They're a low-carb, low-sugar snack that even adds a little protein (6 grams for a ¼ cup) to your day. Win, win, win!