What Is Trader Joe's Everything But The Elote Seasoning And How Can You Use It?

From the many hidden gems tucked away in its freezer aisle to its fan-favorite fall products, Trader Joe's is known for its quirky and creative ready-to-eat meals, snacks, and beverages. Though you may be familiar with its Everything But The Bagel seasoning, Trader Joe's carries another all-but-one-ingredient spice blend that you may be overlooking: Everything But The Elote Seasoning.

Trader Joe's Everything But The Elote seasoning is a spice blend inspired by a creamy Mexican street corn dish known as elote. The seasoning combines some of the key flavors commonly found in elote — chile powder, chipotle powder, cumin, and cilantro. However, although the street food dish is typically garnished with a flurry of cotija cheese, this signature Trader Joe's seasoning features parmesan. At once savory, smoky, spicy, and tangy, this multi-dimensional seasoning captures the essence of elote — minus, of course, the corn.

Like most spice blends, the nutritional makeup of Everything But The Elote seasoning is negligible. On its label, you'll see a series of zeroes, save for its 70 milligrams of sodium, which makes up only 3% of the recommended daily value.

Everything But The Elote seasoning is made with a roster of utilitarian spices and herbs, making it a versatile pantry ingredient. Although it's an apt choice for zhuzhing up elote or a baked elote dip, there are many other uses for the spice blend beyond these obvious applications.

Sprinkle Everything But The Elote seasoning over popcorn to give the mild-tasting but must-have movie snack a bold punch of flavor. Don't worry, we won't tell if you sneak it into your local theater. The next time you're roasting veggies, toss your greens with the spice blend to infuse them with a citrusy, spicy flavor that marries particularly well with bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini. Jazz up breakfast by garnishing an egg scramble or avocado toast with the bold but never brash flavor of Everything But The Elote seasoning.

To integrate it into larger meals, season your homemade burger patties with Everything But The Elote seasoning. This will give the meaty machismo of beef a flavor-forward flair. Not in the mood for burgers? Ditch your usual taco seasoning and try using the elote-inspired spice blend to reinvent the wheel on Taco Tuesday. You might even consider using the Mexican seasoning to add depth and complexity to your favorite meat marinades. Don't be afraid to think outside of the box, either. There are dozens of meals, bites, spreads, and schmears that can benefit from the old Everything But The Elote seasoning treatment.