7 Items To Buy Your First Time At Trader Joe's

Shopping at Trader Joe's is a whole different experience from shopping at your standard grocery store. The chain's branding has a distinctly quaint, slightly cheeky feel, and its aisles are packed with their fair share of popular items that you can't get anywhere else.

If you're a first-time Trader Joe's shopper, though, you might get overwhelmed before you even cross the threshold. And no, you're not imagining things if the parking lot and aisles seem insanely packed, as they often are (in fact, you might want to follow a strategy for shopping at T.J.'s if you plan to make this a regular event).

While you can definitely stock up on all your necessary grocery items at Trader Joe's each week, along with some great personal care and Trader Joe's kitchen items, if this is your first time, you definitely want to take advantage of the must-have items that helped make the store famous. This is your ultimate cheat sheet of must-try items to grab for the quintessential Trader Joe's experience, and a sampling of items that have put the retailer on the map. Though goodies rotate in and out of the store with the seasons (which is part of the fun), these seven items have been around for a while and will likely be evergreen. Grab your shopping carts, and get ready to sample.

One of the areas in which Trader Joe's really shines is its refrigerated section of prepackaged snacks and, more specifically, dips galore. There are, of course, the usuals like hummus, salsa, and guac, but the store also stocks more adventurous, exclusive picks like its vegan tzatziki, ready-to-serve pesto, or garlic spread.

Pick one of these up on your next shopping trip — any of them will add huge flavor when dolloped on roasted veggies, as a pita dip, or stirred into a grain bowl. You can hardly go wrong with these offerings, but the versatile and flavor-packed garlic dip is particularly crushable in all kinds of contexts.

There might not be anything inherently revolutionary about T.J.'s peanut butter — at least, not aside from the price, and that alone is reason enough to never leave the store without a jar or two in your basket. It doesn't get any better than all-natural peanut butter made with just peanuts and salt (or not, if you prefer that), offered in creamy or crunchy varieties for less than a gallon of gas in many cases. As grocery prices have climbed everywhere else, this is one of the T.J.'s gems that has remained surprisingly, refreshingly affordable.

Trader Joe's fruit and nuts section looks normal enough at first glance, but when you look closer, you'll discover must-have gems like these delightfully chewy, stretchy, thick, candy-like ribbons of dried mango. This item is available in several varieties, including an organic option and "soft and juicy" pieces, but we're partial to the basic ones made from only dried mangoes, which are sweet enough to taste like candy all on their own. You may even want to rip into the bag on the drive home.

When you want to make mealtime easier while still feeling homemade and fresh, T.J.'s really shines. This includes its impressive bagged salad selection, probably made by another well-known salad kit brand, with unique flavors like the dill pickle-themed salad kit or a sweet chili mango option. These bags include all the bits and pieces like toppings and dressing, so the salad is ready to tear open and serve up. You'll find options like these along with ample options for plain greens, so why not stock up on a couple for easy, fresh lunches all week?

Trader Joe's offers no shortage of sweets, gummies, and candies, but for serious chocolate lovers, no grocery run is complete without stocking up on the grocery chain's famous 1-pound chocolate bars. These hefty slabs are sold in milk, dark, white, and other flavors, and they'll ensure you always have plenty of the good stuff on hand.

According to rumors, these bars are probably made by Callebaut, an iconic chocolate maker in Belgium. As is the case with most of Trader Joe's items, they're likely manufactured by a secret army of established food brands and manufacturers, then adorned with an in-house T.J.'s label.

The chip aisle at Trader Joe's can be overwhelming upon first stroll — brimming with all the usual potato and corn chip options and some quirky selections that are all T.J.'s. We're talking pizza-flavored potato chips, the iconic plantain chips, and these deliciously tangy, salty, turns-your-mouth-inside-out-in-a-good-way chili lime tortilla chips. Twisted into bright little cones reminiscent of Takis, these heavily lime-y, spicy spiraled delights absolutely stand out from the crowd.

Trader Joe's has churned out no shortage of viral goodies over the years, but it wouldn't be a first-time run to the store if you left without perhaps its most famed creation that inspired countless knockoffs from other brands. We're talking about T.J.'s "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning.

Found in the spice section along with other basic and inventive seasonings, this little canister contains everything you'd find coating an everything bagel: sesame seeds, dried onion, poppy seeds, and salt. The result is a salty, crunchy, flavorful topping that's as delicious sprinkled onto cream cheese on a bagel or avocado toast as it is on top of sushi or rice, in a bowl, or on a salad.