The 6 best Trader Joe’s finds for St. Patrick’s Day — all under $13
Your St. Paddy’s Day spread, solved in one grocery run.
As a bona fide Irish girl — red hair included — St. Patrick’s Day has always meant more to me than just green beer. It’s a celebration of Irish heritage, a time to raise a glass to tradition, and an excellent excuse for a little merriment. Like so many other holidays from cultures around the world, the festivities are best enjoyed around the dining table.
Whether you’re Irish or not, Trader Joe’s is making it easy to enjoy a taste of Ireland this St. Patrick’s Day with a selection of seasonal finds that you’ll want to pick up before March 17. From a hearty main dish to a hands-on baking mix, these products from the cult-favorite grocery chain will help capture the spirit of the holiday — and every single one rings in at less than $13.
Garlic Butter Irish Potato Chips
Would it really be a roundup of Irish treats if we didn’t include potatoes? Trader Joe’s Garlic Butter Irish Potato Chips deliver on their namesake flavors with rich, salty, buttery, and aromatic notes. These chips are made in Ireland and feature a crinkle-cut surface, giving them enough structure to hold up to a dip. Although they’re equally delicious on their own, they'd also pair well with a variety of pints for St. Patrick's Day.
Beer Bread Mix
Making bread from scratch might sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. The instructions for Trader Joe’s Beer Bread Mix are straightforward: mix in a 12-ounce beer, pour the batter into a loaf pan, top with melted butter, and bake. Different beers produce slightly different results — use a lager for a light flavor profile or a stout to infuse darker color and complex notes — but every loaf comes out with a tender crumb. And at just $3 for the box, this product is a pretty hard deal to beat.
Blarney Scone
One of Trader Joe’s most beloved St. Patrick’s Day treats has quietly returned to shelves across the country. The playfully named Blarney Scone, a reference to the Blarney Stone in Cork, Ireland, is a slightly dense, scone-shaped loaf of Irish soda bread.
Just like other renditions of Irish soda bread, the loaf rises with the help of buttermilk, rather than yeast. It’s studded with sweet raisins and fragrant caraway seeds and can be used for either sweet toasts or savory sandwiches. Quite a few shoppers recommend simply enjoying a slice with a generous schmear of Kerrygold butter.
Uncured Corned Beef Brisket
Corned beef is a distinctly Irish-American tradition, and serving the savory main with cabbage has become a quintessential part of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States. To save you time in the kitchen, Trader Joe's has introduced a limited-time Uncured Corned Beef Brisket that’s ready to cook and costs only $10 per pound.
The prepared piece of meat contains no nitrites or nitrates and is bathed in a brine seasoned with mustard, coriander, bay leaf, red chili pepper, and dill seed. The supermarket chain notes that this product is best cooked low and slow, and you can even toss it in a crockpot if desired.
Irish Coffee
Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with friends or at home in your coziest socks, a bottle of Trader Joe’s Irish Coffee is in order. This ready-to-drink cocktail features a straightforward ingredient list, including Irish whiskey, sugar, water, and coffee concentrate.
Heat a small amount of the pre-mixed drink on the stove, pour it into a mug, and top with whipped cream. The result is a rich, lightly sweet, coffee-forward cocktail with subtle notes of caramel, oak, and vanilla that come courtesy of that Irish whiskey. Because it contains alcohol, not every Trader Joe’s location will have this offering, so check online before heading to the store.
Irish Porter Cheddar Cheese
If you want an authentic taste of Irish dairy, make sure to grab this limited-time cheese before it’s gone. According to Trader Joe’s, the Irish Porter Cheddar Cheese is made with milk from “cows grazing in the green fields of County Limerick and County Cork in Western Ireland.”
At $12.50 per pound, this is a little pricier than most Trader Joe’s products, but it’s well worth it. Each wedge is marbled with Irish porter, giving the cheese subtle malted notes and toasted flavor. It almost goes without saying, but this find deserves to be enjoyed alongside a crisp pint of Guinness.
