I went to Trader Joe's and bought every kind of sausage I could find.
Ted Berg
I tried every Trader Joe's precooked sausage I could find to see which was the tastiest.
The sweet-apple and maple chicken options were my least favorite sausages I tried.
The spicy jalapeño chicken sausage had a great garlic flavor and, in my opinion, was the best.
If you're looking to explore grilling options beyond burgers and hot dogs, it might be time to visit the precooked sausage section at your local Trader Joe's.
Of course, the store's sausage section can be overwhelming because there are so many different kinds and they all look pretty good. And if the store's crowded, you can feel the impatience of shoppers behind you, waiting for you to move so they can swipe the sausage they already know they want.
I'm here to help. I sampled nine different precooked Trader Joe's sausages. I started by trying all of them straight off my skillet, with no dressing or bun, so I could judge each sausage fairly without condiments impacting my preferences. Then, I tried to come up with a favorite preparation for each.
Here's my final ranking, from worst to best.
Trader Joe's sweet-apple chicken sausage was a little too sweet for me.
I thought Trader Joe's sweet-apple chicken sausage could've been served for breakfast.
Ted Berg
I thought the sweet-apple chicken sausage was too sweet. The apple flavor didn't come through nearly as strongly as the Vermont maple syrup that was also in there. I thought the maple flavor was a bit cloying, like in maple candy.
I thought the maple syrup made it taste more like a breakfast sausage.
I tried to come up with a way to balance the sweetness in the sweet-apple-chicken sausage.
Trader Joe's sweet-apple chicken sausage tasted better with some jalapeños and pickles.
Ted Berg
I tried to balance out the sweetness with pickles, fresh jalapeños, and barbecue sauce.
The spice and vinegar successfully cut the sweetness and made for a good sandwich, if not an especially good sausage.
Trader Joe's roasted-garlic chicken sausage had a bold flavor.
Even as a garlic lover, I thought Trader Joe's roasted-garlic chicken sausage was too powerful.
Ted Berg
I thought Trader Joe's roasted-garlic chicken sausage was flavorful, but had too much going on. I love garlic and usually add way more to my dishes than any recipe calls for, but in this case, its flavor was very assertive.
In my opinion, it tasted more like a meatball than a sausage, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The roasted-garlic sausage also proved to be divisive in my house: My wife hated it but my kids loved it.
Trader Joe's roasted-garlic-chicken sausage needed some freshness.
I topped the Trader Joe's roasted-garlic-chicken sausage with basil.
Ted Berg
To distract from the garlicky flavor, I had the sausage with sriracha and fresh basil. I thought the freshness of the basil balanced things a bit more.
Trader Joe's maple chicken breakfast sausage was OK.
I was a little underwhelmed by Trader Joe's maple chicken breakfast sausage.
The maple flavor felt a bit more subtle than in the sweet-apple chicken sausage and had a somewhat unpleasant chewiness that the others lacked. I thought they bordered on spongy.
Quite obviously, the maple-chicken breakfast sausage was best as a morning meal.
I had Trader Joe's maple chicken breakfast sausage alongside eggs and toast.
Ted Berg
My favorite way to eat the maple chicken sausage was as part of a balanced breakfast.
I guess you could use these like cocktail franks, but I think the texture would become overbearing in a pig-in-blanket scenario.
Trader Joe's uncured Bavarian bratwurst was exactly what I expected.
Trader Joe's uncured Bavarian bratwurst wasn't too special.
Ted Berg
Trader Joe's uncured Bavarian brats tasted like traditional bratwurst, which it is.
This was the only pork sausage among the many chicken-sausage options I saw at Trader Joe's. I half expected to like it better based on that alone, like, presumably, Ron Swanson would.
But bratwurst has never been my favorite sausage and there was nothing exceptional about this one. I'd buy it again if I needed bratwurst, but I wouldn't seek it out over other options.
I kept the toppings traditional for the uncured Bavarian bratwurst.
Trader Joe's uncured Bavarian bratwurst was good with sauerkraut.
Ted Berg
I liked the Bavarian bratwurst with sauerkraut and mustard, which seemed like the obvious way. Both toppings went well with the richer, meatier pork flavor.
Trader Joe's smoked, apple-chardonnay chicken sausage had a distinct flavor.
I was a fan of Trader Joe's smoked, apple-chardonnay chicken sausage.
Ted Berg
This option was a little bit smoky and a little bit sweet, a lot like something smoked over applewood.
Unlike many of the chicken sausages from Trader Joe's, the smoked, apple-chardonnay one features a natural pork casing, which gave it a bit more snap than some of the others. It also allowed for a higher cooking temperature in my skillet.
I opted for some unique toppings for the smoked, apple-chardonnay chicken sausage.
I topped Trader Joe's smoked, apple-chardonnay chicken sausage with relish and peri-peri sauce.
Ted Berg
My favorite way to enjoy the smoked, apple-chardonnay sausage was with relish and peri-peri sauce, which looked and sounded strange but was very good.
The acid and spice from the peri-peri sauce nicely complemented the sweet flavor of the sausage. I suspect it would also pair really well with a spicy slaw.
Trader Joe's sweet Italian-style chicken sausage wasn't too different from what I usually make.
My kids seemed to like Trader Joe's sweet Italian-style chicken sausage.
Ted Berg
The sweet Italian-style sausage tasted a lot like the familiar, fennel-laden, pork sausage I regularly use in my home cooking.
Even though this version was made out of chicken, my kids didn't seem to notice any difference at all.
Trader Joe's sweet Italian-style chicken sausage was best on a pizza.
I ate the pizza with Trader Joe's sweet Italian-style chicken sausage on it before I took a picture so I also used it in a sandwich.
Ted Berg
My favorite way to enjoy the sweet Italian-style sausage was on a homemade pizza, which I forgot to photograph. The Italian flavor profile was delicious.
However, I also tried to craft a sandwich out of it (I was short on ideas) and though I feel topping a sausage with cut corn, mozzarella, and hot sauce was inspired, I don't think this right sausage for it.
Trader Joe's spicy Italian chicken sausage had a little heat.
Trader Joe's spicy Italian chicken sausage was pretty tasty.
Ted Berg
I thought Trader Joe's spicy Italian chicken sausage was a lot like the sweet Italian sausage, but a bit spicier.
Again, it seemed like a viable alternative to the pork version I usually cook, with the only difference being that my kids were into it. Normally, they don't touch anything dubbed "spicy."
I served Trader Joe's spicy Italian chicken sausage alongside similar flavors.
Trader Joe's spicy Italian chicken sausage was great with pizza sauce and Parmesan.
Ted Berg
I had the spicy Italian sausage with pizza sauce, Parmesan cheese, and crunchy jalapeños, which made for an excellent sandwich.
The pizza sauce and Parmesan complemented the sausage's own flavor profile and the jalapeños added an interesting touch.
Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar chicken sausage was actually different from what I expected.
Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar chicken sausage had a good flavor.
Ted Berg
I thought the Unexpected Cheddar sausage was very good. I also liked that it had hints of onion and red pepper.
Because the sausage was made with the chain's award-winning Unexpected Cheddar, I hoped for the type of experience where molten cheese fires out from the inside on first bite and scalds the mouth (a truly unexpected cheddar), but this wasn't that.
Still, the cheese flavor was there, there was a creaminess to the texture, and the natural pork casing gave it the best snap of all of the options I tried.
Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar chicken sausage was great with chips.
Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar chicken sausage was a satisfying dinner.
Ted Berg
Though it might sound unconventional, I thought the cheesiness of the sausage went best with crumbled Carolina Gold barbecue potato chips and some ketchup.
Trader Joe's spicy jalapeño chicken sausage was my winner.
Trader Joe's spicy jalapeño chicken sausage wasn't too spicy for me.
Ted Berg
I thought the spicy jalapeño sausage was perfectly peppery and truly lived up to its name – "jalapeño" wasn't used as just a stand-in for spicy.
There wasn't a ton of spice, maybe at a medium level on the standard Buffalo-wing scale, but it came on late and amplified the flavors of garlic and onion. It felt versatile, like a sausage you can keep on hand to use for lots of different dishes.
The spicy jalapeño chicken sausage was delicious.
I really enjoyed the flavors in Trader Joe's spicy jalapeño chicken sausage.
Ted Berg
My favorite way to have Trader Joe's spicy jalapeño sausage was with my beloved elote corn-chip dippers, guajillo salsa, and sour cream.
It was phenomenal and I'll be making this sandwich more often.
This story was originally published on August 21, 2023, and most recently updated on August 13, 2024.
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