Against All Odds, Trader Joe's Orange Chicken Made Reddit's Naughty List

Introduced in 2004, Trader Joe's frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken has become the stuff of legend. The bite-sized chicken morsels wrapped in crunchy breading and tossed in a sweet and slightly spicy citrus sauce have been a fan favorite for years, enjoying a protracted reign as Trader Joe's favorite overall product, per Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards. While all of this would have you believe T.J.'s Orange Chicken is beyond reproach, the store's fans tell a very different story online.

In a recent Reddit thread, one user asked the question, "What do you think is the most overrated Trader Joe's product?" While thousands of commenters put in their two cents, few products were called out more frequently than the frozen orange chicken. "The orange chicken used to be good, but now the meat tastes terrible," one commenter wrote. Another added that the orange chicken was good "many years ago but boy oh boy [it has] gone so down hill." The meat's bizarre texture seemed to be a running theme among commenters, with one claiming,"TJ's orange chicken tastes like it's mostly skin and trimmings full of fat."

Once revered by customers, Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken has fallen out of favor after customers began noticing an alleged decline in meat quality. One Redditor even went so far as to call it, "deep fried reheated meat glob[s]." Some former fans also criticized the portion size and the fact that several morsels contained nothing more than breading.

Some hopeful commenters suggested that perhaps former orange chicken fans' cooking method was what left them with a bad taste (or texture) in their mouths. "Have you tried it in the air fryer?" one user asked. Several people agreed that giving the orange chicken the air fryer treatment resolved most of the texture issues, though many were still unconvinced. "Air frying it does not get rid of the bad quality chicken," one user retorted.

Because the chicken's quality was under fire, several Reddit users suggested trying Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels instead. "The chickenless version is sooooo much better," one comment wrote, though another said, "It tastes like someone marinated it with orange air freshener." Despite conflicting reviews, perhaps 2024 is the year Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels will win the top spot at the Customer Choice Awards.