Trader Joe's Frozen Pasta, Ranked Worst To Best

Trader Joe's offers exciting and unique foods at an affordable price. The frozen food section, in particular, is known for offering a wide range of culinary styles, including Italian classics and Asian-inspired stir-fry dishes. The section takes up a significant portion of the store's floor space and can be a treasure trove of exciting finds for those willing to peruse the freezer cases.

Trader Joe's offers a variety of pasta, each paired with a complementary sauce. In most cases, each bag contains equal parts frozen hunks of pasta and frozen sauce cubes. This arrangement makes it easy to prepare as much or as little pasta as you want.

We decided to try Trader Joe's frozen pastas to see which are worth it and which ones to pass on. While Trader Joe's has a reputation for quality, not everything can be a winner. When reheated, good frozen pasta is neither crunchy nor mushy and has a flavorful sauce that sticks to the noodles. With this rubric in mind, we found the best Trader Joe's frozen pasta.

The Ricotta & Spinach Filled Ravioli had so much promise. Trader Joe's famously has a delicious fresh ravioli section. Unfortunately, this bagged pasta did not hit the mark.

The ravioli itself is made with wheat pasta and filled with a spinach and ricotta mixture, egg, bread crumbs, and grana padano cheese. The best thing we can say about the ravioli is that it is well-filled. But that is where the praise ends. Even when following the directions on the bag, the pasta becomes way overcooked to the point of being mushy. The filling, while plentiful, is uninspired and a little bland.

The sauce itself has a decent flavor. It is a tomato basil base made from diced tomato, tomato paste, water, onion, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, and salt. On paper, this is a good basic sauce. It is bright and herby. But the sauce is also excessively watery and does not stick to the pasta. It becomes incredibly difficult to scoop out and leaves the pasta overwet, mushy, and without much flavor.

This pasta does nothing that someone could not easily prepare at home. This is simple cheese and spinach ravioli in a simple red sauce. At least if you made it at home you could pick better sauce and ravioli.

The carbonara is better than the ravioli simply because the pasta is well-cooked and reheats more evenly. It is not tough or too soft. However, the sauce and toppings did not hit the mark.

The sauce is made from water, cream, uncured pancetta, skim milk, butter, grated cheeses including grana padano and pecorino romano, cornstarch, egg, salt, nutmeg, and white pepper. This should make for at least a decent sauce. Carbonara is supposed to be creamy and cheesy, with an extra velvety texture from the egg yolk. The pancetta should add a smoky, salty kick. Yet this pasta was disappointing.

When prepared, the sauce became dry and a little lumpy. While it offers some mild cheese flavors, there is not much salt or smoke. This is likely due to the utter lack of pancetta in the package. As you can see in the photo, the bowl we made has just two small pieces. This is an accurate representation of the ratio of pancetta to pasta in the rest of the bag. Overall, it tastes bland and flavorless. It only ranks above the ravioli because it is more difficult to recreate at home. 

Once again, we have pasta that is well-cooked and a sad sauce. Neither the pesto flavor nor consistency are up to par. Unlike some of the other pasta sauces that suffer from being too watery, this pasta sauce can only be described as too leafy. Instead of the basil in the sauce being ground to a paste or chopped finely, it is roughly chopped, with chunks of leaf left in the mix. Little pieces of basil stick to the roof of the mouth and provide an odd mouthfeel.

The rest of the pesto isn't much better. Made with water, olive oil, sunflower oil, cheese, cashews, garlic, cilantro, salt, black pepper, and flavoring, Trader Joe's has somehow taken what should be a simple and delicious sauce and overcomplicated it to its detriment. You'd think the sauce would be flavorful with all these extra ingredients, but instead, it is painfully mild.

The one thing that gets this selection ranked above the carbonara is the better ratio of sauce and tomatoes to pasta. The tomatoes save this dish, adding some much-needed flavor in a way the missing pancetta in the carbonara did not.

Once again, Trader Joe's delivers another lackluster frozen pasta option. To begin, the linguine in this pasta is bordering on overcooked. Secondly, the sauce is boring, flavorless, and skimpy.

The fettuccine Alfredo is made with cream, water, cheese, butter, flour, salt, nutmeg, and white pepper. You would think with that amount of ingredients, you would have something that is at least flavorful; sadly, this is not the case. While there is a bit of a salty cheese flavor, it doesn't add to the overall taste. This is likely because the pasta-to-sauce ratio is way off. While we did not make the whole bag, we made a proportional amount of sauce chunks and pasta. There just weren't that many sauce chunks inside the bag to complement the pasta.

There is nothing this pasta does that can't be done better with jarred Alfredo sauce. We are not looking for authentic Italian sauce; we just want something that has a little more punch behind it and isn't just a bland, mushy experience. At least the sauce's texture isn't offensive, unlike the linguini with pesto and tomato.

The Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Butter & Sage is simple — too simple. The sweet potato gnocchi itself is fine, but some pieces were soft and did not hold together the way we thought they should. 

The sauce itself left something to be desired. It is simply butter, oil, and sage. The ingredients say that salt, sugar, and grana padano cheese are in the pasta and sauce, too. But frankly, none of those ingredients shine through. We were shocked by how boring the flavor was. We suspect this particular pasta would be better made on the stove rather than in the microwave. A stovetop preparation may have browned the butter, adding an essential nuttiness to an otherwise unadorned sauce. It may have also added a crisp shell to the gnocchi, helping firm up the texture. Sadly, the microwaved dish offers none of that.

This pasta is better than those mentioned above simply because there is nothing aggressively wrong with it. Instead, it simply did not stand out.

Trader Joe's seems to have some trouble with large gnocchi. Like the sweet potato gnocchi, the Trader Joe's Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi is overcooked and soft. We have to wonder if that has anything to do with these two kinds of pasta being the only ones that already had sauce on them instead of being separated into frozen chunks of sauce alongside the pasta. 

The sauce is made from milk, butter, egg, provolone cheese, romano cheese, salt, sunflower oil, spices, onion, sugar, and balsamic vinegar. The bag is also supposed to contain both whole and ground peppercorns, but we did not see or taste any whole peppercorns in our serving.

The good news is this sauce is more flavorful than the gnocchi with butter and sage. The bad news is that it still isn't great. Once again, Trader Joe's struggles with consistency — the sauce is incredibly thin. While it brings a black pepper flavor, the sauce is different from the brand's other frozen cacio e pepe options. It's thinner and less pepper-forward, relying more on the provolone cheese than the traditional parmesan. Breaking tradition is fine, but not if the resulting sauce is less flavorful and fun than the original. Still, the sauce had a little more going for it than the simple butter of the sweet potato gnocchi.

First, we have to acknowledge the fiocchetti are adorable. They are meant to look like a tassel with a little knot and thread, and they really do. The result is a filled pasta similar to tortellini. We admire the effort to offer something original. The sauce is also out of the ordinary and gives the eater something new and interesting. For these reasons, it gets ranked above the other pasta. However, the Cheese Filled Fiocchetti with Pink Sauce does have some distinct problems.

First, the pasta itself is overly soft. It is not as soft as the ricotta and spinach-filled ravioli, but still not ideal. The cheese inside is fine but remains a little bland. The sauce is made with tomato puree, cream, a selection of cheeses, garlic, salt, lemon juice, basil, parsley, and ground black pepper. The result is a lovely pink sauce, but one that is simply too thin. It functions more like a soup base than a pasta sauce. When you get enough of it, it brings a lovely richness, but getting enough is difficult. Additionally, the bites are inconsistent — some seem to have more sharp cheese than others.

The Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is close to being quite good; there are just a few mechanical things that kept it from ranking higher. The gnocchi themselves are delicious. They are much smaller than the sweet potato gnocchi, and have an enjoyable mouthfeel.

The sauce, though, is not quite as successful. It is made of tomato juice, water, tomato, mozzarella cheese, sunflower seed oil, onion, basil, wheat starch, salt, sugar, garlic, white pepper, and chili pepper. The base flavor is delicious and bright. It is heavy on tomato, which is fine for this style. The problem is, once again, it is a little watery and has problems sticking to the pasta. Additionally, the mozzarella cheese is incorporated in chunks. As we stirred the sauce, the cheese became stringy and stuck to the fork, making it difficult to mix in effectively. The sauce, though, sticks better than the Cheese Filled Fiocchetti with Pink Sauce, and the pasta isn't overcooked, saving it from lower placement. 

Once again, the Gnocchi al Gorgonzola is so close to being good but just misses the mark. These are the same small gnocchi as the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. Once again, they cook up well and have a little chew to them.

The pasta is covered in a creamy gorgonzola sauce made from cream, water, hard cheese, flour, gorgonzola, butter, Emmental cheese, sunflower seed oil, salt, garlic, basil extract, pepper, and nutmeg. We cannot stress enough how delicious this sauce is. This is the main reason it beats out the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina for its place on this list. The gorgonzola flavor comes out beautifully. It is salty and a little earthy. The problem here, once again, is the consistency.

Like the pink sauce, the gorgonzola base seems more like a soup than a sauce. Because of that, there is not nearly enough to cover each piece of gnocchi. All the good flavor in the world won't change that problem. That said, the unique flavor of the sauce far surpasses the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina.

Penne arrabbiata is penne in a spicy tomato sauce. Where the other tomato-based sauces on this list fail, this one succeeds. The sauce is made from tomato juice, water, tomato, onion, sunflower seed oil, extra virgin olive oil, salt, sugar, wheat starch, parsley, garlic, chili pepper, and white pepper. The result is a smooth purée that is thick enough to stick to each noodle. It is a little spicy but not overly so and packs a nice flavor. 

Sadly, the penne itself is al dente to the point of being undercooked. It is listed as "parcooked" on the ingredients list. Clearly, it did not finish cooking, as this pasta is tough. Additionally, while the sauce is good, it's relatively basic. You could achieve a similar result with dry pasta and a jar of spicy tomato sauce, which is why it does not rank higher on this list. Still, though, the sauce is good and doesn't suffer the same watery problems of pasta dishes lower on this list, such as Gnocchi al Gorgonzola. 

The Trader Joe's Garlicky Pasta is the first pasta that truly blends well-prepared ingredients and delicious flavor. The spaghetti here is the perfect consistency — not too hard, not too soft.

The pasta sauce is also precisely what it advertised on the bag. It's well-rounded and delicious and made from butter, spring onions, cheese, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, wheat starch, fish sauce, parsley, pecorino romano, chili pepper, and black pepper. As expected, garlic is the prominent feature. It is boosted by the additional herbs and flavors to create a robust and savory taste.

The only issue with this one is the amount of sauce in the bag. While the sauce is flavorful, there just isn't that much of it, which leads to a pasta dish that isn't all that filling. This dish would work better as a side rather than the star of the show. The sauce is unique enough that you won't find ready substitutes at other groceries.

The Rigatoni alla Contadina brings something new to the pasta world. This dish feels like it could be a whole meal. It has pasta, a delicious cream sauce, and three kinds of veggies: asparagus, broccoli, and green peas.

The sauce is made with milk, cheese, onions, sunflower oil, milk powder, rice starch, butter, garlic, garlic powder, salt, chives, parsley, black pepper, and nutmeg. This creates a rich and creamy sauce that blows the carbonara out of the water with its texture. The flavor could still be slightly bolder, perhaps with some additional cheese to enhance the aroma. The peas and broccoli are in the sauce itself, whereas the asparagus is cut into pieces and added separately. The rigatoni is al dente but just soft enough to avoid being undercooked.

What really makes this pasta worthwhile is its originality and the fact that it functions as a whole meal. To recreate this dish, you would have to buy a host of components, so as a frozen meal, it saves time and effort and delivers results.

After the disappointment that is the Gnocchi Cacio e Pepe, this Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is a breath of fresh air. We have no complaints about this pasta.

The pasta itself is well-cooked but maintains its shape and texture. The sauce has pecorino romano cheese, milk, flour, cream, butter, black pepper, and salt. It's much closer to traditional cacio e pepe than the sauce on the gnocchi. This pasta is black pepper forward but has enough sharp cheese flavor to balance it off. The sauce sticks to the spaghetti beautifully, and there is plenty of sauce for the noodles provided. The flavor of this pasta surpasses the flavor of the Rigatoni all Contadina and easily becomes a top contender.

The only reason it did not rank even higher is because the mushroom ravioli is unique enough to top it. Cacio e pepe is not a difficult sauce to make at home and is just a little less creative than the pasta that beat it. And the number one ranking pasta on this list simply blew us away.

Finally, we have a filled pasta that is not overcooked, tastes great, and has a sauce that truly complements its surroundings. The pasta is filled with ricotta and mushrooms, creating a perfectly woodsy and robust flavor. While it is not as stuffed with filling as the ricotta and spinach ravioli, we think it works better in this case, as it prevents the mushroom filling from becoming too potent and overwhelming, especially as the sauce is also a mushroom base.

Of course, you have to like mushrooms to appreciate this pasta dish, which does limit its audience in ways the top pick does not. There are porcini mushrooms, champignon mushrooms, truffle oil, and ground mushrooms in the mix. Aside from mushrooms, there are cheeses, dried vegetables, cream, butter, parsley, potato fiber, and some spices.

The sauce is creamy and earthy, and there is a lot of it. While thin, the sauce sticks beautifully to the ravioli and packs a powerful bite. The truffle is a bit intense, but other than that, this ravioli dish brings it home with its mix of bold tastes and textures. 

Marketed as Joe's Diner Mac 'n Cheese, this four-cheese blend of goodness will have you returning for more.  Joe's Diner mac 'n cheese is equivalent to a classic stove-top mac and cheese. It comes out of the container super gooey with more than enough sauce to cover the pasta. While this is the one pasta on this list that requires you to make the whole container at once, we don't even care — it is so good that you'll have no problem finishing it.

The four kinds of cheese in the sauce are havarti, Swiss, gouda, and cheddar. This mix seamlessly blends sharp with creamy and creates a stringy but silky cheese experience. Along with the cheeses, there is soft (but not too soft) macaroni, milk, flour, butter, rice starch, salt, and spices. This mac and cheese may be simple, but it saves you the trouble of making it from scratch, and it tastes great. That's why it's number one on our list.

We stuck with predominantly Italian-style pasta for this ranking, so we didn't try every frozen noodle dish from Trader Joe's. Additionally, we are at the mercy of what our local Trader Joe's has in stock. A few options have been out of stock for a few weeks.

Where applicable, we tried to avoid multiple similar products. For example, Trader Joe's offers several types of frozen mac and cheese, but we stuck with the classic original.

Each pasta came with both stovetop and microwave instructions. We made all the pasta in the microwave to create a fair environment for taste testing. We tasted for the consistency, overall flavor, and originality of the pasta and sauce combination.