The $3.99 Trader Joe’s Find I’m Eating Every Week

We order or make pizza almost every Friday night, and each week, my husband and I prove that opposites really do attract. He’s a man with simple needs. Most pizza nights, he scarfs down his pizza sans plate, standing over the kitchen sink for efficiency’s sake. I need mine reheated to the perfect temperature with a hefty portion of perfectly dressed salad on the side.

He doesn’t understand my need for salad along with my pizza. While I’d love to claim it’s because I’m super health conscious, it’s more than that to me—they just go together—like peanut butter and jelly or peas and carrots. For me, I can’t have pizza without a crunchy and refreshing salad.

In my neck of the woods, Friday pizza night has crept up to an almost triple-digit expense, which baffles me every time we order. My now 8-year-old can consume almost an entire pizza himself, and my very hungry one-year-old is not far behind him.

When we order, my husband and I always have the same debate. Do we really need to add a salad?! While I’d never admit to him that he’s right, usually I’m pretty underwhelmed by the takeout salads from our local pizzerias. So when I spotted a Pizza Ranch Salad Kit at my local Trader Joe’s for just $3.99, it was an immediate add to cart.

Why I Love Trader Joe’s Pizza Ranch Salad Kit

As mentioned above, I have a reputation for being a bit of a food snob, so I don’t buy many salad kits. I’ve had some bad experiences with them in the past and have found that they tend to be a little lackluster and not that fresh. However, this Pizza Ranch Salad Kit is a game-changer.

First of all, I’m sure it’s not recommended, but I could eat the whole thing in one sitting. The lettuce, red cabbage, and carrots were perfectly shredded and had the same crispness as veggies I’d prepared. In the past, some of the bagged salads I’ve tried have a weird whitish cast to the vegetables, but this version had nothing of the sort.

While I wouldn’t say every bite tasted like pizza, the overall taste evoked all the best aspects of a good pizzeria salad. The ranch dressing is spiked with a little tomato powder, giving it a beautiful color. The flavor reminded me of pizza-flavored Goldfish crackers, in the best way possible!

My very favorite part of this kit was all the fun toppings it comes with. First and foremost, what would a good pizza salad be without some fresh Parmigiano? The kit comes with a generous portion of grated Parm, as well as four-cheese crumbles that reminded me of a frico and herby breadcrumbs that added flavor and crunch to every bite. I think there was much more dressing than actually needed for the amount of lettuce provided, but it’s tasty enough to keep around for another use.

I think this is best served alongside fresh pizza, but it would be equally tasty topped with some grilled chicken or salmon for a complete meal. Pair it with one of TJ’s frozen pizzas (my fave is the Margherita Pizza) and you have the perfect budget-friendly pizza night!

_{To learn more about our approach to product recommendations, see HERE.}