Trader Joe’s Fans ‘Suspicious’ Over Untraditional New Grocery Item
Some Trader Joe's shoppers are voicing their suspicion over an untraditional new item.
Trader Joe’s has just released an untraditional new grocery item, leaving some customers “suspicious” after seeing the product on social media.
The supermarket chain recently introduced a new limited-time addition to its ready-to-eat meal lineup: a meatball calzone. Priced at $6.99 for 16 ounces, this Italian-inspired item is hearty enough to serve two adults, though one very hungry person could easily finish it solo.
The Instagram account Trader Joe’s List reviewed the new product, offering tips on how to prepare it, sharing photos of it fully cooked, and giving a taste review. They described it as “good” and noted that it smelled “delicious.” However, some social media users are skeptical, citing their suspicions for one key reason.
“No cheese? That’s odd,” wrote one of the page’s followers. Typically, meatball calzones contain cheese, specifically mozzarella. While some variations might include other cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella is a common and expected ingredient in a meatball calzone. A second user noted, “It’s more of a Stromboli than a calzone because there’s no ricotta cheese.”
A third penned, “There is no cheese in it. Calzones are filled with ricotta cheese and mozzarella. This is just meatballs and bread.” A final Instagram user claimed, “As a New Yorker, I’m suspicious. They did call it an elevated hot pocket, which is what it looks like it is. I’ll give it a shot if it’s $5 or $6, more than that, we have 2,000 pizzerias to get the real deal from.”
What’s Inside a Trader Joe’s Meatball Calzone?
According to Trader Joe’s product page, “Calzones are oven-baked turnovers made with bread dough and typically filled with savory ingredients. Like folded pizzas, they commonly contain tomato sauce, cheese, and meat or veggies.”
The product’s description states this particular ready-to-eat handheld meal is “loaded with Meatballs made from a combination of ground pork and ground beef bound together with some egg and seasoned with Parmesan cheese, onions, garlic, parsley, and black pepper.” Although the social media users claimed the calzone did not contain cheese, Trader Joe’s description continued by adding that, along with meatballs, there is tomato sauce and “plenty of melty mozzarella cheese” wrapped within wheat flour dough. It does seem, however, that there is no ricotta cheese.
The product can be baked, cooked in an air fryer, or even microwaved. The retailer suggests the product should be served with “torn fresh basil” and topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Trader Joe’s regularly sells its own freshly made pizza dough, which customers can utilize to make pizza, homemade calzones, and stromboli. The retailer shares recipes that customers can follow or use as a base to modify to their specific tastes.
