Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan brings the restaurant to your home

Until I finally purchase my own personal tandoor oven – this Trader Joe’s product will remain a year around staple of my freezer. On pretty much every point, this is a hands down winner. This is as close to the real deal as you’ll get without installing a huge clay oven in your kitchen. In fact it beats pretty much every grocery store “fresh” naan I’ve tried. It really is quite excellent, let’s look at the reasons why…

  1. The naan is relatively thin which means it cooks quite quickly and can develop a nice exterior crisp while retaining a soft interior. Too thin and you’ll get a crisp cracker, too thick and a doughy mush. This is almost spot on.
  2. The price is ear to ear grinningly low – see below.
  3. The flavor/texture are remarkably close to the real deal. O.k. it’s not perfect, but its right from the freezer and ready in mere minutes – again see below.
  4. It’s studded with enough garlic to lay Dracula flat out cold.
  5. I’ve not found any other mass produced naan, fresh or frozen, that comes close to the TJ brand.
  6. I’ve had naan from sit down Indian restaurants that aren’t this good – more times than I care to count.
  7. I’ve made my own naan by hand quite a few times, and have never been happy with the results.

Really the only minor points are that the individual breads are slightly on the small side, maybe I’d also prefer a tad more thickness in a perfect world too – but this is just nit picking; I use these regularly for everything from a side dish to flatbread/wrap solution.

Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan – what’s in the bag?

Inside the plastic packaging – which is resealable – there are four naan breads. More often than not you’ll find them frozen together per the picture below. If that’s the case I find you can easily pry them off one by one by gently sliding a butter knife between breads and nudging them apart; gently mind, as they can easily shatter in their frozen state.

Trader Joe's Garlic Naan - what's in the bag?
Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan – what’s in the bag?
  • Overall
4.5

Are Trader Joe's Garlic Naan any good?

Also-defo-lutely. Well, if you like Indian flat bread, I am certain you’ll love these. Affordable, convenient and flavorful. Heck these are downright better than many Indian restaurants I’ve visited down through the years.

Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan cooking instructions, nutrition and ingredients

The cooking instructions for these naan are quite simple, but curiously I never find them sufficient. The packaging recommends just a minute or two in a preheated 450F degree oven but I never find that completely does the job. I always find they need a few more minutes, so do plan accordingly. Keep a close eye on them, too long and they’ll dry out.

Trader Joe's Garlic Naan cooking instructions, nutrition, ingredients
Trader Joe's Garlic Naan package front
Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan package front

How much are Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan?

I paid $1.99 for this pack of garlic naan in December 2018. That’s an absolute bargain in my book, just 50 cents a naan. Sure, a restaurant’s version might be bigger and (if you’re lucky) better quality, but they’ll also usually set you back something in the region of $2-$5 per piece.

Other Trader Joe’s products

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2 thoughts on “Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan brings the restaurant to your home”

    • If you ever see the Deep/Tandoor Chef brand I am convinced they’re the guys who white label it for TJs. The naan are almost identical in taste and appearance. Obviously TJ has other brands make their in house labels, and everything I’ve tried from Deep/Tandoor is excellent too.

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