It's Ube Season at Trader Joe's (and Jalapeño Limeade Is Back)

The iconic purple treats and jalapeño limeade are back for a limited time (along with new soufflé cheesecakes).

May 20, 2024

This chewy and all-around wonderful mochi pancake mix tends to fly off the shelves, so grab a box or two while you can. Danielle Beller

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Ube season at Trader Joe’s is upon us when the retailer brings back its purple yam-flavored mochi pancake mix, tea cookies, yogurt-covered pretzels and more. Pronounced oo-beh, the brand describes the flavor lent by the root vegetable as “coconut-meets-pistachio" and like some fans, there are a couple of snacks in the collection that we wait all year for (namely the mochi pancake mix).

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The lavender-hued collection, inspired by ube (pronounced oo-beh), a starchy root vegetable originating from the Philippines, includes these yogurt-covered pretzels.

Danielle Beller

In ube seasons past, the brand has mixed purple yam puree with milk, cream and sugar to produce pints of ube-flavored ice cream. Though we didn’t spot those (or the ube spread) this time, here’s hoping that coolers are being stocked with those as we speak (unless they’re already gone).

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Trader Joe's says it combines ube powder, cinnamon and vanilla to make these shortbread cookies before rolling them in powdered sugar.

Danielle Beller

As with other limited-edition Trader Joe’s product releases, inventory will likely vary far and wide based on location. Some stores place limits on how many of each limited-edition product one can buy at a time so people can't sell them on Amazon or eBay with astronomical markups. (Don’t be that guy, we ube lovers beg of you.)

Also returning is jalapeño limeade. Though the brand markets it as an excellent vehicle for tequila to create a spicy margarita moment in a pinch, it’s really good with gin (as well as on its own). The brand has also relaunched its “A Sprinkle Walks into a Cookie” sandwich cookies that feature a funfetti buttercream sandwiched between two butter cookies.

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Trader Joe's iconic chalk art signs recommend mixing this spicy limeade with tequila. We're sure that's true, but it also goes great with gin.

Danielle Beller

Some new releases we spotted include miniature brown butter salted caramel biscotti and a pack of two frozen Japanese-style soufflé cheesecakes.

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These frozen Japanese-style soufflé cheesecakes were both tasty and low-maintenance.

Danielle Beller

We were able to nab the soufflé cheesecakes, which were quite good. They had the flavor of cheesecake but the lightness and airiness typical of a soufflé, taking away some of the heaviness one might associate with cheesecake.

They were also very easy to deal with: the only instructions were to thaw them for at least three hours (at which point they’re good to go, no baking required). They were great as is, but if TJ’s does happen to bring back its ube spread this year, we think the two would make a great pair.

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