Trader Joe’s Muhammara
Posted: August 20, 2015 Filed under: Trader Joe's Brand | Tags: 4 stars, Condiments, Hummus, mediterranean cusine, middle eastern cuisine, muhammara, pomegranate, Trader Joe's, Walnut 11 Comments
Red and tasty!
Every now and then, after Trader Joe’s comes out with a particularly weird or goofy food product, I get to feeling a little bit superior to Trader Joe’s – sort of like they’re my wacky next-door neighbor.
| What it is: | A hummus like spread made from |
| Price: | $2.99 for a 8 oz. tub |
| Worth it: | Yes. A delicious hummus substitute. |
“Pickle-flavored popcorn, TJ?” I’ll think to myself, shaking my head, “You’re just lucky I love you so much, you big goof!”
And without exception, every time I start to feel this way, Trader Joe’s turns around and absolutely embarrases me with a product that is elegant, nuanced, and grounded in a rich culinary tradition that I’ve never even heard of.
“What d’ya got this week, TJ?” I ask, sauntering into the store, “Another wacky popcorn flavor?”
“Actually,” Trader Joe’s casually informs me, “This is muhammara – a middle eastern condiment similar to hummus but made from walnuts and pomegranate juice. A product of ancient Syria, of course. Ahahaha – no, don’t try and pronounce it, you’ll just make yourself look silly.”
Yes, today we’re reviewing Trader Joe’s Muhammara – a delicious, hummus-like spread with a cool, dark red color and a smooth, gently earthy, mildly piquant taste.
Unlike hummus, that can taste a bit grainy or mealy due to the garbanzo beans it’s made from, muhammara is a blend of walnuts, roast red peppers, pomegranate juice, olive oil and bread crumbs. While that sounds like it would result in a weirdly lumpy or heterogenous texture, it couldn’t be more smooth and velvety – perfect for veggie dip, cracker spread, or pita filling.
The taste itself has quite a bit of the mildness of a red pepper roasted to softness, and only a subtle touch of the nuttiness of walnuts, and even less of the tart pomegranate flavor you might expect. In fact, muhammara is generally made with pomegranate molasses, much more similar to the pomegranate syrup we made up than mouth puckering pomegranate juice. As such, the muhammara also has an understated touch of sweetness to it that makes go down particularly smoothly.
Despite never hearing of it before, I enjoyed the hell out of my muhammara. It was good with pretty much whatever I tried it with, and made an excellent “before dinner” snack with just a handful of Triscuits I had at hand. I’ve always been a little bit ambivalent on hummus – which generally ears out it’s welcome with me after a few bites. Muhammara has all the qualities I like about hummus, the soft spreadable texture and cooling, snackable taste, with an added edibility and improved texture.
As you may have guessed from the walnuts and olive oil, muhammara shares hummus’ high fat content – but thta’s simply the nature of the beast. Buy a tub, enjoying it moderation, and you won’t regret it.
The Breakdown
Would I Recommend It: If you like hummus, give this a try.
Would I Buy It Again: I do think so.
Final Synopsis: Just like hummus, but a little tastier.
Trader Joe’s Muhammara – Nutrition Facts
Eating At Joes 
I just bought my first tub of this on Sunday. It’s so delicious! It doesn’t replace hummus, but is an addition to it. So glad I finally bought it. I will definitely be buying it again! and again! and again!
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I really liked this dip too but have had better versions at middle eastern restaurants- the TJs one needs a good squeeze of lemon juice to make it perk up.
But at almost twice the calories and fat of TJs regular hummus I don’t think it’s going to be a regular purchase for me
Loved this stuff, just tried it for the first time. I live in the Detroit area, so tons of Middle Eastern restaurants and groceries around, but I’ve never seen this before
I love this stuff! But I agree with other comments above – this does not replace their hummus. What I have done recently as I am trying to eat healthier and lose weight, is saute a chicken breast (that I cut up into bit sized chunks) in olive oil with just a touch of salt and some of TJ’s Everyday Seasoning. Once it’s all golden brown and delicious, I turn the heat off on the stove and add one spoonful of Roasted Garlic Hummus (my favorite) and one spoonful of the Muhammara. I stir it all together and since the pan is still pretty hot, the hummus and Muhammara get a little “toasty”. Even my David, who does not like “weird food” (which is pretty much everything, ha ha ha) enjoyed it!
I tried to buy this at my Trader Joe’s on Friday but they said it was discontinued. I’m devastated because I absolutely loved this stuff and used to buy it regularly. Please please please bring it back! 😭
As of March 9, 2017, Trader Joe’s crew member checked the computer and said this product has been discontinued. Bad decision by TJ’s!
Loved this product and now it’s gone at Trader Joe’s. Bad call on a great spread.
HELP! Trader Joe’s in Santa Cruz doesn’t have this Muhammara. We are desperate!
Send many boxes soon!
I really miss this. You have a million kinds of hummus and I can’t eat chick peas, but the one dip I can eat and that’s crazy delicious, you discontinue. Please bring it back.