Trader Joe’s provides an ideal shopping experience that people can trust. They source their products to ensure the highest quality to its customers. But, some of what they offer isn’t always available. This is especially true of their unsweetened coconut.
So, it’s a common question, “does Trader Joe’s sell unsweetened coconut?” They do in some locations. It varies depending on the area and the demand for unsweetened coconut. So, you won’t find it listed on their website.
This means you’ll have to contact or visit your nearest location to see if they have it in stock. If not, you’ll have to order it online or find a different place that has it. If all else fails, you can submit an official request for your local Trader Joe’s to stock it.
About Unsweetened Coconut
Unsweetened coconut is a natural food that comes shredded, desiccated or as chips. It can also come in the form of milk, water and cream. The packaged type is dry to touch with a fibrous texture that makes an ideal accompaniment in cooking and baking.
Unsweetened coconut has a variety of culinary uses that range from Asian and Indian cuisines to desserts and smoothies.
It adds a nice sweetness and flavor contrast to spicy dishes and makes a wonderful flavor explosion when topping cakes or brownies with it. It’s so versatile, there are few things it doesn’t taste good on.
Plus, you can’t go wrong adding a little unsweetened coconut to your diet in general. It’s high in fiber and the good kinds of saturated fats along with very few calories.
Also, everyone knows that all the beautiful people consume coconut regularly. It helps the skin maintain hyaluronic acid, retains hair sheen and is a potent anti-aging food.
Trader Joe’s Products & Unsweetened Coconut
Trader Joe’s offers a host of products that range from cheese, dairy and eggs to everything for your pantry and more.
Their pantry and baking section list online comprises over 133 products for your cooking pleasure. This means everything you see on their website will be in the store. But, they may not list your stores offerings online.
Such a thing is particularly true of their unsweetened coconut. Even still, they have other unsweetened coconut products you may find particularly desirable.
But these contain coconut, not coconut on its own. If you do a search on their site, these come up at the top followed by other products listed as “non-dairy.”
For instance, they have a bubble tea or cold brew and bubble tea flavored coconut frozen dessert, similar to ice cream.
They also have a coconut smoothie that contains only coconut milk and coconut water, no sugar. Additionally, there’s bottled cold brew coffee flavored with coconut.
To check the current price and availability of Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Coconut, click here to view the listing on Amazon.
Availability of Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Coconut
At one time, you could find unsweetened coconut flakes, chips and other pantry essentials very readily on Trader Joe’s website.
This means every location across the nation had it stocked. But, their widespread offering declined during the lockdowns for SARS-COV-2.
Per a thread on Reddit, it wasn’t until February of 2022 that people started seeing it restocked, particularly in the Midwest.
To date and to our knowledge, it’s still unavailable in some locations, like southern California. So, if you want their unsweetened coconut, you’ll have to inquire about it at your nearest store.
Other Options & Attempts
If they don’t have it, you can purchase it from other sellers on Amazon, EBay and Wal-Mart. Here, they actually sell them in sets of two for a very affordable price.
At the very least, you could visit another grocery store or purchase a different brand of unsweetened coconut altogether. It just won’t match the quality found in Trader Joe’s.
Failing that, you could contact your store’s manager or the corporate office and request they carry it at your nearest Trader Joe’s.
Sometimes, when enough people request a particular product, they are quick to ensure it fills their shelves. How fast you see it return to shelves will depend on customer demand.
Alternatives for Unsweetened Coconut
In the event you can’t find any unsweetened coconut or don’t want to use it at all for your recipe, there are alternatives and replacements you can try.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing quite like coconut. It’s a unique fruit with an inner flesh that works well in sweet or savory dishes equally. It’s texture is unlike any other substance on earth.
However, you can replace most unsweetened coconut with legumes like almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, cashews or walnuts.
Whether you need milk, cream or flakes, you can usually substitute the coconut for any one of these. Trader Joe’s does carry each of these potential replacements in every store.
Additional Suggestions
There are some other suggestions to consider as well. If you’re looking to replace cream or milk, you can use things like oat milk, dairy cream or hemp-based milk/cream.
However, things like almond milk won’t thicken sauces or creams the same way coconut does. For an alternative to shredded or flaked coconut, consider using raisins, slivered almonds or unseasoned breadcrumbs.
Final Thoughts
Unsweetened coconut from Trader Joe’s is an excellent product that lives up to their commitment to purity and freshness. However, since the lockdowns of 2020, its availability throughout the country leaves much to desire. Indeed, it wasn’t until February 2022 that people started seeing it appear on their shelves again.
Therefore, you may have to look elsewhere if you really want to get some. This means searching online through places like Amazon or Walmart. Alternatively, you could just go with an entirely different brand from another store. Yet, Trader Joe’s does carry several products containing coconut that are definitely worth trying.
So, before deciding anything, contact your nearest Trader Joe’s to see what they have in stock or go in for a visit. It’s just that you won’t find it directly on their website from a basic online search.