Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants Taste Like They Came From A French Bakery

Sam Skopp/Mashed

You don't have to book a flight to France to enjoy a pâtisserie-worthy chocolate croissant. According to Mashed's ranking of Trader Joe's breakfast foods, the chain's frozen four-pack of chocolate croissants comes exceptionally close to the real thing. While the pastries require a bit of planning — they need to proof before baking — the payoff is worth it. In the oven, they rise into flaky, golden pastries with buttery layers and molten chocolate inside.

For several months, our reviewer lived in France, where they regularly ate pain au chocolat, the rectangular chocolate-filled pastry Americans know better as chocolate croissants. When they returned to the States, they struggled to find an equivalent but determined that TJ's frozen croissants came the closest. One user on Reddit also confirmed this, saying, "My French teacher raves about these all the time to my class. He says they are the closest thing to a pastry you'd commonly eat in France."

Our reviewer described the croissants as having a pastry that's "light and airy at first, before collapsing into a satisfyingly chewy mass with each bite. Flavor-wise, it's indulgently buttery." The filling is made with semisweet chocolate, which has an "identifiable cacao character," balancing out the richness of the dough. A few Reddit users deemed the croissants oily, but if you aren't accustomed to buttery pastries, that's an understandable complaint.

For the best results, Trader Joe's chocolate croissants need time and the right temperature. As one Redditor noted, temperature matters during proofing, and they found their house to be too cool. They recommended briefly turning the oven on, then shutting it off before placing the croissants inside, just to create a slightly warmer environment. The ideal proofing temperature is around 77 degrees Fahrenheit, so if your kitchen is on the cold side, consider the oven idea. And don't make the same mistake as some Redditors and forget to remove the croissants from the box before proofing.

After proofing them overnight, brush the tops with egg wash and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastries are a deep golden brown. The egg wash isn't going to make or break the pastries, but it does contribute to the attractive color and shine. You can also bake these in the air fryer, following the same directions for proofing and oven temperature, but with a shorter cooking time of only 5 to 10 minutes, flipping them halfway.

Naturally, these pastries are best fresh from the oven, but TJ's recommends waiting 10 minutes for them to cool to prevent burning your mouth on the molten chocolate. Any leftovers reheat surprisingly well the next day. If you're a fan of these frozen croissants, TJ's also carries an almond version, prepared the same way. In a rush? TJ's also has pre-made butter chocolate croissants in the bakery section.