Why We Were Happy To See This Trader Joe's Seasoning Get Discontinued

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When you think of Trader Joe's seasonings, your mind probably goes to the beloved Everything But the Bagel Sesame Blend or perhaps a tangy classic like chili lime salt. There's seemingly a specialty seasoning for every possible culinary situation in the retailer's spice section — but there's one we were happy to see get discontinued. The ketchup-flavored sprinkle seasoning might have a thoughtful concept behind it, but it was unfortunately a poor execution, making its way onto our list of items to avoid on your trip to Trader Joe's.

The ketchup-flavored sprinkle seasoning is made with ingredients regular ketchup contains, except they are dry: tomato powder, sugar, salt, vinegar powder, rice, and onion and garlic powder. Its label claimed it could be used anywhere you might use ketchup — perhaps with fries, burgers, hashbrowns, or eggs. Its benefit over liquid ketchup was it was shelf-stable and you could add it to crispy foods without making them soggy.

On Trader Joe's Reviews, customers gave it two stars out of five, sharing it was far too sweet. Customers on Reddit who had purchased it complained the seasoning blend became hard and stuck to the bottom of the jar, making it unusable. Overall, it simply wasn't a standout spice, not tasty or flavorful enough to truly replace ketchup. It seems to have disappeared from shelves sometime in 2024.

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Although we weren't big fans of the seasoning, some customers appreciated the ketchup sprinkle for specific uses. On Reddit, for example, some found it to be a great option for sprinkling on top of popcorn. Others found it to be reminiscent of ketchup-flavored potato chips, a favorite Canadian snack.

In Canada, ketchup seasoning is far more common and can be regularly found in grocery stores. However, you'll be hard-pressed to find it in most U.S. supermarkets, but it can be found online, and Walmart has one brand of this seasoning. While the seasoning is gone from Trader Joe's, the grocer does still have bottled organic ketchup for all the classic uses of the condiment, and it even released ketchup-flavored potato lattice chips for those craving the Canadian snack.

However, just like you can make homemade ketchup, you can make your own ketchup powder. The base is dried tomato powder, and an 8oz-bag of Spice Way Tomato Powder can be found on Amazon. Making it yourself also allows you to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe, which was one of the biggest complaints about Trader Joe's version.