7 reviews for Trader Joe’s Panko Breaded Calamari Reviews
Rated 1 out of 5
Stacie –
These were bad. I don’t just mean “not the best” but bad. I could not even finish my serving. The calamari itself was rubbery and has an off-putting flavor. The pieces had way too much batter and the batter was bland. I would not recommend this at all
Rated 1 out of 5
T. Hume –
Stacie took the words out of my mouth, these guys were rubbery, too much batter not anywhere close to restaurant class. 🙁
Rated 1 out of 5
Jeanne m Christopher –
I totally agree with T. Hume and Stacie.
The only positive is that the pieces were large.
Taste and texture were unacceptable.
I would no recommend this product.
Rated 5 out of 5
Stephanie Nasi –
I guess I am the only one who though these were great! I would pop them in the oven, squeeze some lime juice and they were crispy and good size. They no longer sell them at my location =(
Rated 5 out of 5
Gigi Kim –
My family love these. Better than our local restaurants
Rated 2 out of 5
Laura –
I was really excited to try these. I’ve had the Sea Pak ones before that are pretty good so I assumed Trader Joe’s version would even better. I was wrong. First it looks like they put the squid in a blender before they breaded because most of the shapes aren’t identifiable. There should be closed rings and tentacles. That’s it. Instead it looks like funnel cake with long curly strands and blobs. If you sprinkled confectioners sugar on top of it and put it next to an actual funnel cake it would be near impossible to tell the difference. It’s very rubbery. I thought I cooked it wrong but there’s a lot of people who think so too. It was unexpectedly spicy which I didn’t care for. If I were able to chew it better I could have lived with that but it was really tough and unpleasant. I’m glad it’s only 5.49 so I didn’t lose a whole lot of money by throwing most of it out.
Rated 1 out of 5
Caroline –
The product is now called “Crispy Battered Calamari.” It does not cook up crispy when following the oven instructions, and the texture of the squid is horrible, but that’s not the worst of it. There’s a warning on the back that there may be pieces of “pen,” or shell. These are translucent, sharp, and spiny. Impossible to find and pick out beforehand, only discoverable by chewing carefully. I only ate five pieces and got at least four of those shells, then threw the rest out. The flavor is not even close to good enough to justify risking a pierced esophagus. Buyer beware.
Stacie –
These were bad. I don’t just mean “not the best” but bad. I could not even finish my serving. The calamari itself was rubbery and has an off-putting flavor. The pieces had way too much batter and the batter was bland. I would not recommend this at all
T. Hume –
Stacie took the words out of my mouth, these guys were rubbery, too much batter not anywhere close to restaurant class. 🙁
Jeanne m Christopher –
I totally agree with T. Hume and Stacie.
The only positive is that the pieces were large.
Taste and texture were unacceptable.
I would no recommend this product.
Stephanie Nasi –
I guess I am the only one who though these were great! I would pop them in the oven, squeeze some lime juice and they were crispy and good size. They no longer sell them at my location =(
Gigi Kim –
My family love these. Better than our local restaurants
Laura –
I was really excited to try these. I’ve had the Sea Pak ones before that are pretty good so I assumed Trader Joe’s version would even better. I was wrong. First it looks like they put the squid in a blender before they breaded because most of the shapes aren’t identifiable. There should be closed rings and tentacles. That’s it. Instead it looks like funnel cake with long curly strands and blobs. If you sprinkled confectioners sugar on top of it and put it next to an actual funnel cake it would be near impossible to tell the difference. It’s very rubbery. I thought I cooked it wrong but there’s a lot of people who think so too. It was unexpectedly spicy which I didn’t care for. If I were able to chew it better I could have lived with that but it was really tough and unpleasant. I’m glad it’s only 5.49 so I didn’t lose a whole lot of money by throwing most of it out.
Caroline –
The product is now called “Crispy Battered Calamari.” It does not cook up crispy when following the oven instructions, and the texture of the squid is horrible, but that’s not the worst of it. There’s a warning on the back that there may be pieces of “pen,” or shell. These are translucent, sharp, and spiny. Impossible to find and pick out beforehand, only discoverable by chewing carefully. I only ate five pieces and got at least four of those shells, then threw the rest out. The flavor is not even close to good enough to justify risking a pierced esophagus. Buyer beware.