According to the Trader Joe’s website, the Trader Joe’s Focaccia Primavera was inspired by a trip to Venice, Italy, “where it was being sold in bakeries by the wedge as an on-the-go snack.” Apparently, it was one of those foods so lovely that the food wizards at TJ’s had to put together their own version. Well, actually, they hired a company in Italy to make it for them specially, according to the packaging.
When we first learned about this new item, we knew we had to try it right away. So today we’re thrilled to be checking out the Trader Joe’s Focaccia Primavera, which looks quite lovely.
First, of course, we must cook this. This will require some baking time if you choose the oven (35-40 minutes), but there are also microwave instructions on the box. We really felt that this one deserved the extra time, so we heated ours in the oven. It starts smelling very lovely about 20 minutes into the process. We definitely had some rumbling tummies in the Freezer Meal Frenzy office while this was cooking. (If you want to see the full cooking instructions, check out the package scans at the bottom of this review.)
The crust is absolutely dreamy. It’s crispier than we were expecting, but that’s not a bad thing at all. It has a lovely flavor, and the sprinkling of seeds on top really seal the deal. It’s a mix of sesame seeds, flax seeds, and sunflower seeds, and it’s wonderful.
The filling is made of spinach, egg whites, cauliflower, and a cheese blend (ricotta, mozzarella, and grana padano). It tastes pretty good, though it’s watery to the point that liquid oozes down your hand when you pick up a piece. That’s not the most desirable consistency, but everything still tastes great so it’s hard to complain.
According to the box, 1/3 of this is considered a serving, so you could cut this into sixths and then take two pieces if you want the exact serving recommended by the box. That’s what we did, and it seems to work out pretty well.
If you stick with that serving size, you’re looking at 270 calories and 810 mg of sodium. If you go absolutely wild and eat the entire thing, you’ll be at 820 calories and 2,430 mg of sodium. That’s quite a bit, so we actually don’t recommend eating more than half of this at once.
The Trader Joe’s Focaccia Primavera makes for a tasty snack, though we did find the filling to be just a bit too watery. Aside from that one complaint, though, this is a very lovely addition to the Trader Joe’s frozen food lineup.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this Trader Joe’s Focaccia Primavera, check out our package scans below.
