For those of us who were fans of Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce, some tears were shed when it was discontinued some months back. Ok, tears may be a little extreme. But it was a bummer! So I grabbed a couple bottles before it was gone-gone. The replacement hit stores this week.
Already, we’re dealing with a 24 oz. bottle versus 12 oz. on the previous incarnation, which makes more sense if you’re actually using it enchiladas. Ingredients-wise, we’re also dealing with a new formulation. The list is much simpler, but it begs the question, will it taste almost the same as the old version? Well, the big tell to me that it won’t is that water and tomato paste are the first two ingredients, whereas water and chili powder were the first two ingredients in the old version.
Now, look at the color. The new version is a darker red, which I’ll chalk up to the tomato paste, and the fact that it doesn’t have the flour and cornstarch in the old version.
Now, I’m NOT saying the new version can’t or won’t be good. It might be! But if you were hoping for a 1:1 replacement like I was (since I mainly use it in a Taco Bell Bean & Cheese burrito copycat), it’s not really the same.
I’ll make some enchiladas soon, but I’ll likely stick with Las Palmas in the can or making my own during chile season. I still don’t know what I’m gonna do about the Bean & Cheese Burrito situation.
UPDATE 9/20 : It’s tasty in enchiladas! You get a little bit of a kick when you taste it straight from the jar, but it chills out once baked. It’s a definite buy again for me.
