How Much Money You Can Save By Shopping For Cheese At Trader Joe's

There are plenty of questions that might keep you up at night. You may toss and turn wondering about how new tariffs will impact your budget, what the fate of Social Security will be under the Department of Government Efficiency, or even what debt collectors are legally allowed to do. But likely, only one question truly haunts your sleepless nights and dazed days: how much money can you save buying cheese at Trader Joe's?

You may laugh, but who hasn't wondered if they've gotten the cheese game all wrong? Americans eat an average of 42 pounds of cheese per person per year, per the most recent USDA Economic Research Service data. Cotton may have once been the fabric of our lives, but cheese is often the delicious glue that holds our meals together. Whether taking center stage on a charcuterie board or smothering otherwise innocent vegetables, cheese lends even the most struggling of struggle meals a touch of splendor. And, as anyone with a taste for sky-high priced eggs knows, even the simplest of splendors can get expensive, and fast.

Cheese price panic can rear its ugly head any time you buy a bag of shredded cheddar or a money-guzzling wedge of specialty cheese. This is where Trader Joe's comes in. Known for selling eats on the cheap — due to keeping most of its offerings under private labels — the fan-favorite store offers a wide variety of cheese and savings potential.

From pre-sliced cheese for sandwiches to string cheese for snacking to shredded cheese for everything else, Trader Joe's has your go-to cheese basics covered. But at what cost, compared to other value grocery competitors? At Trader Joe's, a 12-ounce bag of blend of finely shredded Mexican-style cheese (including asadero, queso blanco, sharp cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses) runs for $3.99. However, frugal shoppers know that true savings can be found by checking the unit price. Across both categories, Trader Joe's pricing beats comparable bags of Kraft sold at Walmart. The Trader Joe's 12-ounce bag breaks down to 33 cents per ounce, while Walmart's Kraft options run 36 cents per ounce for an 8-ounce bag, and 35 cents per ounce for a 16-ounce bag. 

12 ounces of Trader Joe's sandwich-ready sliced sharp cheddar costs $4.79, or 39 cents per ounce. This is cheaper than the 41 cents per ounce for an 8-ounce bag of sliced Sargento cheddar sold at Target, but not as cheap as the 29 cents per ounce of Target's private label Good & Gather 8-ounce package. While savings on everyday cheeses might be marginal between Trader Joe's and other value house brands, string cheese is another story. A 12-ounce, 12-count bag of string cheese from Trader Joe's is $3.99, or 33 cents per ounce. A Sargento equivalent is $6.99, or 52 cents per ounce, at Target, or $4.94 (42 cents an ounce) through Walmart.

Fair play to the frugal cheese shopper who is only interested in saving on standard cheese needs, but Trader Joe's also offers some specialty and seasonal cheeses at a discount. Trader Joe's stocks seemingly countless cheeses, sold relatively cheaply under the store's private label. Staying mysterious about cheese producers (even ones that shoppers might be able to guess on their own) helps keep prices down, in part because Trader Joe's can use its own bulk purchasing power to pass on savings to customers. While there are plenty of Trader Joe's shopping mistakes to avoid, visiting the specialty cheese department is not one of them. Many Trader Joe's specialty cheeses are very good mid-range cheeses, made with quality ingredients, and priced to sell in small-to-modest-sized chunks of cheese that would be priced higher at a at a proper (and pricier) cheese shop. 

Some Trader Joe's cheeses are priced by the pound, but sold in 5-8 ounce chunks. Frugal shoppers can even root around for the smallest (and cheapest) chunks of fan favorites like the Cotswold Double Gloucester at $10.99 per pound, Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio (aged three years) for $17.99 per pound, or Toscano Cheese with Black Pepper for $11.99 per pound. Go-to Trader Joe's cheeses like mozzarella, and feta are great, but sometimes a cheese mouse wants a fancier or even stranger delicacy to sink their teeth into — maybe even a bite of Trader Joe's chocolate cheddar cheese. Plus, there are always plenty of seasonal changes within the cheese department.