Monday, September 23 is the first official day of fall (or autumn if you’re fancy) and products that evoke falling leaves, crisp days, and sweaters have been hitting shelves for weeks now. I’m rounding up some of my Fall finds while shopping around my town of Sarasota, FL (which while in the 90s most days is trying its best to pretend we have seasons). Believe it or not, those of us who live here year round can feel the subtle shift in the weather and there was a hot debate yesterday if there was a “nip” in the air or not (truth be told, I was in the minority as most thought there was).
Now onto the fall flavors! I don’t buy everything I see (I would be broke), so I’m not able to review every item here, but for those I have tried, I will give my honest opinion. There seems to be many more offerings out there this year for fall (and even holiday already!) compared to last year and this speaks to the growing trend towards plant based eating.
NEW AT ALDI
There were about 4 fall themed instant oatmeal flavors available at ALDI (sister chain to Trader Joe’s), but these two caught my eye.
Here are TWO pumpkin bread offerings from ALDI that are both vegan. One is a sweeter style bread with crumbs on the outside (the “spice it up” variety) and the other is a savory one called “seed you later”. Both look great for toasting and slathering with pumpkin butter!
I’m not sure how I feel about apples and bourbon in a salsa, but this could very well be delicious. It was a pass from me, but some may love it. Tell me if you’ve tried it in the comments below.
NEW & BACK AT TRADER JOE’S
While not “new”, these fall items are popping back up in Trader Joe’s stores nationwide. The pumpkin rolls are surprisingly vegan and delicious and often sell out prior to Halloween so grab them while you can as they keep forever in the fridge.
I have a love/hate with TJ’s Joe-Joe’s. Some flavors I love and some are just OK. This “falls” into the OK category. I find other brands have a better flavor than these, but come for me if you feel I’m wrong.
Now, this is a brand new item from TJ’s. Fall leaf shaped tortilla chips! I bought these and loved them from the first bite. They remind me of their year round sweet potato tortilla chips which are a firm favorite of mine. Plus the shapes are cute and festive and would get anyone sweating in 90º heat wearing a sweater into the fall mood right?
Also new this year, this maple & sea salt kettle corn is quite tasty. I found to have a tad bit too much salt, but that’s me. Maple seems to be a big trend this year for fall so hop onto the bandwagon and try this out!
If you use vegan butter and an egg substitute, you can make these new pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies vegan. I haven’t tried them, but how could they be bad? (Well they could, so let me know if you’ve tried them!)
NEW AT SPROUTS MARKET
Sprouts has a bevy of private label items for fall that are in stores now. Their pumpkin butter tastes almost identical to Trader Joe’s and the applesauce would be good in a pumpkin cake if you want to reduce the amount of fat used in most recipes.
Oh snap! These are tasty. A pumpkin spice twist on the traditional cookie.
NEW AT VARIOUS STORES
There is a big debate as to whether Oreo’s are technically vegan or not and Big Box Vegan doesn’t judge you either way. If you indulge, then this fall flavor keeps up the maple trend and isn’t chocolate to boot! These can be found at most major retailers.
These returning hit from Dave’s Killer Bread are very good. They have maple nuggets of goodness in every bite and a pumpkin swirl throughout. They are pretty killer if you can find them. I’ve heard they are the pumpkin unicorn of this season to spot in stores!
Chameleon is getting into the oatmilk holiday game this season with two new offerings of cold-brew spicy goodness.
These mixes from Krusteaz are actually vegan and can be made using egg substitutes and vegan butter or oil. I make most of my baked goods from scratch, but for those who are baking challenged, these would be a great choice!
Nature’s Path pumpkin spice waffles are back with a new look, but same great taste (or so the package says…). I’m not a huge fan of frozen waffles, but I could see a vegan sausage patty sandwiched between two with some pumpkin butter being a great breakfast!
These are heaven. They taste like the best pumpkin pie filling you’ve ever had! Haven’t seen them in stores just yet, but they can usually be found on Amazon (although they’re out of stock right now). They’re giving the Dave’s bagels a run for their money as the most elusive vegan pumpkin holiday item so if you find them, let me know!
That’s about it fall now (couldn’t help it), but let me know you’re favorites this season for fall below!