Trader Joe’s has a Chipotle Black Bean Dip that I wanted to give a try. There is a shortage of quality bean dips in my neck of the woods and I am getting a little bored with dipping my corn chips in Salsa so I figured the Trader Joe’s dip was worth a shot.
And, by the way, I give these guys credit for changing the brand name over to “Trader Jose’s” 🙂
Bean Dip Nutrition
You get 12 ounces (340 g) of bean dip per jar. One serving is two tablespoons and there are about 11 servings per jar.
The nutritional facts for a single serving are:
- Calories: 35
- Fat: 0g (0% DV)
- Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV)
- Sodium: 200mg (9% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 8g (3% DV)
- Protein: 2g
From a nutritional standpoint this dip has low calories, salt, etc. but that doesn’t really matter because the chips you use for dipping is where most of your calories will show up.
Ingredient List
The Bean Dip has the following ingredients:
- Water
- Black beans
- Black bean flakes
- Onion
- Tomato paste
- Sugar
- Salt
- Chipotle peppers
- Dried ancho chilis
- Granulated garlic
- Malic acid
- Citirc acid
- Vinegar
- Smoke flavor
The dip is labeled as “Mild”.
Taste Test
The bean dip has a nice consistency, not too thick, not too thin, which makes it easy to slide your chips through. The flavor is “beany”, earthy and has just a hint of chipotle pepper. There is a pronounced vinegar note that makes the bean dip a little brighter than expected.
I have mixed feelings about the heat level.
When I put the dip into my shopping cart I was expecting it to be spicy because the largest word on the label, in bold white letters, was CHIPOTLE. However, when I got home and looked closer at the label, it was also marked as “Mild” in small letters on the back.
On one hand I feel misled into thinking I was getting a spicy bean dip but, on the other, if I had read the label more carefully then I would have known what I was getting.
We tried this dip with Trader Joe’s Elote Corn Chip Dippers and their Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. Both corn chips tasted fine with the dip but the Elote Corn Dippers were our favorite. I think the extra vinegar in the bean dip activated and woke up some of the flavors on the Corn Dippers that was missing when I tried them plain.
There is nothing particularly remarkable about the dip and I wouldn’t make a special trip to Trader Joe’s just for this item. However, the dip is decent and I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another jar.
How long can I keep an unopened jar —best by 11/30/2021