Here’s How To Throw A Trader Joe’s Cinco De Mayo Party For $30

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Cinco de Mayo is a special time for all of us, even if we’re not physically celebrating in Mexico. We get to have an excuse to eat all of the tacos and drink all of the margaritas. Whether you’re celebrating with your coworkers, your friends or yourself, you can have a party without breaking the bank. For $30, you can stop by Trader Joe’s and pick up all of the essentials. If you have a little extra wiggle room in your budget, you can even spike your agua fresca and buy a few decorations.

Chips & Tortillas

Emily Abrams

You could go with the classic triangle-shaped white corn tortilla chips that are seasoned with a little sea salt and lime, or go for the round salted tortilla chips. The restaurant-style chips, with a hint of lime, are a little more affordable. For the taste of street tacos, the soft tortillas are a solid substitute for homemade.

• Salted Tortilla Chips — $3.49
• White Corn Tortilla Chips — $1.99
• Corn & Wheat Tortillas de mi Abuela — $1.99

Dips

Depending on how many people you’re entertaining and how heavy you want to go on the appetizers, you could buy chunky tomato salsa or the spicy guac or get fancy and go for TJ’s Organic Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa. If you want to ball out, go for all. You can also double dip and use your salsa and guac as toppings for your tacos when it comes time for the main course. This way you won’t have to spend extra on toppings and you’ll save yourself the time it would take to cut up all of those veggies.

• Chunky Salsa — $1.99
• Chunky Spicy Guacamole — $2.99
• Organic Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa — $2.49

Protein

Emily Abrams

If you plan on having meat at your Cinco de Mayo party, the lean ground chicken at TJ’s is pretty affordable. If you’re serving some vegetarian friends, they can fill their tacos with TJ’s award-winning soy chorizo (it’s a bit cheaper, too).

• Ground Chicken — $3.49
• Soy Chorizo — $3.29

Seasoning

Emily Abrams

If you already have some taco seasoning in the cabinet at home that you’re comfortable with, great. You can save a little money this way. If not, you can buy a package of taco seasoning mix at TJ’s for less than a dollar or season everything from your protein to some mango with a sprinkle of chili lime seasoning, yum!

• Taco Seasoning Mix — $0.79
• Chili Lime Seasoning Blend — $1.99

Toppings

Emily Abrams

Your tacos wouldn’t be complete without some fresh herbs, a little citrus and shredded cheese. You’ll find fresh cilantro, limes and a blend of shredded Mexican cheese for a total of less than $7.

• Cilantro — $1.99
• Limes — $0.29
• Fancy Shredded Lite Mexican Blend — $3.49

Drinks

Make a whole batch of fruity drinks with Trader Joe’s Pineapple Juice or Orange Peach Mango Juice, both in the refrigerated section. Hopefully, you already have some kind of booze in your cabinet to spike it with, or else you’re looking at a sober Cinco de Mayo. No one wants a sober Cinco de Mayo party. If you have a blender and some ice, you can whip up some refreshing icy margaritas.

• Pineapple Juice — $3.99
• Orange Peach Mango Juice — $2.99

Dessert

Emily Abrams

Don’t worry, you won’t have to skip out on dessert just because you’re on a budget. If you haven’t balled out too much by this point, you should pick up a box of these key lime tea cookies or a pack of spicy dried mango for dessert.

• Chile Spiced Mango — $2.49
• Key Lime Tea Cookies — $3.99

Depending on how much self-control you have, you’ll be able to check off your Cinco de Mayo grocery list for $30 or less at TJ’s. Time to get guacward!

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