This is the third and final post in our ALDI 101 series. But I have to be honest — I kind of don’t want this series to end!
I have been having so much fun reading your comments over email, tweets, Facebook, Instagram, and in the comment section below about Aldi! From those of you who have been longtime fans and have shared your great tips and favorite items, to those of you who may have never set foot in an Aldi but are considering giving it a try, it has been so cool to hear about each person’s unique experience with the store. I have to admit that a reader totally made my day when she shared that she ventured into an Aldi for the first time this week, and loved it. That is so cool!!!! :-)
Well after our first two posts — Why I Shop At Aldi and How To Shop At Aldi — today is the post that gets down to specifics on what to buy at Aldi. I feel like I should probably give a huge disclaimer that this post is based 100% on personal opinion. I have all of my own quirks and preferences, and as you will see below, there is a large section of the store (cereals, many non-organic meats, pet food, makeup, etc.) that I have not tried because those areas do not fall in my normal grocery shopping. And I’m sure there are plenty of items where our opinions may just simply differ! The pina colada popsicles that I adore just may not be your thing.
So please feel free to take this post with a a big grain of Aldi’s sea salt. ;) My hope is to offer a few starting points, and then hopefully you can try some new items and form your own opinions. To organize this post, I have included a few brief thoughts about each section of the store, and then a brief “to buy” and “not to buy” list of specifics. As always, I would love to have you share your thoughts on what you like to buy in the comments below.
This concludes our Aldi series! Thanks so much for joining in the conversation, and I look forward to resuming regular recipe posting with you tomorrow!
Pantry Items
The pantry items are where I recommend people start at Aldi. Almost everything I’ve ever tried in this section is high-quality and consistently way cheaper than anyplace else. Granted, again, there is only one of most items to choose from. So you do not get the option of white whole wheat flour, unbleached or barley flour — there is usually bleached all-purpose flour, and that’s it. But this is an awesome section to stock your pantry, and even try a few of their specialty pantry items in the process.
What To Buy:
- baking essentials (flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, basic spices, condensed milk, etc.)
- real vanilla extract
- chocolate chips (semi-sweet, butterscotch,
- nuts for baking (pecan halves, walnuts, almonds, etc.)
- garlic vinagrette (with the garlic floating on the bottom!)
- Fit & Active light balsamic vinaigrette
- natural peanut butter
- clover honey
- breadcrumbs
- whole wheat pasta
- potato gnocchi
- strawberry light & crispy cereal bars
- granola
- oatmeal (any kind — there are lots of options!)
- rice
- dried beans
What Not To Buy:
The only iffy pantry item I have tried at Aldi is their chili powder, but I’m a bit of a spice snob. I think that you get what you pay for anytime you buy $1 spices at a grocery store. I’m also not a big cereal connoisseur, but I do know that their version of Cheerio’s does not taste exactly like the original. Just like at any grocery store, many of the cereals or granola bars are made with extra sugar, so be sure to check out the labels if you’re going for healthy.
Snacks and Sweets
There is actually a really wide variety of snacks and sweets to choose from at Aldi! I don’t usually let myself buy potato chips at the grocery store, but when most all of their chips are under $2, I have to admit that I have now sampled quite a few. And they are pretty much awesome. :)
What To Buy:
- dry-roasted almonds
- waffle bowls
- tortilla chips (restaurant-style, blue and multigrain varieties)
- sweet potato chips
- kettle chips (sea salt & vinegar and jalapeno are my favs)
- moser roth chili chocolate bars
- anise pizzelle cookies
- Haribo cola candy
- chocolate-covered coffee beans
What Not To Buy:
I don’t have any no-buys in this section. I will just mention that occasionally the lower prices equal lower serving sizes in some products. Again, to use chips as an example, often their bags are only about half full. So plan accordingly. (Or just use it as an excuse for portion control!) ;)
Dairy & Refrigerated Items
This is one category where it is “to each his own”. The majority of Aldi’s dairy products are not organic, although more and more organic options (and alternatives like almond milk!) are starting to pop up. The refrigerated section also seems to have a lot of variety and turnover, so while there may be marscapone and brie some months, they might not be there year-round. Still, my cart is always filled with lots of items from this section each time I go! And I always stock up on butter each time I’m there. It tastes great, and it is always so cheap!
What To Buy:
- BUTTER!
- fresh mozzarella balls
- hummus (roasted red pepper, garlic and cayenne are my three favorites)
- fresh salsas (I love the medium)
- marscapone
- soft cheeses (gorgonzola, blue, goat and feta are usually available)
- cream cheese (regular and reduced-fat)
- greek yogurt (often they have the Fage brand, and I also like their black cherry)
- original organic soymilk
- natural almond milk
- skim milk, 2% milk, whole milk, half and half, heavy cream (none are organic, but they are pretty good!)
- eggs
- cinnamon rolls
What Not To Buy:
Obviously if you are looking for organic, anything that is not marked as such is a no. I also think that many of their block cheeses are ok, but probably about worth what you pay for.
Produce
Ok, people, this has become my favorite section of Aldi! Trust me — there is some amazing produce to be found here at some of the best prices I’ve found. But here’s the deal…
You must be smart about choosing your produce. Just like at the normal grocery store, not every piece of produce is going to be perfectly ripe or at its peak season each time you visit. Case in point — Aldi can have incredible deals on avocadoes. (They are $0.19 each this week!) But if the avocado is wilted, or hard as a rock, it’s probably not a good day to buy it. The same goes for if you see any produce that looks super over- or under-ripe. If it looks iffy, you should probably wait until your next trip. Or you may need to eat it immediately, or wait a week for it to ripen if need be. But most of the time, I am completely impressed with their selection of ripe, affordable, delicious produce.
Most of their produce is also not organic, so just a heads-up if that is an important factor to you. Also many of their produce items (onions, zucchini, oranges, apples, kiwi, etc.) come in bags or in bulk. So there is not always the option to buy a single of some items.
Still, I always load up my cart with Aldi produce, so here are some of my favs!
What To Buy:
- pineapple
- lemons/limes
- baby carrots
- celery
- mushrooms
- green onions
- sweet mini peppers
- specialty lettuce
- berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries)
- zucchini and yellow squash
- kiwi
- pears
- mangoes
What Not To Buy:
Again, anything that looks iffy. I find that their roma tomatoes typically are not very ripe or flavorful. And I would also offer a special note on the bananas — they are awesome, but often they are over- or under-ripe, so you need to eat them in the proper timeframe.
Refrigerated Meats
As I said above, I prefer to buy most of my meat organic, so I haven’t tried tons of Aldi’s refrigerated meat options. But they have some killer deals on meats, especially in their weekly fresh meat special buys! Be sure to always check for those specials when they are published each Wednesday, as they tend to disappear quickly! A lot of the meat at Aldi is also seasonal, so be sure around the holidays to check out their hams and turkeys. They are amazing!
What To Buy:
- turkey bacon
- ground turkey
- thick peppered bacon
- spiral-cut ham
- turkeys
What Not To Buy:
Just a heads up that their cheapest bacon is really thin and not very lean. I would “splurge” and go for one of the thicker cuts, since that is practically the same price as the inexpensive bacon at the regular grocery store!
Canned/Jarred Goods
Thus far, I have had 100% positive experiences with the canned and jarred section at Aldi. They have a great selection of your basic canned fruits and veggies, and lots of canned sauces and such to choose from. And the prices are fantastic! Once again, I would caution to read the labels. Their canned peaches have a ton of sugar, as the generic canned peaches do at most stores. And some of their sauces and soups contain more processed ingredients than I prefer, as is common in many jarred sauces. But still, don’t be scared of any of the canned produce from Aldi — it’s awesome!
What To Buy:
- canned veggies
- canned fruits
- canned beans
- jarred marinara sauce
What Not To Buy:
Anything that you might be iffy about being overly-processed. (Look for some Gimme Some Oven recipes for easy alternatives to make soups homemade!) And again, keep an eye on the sugar content with canned fruits.
Frozen Foods
To be honest, this is a section that I don’t know a ton about. I usually stick with pretty straight “ingredients” in the frozen food section — frozen fruit, fish, veggies, etc. So if any of you have insights on more of the prepared frozen foods, would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
What To Buy:
- jumbo shrimp
- tilapia
- fruit popsicles (pina colada, lime and strawberry)
- moose tracks ice cream
- frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries, etc.)
- edamame
- asparagus
What Not To Buy:
Any of their frozen shrimp that are not “jumbo” are tiny. I have also not been super impressed with their frozen salmon. Like most salmon in that price range in any grocery stores, it seems a little lacking in flavor. Also a heads-up that most of the frozen meats are not organic.
Beverages
Gah, I wish I had more experience here! I promise you guys I’m not a super health nut, but I also pretty much stick to water, tea, juices and coffee in life. So I have hardly any experience here when it comes to beverages. But my friends tell me that most of their options (like the Aldi brand of Crystal Light, teas and flavored sparkling waters) are pretty much identical to the originals. Here are a few that I have tried.
What To Buy:
- sparkling juice (I love all of them!)
- refrigerated 100% orange juice (go for the nicer of the two options for better flavor)
- Naked juice (when in stock)
- flavored sparkling water drinks
- iced tea
What Not To Buy:
I am definitely a big of a snob when it comes to my coffee. So I shy away from any of the bulk or super inexpensive coffee options, but I am sure they are comparable to their counterparts in the regular grocery store. I was also unimpressed by the cheap refrigerated orange juice — seemed to concentrate-y for me.
Alcoholic Drinks
First of all, it’s important to point out that wine and liquors are not available in all Aldi’s. I live in KC, and our Kansas stores are not allowed to carry alcoholic beverages, but most of the Missouri locations do. So this will depend on your state.
A reminder to all who are iffy about the cheap wine at Aldi — this store is owned by the same company that is the home of 2-buck-chuck, Trader Joe’s! So before you immediately write off the drink section, I would recommend you try a bottle or two. In my experience, you get what you pay for and a little bit more. The $3 wines taste maybe like a normal $5 wine. The Bailey’s knockoff isn’t precisely like Bailey’s, but it’s darn close and a great deal for a fraction of the price. But my favorite of all time is available seasonally, and I wish it was offered yearround — Aldi’s sangria! Oh man. I never knew that I would like sangria from a bottle, but this stuff is crazy good. And you get an enormous bottle for like $4. If you see it, you must try it.
What To Buy:
- SANGRIA! (seasonal)
- wines in the $5-10 range
- Bailey’s
What Not To Buy:
I think you get what you pay for with the super inexpensive budget wines — they are definitely hit and miss.
Household Items
For some reason, I held out on this section of Aldi for years, and now I have no idea why. They have some terrific household products at amazing discounts! Especially since I typically get annoyed at having to spend money on these things anyway, it’s awesome to have a more affordable option at Aldi. Two areas that I have not tried are their pet section and the makeup. Would love to have you chime in if you have experience with either of these!
What To Buy:
- disinfectant wipes
- plastic freezer and sandwich bags
- trash bags (they are thin, but they do the job)
- Crest toothpaste
- women’s razors
- pain relievers (ibuprofin, etc.)
- ultra soft & strong toilet paper
- paper towels and napkins
What Not To Buy:
You totally get what you pay for with the super cheap ($1 for 4 rolls) toilet paper. It is super thin and not very soft. But their thick TP is awesome!
My Top 10 Favorite Items At Aldi:
10. edamame
9. roasted red pepper hummus
8. fresh mozzarella balls
7. sangria
6. sea salt pita chips
5. pina colada popsicles
4. artichoke hearts
3. almond milk
2. butter
1. pineapple
Other ALDI 101 Articles:
All 3 articles were great. one of my faves at Aldi is the juice. They always have a great variety and most are 100% juice. My husband is a fruit juice snob and enjoys all the ones we have tried. Thanks again for the great reads.
The first time I shopped Aldi’s I must say I did not care for it. But I made a promise to myself to continue for a month and now I love it. The produce buys are great! The Fit and Active flavored water enhancers (Mio like) are great especially the Strawberry Watermelon flavor. My husband is a saltine cracker snob so he didnt care for the Aldi brand, but I thought they were ok. I love the Fit and Active lite Balsamic Vinaigrette. Milk and eggs are good. The best buy I found was around last Thanksgiving/Christmas when they had spiral hams on sale. Bought several and froze them in serving size portions. Ate on them for months. Made the best sandwiches and used it in several recipes. Great bargain.
I completely agree with most of your list! Their coffee is terrible, but if you add their seasonal creamers to it (hello pumpkin), it’s drinkable. My husband and I switched to shopping there and only go to our bigger groceries when they have coupons or items that my Aldi doesn’t have. We have saved so much money! I haven’t found the Sangria, but their Malbec is pretty tasty! If you’re making sangria for a large group, their cheap wines are easy to dress up with fruit. SO GOOD!
I learned to shop at Aldi in Austria as an exchange student. (In Austria, the branch is called Hofer, but it’s the same store.) For a starving college student, that store was a life saver. I’m very happy they’ve opened a branch near me now. The best part is that many of the specialty items are German and Austrian products – great chocolate, excellent hard rye bread, Christmas Stollen, etc. The sausage and lunch meat is also top notch.
We love Aldi. As a matter of fact, I just finished making the list for our trip tomorrow! I believe the quality of some items just depends on what store you visit.
When we first started going, we were leery of getting meat and dairy. We just didn’t trust them. Hmm..we finally took the plunge years ago and have been devotees ever since. The regular “economy” bacon isn’t worth it, but we regularly get pork chops & ground beef if the prices beat any other place in town. My husband laughed a few months ago and said he didn’t rememeber the last time we got groceries from Walmart. LOL…
The only item we’ve had “issues” with are some of the soups and packaged pepperoni. In the case of the soups, we’d gotten several cans of the italian wedding and we had really bad stomach aches after eating it. It just didn’t agree w/us for some reason. We’d gotten other chunky soup varities there before and didn’t have a problem. We strayed away for a while, but recently went back to the soups. We haven’t been sick again and those soups are really good! They are $1.29 in our area(KY). The packaged pepperoni has a good flavor, but oh my….they are SO greasy. I usually dab the extra off w/a paper towel anyway(used to get Hormel), but the ones from Aldi have a ridiculous amount of grease.
Oh, and the Mama Cozzi “take and bake” version of pizzas that you find w/the lunchmeat & cheese are really good! We used to get those take and bakes from walmart. These are much cheaper and taste just as good! We usually make our own pizzas from scratch, but when we want to have one of the “deli pizzas” on hand to pop in quickly, we get Mama Cozzi’s. Our Aldi also carries King’s Hawaiian Rolls. Those things don’t last long bc people snap up more than 1 pkg at at time!
As I said, “We LOVE Aldi!”
there frozen pizzas are not good. no taste.
I get the frozen cheese pizza and dress it up with my favorite toppings… but I agree that by itself it doesn’t have a lot of flavor!
I just found your site today. Kristen at thefrugalgirl.com is an Aldi’s fan and has written some nice articles about them on her blog. She was invited to their headquarters and her experience is a fun read.
I love Aldi and do about 50% of my shopping there. As a side note, I believe that produce varies according to location. My mother-in-law in Illinois gets fabulous produce there. I live in Michigan and while I have seen improvements, I am still careful about what I purchase. Most of their dairy is fantastic but I have had a few bad experiences with their skim milk and avoid buying it there (the manager has been working with the supplier to correct the problem, but once bitten, twice shy!).
We have the “quarter/cart trade-off” at our store–if you are loading your groceries in your trunk and see someone approach you with an outstretched arm holding a quarter, you don’t even have to return your cart!
We really liked their Almond Butter but we haven’t seen it lately.
I shop Aldi all the time, I started shopping there because my Kroger is known for having short shelf life for milk and dairy. I go to Aldi and get at least 2 weeks, usually more on a gal of milk, the half and half I use in my coffee that I bought 10/2 is dated for 11/14!! I also like their brand of coffee, dried pasta is much cheaper, as are canned fruits and veggies than the regular grocery stores. I also agree that baking supplies are a huge bargain. My Aldi didn’t use to have the greatest produce section, but I have noticed in the last few months that it is getting better. My latest find is stock in a box, both chicken and beef for $1.49!! Thanks for posting about this treasure trove of goodies!
I love Aldi’s for their fresh fruits and vegies but I agree you have to look carefully at what you are buying. Tomatoes are usually not ripe enough for me or too ripe. And the last time I went for bananas they were all overripe. Baking supplies are another thing I get there and I like their canned soup. Like any other store you need to read labels so you know what you are getting. The one thing I never buy there is cereal. We are snobs when it comes to cereal and I prefer name brands.