What do you like at Aldi?

[senoragilbert]

So we Aldi shoppers know that their products are hit-or-miss; some are the best quality you can buy, regardless of brand, and some are barely edible. What do you buy from Aldi that is as good (or better) as the national brands?

Chez Gilbert buys:

brownie mix (better than ANY brand we have tried!)
milk
eggs
cheese
some cereals: Kashi-type crunch, raisin bran w/ granola, honey bunches of oats type, frosted mini wheats
cereal bars (like Nutri-grain)
pita chips
extra lean ground beef
9-grain and 100% whole wheat bread
salad mixes in the bag
baby carrots
deli pizzas (lately have gone down in quality but still quite a good deal!)
"donut shop" coffee
light yogurt
"deli sliced" lunchmeats
chicken broth

Things we will never buy again:
"German" coffee (but we are coffee SNOBS)
kid's gogurt type yogurt--they have way too much coloring etc and taste like the plastic they come in!
frozen "lean pocket" sandwiches in the thicker crust (way too bready!)

 

[girli565]

We like the cheeses, granola and cereal bars (especially those sweet and salty ones, yum!!), lemons, limes, carrots, potatoes, milk, eggs, sour cream, whipped cream in the can, the 100% juice blends (my husband loves the berry one), sliced white butter bread.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I will buy their supreme pizza at $1.99, add anchovies, pepperoni and more cheese before baking. Definitely less expensive than anywhere else.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Their kettle cooked chips, granola raisin bran, butter is really cheap. I just bought their refridgerated french onion dip and loved it! Can't wait for more replies. I just started shopping there in the last year.

 

[dodukes]

we tried the "gatorade" and the chewy chocolate chip cookies the other day. really liked them!

 

[scootch]

milk, eggs, cream cheese, yogurt(especially ones in tube), salsa(very good), whole wheat pasta(when they have it, fit brand, delicious), zuccini is always good and cheap, even in winter. Other fresh fruits and veggies are hit and miss. Our walmart will match their price on fresh fruit/veggies though, which is nice.

 

[bradyloganmom]

Chips, coffee creamer, milk, eggs, margarine, ground turkey, chicken, steak, apples, oranges, frozen fries/potato puffs, Aldi brand gatorade, laundry soap.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Fruit loop type cereal, butter microwave popcorn, take and bake pizza, saltines, eggs, butter, oat top bread(seems to last longer than the wheat), fresh fruit and veggies are usually good and don't forget the milk chocolate candy bars(way better than any U.S. candy). Aldi is new to my area so I have not tried everything I want to yet, just bought ketchup and mayo last night and a few other cereals. I also bought some cake mixes, the price was not great, I could do as well at Walmart but I was there and needed it so...

 

[mommy2twingles]

Cereals for the kids, milk, eggs, mini bagels, veggies and fruit. frozen mini cream puffs, ice cream waffle cones, ice cream drumsticks, kids say the canned pasta is just like chefboyardee and that the mac and cheese single serve are just like kraft, prebagged salad, mustard.

 

[Beezle2]

I keep finding new things there to like! Suprisingly I like a bunch of their wines. All the one we have tried that have the Wine Specatator rating have been great! And cheap

Other things I buy:
milk
eggs
butter
the Savoritz 6 cracker assortment
oat and fiber bars
bacon
block cheese
sour cream
romaine lettuce
spinach
lots of freash fruits and veggies but I do have to be careful, not everything is good. Or the best price.
canned beans
canned tomato
12 grain bread
choc doughnuts
mini crossiant
their chocolate
Beaumont ice cream

Love Aldi

 

[maganda]

Love their kettle chips. I also get things that I'm not brand loyal about - pantry staples like vinegar, brown sugar, spices, etc.
One thing I really love about Aldi is how inexpensive their canned goods are. We regularly contribute to canned food drives and buying at Aldi allows me to give more.

 

[stacie_d]

We love the frozen gyro kits...ours seems to get them a couple times a year as one of the special buys. A friend of ours who is from Lebanon originally recently tried one of the kits, and to my surprise, he was fairly impressed. He was quite skeptical about it too, according to his wife.

DH also loves the breaded veal patties...also a special buy. And at the time they have those in, they get an arribbiata sauce that we are especially fond of...we stocked piled around 50 jars.

DH also recently had the red cabbage with apples (a product available during their german features) and he said it was really good.

The staples...we've not had any issue with any of them. We do love the special buys though, as you can probably tell from my message thus far.

One more thing...ours recently started carrying the almond milk...I like it for coffee, etc. The kids do not like it.

 

[jenrose66]

I like the milk, butter, eggs, whipped cream, shredded cheese, nutty buddy bars, donut shop coffee.

I HATE the granola bars.

 

[Julia Says]

We love the milk, eggs, potatoes, hummus, pita chips and ground turkey, among other things.

Our favorite Aldi item, by far, is a pack of popsicles they sell in the summertime. The brand is Sundae Shoppe (they sell other products by them) and they sell these huge packs of popsicles (48, maybe? they're the kind that are 2 stuck together) in a plastic bag for around $2.

 

[Callie]

The Bacon and Ranch pasta salad is better tasting than Any Name Brand! Its so good I could just keep eating and eating it.
Chips are all good.


The stuffed chicken breasts aren't as good as the kind we get from meijer, but they are half the price, so they aren't bad!

 

[momto2inKC]

We've tried quite a bit from there. We always get- milk, cheese, sour cream, eggs, fresh fruit and veggies, granola bars, tortilla shells, chicken nuggets, pierogies, bread/bagels, hot dogs, lunch meat, salad dressings, baking supplies, chips...all good. Honestly the only thing we've bought that was NOT comparable to name brand was their mac & cheese. Just gross and a weird very bright orange color. Today we picked up their deluxe mac & cheese to try. I love their special value stuff. Always usually good.

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

I'm obsessed with their strawberry jam. It has huge chunks of real strawberries in it and isn't overly sweet. It's great on toast with a bit of cream cheese.

I also like their bottled water. It's much cheaper than that at other grocery stores, and tastes the same.

 

[stacy347]

I love their reduced fat peanut butter (and no palm oil, so bonus!), but they haven't had it here for a couple of months now.

I also love their veggie chips! They taste just like the ones I've had from Sam's Club. I go crazy for their Belgian truffles when they get them in ~ so yummy!!

Never had a problem with any of their cereals or pantry staples, but the last few bags of russet potatoes have been just awful. I'll go back to Kroger for those, I guess.

 

[hsmamato2]

Most of what I buy is basic,and it's all pretty good. Now that my Aldi carries greek yogurt and plain seltzer,I rarely shop anywhere else now.
I do buy meats from Trader Joes or Whole foods,(free range or organic) and fresh eggs when I get to a farm,other than that I buy all cereal,veggies,cheese,lunchmeats,etc at Aldi.Crackers,flour,oil,baking mixes,mustard,ketchup,etc etc etc- I have to go later today,I am 100% out of everything including frozen veggies!
my DH LOVES the salt and pepper kettle chips, more than any other chip he's ever eaten!
I like the Belmont ice cream too..... I seriously see no difference between Aldi and the products at the grocery store,in a 'blind' taste test, no one in the house could either!

 

[senoragilbert]

Thanks for all the replies! Has anyone tried the pasta sauce? I get mine at Trader Joe's, but I'm trying to shop at less places every month, so the more I can get at Aldi, the better!

I forgot about these things we like:

frozen asparagus (really wonderful on the grill!)
individual water bottle packets (like Crystal Light)