The 15 Best Items At Aldi Right Now, According to a Lifelong Fan
There are plenty of options when it comes to grocery stores, but the one I find myself going back to time and time again is Aldi. Sure, Aldi may not be quite as glamorous as rivals like Whole Foods, Wegmans, or Trader Joe's, but there's also no denying that demand for the discount grocer is soaring in 2023.
The Batavia, Ill.-based company announced back in May that it planned to open more than 100 new stores this year alone to help serve its growing fanbase. This would bring its total store count in the United States up to 2,400.
"Our growth is led by our customers, and they continue to want more Aldi locations coast-to-coast," Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart said in a statement at the time.
So, what is it about Aldi that consumers just can't seem to get enough of right now? For me at least, part of the pull is the nostalgia. Aldi was one of my family's go-to grocery stores growing up, so I feel like I know those aisles like the back of my hand. The discount prices are another major draw for me. I consistently spend significantly less on my food and household items at Aldi in comparison to what I spend at retailers with larger selections, like ShopRite.
To be clear, there are certain items I prefer to buy at grocery stores other than Aldi, like fresh produce and chicken. But I also think that Aldi offers great prices and great quality on plenty of grocery staples, particularly with many of its private label products.
I've rounded up all of my go-to items below to help fellow shoppers sort through the grocer's lineup, so read on for what I think are the 15 best products at Aldi right now!
Take & Bake Pizzas
If Aldi ever inducted its best ever items into a hall of fame, à la Trader Joe's, I think Mama Cozzi's Take & Bake Pizzas would be a shoo-in. Are these as delicious as a fresh pizza from your local shop? Not necessarily. But, it's still super tasty for what it is, easy to prepare, and gives you an absolutely massive amount of food for just $4.99 (prices may vary depending on the location).
There are several different flavors available to customers nowadays, including cheese, pepperoni, supreme, and super meaty varieties. Aldi also sells Take & Bake flatbreads and breadsticks for anyone craving something adjacent to pizza.
Clancy's Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
I think that any grocer should offer a solid tortilla chip, and Clancy's Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips are a shining example. They're crunchy, salty, and the perfect vehicle for your dip of choice. A friend of mine who also frequents Aldi said that he can't tell these apart from Tostitos, one of his favorite tortilla chip brands.
The deal on these chips is also nothing to balk at. A 13-ounce bag costs $1.99 near me right now, compared to the $4.50 price tag on a 12-ounce bag of Tostitos Original Restaurant Style at my local ShopRite.
Clancy's White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn
Speaking of dupes for name-brand snacks, Clancy's White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn is extremely similar to Smartfood's White Cheddar Popcorn. Even the black and yellow packaging on the Clancy's version makes it pretty indistinguishable from the name brand.
The popcorn is super cheesy, savory, salty, crispy, and pretty addicting overall. At just $2.29 for a sizable 8.5-ounce bag, it's also pretty dang affordable. For comparison, a 6.75-ounce bag of Smartfood costs $4.50 at my local ShopRite right not, so I can get more popcorn for less money by opting for the Aldi version.
Pane Turano Italian Bread
If I had to choose just one Aldi product to eat for the rest of my life, it would be this Pane Turano Italian bread. It is truly the best bread I have ever bought at any grocery store period, let alone at Aldi. The slices are super wide, making them perfect for sandwiches or turning into garlic bread. They're also thick enough that they stay soft and fluffy in the middle and get super crispy on the outside when I toast them.
This is one of the only products that I'll put in my cart during every Aldi shopping trip without fail, and I would be absolutely devastated if it was ever discontinued. Each $4.99 package does come with a ton of slices, but I've had success freezing and thawing any bread that I can't eat within the first few days after purchasing it.
Burman's Soy Sauce
I tend to tear through bottles of soy sauce pretty quickly at home, so I frequently have to stock up at the grocery store. I love this Aldi house brand version in particular because it's super affordable at just $1.55 for a 15-ounce bottle, compared to the $2.69 price tag for a 10-ounce bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce at my local ShopRite right now. It also tastes just as good as any name brand I've tried.
Millville Complete Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix
While boxed-mix pancakes hardly compare to homemade pancakes, there are times when I don't have the ingredients or motivation to make them from scratch. I love to have a box of this Aldi house brand mix in my cupboards for whenever those instances come around. I've never detected any major flavor or quality differences between different complete pancake mixes, but Aldi's version stands out to me because of the price. A 32-ounce box costs $1.95 near me right now, which is significantly lower than the $3.29 price tag on a 25.2-ounce box of Krusteaz at my local ShopRite.
Choceur Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels
Earlier this year, consumers began obsessing over the Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels sold at Costco. While I don't think this version from Aldi is an exact replica, it's pretty darn close and really delicious in and of itself. The caramel is buttery, vanilla-forward and chewy, while the sea salt on the outside makes for a tantalizing sweet and salty bite. A 13.8-ounce tub costs $3.89 at my local Aldi right now.
Baking supplies
To say that I'm an avid baker would be a grand understatement. I fly through flour, sugar, butter, yeast, spices, and pecans at a rate that can actually be concerning at times. So, whenever I need to stock up on baking ingredients without breaking the bank, Aldi is a godsend.
Sure, they don't necessarily have the wide variety that I might find at bigger retailers, but they have great prices on all of the essentials. These five-pound bags of all-purpose flour, for example, only cost $2.19 at my local Aldi right now, while a five-pound bag of store-brand flour at the nearest ShopRite costs $2.79 right now. It's a similar story for butter, a pound of which costs $3.29 at Aldi right now versus $3.79 for a pound of store brand butter at ShopRite.
Those savings may not seem all that impressive at first glance, but it really adds up when I need to purchase a bunch of supplies.
Old Amsterdam Classic Gouda
This might surprise consumers who aren't all that familiar with Aldi, but the retailer actually has a really solid selection of cheeses gracing its refrigerated shelves. And this gouda from the Old Amsterdam brand is my absolute favorite fromage that Aldi has to offer right now. It's aged for eight months, semi-soft, and packs tons of salty, nutty, umami-forward flavors. I love to use it in grilled cheese, mac and cheese, or serve it on cheese boards.
Rao's Homemade Marinara
I usually prefer to make pasta sauce from scratch, but in those instances where I can't muster up the motivation, Rao's is my go-to jarred sauce. I'm far from the only person who feels this way about Rao's. When the Campbell Soup Company announced over the summer that it was acquiring the company that owns Rao's, fans were so worried the sauce would change that Campbell's CEO had to repeatedly assure them that new ownership wouldn't touch the recipe.
Aldi is far from the only retailer that sells Rao's right now, but it does offer a pretty good deal. A 24-ounce jar costs $6.88 at my local Aldi right now, while a jar of the same size costs $7.49 at my local ShopRite right now.
Carlini Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Extra-virgin olive oil is yet another pantry staple that comes at a great price at Aldi. These 16.9-ounce bottles currently cost $5.09 at my local Aldi, compared to $5.99 for a 17-ounce store brand bottle from ShopRite. The Aldi version, which seems just as good as any other basic grocery store olive oil I've tried, is extra affordable up against the name brands. A 16.9-ounce bottle of Cento Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, for example, currently comes with a $10.99 price tag at the nearest ShopRite.
Earth Grown Organic Extra Firm Tofu
Tofu is one of my absolute favorite proteins because it's so easy to prepare and adapts so well to so many different flavors. Aldi's version has become my go-to because the quality and deal are both pretty solid. This 14-ounce block of organic tofu only costs $1.59 at my local Aldi right now, and I'm usually able to spread it across two or more meals. Meanwhile, a similar version offered at my local ShopRite from the brand House Foods costs $2.69 for a 16-ounce block.
Choceur Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds
These Choceur Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds taste like Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars all rolled up into one perfect bite, featuring a large almond encased by a coconuty, chocolatey coating. They are pretty sweet, but they're small enough that you can pop just one or two whenever you need a little pick-me-up. A 10-ounce tub of these little confections costs $3.99 at my local Aldi right now.
Candles
I love to have a candle burning at home during pretty much every waking moment, which has actually turned out to be a pretty costly habit. My favorite three-wick candles from Bath & Body Works will run me about $25 apiece unless they're on sale. But at Aldi, I can get a whole three-wick candle for just $4.49, which is a fraction of what I'd pay elsewhere. I'll admit that the selection at Aldi isn't nearly as vast as the one at Bath & Body Works, but I can usually find at least one scent I like to round out my collection on any given shopping trip.
Panera Soups
Shopping at Aldi can sometimes force you to take risks because you can't always guarantee the quality of a private-label product you've never sampled before. So, when I spot a product at Aldi from a brand I already know pretty well, like Panera Bread, I love to take advantage of the offering. These little 10-ounce vats of Panera Bread soup are up for sale during most of my Aldi trips, so I usually end up grabbing one to store in my fridge for an easy lunch during the week. During my most recent trip, one container was priced at $3.19.
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