On a Budget? What to Buy at Aldi.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I was scared of Aldi.

What were all these mystery brands? What was up with the cart situation? How did you know what items were actually good? Would you die if you ate their meat? Why weren’t we at Target, again?

But when Adam and I first moved to DC, we found ourselves strapped for cash. (An aside: why is moving so gosh-darned expensive?!) So I started shopping at Aldi.

And it became a lifesaver.

Since then, I hit up Aldi on a near-weekly basis. I’ve been that person carrying my receipt into other stores and doing price comparisons. And I’ve tried enough things that I can confidently recommend what’s worth your money.

New to Aldi? Here’s what you’ll find in this post:

Who should shop at Aldi
What to know before you go
The best things to buy at Aldi

Ready? Grab your shopping cart and let’s go!

The Beginner’s Guide to Aldi

Who Should Shop at Aldi?

Aldi is for you if…

You want to save money. Prior to our Aldi days, we grocery shopped at Trader Joe’s and were relatively thrifty. When we started buying some – not even all – of our groceries at Aldi, it cut our grocery bill down by at least $15 per week. That’s $60 per month – which matters a lot when you’re feeling broke.
You can spare the extra 45 minutes to shop at more than one store. I’ve had some busy weeks where I make Aldi my only stop, but those are rare. Most often, I hit up another store, too.
You can break your brand loyalty. If you already buy Up&Up products at Target, you’re going to be fine.
You don’t need crazy exotic products. Aldi is famous for having some good German treats. Other than that, it’s mostly kitchen staples. Don’t expect too many out-there ingredients.

Aldi is NOT for you if…

You refuse to eat anything that isn’t Jif, Chobani, General Mills, Nature Valley, Land O’ Lakes, or any other name brand. These brands might pop up occasionally, but you can’t count on it. (And they’ll likely be more expensive when they do.)
You shop at places like Whole Foods, Lunds & Byerly’s, and Dean & Deluca without wincing. I do relish a browse at Whole Foods. I do. But I also generally feel physical pain when I get my receipt. If you’re not like me, go on your merry way.
You depend on help from store employees. Aldi has very few employees stocking shelves or helping customers. If that will make you cranky, go to Trader Joe’s instead.

Before You Go

You need a quarter. Aldi’s carts are chained together at the entrance to the store. You’ll need a quarter, which you’ll insert into a device on the cart handle to unchain yours. Don’t worry, you’ll get the quarter back when you return the cart. This eliminates the parking lot cart return and cuts down operating costs, since Aldi doesn’t have to hire anyone to return the carts to the storefront. I keep a designated quarter in my center console for this purpose.

Bring your own bags. Otherwise you’ll have to pay for bags or try to snag an empty box. Pro tip: choose designated reusable bags for grocery shopping and keep those bags in the back seat of your car. Otherwise you’ll never remember them.

Prepare to be flexible. While many staples are often in stock, other items rotate through. I occasionally find unsweetened cinnamon applesauce or Snickers ice cream cones – but I don’t count on it.

Hit up Aldi before your other grocery store. I get everything that I can at Aldi, then drive to Trader Joe’s for anything that isn’t in stock. (My Trader Joe’s and Aldi are 3 minutes away from each other, and I believe this to be an act of God.) For the few items I can’t cover between those two stores, I go to a more conventional grocery store or put in an online Target order maybe once a month.

Make a grocery list. If you need help with this, check out this post! Then cross off what you get before you leave the store. You won’t have to wonder if you actually bought cheese at Aldi or if you still need to grab it.

You’ll bag your own groceries. The cashier will have a cart ready when you get to the checkout. He or she will scan your items with frightening efficiency and drop them straight into the cart. You’ll bag them yourself at the bagging counter.

What are the best things to buy Aldi?

Produce

This is where some of my favorite deals are. If I can find the produce on my list here, it’s often the cheapest price. Avocados are only $0.95, compared to $1.50 at Target and $1.99 at TJ’s. Cilantro is $0.75, while it’s $1.99 at TJ’s and $2.50 at Target. Reviews online claim that some stores have subpar produce, but I’ve been pretty happy with our local store. Some favorites:

Grapes. Grapes are weirdly expensive at Trader Joe’s, but a bag was just over $2 at Aldi.
Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and other “fancy fruit.” In my experience, these go bad the fastest of Aldi produce options, but the price is unbeatable if you can eat or freeze them in a day or two.
Avocados. They will be very green. But they ripen just fine.
Cilantro
Greens. Lettuce, spinach, and kale are cheap, and I haven’t had issues with quality at all.
Limes and lemons. Adam likes to have lots of these on hand for cocktails, so we buy them by the bag and keep them in the fridge.
Onions. Everything from green to red to yellow.
Peppers. I don’t love eating raw peppers, but I actually like their mini peppers dipped in hummus. The tri-color peppers and jalapenos are also good buys.

Bread

Aldi rolls are great for subs, and I use their whole grain bread daily for toast. We aren’t bread connoisseurs, by any means, but I think this is just as good as anything you’ll find at Target. Check out:

L’Oven Sweet Hawaiian Rolls. We use these for funeral buns (aka ham sliders that you cover in seasoned butter)
L’Oven Fresh Pretzel Hamburger Buns. If we need something heartier, these are great.
Simply Nature Oat So Healthy bread. This is kind of expensive for Aldi standards, but I really like it. If I want to save $2, I just get the basic 100% wheat bread.
Amoroso’s Italian rolls. These are our favorite – they’re perfect for Tex-Mex meatball subs!
Specialty Selections naan. We especially like the mini sizes to put in the toaster. (Though if we want really flavorful naan to keep in the freezer, we ADORE Trader Joe’s garlic naan.)
Specialty Selections brioche bread. The regular kind makes excellent grilled cheese and french toast. My mother in law often has the chocolate chip loaf on hand when we come to visit – it’s more like cake than bread, but it is yummy! The brioche buns are also pretty great.
Pueblo Lindo tortillas. I like the fajita size of both corn and flour tortillas, and they last forever in the fridge.

Cheese

This is my number one rec for anyone wondering what to buy at Aldi. Prices on cheese are real good. A bag of shredded taco mix cheese costs $0.21 per ounce, while a bag on sale from Target costs $0.27 per ounce and a bag from Trader Joe’s costs $0.41. I have pretty much stopped buying cheese from anywhere else. Check out:

Happy Farms bagged cheese
Happy Farms feta
Eporium Selections block white cheddar and cheddar parmesan. While I still prefer TJ’s English Coastal Cheddar or Unexpected Cheddar to…pretty much anything in the world…both of these are slightly cheaper and still incredibly delicious – especially that cheddar parmesan!
Happy Farms sliced cheese
Happy Farms cream cheese. We’ve tried both the flavored versions and the regular stuff for baking, and both have been up to snuff!

Snacks

Snacks are typically not cheap. Stocking up at Aldi is one way to save money while keeping the post-work hanger away. For example, the Apple Peach applesauce squeeze packets are $1.49 for 4 packets instead of $2.79 at Trader Joe’s or $2.39 at Target. Perfect Bars cost $1.89 instead of $1.99 at Trader Joe’s and $2.49 at Target. If you’re curious what snacks to buy at Aldi, we recommend:

Granola bars. The Millville Sweet and Salty Chocolately Pretzel and Almond meet my very particular granola bar standards, and Adam approves of the Nutrigrain-style bars as well. (If you lightly toast or microwave any bars like this, it improves them 100%.) Plus, a box of six only costs $1.39, compared to $2.49 at Trader Joe’s and at $2.99 at Target.
Perfect Bars. Not an Aldi exclusive, but really delicious. These bars taste like healthy cookie dough. A warning: flavors might be more limited here compared to other stores.
Simply Nature applesauce. Applesauce is one of the few things I can eat before a run that doesn’t make me feel gross. I am a child and really like the Simply Nature squeeze packets. In my opinion, the regular apple is too grainy, but the Apple Strawberry and Apple Peach are great!
Clancy’s chips. My favorite tortilla chips remain the Trader Joe’s Restaurant Style White Corn Tortilla chips with lime. But if I’m not being fancy, the Restaurant Style chips from Aldi cost about the same for a way larger bag. The kettle chips are also wonderful! I don’t mind the nacho flavored chips, but some people might find the fact that they are not Doritos distressing.
Salsa. I especially love the pico in the refrigerated section, but I have zero complaints about the jarred salsas.
Simms Beef Jerky. Don’t get the organic kind – it’s like eating leather. But the Simms brand is pretty good, and way cheaper than what you’d find at a gas station.
Southern Grove Dried Mango. Adam can eat a bag of these at a time.
Specialty Selected Butter Cookie coated with Dark Chocolate. These are a delight.

Drinks

I married someone who would be fine filling the fridge with beverages and then living off frozen veggies. Here are the drinks we try to squeeze onto our shelves:

Lemonade. Sparkling water with a splash of lemonade is one of my mid-afternoon favorites, and Aldi lemonade is perfect for it. It’s tart and not too sweet.
Orange juice. Juice supposedly has way too much sugar, but it still is my preferred liquid base for smoothies. I get the Nature’s Nectar kind with Calcium and Vitamin D – it’s 100% juice and claims to be not from concentrate.
Specialty Selected Premium 100% cranberry juice. I also love this in a smoothie or mixed with sparkling water (and a little gin if it’s a Friday night).
Friendly Farms almond milk. I actually really like the taste of this unsweetened vanilla almond milk. And I don’t say that about every brand.

Frozen

Season’s Choice frozen potato products. We stock a bag of either hashbrowns or potato rounds in the freezer. That way, we’re prepared for breakfast burritos, a favorite easy meal around here. We’ll toss crispy potatoes in a tortilla with eggs, salsa, and sausage (plus hot sauce for me).
Season’s Choice frozen fruit and vegetables. Here’s where Aldi prices are possibly about equal to other stores, depending on what kind of fruits and veggies you’re buying. But Aldi does have really good frozen peaches for smoothies.
Mama Cozzi’s frozen pizza. Why is frozen pizza from regular grocery stores so expensive? This stuff is so cheap, and it’s pretty tasty – especially if you add extra mozzarella.
Cattleman’s Ranch Black Angus Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Burgers. So these are not going to pass Gordon Ramsey’s burger standards, but we actually like them a lot. They don’t dry out like lots of other frozen burgers and are good to keep on hand for busy nights.

Recommended With Reservations

Meat. We have the most hesitations about Aldi’s meat. We’ve been honestly quite happy with their ground and frozen sausage, bacon, prosciutto, and deli meat. I’ve also been pretty happy with any of the Never Any brand meats we’ve tried. Otherwise, the steak we’ve tried has been hit or miss. The ribeye is shockingly not bad, but most of the other varieties are definitely not the highest quality we’ve ever had. Same story with the chicken breasts and thighs. So in sum, Trader Joe’s is more expensive, but it’s still my go-to for meat.

What We Don’t Buy

As a general rule, I don’t buy things where intensity of flavor is essential. I personally think the spices are a little weak, and I didn’t love their olive oil. Their sugar is also meh – nothing wrong with it, per se, but not stellar, either.

There are also some products where I retain brand loyalty. I have a few irreplaceable Trader Joe’s favorites (check here!), and no other ranch dressing beats Hidden Valley Light Ranch.

So there you have it!

These are our recommendations for what to buy at Aldi. Go forth without fear!