Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Since so much of the Aldi's food is private label, I figured a "reviews" thread would be welcome. That way we can find the best deals and learn what to avoid.

canned soup - Chicken and Sausage Gumbo (local price $1.39 per 18.5 oz can):
pretty good, appropriately spicy - I would recommend.

frozen - Asia Specialties line - Teriyaki Chicken ($4.29 I think) 24 oz.
Snap peas and carrots pretty good. A little bland, a little light on the meat, I felt. Good enough for a small meal for two people or for more if you have more dishes.

frozen - Castleton Lasagna in meat sauce (~ $4.29) - pretty tasty, cheesy. No meat, not quite like "real good lasagna". Not bad but I would rather pay more for really good lasagna.

Chocolate milk - very good quality, cheaper than other stores.

Choceur chocolate bar with almonds - pretty good quality, much better than Hershey's

Mosher-Roth chocolate bars - pretty awesome.

That is all that has been tested so far.

Got other updates or experience with Aldi staples? Post them here.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Aldi's has some good stuff, I like their canned veggies, nothing wrong with their butter, milk, eggs, sugar, canned chicken isn't bad, tuna is priced better, but hey, not the greatest tuna...some of their cereal I like better, not as much sugar. Overall, has some good buys if you buy in bulk. Their canned fruit is fine too, bagged chicken is, well bagged chicken. Their little steak filets are actually pretty good on the grill doctored up! We go there for most of our canned goods, butter, eggs, milk, oil, sugar, some of the dry goods (pasta) and buy in bulk.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I'm headed there this morning for my first trip.. Do they take checks or do I need cash? I gather I need to bring my own bags..

What about dry milk. I checked food lion last night and a large four pound box was 17 dollars. Last time I shopped Walmart it was 15..

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Take cash just to be safe. Our doesn't take checks, and just recently began taking debit cards.

Don't forget the quarter for the cart!

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Chicken Broth - half the price at 39 cents per can. Tasted good, used it in a soup.

Smoked sausage - was used in a soup, tasted good, perhaps a little salty. Next time I will use mild Italian sausage however in that particular soup.

Potatoes - about as good as other potatoes. Did not see any difference in quality vs. local store.

"Brookdale" Luncheon Meat is a Spam-like canned meat - expiration date was 2013, it tasted pretty good (salty but then again so is Spam) - and is definitely cheaper - $1.79 per can vs. $2.25 to $2.50 per can for Spam.

Since each can is 12 ounces, this is $2.39 per pound for the Aldi's brand vs. $2.99 to $3.33 per pound for Spam.

"Deutsche Kuche" Chocolate Cream Cake - pretty tasty, light (due to sponge cake) instead of heavy chocolate cake.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I'm guessing this is some east coast grocery store chain?

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

let me know how the dry milk is thanks

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

look up aldi.com for store locations. They're world-wide.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I'm in St. Louis Missouri and we've had them here my whole life...

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

"Diomede" brand large pitted Olives, product of California 99 cents ... pretty good, none of them were mushy.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Actually they are pretty much world wide. Started in Germany; owned by two brothers (check Wikipedia for more info).

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

ive had the tuna....canned veggies...meat...and pretzels....everything was good. pretzels were probably the worst out of everything but not horrible

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I had their private label Macaroni and Cheese (mix with a 6 ounce can of tuna for a decent meal for two) ... was 99% as good as Kraft brand. 35 cents per box.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I've had their Mac and Cheese, not bad at all, especially for the cost difference...

I prefer the cheese that come in the squeezable pouch, vs the powered stuff..

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

That have around 1k stores from the east coast to Kansas. They're a German company.

On topic,

I've bought a lot of can good preps from there. I highly recommend their canned pink salmon as it's cheap and keeps for a long time.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Sirloin Burger canned soup - not bad, though of course it was a pressed meat product shaped into quarter-sized lumps. Lots of potatoes, carrots, etc.

Grilled Chicken canned soup - wife didn't like it, it was just "ok".

Suggest you thoroughly vet their canned soups as to whether it suits your tastes or not.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

We had the exact same results on the two listed above... They did have some chicken noodle that had really good sized hunks or strips of Chicken in it that was pretty good, but I've not seen that in awhile...

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Used spices (fine). Their "Rice-a-Roni" (Chicken, Beef, and Spanish) is just like the name brand. Once found a sliver of a chicken bone in the soup.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Ohh forgot...

Everyonce in awhile they (Aldis)has bags of boneless chicken breasts on sale for like 6 bucks for a big bag...

We like cook afew of those breast up in the pan or the Foreman grill, then mix in some red and yellow peppers from the garden or freezer and a box of Aldi's Jambalaya rice mix... Season a bit and bada bing... Easy, Quick, Cheap and tasty....

For some reason we make it alot when we go to the cabin...

If you have any left over, re-heat it in the morning, scramble up some eggs and mix it in with it, good stuf...

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Aldi's private label milk - better than Weis or Giant. $2.98 a gallon here in PA.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I tried Aldi's a few times. There are some deals on comparable boxed and canned stuff, but I was not impressed with their fresh foods AT ALL. Produce and meats were inexpensive and looked and tasted it. Maybe it was just that one, but I found the fresh produce old and shriveled and the meats less than quality.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

their chicken in the can is good an the beef in a can is good also , an the stocks are as good as anyone elses , the can vegs are good also

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Aldi's private label brand Ravioli - I can't really recommend it, though it is almost exactly the same as the Chef Boyardee canned stuff.

I heated it up in a plastic container - the grease bonded to the plastic container, turned it a nearly-fluorescent orange color; then I asked myself - if it sticks like that to plastic, do I really want it in my stomach?

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

aldi prices went up here on almost ever thing

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

We've been very happy with their fresh produce, especially the gala apples (great price too). Aldi's drawback is the variety of produce (in this store) is pretty small. Have not tried their meats as we prefer Costco.

Was your experience a one-time occurance? Or is it always like that? Maybe you just caught them at a bad day, or before they re-stocked?

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Chef's Cupboard (Aldi's brand) Bean and Bacon Soup - add some crusty bread and it tastes good! If you like the "beany" taste where some of the bean melts into the broth, this has that. Overall just about a perfect bean soup (for being canned).

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Chicken corn chowder canned soup - thick, corn was a little small and dry. Suggest slow heating as it doesn't like to be nuked due to the creamy broth.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Especially if you set the Mircowave on high and sit in it awhile.

E-A

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

I love Aldis and have no complaints about their food but it's a little bit of a drive for me to get to. The local grocery stores have been having great sales that have taken away the incentive to drive to Aldis.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Vegetable with beef stock, condensed - decent, HOWEVER, in reading the side I realized that:

1) this and some of the other Aldi soups contain MSG ,

2) They have ridiculous "serving sizes" which greatly understate the amount of sodium you will consume. For instance, a 10.5 ounce can, to which you add another can of water, is listed as having 2.5 servings. Since each "serving" is 37% of sodium intake, you are talking about getting over 80% of your RDA of sodium just by having a can - and a can of this soup plus a sandwich classifies (to me) as a small to midsize meal.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

In my area, the Aldi price is just about always less than the China-marts factoring the coupon.

I love the idea of the quarter for the cart. I love being able to scrounge a few boxes rather than those faggot plastic bags.

LoL, from talking ot a few of the employees, the Germans aren't very hip to Americans buying what they want insted of what is available. You have to really press them to bring out a case of sirloin burger when a case of clam chowder hasn't been touched in a couple of weeks.

Another factor in Aldi quality is the demographic. At one store that is predominantly a food stamp demographic will have vastly different "freshness" than one 5 miles away but not as much welfare traffic. I suspect that one store supplies the other but I cannot confirm that. The milk at the one will always be within a few days of expiration and the other will always be 2 weeks.

Ha, I was going to try some of those tiny sized steaks they sell in the box once but was concerned that the marks on the meat was from where the jockey was hitting it.

Like anywhere else, some stuff you get a deal on at Aldi's. Some stuff you wouldn't buy from there unless it was the last on earth.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Corned beef hash ... pretty yummy! As good as any other brand, and seemed to be less greasy; the meat didn't have that offensive unwashed-hobo smell while being cooked, either.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Aldi's private label Breaded Tilapia - put in oven for about 18 minutes, came out very tasty!

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Mixed Vegetables canned goods - disappointing. Lots of carrots and potatoes, with just a bit of corn, lima beans, and peas. In other words they put in mostly the very cheapest veggies without it being a good mx.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

canned salmon.

good to like 2012. excellent protein.

i tried a couple of cans before stocking up- as good as any. better price.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Asia Specialties Beef and Broccoli - very salty, not recommended.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

OK, I am working at learning how to make my own soups...

Bought the split green peas - 2 lbs for $1.49, I used about half (1lb).

Chicken or beef stock, plus about a pound of ham steak.

That combined with the other ingredients I already had, made for a pretty AWESOME soup using this recipe:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Split-Pea-Soup-Ham-15466

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Kirkwood (house brand) Chicken and Dumplings ... absolute CRAP! Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Salty, dumplings are basically a flour paste square, little chicken.

This is the first item I am taking back to Aldi's and complaining about.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Priano brand Arabbiata Pasta Sauce - very good, no weird additives, just tomatoes, onions, spices, olive oil, etc. Appropriately spicy.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

i also try the Chicken and Dumplings an did not like , have the can good gone up at the aldis you go to , here they went up 5 cets a can

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Have some old receipts that I saved for reference. Will check that out next time I go there.

BTW - beware! - many of their soups have MSG and some of their fruit juices use juice concentrate from China.

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Re Aldi's ......way too much china ....pass the china products by.....may be unsafe.......rather not deal with China products I eat .........:ok:

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

they normally have the best deal on sugar per lb around here, even better than costco's 25lb bags. I think it was a 1.79 for 5lbs. A few years ago I remember paying .99 for a 5lb bag

Re: Aldi's food - reviews thread
 

Regarding price increases. The beef and gravy in the cans is still marked at $1.89 on the side of the can and is rapidly approaching the $3.00 mark on the shelf. It's good stuff and still has a better price than you will get from any of the "doomsday suppliers". Seems like they would make new labels for the cans though!

For those that like the corned beef hash. Try taking three cans of their white potatoes and one can of their corned beef , slice the potatoes up and put them in a frying pan with the corned beef and you have a meal two or a side dish for four.

You can do the same with the canned beef. Good stuff!