I love Aldi! Who else is with me? Aldi is one of the best places for a frugal shopper to buy groceries. I’ve been shopping there regularly for the past year since we’ve moved closer to an Aldi. Through lots of price comparison and shopping trips, I’ve finally compiled my list of the dozen absolute best things to buy at Aldi.
I should share that although I love Aldi, I do regularly shop at Meijer and Kroger. I shop the sales at Kroger and Meijer to save a lot of money! Aldi has better every day low prices but the sales at Kroger and Meijer top many Aldi prices. I don’t mind grocery shopping and I like finding a good deal, so in this season of our life, I shop at multiple stores.
Aldi is a great place for low prices every day. It’s not a big store so you can get in and get out very quickly. If you are stretched on time and don’t want to worry about watching sales or finding coupons – shop at Aldi. You will save money shopping at Aldi. Plus, you can still use the Ibotta app when you shop at Aldi to make some money back on your already low prices!
Knowing that I shop around (and that Kroger in Fort Wayne has amazing dairy prices and sales), here is my list of what I almost always buy at Aldi. There are other Aldi things that I buy on occasion but this is my list of the absolute best deals at Aldi.
1.Rolled oats
Aldi is where I always buy my oats. Whether you need quick oats or old fashioned (or both), Aldi has the best price that I have found on oats. Now that I finally have a homemade granola recipe I love, I always have oats from Aldi in my pantry.
2. Flour and Sugar
I do a lot of baking, including baking my own homemade bread. Aldi has the lowest prices on flour and sugar. When the holidays come, I can buy sugar cheaper at the grocery store so I always watch for those specials. For the rest of the year, I buy my sugar and flour at Aldi.
3. Baking Goods – Cocoa powder, oil, etc.
Aldi has great prices on all their baking goods. I usually buy my canola oil, cocoa powder and cooking spray here. This is always where I buy my brown sugar and powdered sugar. Really, the baking aisle is one of my favorite aisles at Aldi.
4. Spices
I used to buy my spices at an Amish bulk food store but the prices at Aldi are just as good – if not better on some particular spices. Aldi doesn’t have all of your spices but for the 15 spices they sell, you can’t beat the $1.19 price tag!
5. Cream cheese
Even though cream cheese often goes on sale at Kroger, it can’t compete with Aldi’s low price. Our Aldi has cream cheese for only $0.79 everyday. I always have cream cheese in my fridge for baking so Aldi wins again.
6. Canned beans
Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans…if you need canned beans, Aldi is a great place to buy them. I like to keep canned beans on hand for soups and other recipes. Black beans, especially, are a great deal at $0.59 a can.
7. Canned pumpkin
Aldi has the best price on canned pumpkin that I have ever found. When this seasonal item comes back in stock, I buy at least a case (probably more) so I can bake our favorite chocolate chip pumpkin bread all year. I have noticed that the larger cans are available more regularly at Aldi now but the regular size cans still seem to be a seasonal item that is stocked October and November.
8. Pepperoni
My son and husband like to snack on pepperoni. Not only is Aldi’s pepperoni reasonably priced but we actually prefer the Aldi flavor to the name brand Hormel. Plus, the Aldi brand is less greasy than other brands we have tried.
9. Olive oil
I have started cooking more with olive oil in recent years. Once again, Aldi has the lowest price I have found on olive oil. A glass jar of olive oil lasts me for a couple of months and then I make sure to buy more at Aldi.
10. Tortilla chips
Since Kroger raised the price on their tortilla chips, I have started buying our tortilla chips at Aldi. We always have tortilla chips in our pantry for eating with salsa and making nachos. The Clancy tortilla chips are very good and I love that they are priced under $1! We also buy Clancy potato chips. They are all priced very reasonably and taste just as good as the name brand chips which cost twice as much.
11. Fresh vegetables
Produce can be a little tricky at Aldi. Still, Produce is what gets me in the door at Aldi every week.
I like their apples but rarely buy other fruit produce. I feel the fruit can be hit or miss on freshness and never seems to last as long as other stores. I did buy 24 pints of blueberries at Aldi for $0.99 this year and they were some of the best blueberries I have ever tasted. I made blueberry jam and froze many of them for baking. We ate several pints too. Nathan and I love blueberries!
I do like most fresh vegetables at Aldi. I like to buy fresh broccoli and fresh cauliflower at Aldi, as well as zucchini. These are always priced lower than the grocery stores.
12. Take and bake pizza
This has been a more recent discovery but we really like the Aldi take and bake pizzas that you can buy in the refrigerated section. The pizzas are absolutely huge because one pizza doesn’t even fit on my pizza stone. They are very generous with the meats and other toppings. For right at $6, you get a delicious pizza that beats the price of Pizza Hut or Papa Johns any day!
For all the things that I like about Aldi, I will admit there are a couple things I don’t buy at Aldi. Here are 3 of the things I don’t buy at Aldi.
1. Fresh meat
I have not been impressed by the prices on Aldi meat. I can always find better deals on meat at Kroger and Meijer. I think the quality of the meat is better, too. My husband likes some of the Aldi brats but for fresh meat, I buy it elsewhere.
2. Name brand food items
This should go without saying but I’m saying it anyway. I don’t buy any of the name brand food items at Aldi. Aldi is known for low prices on their brands and higher prices on name brands. If I want to buy name brand products, I’m going to watch for sales and buy them at Kroger or Meijer. When I shop at Aldi, I stick to buying their brand to save money.
3. Kitchen appliance special deals
Aldi has an aisle of special deals each week. I always check out what is there. I don’t buy much but have found some good deals on shelves and organizing bins on occasion. I have learned (from many other people) to avoid purchasing the kitchen appliances that are part of the special deals. They just don’t seem to hold up as well as name brand appliances. Once again, Aldi is great at their brand of food items but not so great (in my opinion) on the larger appliances.
There you have it, Aldi friends and shoppers. This is my list of the top dozen things I always buy at Aldi. Do you shop at Aldi? If so, what are your favorite things to buy at Aldi? I’d love to hear your list!
