Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it's yogurt, baking supplies, jams, and tea. I also love the seasonal German stuff.

I agree that the house brands are generally a great deal and the brand names they carry are not generally any less expensive than at other stores.

It's a little like Costco--not a huge selection, which is fine if they have what you want.

Dootchie Kootchie! Love those wafer cookies.

It is German Week and I can’t stop saying Dootchie Kootchie as I walk down the aisles

I have been shopping just about every week at Aldi this year and I am a huge fan. I find that their produce is overall very good (broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, grape tomatoes, bananas, apples, berries, grapes, lemons/limes, oranges, cabbage, string beans, peppers, and zucchini are all good). The bread is generally fine, and the store brand snacks are good (chips, granola bars, cookies, etc). The cheese and salami selection is excellent. The salmon, chicken breast, chicken thighs, ground turkey, and ground beef are all good. The dairy is also good and so are the frozen vegetables. The chocolate is good and of course - the isle full of random stuff is always fun but its best to avoid it if you are really trying to save money.

Anonymous wrote:For me it's yogurt, baking supplies, jams, and tea. I also love the seasonal German stuff.

I agree that the house brands are generally a great deal and the brand names they carry are not generally any less expensive than at other stores.

It's a little like Costco--not a huge selection, which is fine if they have what you want.

Dootchie Kootchie! Love those wafer cookies.

Anonymous wrote:For me it's yogurt, baking supplies, jams, and tea. I also love the seasonal German stuff.

I agree that the house brands are generally a great deal and the brand names they carry are not generally any less expensive than at other stores.

It's a little like Costco--not a huge selection, which is fine if they have what you want.

Doppel Keks are the best. (I think that is how you spell it) Chocalate filled sandwich cookies. We always stock up on these. And, Nurnberg bratwurst (small bratwurst) Red cabbage in a jar, too.

I think the avocados are a good buy. Canned veggies--beans for chili, etc. We like the frozen Shepherd's pie, too. Milk is cheaper. Store brand cream cheese is fine.

For me it's yogurt, baking supplies, jams, and tea. I also love the seasonal German stuff.

I agree that the house brands are generally a great deal and the brand names they carry are not generally any less expensive than at other stores.

It's a little like Costco--not a huge selection, which is fine if they have what you want.

Honesty, it depends on the Aldi. I’ve found them to vary considerably in price. For example, my closest one, which is in a food desert, has higher prices than a farther one where there is competition from Lidl.

That being said, milk, eggs, whole milk yogurt, avocados, wine, kids snacks and pouches, frozen foods and apple juice are consistently cheaper at Aldi. The pasta and sauce used to be, but Wegman’s has great deals on those items so they are actually cheaper there.

I only shop there for food items. But I literally find that everything is cheaper. You have to pay attention to the freshness of the produce - but you have to do the same everywhere. And you might not want refer the brands Aldi’s carries for certain products. But things are so much cheaper. And I can go months without going to any other store. We save tons of money.

Nuts, cheese, and cured meats are all great deals. Anything you could want for a charcuterie board if you want to save money in party planning.

Baking items, especially things like almond flour, coconut sugar and other gluten free type things are way cheaper. Pure vanilla extract is also like 50% the price of grocery stores.

Cake, brownie mixes and canned frostings are also super cheap, and good for school bake sales.

We've had very good luck with getting snacks for sports teams here as well, the prepackaged stuff that you have to buy in bulk. Much cheaper, and kids don't care.

Kombucha is much cheaper if that's a staple for you.

The seasonal aisle is my personal favorite, and I usually walk away with something, but the quality is variable. My kids have been wearing the same knockoff $5 crocs for about 3 years now, but the rain boots I got them are super uncomfortable and barely used. I use the wooden cutting boards constantly. Their outdoor planters and wrought iron stands are of pretty good quality. The toys are generally no better than dollar store or 5 below.

Ground beef, chicken tenders (we get the Never Any! Organic line), oatmeal, grits, crackers, half and half, eggs, cream cheese, frozen veggies, granola, yogurt, salad dressing, fruit pops, pretzels, cheddar popcorn, pasta, hummus.

That’s pretty much my weekly shop from Aldi. We don’t like their lunch meat or their tortillas.

Anonymous wrote:Produce, cheeses, bread, knockoff Girl Scout cookies, eggs, dairy, condiments, ice cream.

The produce can sometimes be sketchy. Just look it over good. But the dairy products are all more than acceptable. We also do a fair amount of baking and load up on their flour and sugar. We’re also fans of their tortillas (in all three sizes!).

Also, we use their paper products (napkins, plates) and their wraps - foil, cling, and parchment. Freezer/ziploc bags are also a good value and hold up well.

Their frozen vegetables are also very comparable to name brands and cereals are a real bargain.

Condiments are hit-n-miss. We really like their house mayonnaise, dijion, and low-sodium soy sauce but pass on the ketchup and regular mustard. The bulk rice (regular, jasmine, and basmati when in stock) are quite good as are the various rice and couscous “boxes”.

Good luck and happy hunting. Ours is very good about refunding your money if you don’t like a product…just hang on to your receipt (even though they’ll know it’s their brand). Take your own bags and a quarter for the cart.

Milk, pasta and spaghetti sauce, nuts, olive oil, granola bars, and applesauce pouches are always on our Aldi list.

Anonymous wrote:Produce, cheeses, bread, knockoff Girl Scout cookies, eggs, dairy, condiments, ice cream.

Agree with all these except ice cream as we rarely eat it. Ground beef and steaks are low price and I have found them to be higher quality than the supermarket, not quite as good as Costco but much cheaper.

Cereal, spices, and yogurt are also good.

Produce, cheeses, bread, knockoff Girl Scout cookies, eggs, dairy, condiments, ice cream.

I haven’t done a line by line comparison, but generally their private label items are a better deal than buying any National brands that they carry. I buy most of our groceries there, but will buy National brand sauces and dressings at Safeway because the Aldi version usually isn’t that good.

My rule of thumb is that if it goes into a recipe, the Aldi version is fine. If it needs to stand on its own, I probably want the National brand.

Really trying to save on groceries. Tell me, what items are cheaper/a better deal at Aldi?