Hey friends, you know my passion for ALDI. Every two weeks I load up the toddler, my reusable bags, a quarter and often my sanity {have you grocery shopped with a 2 year old?} and travel the 10 miles to my local store.
Each trip I am buying the same products. Ones we've come to love, so I figured why not share my favorites with you? If we love them, them I'm guessing you'll love them too. I traveled to the ALDI headquarters back in 2015 on a whirlwind trip with the company. I learned how they do things and why they do things. Since then I've discovered why they are so popular! Their products are great. In no particular order, here are my favorites.
Oh, and one more thing. No special photography here. Again, I was shopping with a two year old.
Unsweetened Applesauce for the win! With kids, most of this gets eaten up with just a spoon, but I do also use it in my Harvest Muffins and my Silver Dollar Apple Cinnamon Pancakes.
It is perfect for bulking and sweetening up baked goods instead of using oil. And at just $1.89 for 46 oz? Heck of a deal.
Lunches for me when I am home are often quick and fairly uncomplicated. These thin, vegetable wraps {spinach or sun dried tomato} have become a favorite. I usually stuff them with some sort of greenery {spinach or romaine} and then layer on some lunchmeat and a drizzle of ranch or hummus.
Eight wraps for just under $2 is perfect for us. I will sometimes use these in the kids lunches as well. They prefer the cheese/ham/ranch combo and that works for me!
Okay, salsa is like water to me. I could drink this stuff. Call me weird but my favorite way to eat this up is to dump the whole jar in the blender and get it really smooth. It makes the perfect taco sauce, taco topper, chip dipper and scrambled egg add-in just to name a few.
I usually buy 4 jars at a time {sometimes more}, as Taco Tuesdays happen a lot more often around here than most households. In fact tonight is Burrito Bowl night! This version is a bit smoky and a bit sweet. Perfect for under $2 a jar.
The organic selection at ALDI is a bit incredible. You have never seen prices on organics until you've set foot in their door. A bag of organic baby carrots for 89 cents? I actually did a double take and contimplated doing a price check to see if it had been marked wrong.
Carrots are a mainstay here at our house. They get thrown in lunchboxes and used as dippers in my Fiesta Party Dip and Garlicky Dill Dip.
Oh Caesar Salad, how I love thee. I'm not really sure at which point I became obsessed with Caesar Salads, but it's here and it's strong. I buy two bags of this kit {it seriously has the BEST dressing included, a bit spicy and a bit tangy} and we eat one each week.
Sometimes with burgers on the grill, sometimes with my Sausage Penne Alla Vodka and sometimes just along next to a grilled cheese. The perfect side for just $1.99!
Y'all I never used to like yogurt. It made my tongue curl up. Too tangy? I wasn't sure, but I knew I wasn't a fan. Thankfully my taste buds have changed and now I'm digging it. I have no idea how or why that happened but I'm thankful.
The kids? They've always loved it. I buy this big 64 oz tub and we often go through a tub a week. For breakfast I put it in smoothies, or my Healthy Greek Yogurt Oatmeal Pancakes or just throw some in a bowl and top it with my homemade granola. The $3.49 pricetag is a much better deal than buying individual serving tubs, just saying!
Lunch meat is every mother's stand by meal. Don't know what to make for dinner? How about a sandwich! Weekend lunches when we are on the go? How about a sandwich!
I buy ALDI's Never Any! version that is free of antibotics, horomones and other junk. I stock up on their ham and turkey and it keeps us happy for the two weeks. Meat can be expensive, we all know that, but I'm willing to pay the $3.29 price for half a pound.
Let's all take a moment and pretend our kids don't NEED macaroni and cheese like their lives depend on it. I've stopped fighting tht fight because frankly I enjoy the darn stuff too. Our favorite is this Simply Nature Shells and White Cheddar version. I can easily make two boxes as a side with dinner {often my Iowa Ham Balls or Crock Pot Maid-rites} and it gets devoured.
I have no problem paying $1.15 box for a box that contains no preservatives and tastes fabulous.
Frozen berries are pretty much a godsend. They are picked fresh and frozen even faster, pretty much giving you the best pick of the crop. Just this morning I threw a handful in the kid's breakfast smoothies {vanilla yogurt, milk, strawberries and a drizzle of honey}.
There are also KILLER in my Strawberry Upside Down Cake. Which I can say is the perfect summer dessert {this means you should save this recipe for later}. At just $2.89 a bag, it's a no-brainer.
Remember those wraps I was talking to you about that I have for lunch? Yeah, this spinach often goes inside them. And as a sneaky mom, I will usually put a good handful in my Spicy Egg Bake. The kids never know the difference. But honestly, my favorite way to eat it? In my Creamy Garlic Spinach Ricotta Pizza or my Chicken and Spinch Stuffed Shells.
The husband takes a handful and makes himself a salad to take to work each day {spinach, carrots, peppers, cottage cheese, dressing and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds}. Between all of this it gets eaten up! At $2.49 a container it's cheap.
Right behind salsa, or prehaps right in front, marinara sauce is my fave. I'd take a bath in it people! This brand is truly MY FAVORITE sauce of all time. It's a bit thin, has a deep robust tomato flavor and basically goes with every Italian dish you can imagine.
We love it on easy-peasy spaghetti, in my Creamy Baked Ziti and even just as a topper on pizza crust. I've been known to buy a whole case. I'm serious. But why not at just $1.99 a jar?
Up until about two years ago I rarely ate hummus, nor was a huge fan of it. I'm not sure if it was a required taste that I needed to get used to or if I hadn't found the right brand. What I do now is that I'm a fan! And I cannot walk buy this aisle without buy a container of my favorite Roasted Red Pepper or Classic version.
This $1.99 10oz version lasts us about a week. I love dipping carrots, pita chips or crackers in it. Thankfully the kids haven't caught on to it's greatness, so more for me!
Nuts are a great snack to have on hand throughout the day. Cashews are my ultimate favorite {did you know they are also great for helping cure a bad mood?}, albeit a bit expensive at $4.89, buying by the bag is worth it.
I'll eat them by the handful or even treat myself by topping them on vanilla ice cream. Don't let your kids get ahold of them! They'll be gone.
Any coffee lovers out there? This Friendly Farms brand is made with real milk and cream, none of that junk filler stuff and tastes great! I am just getting on the coffee bandwagon. I definitely prefer cappuccino, but I have been getting braver drinking half coffee, half cappuccino {don't laugh, k?}. This $1.79 bottle lasts me a long time.
And because I'm a food blogger, one day when I was out of milk and heavy cream, I used this as the replacement in my Maple Glazed Pecan Scones. It worked!
If you know me, you know I love a good burger. These buns? {I can't believe I just said these buns}. They are fabulous! I save them for just the husband and I because they feel so darn special.
Just when your burgers are almost done, lay these beauties on the grill {$1.99 for a pack of 4} and toast them just a bit, it makes all the difference!
Try my Smoky B-B-Q Burgers or my Mom's Meatloaf Burgers. Perfect for summer!
Unless you've been living under a rock, I hope you've already heard of all the various things you can do with coconut oil, whether it be fore cooking or skin/hair care. I've been on the coconut oil bandwagon for quite some time. When the babes were little I kept a jar at their changing table and used it as a diaper cream {really works!}.
For cooking, I use it as a replacement for any recipe that calls for use a bit of oil, manily baked goods, but it's also great in a stir-fry. Just last week when making a batch of my Overnight Freezer Waffles, this jar was put to work. At just $4.49 a jar it lasts us quite awhile.
I wouldn't be American if I didn't mention ketchup on this list. In a close tie with ranch dressing, this is a popular condiment in our house. It is such a steal to find a bottle of organic ketchup for only $1.69.
Of course we dunk our french fries and burgers in this stuff, but I also use it as a glaze on my Healthy Hidden Veggie Meatloaf.
I love cheese and cheese loves me. I have been buying this freshly shredded Parmesan cheese since I knew it existed {seriously, so much better than that sawdust stuff you find in the pantry section}.
This 5 oz. container for just $1.99 lasts us a long time. I sprinkle it on eggs and pasta, but we really love it in my Honey Balsamic Angel Hair Pasta and my 3-Cheese Italian Flatbread. This stuff freezes well too, so stock up and fill the freezer!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I really hoped these 18 favorite items of mine help you when you are shopping at ALDI! I know when I first entered their store so many years ago it was a bit overwhelming.
Which products taste good? Which ones are the best for their buck? Which ones compare to the national brands?
Do me a favor, share this post with your friends. ALDI lovers or not. Let's see if we can turn a few heads!
*Please note this post is NOT sponsored by ALDI. While I do have a wonderful relationship with the company, all opinions are my own.
