I’m a working mom of two voracious toddlers, so when it comes to meal planning and grocery shopping, my priorities are simple: straightforward and cheap.
That said, I’m also a total foodie — both personally and professionally. I love quality ingredients, and I work as a food writer and recipe developer.
These are the reasons I do all of our grocery shopping at Aldi, where I can get fantastic ingredients at an equally impressive price.
As much as I love trying new and interesting products whenever I can, there are a few Aldi staples that I always end up adding to my cart.
I always buy Nature’s Nectar orange juice.
I’m a pulp lover in a family of pulp haters. Not only is Aldi’s not-from-concentrate orange juice delicious, but I love that my location offers several different options.
I may disagree with my family’s preferences, but Aldi’s reasonable price tags mean I can afford to buy both high-pulp and no-pulp orange juice weekly. The last time I went, a 1.6-quart bottle cost under $5.
A trip to Aldi is incomplete without Specially Selected all-butter croissants.
Aldi’s Specially Selected butter croissants are delicious to eat fresh out of the box, but sometimes I’ll lightly toast them. Plus, they’re big enough to slice and use for a sandwich.
These never make it through a week in our house — a pack of six tends to disappear quickly.
Aldi’s Countryside Creamery Irish butter is a must-have in my house.
A few years ago, I made the conscious choice to start using butter made with milk from grass-fed cows.
There’s conflicting research about whether grass-fed butter has more benefits than a conventional stick, but one thing’s for sure: I find it a lot more delicious.
Breakfast is big in our family, so we always stock up on uncured bacon.
We’re a family that loves a good breakfast meat on a Saturday morning, so I’ve tried a lot of different bacon brands.
Never Any’s antibiotic-free hickory bacon finally stuck. It’s just the right thickness and not too salty.
I make sure to buy Pueblo Lindo queso fresco for quick meals.
For a quick, easy dinner, I love making tacos with just four major ingredients: meat, slaw, tortillas, and this cheese.
In the morning, I’ll put some beef, pork, or chicken in the slow cooker with some salsa and cook until it’s easy to shred. I’ve found this simple meal is seriously elevated by this fresh, salty cheese.
Aldi’s Emporium Selection marinated mozzarella is also a favorite in our house.
Speaking of cheese, the Emporium Selection marinated mozzarella is a constant in my refrigerator.
The slices are marinated in a well-balanced mixture of oil and herbs, and I’ve found them to be really versatile. I can mix them into pasta dishes and use them to top homemade pizza, and they make a great snack all on their own, too.
I always buy Priano bronze-cut pasta.
When dough is pushed through bronze dies — as opposed to Teflon ones — the resulting pasta has a rougher surface that can grab onto sauce better and keep a slightly firmer texture when boiled.
Aldi carries a rotating selection of shapes, as varied as rigatoni and fettuccine. They’re all so good, it’s tough for me to even choose a favorite.
It takes a lot for a pasta sauce to impress me, but the Specialty Selected ones have.
I say this as someone who grew up in my Italian grandmother’s kitchen and learned to make and jar homemade tomato sauce before I could even speak: The Specially Selected tomato sauces are delicious.
The marinara, vodka, and tomato basil variants are all perfectly balanced with tomatoey tanginess, sweetness, and just enough herbaceous flavor and salt.
They’re so good that, in my opinion, they can totally pass as homemade.
Señor Rico rice pudding is one of my husband’s favorite products.
My husband is a big rice pudding fan, and we’ve tried just about every store’s take on the dessert. He loves the Señor Rico version the best, and I can see why.
This pudding has a great texture and isn’t too sweet. Señor Rico’s recipe is also simple: The only ingredients are the same ones I’d use to make it from scratch.
We love that Aldi carries budget-friendly salmon.
I prioritize including protein-packed ingredients in my meals, so I always try to buy wild-caught fish high in omega-3 fatty acids.
At other stores I’ve tried, fish that fit the bill can be prohibitively expensive (if available at all), but at under $15 a pound, Aldi’s sockeye salmon gives me a healthy option that’s delicious and affordable.
Aldi’s frozen mussels are so simple to prepare.
Aldi’s Specially Selected mussels are a secret weapon in my kitchen.
I grew up close to the ocean in a family of enthusiastic shellfish eaters, so believe me when I tell you these mussels — which come infused in a tomato and garlic sauce — are shockingly good.
The best part: They stay in the freezer until you’re ready to cook them and then go from frozen to ready to eat in under 10 minutes.
It’s hard to beat the flavor or price of Aldi’s sea scallops.
When it comes to seafood, Aldi really knows what it’s doing — the store’s Specially Selected jumbo scallops taste like they were just scooped from the sea.
I thaw them, pat them dry, and season with salt, pepper, and a bit of smoked paprika. Then, I melt some butter in a stainless-steel pan and give them a good sear, flipping once.
They’re the centerpiece of a meal that comes together quickly and disappears just as fast.
I keep a steady supply of Specially Selected olive oil on hand.
I use olive oil in almost everything I cook, so I go through a 9-ounce bottle quickly.
In my opinion, the quality of Aldi’s Specially Selected extra virgin olive oil is stunningly high for its $10 price tag.
This story was originally published in September 2025 and most recently updated on April 20, 2026.
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