Five Things I wish ALDI carried regularly (but they don't)
What products do you wish ALDI carried that you haven't been able to find there on a regular basis? I do love that ALDI has been expanding its variety, cleaning up a lot of its foods, and adding more natural and organic options -- but there are just a few more items I'd like to be able to pick up there on my regular weekly trips.
Five Products I Wish ALDI Would Carry
Salsa Verde
ALDI regularly stocks several different varieties of salsa, but only occasionally sells salsa verde as a limited time special buy. It's always seemed odd to me that they don't carry this basic kind of salsa, when they have several other varieties on the shelf. I use salsa verde all the time in recipes like pulled pork enchiladas verde, or in salsa pulled pork soup, or in easy cheesy chicken and rice, or in slow cooker salsa chicken... and hate having to run out to a different store for just one thing when I'm trying to pick up ingredients for dinner.
Balsamic and/or Red Wine Vinegar
ALDI has recently started carrying organic apple cider vinegar on a regular basis (how cool is that?!) in addition to the basic white vinegar they have always carried, but they still don't sell either balsamic or red wine vinegar on a regular basis. (They do sell balsamic once or twice a year as a special buy.) I'd like to see them rotate these other types of vinegars in as well, since I often use them when making my own salad dressing and in recipes.
No Sugar, No Palm Oil Almond Butter
I'm happy that ALDI now stocks an organic peanut butter that contains just peanuts and salt, and would also love to see an almond butter option without sugar & palm oil. (It doesn't even have to be organic, ALDI; I'm easy!) I buy my almond butter at Costco because it contains just roasted almonds or make my own from whole almonds, but would appreciate having the option of picking it up on a regular ALDI trip -- and sometimes would like to buy a smaller jar than you can get at Costco, lol.
Frozen fish that's not processed in China
Frozen fish at ALDI is usually a great price! I mean, like: How about 16 oz of wild caught pink salmon fillets for $3.79, great? It's pretty much all processed in China, however. I'd much rather pay a little more and avoid the China processing facilities.
(ALDI is far from the only offender, here. If you take a look at bags of frozen fish in general, a lot of the fish we get in other stores is also processed in China -- but it's something to be aware of.)
A wider variety of spices
ALDI devotes shelf space to a number of basic spices (and I love that they also carry organic spices at a decent price), but they could easily squeeze a few more in there. Cayenne & rosemary spring to mind as basic spices that I use all the time, but more variety in general would be fantastic. ALDI is generally a great place to pick up cooking basics, and a wider selection of spices & seasonings would really help them up their game. Note: They do carry a wider selection of holiday baking spices as a special buy once a year, but not these additional basics.
That's my list -- What else should ALDI carry?
What other items would you like to see ALDI carry that you don't regularly see on their shelves?
I love all of the Organics Aldi carries now, but, I have a problem with organic and plastic containers. I wish they would consider using glass. I agree with you about them carrying salsa verde and if they would find one with lower sodium it would be great. I really liked the boxes of Organic Coconut milk and I believe they had almond and soy too. The Organic Coconut milk was the one I tried and it had the least amount of additives I ever found and it was good. I guess I would be happy with anything they could do to carry Organic, use glass and watch the sodium.
I soooooooooooooo agree!!! I miss their shelf stable organic coconut milk in the carton. That is the only place I ever bought coconut milk. This is frustrating to me because managers at two stores told me it was a great seller.
OMG YES! I use to buy those boxes all the time. I once considered buying them in bulk becaused they were 1.69 a carton and seemed to sell out fast. Now they no longer exist. T,T I started making my own almond milk instead or go to whole foods.
Larger quantities of fruit. When they go on special, it's usually all bought out before I can get there. More meat cut varieties. And toiletries that were affordable. I find that they uncharge on deodorant, shampoo, etc because they stock the name brand and there are no choices. I would shop there more if it were a one stop shop. But I find myself going to Walmart because I know I can get it all there at a decent price.
Just as an aside, I love the salsa verde that Trader Joes carries. It's been my go-to green salsa for years now. It's not too spicy and not too acidic or tangy like some tend to be. I really like using it when I'm making chicken enchiladas.
I totally agree--I think TJs has the best salsa verde, and it is the perfect consistency for things like enchiladas.
Trader Joe's is owned by ALDI . It's all the same stuff from the same manufacturers.
Trader Joe's is not owned by Aldi. They are two separate companies.
They are however related in that one brother owns Aldi and another brother owns Trader Joe's.
The caramel sauce in a jar and beef gravy.
I love shopping at Aldi. Will you be posting Aldi sales or is there another site I can find them? I have become so reliant on you over the years that I no longer get our local paper!
I don't know anyone else who blogs ALDI deals locally -- the produce sales and a few other things will vary by region. I post a weekly ALDI meal plan here: http://www.mashupmom.com/category/meal-planning/ -- and you can view ALDI's weekly ads online here: https://www.aldi.us/en/weekly-specials/our-weekly-ads/
I recently found the red wine and white wine vinegar on Aldi shelves. Perhaps your message was echoed.
Thanks for your helpful information.
Yes! This is one thing they've added (this is quite an old post, that I should probably update). 🙂
Red cabbage. Being a German company you'd think...
I love Aldis, but agree too that they would have palm oil/coconut oil free almond butter. I'm allergic to coconut. I also wished they had more dairy free items: coconut yogurt (my girls are allergic to dairy, but can have coconut), dairy free butter sticks and spread, buckwheat flour, more gluten free items, more organic meat, lunchmeat, cheese (my husband and boys can have dairy), produce, etc. But at least it's a start... I also wish they had more natural organic health and beauty, home items, etc.
Can you bring back fit n active juices with low sugar. It was great
Bay Leafs would be nice.
Bags of ice
Amen! Throw them in the existing freezers, no need for special equipment.
The reason why ALDI is so affordable , is because they carry the "basics" and not all of the odds and ends that Major Super Markets carry ... Driving up their prices and causing them to raise their prices on the everyday "basics"
I am VERY content with all that they have to offer . And just make a trip to another store to get what ALDI does not offer. In my opinion there is not better place to get the amount of food at the prices that ALDI offers .
It is a pain when you are in a rush and they don't have what you need . It just happened to me today at ALDI with corn starch .