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?
Shaved parmesan cheese. They have the shredded all the time in the plastic tub, but the shaved is not available anymore.
I just picked up my Stella shaved parm from Jewel tonight, coincidentally 🙂
An aside- I'm thrilled that Aldi now carries baby stuff. Their formula is great (and half price of Enfamil at Jewel, and I don't have to use checks and coupons), and their diapers work for day time diapering for my kids. The oatmeal and rice cereals are well priced around $2 each for the small containers.
Do they carry canned coconut milk similar to Thai Kitchen? I use that a lot. I was thrilled to see the organic apple cider vinegar at my store, and also organic coconut oil.
I agree with Ed's comment. Once they start adding all of that other stuff then they're turning into another store. Realize that there is only so much store shelf they have. I think that that is the reason why they carry the special stuff occasionally and put it in the inside aisles when they get it because they can't store it anywhere else in the place (the "all-the-time" items are using up the other space). They still offer the other items, yes, and that's good, but the space limitations are there.
Also - if Aldi's can - at least in the summer time - offer bags of ice (like Catherine F said), but they would have to figure out what other item to eliminate or rotate with if they did because, again, of limited space.
i wish they would carry Taco Sauce on a regular basis. It is terrible I have to go to a different store just for that ( because they carry everything else I need for a Taco fiesta)
I wish they would carry the smoked salmon all the time. Not just November and December. Also our family really likes the Priano garlic and onion pasta sauce. It really should be available all the time instead of just during "Italian" special buys. I end up having to buy it by the case so I can make it to the next time they sell it.
Ours in Indiana had smoked Salmon just last week.
I've been looking every time I go in -- not back in my store yet! 🙁
During Italian days Aldi carries a balsamic vinegar that is excellent. It comes in a square bottom bottle and sells out quickly. When I am lucky enough to get it, I buy three bottles. I use it not only in salad dressing, but nixed with honey on Brussel Sprouts.
Being 80 years old .love my brand names ! do not like their generic products .altho produce and some dairy ok .dislike their meats strange taste , maybe from China .Hamburger & pork chops especially . And for inconvenience prices not all that cheap .
I wish they carried organic turmeric and greeting cards ! Turmeric is very good for health and organic would be better ! Goes great in smoothies!
I was just making some granola bars today and deciding how much honey to add to the peanut butter (since it's natural PB you use) and noticed the label on my Jif Natural Creamy PB has sugar plus mainly the exact same things as the regular Jif PB? I found this post about Aldi adding sugar to their almond butter yet not their brand of PB and decided to mention this fact. Or I should have posted this in your new eating plan weekly post about added sugars? Anyway, I was shocked Jif has the same amount of sugar in their natural PB because the last batch of granola bars I made I know I used Kroger brand and it did NOT have the sugar in it! Also, the Kroger brand has the layer of oil on top and Jif did not. I ran out of natural kind and Kroger happens to have theirs on sale this week for $1 a jar plus a digital coupon for $1/2, up to 5 uses online! (alas they were wiped out of Natural PB this morning!
"Natural" is not a regulated term, so you have to watch the natural PB -- some of it has sugar and some does not, and some has those shelf stabilizing oils and some does not. The Smucker's Natural is good as far as national name brands and only contains peanuts and salt. http://www.smuckers.com/products/peanut-butter/natural-peanut-butter/natural-chunky-peanut-butter
For almond butter I've actually been buying the Kirkland brand at Costco; it's pretty good!
If you live near a Food 4 Less, they carry Kroger's brand of natural PB, and often have it on sale for $1.50. It just contains peanuts and salt. Both WF and TJ's also has natural PB, but it is $2.49 at WF, and $2.39 at TJ.