Have I told you that I am fully converted to buying produce at Aldi? The stores I frequent have a nice selection of high quality stuff and it is so inexpensive. I am now spending about $20 per week at Aldi and then picking up some sale items elsewhere. This week, in addition to great produce prices there are some other noteworthy sales.
If you’ve never shopped at Aldi bring a quarter (not 25 cents, but a quarter) for the refundable deposit on your cart and your own bags. They take cash or debit card, but not credit card. Find an Aldi near you.
Produce
Broccoli. $0.89 for 14-ounce packs for broccoli crowns.
Avocados. $0.39 each. If you don’t track avocado price, this is a rock bottom price. Mash them and freeze them for use later.
Baby carrots. $0.49 per pound. Another veggie to stock up on.
Cauliflower. $0.89 per head.
Meat
Pork Spareribs. $1.99 per pound
Refrigerated
Hummus. $1.69 for 8 ounces. Is this a good price for hummus?
Dip (Ranch or French Onion). $1.09 for a 16-ounce container. I love French onion dip and theirs is really good.
Snacks
Tortilla Chips. $0.99 per bag. This is their everyday price on these chips.
Potato Chips. $1.09 per 11-ounce bag . This is their everyday price on these chips.
About Carrie Rocha
Aldi’s animal cracker are delicious and run somewhere around a $1.5/ box I think.
Thanks, Ruth.
I love when people write what products they like, I hardly ever try stuff on my own but when someone recommends it, then I buy it and usually am never dissapointed.
Sure wish there was an Aldi in the SW metro!
There will be one in West Bloomington on France Ave /Old Shakopee Rd from what I understand.
JoAnna- depending on where you live and what is convienient for you- Aldi in Savage on 42 near 13 and one in Burnsville on 13 near 11. also can check their locations by going to http://aldi.us/index_ENU_HTML.htm
Does Aldi usually have lower prices on produce? Last week was my first visit to an Aldi, and I was very surprised at how inexpensive the fruit was, so was it a sale or are they generally priced like that?
I have found that their prices are cheaper as long as the other stores don’t have stuff on sale. So if you are comparing regular prices Aldi is usually the better price. I have been shopping Aldi sense they opened and that is my main shopping place. I only get sale priced items at Rainbow with coupons on Wed and than I shop Walmart Supercenter for the stuff I can’t get at Aldi!
You have to be careful when buying fruit though. Many times, it is more ripe than produce purchased at another grocery store. Check your produce (especially strawberries) carefully before buying.
I got pears last week that were DELICIOUS!!! Great on a spinach salad.
I like the price and the quality of veggies at Aldis. It lasts quite a while fresh in my experience.
On the hummus, this sounds like a good price to me. Top of the line Sabras runs $4 – $5 for 11 oz and the Tribe 8 oz at Walmart is $1.98. If it tastes good, it could be a good find, but may not be available all the time. (I did double the Sabras q at PNS/Roundy’s last week to get it for $1.99)
I believe this is the every-day price of hummus at Aldi.
In Madison, broccoli & cauliflower are 0.99 and Avocados are 0.49. Also Oranges are currentlly $1.39 / 3 lb bag (I think it is 3 lbs). When their fruit is really cheap, I stock up and put an extra bag of oranges or apples in the basement where it is colder. The fruit (except for bananas) fluctuates–so if you stock up while it’s cheap, then when they hike the price up to $2.99 per bag of oranges, you can wait until the price comes back down while munching on your basement supply.. :) Love ALDI’s for the necessities
The thing about hummus is that it’s SO easy to make if you have a food processor. It’s hard to justify buying it unless you’re in a pinch : )
I agree on the southwest metro needing an Aldi!! Although it may be worth the drive for avocados at that price
WOW! That’s a steal on avacados … you’re lucky to find them on sale anything under $1. I hope they are in good shape. However, I’ve noticed with Aldis you have to watch their produce … sometimes it’s good and other times it doesn’t look to good.
Does anyone know if Aldis takes coupons?
Melissa – Aldis does NOT take coupons. Their philosophy is that their prices are so low they don’t need to. This is not always the case for brand name items.
Cub has a very similar price on avocados this week, too!
I got Avacados at ALDI last week and they were fine. Guess it depends on how soon you need to use them. The one from ALDI was actually firmer than those at Festival -which were so soft you would have had to use them immediately.
FYI, since I mentioned brand name items in my response to Melissa… one day while checking out with some bread, the cashier I had mentioned that he didn’t know why people didn’t buy all their bread there because it’s the same as Sara Lee. I was buying the whole wheat stuff. I think that Aldis is a power buyer (they are an international company) and uses brand name producers to make their products. Their version of Wheat Thins tastes eXACTly like the Nabisco stuff. my two cents and learning has been to try stuff and compare. I’ve switched to many staple items because I don’t see the difference except in my WALLET!
I’m a full convert to Aldi’s — I love them! Some products they private label are definitely made by Big Food (Kraft, Nabisco, etc.) and some others are made by smaller producers but are actually better tasting than the Big Food versions (for example, I’d put the chewy granola bars in that category — I like Aldi’s brand, which might be made by McKee, better than the Kelloggs or Quaker).
Avocados that cheap are unheard of, even in my local Mexican markets. Gotta stock up on those!
I’ve been trying products slowly. My husband actually prefers some of the ALDI versions to the name brand: Triscuit crackers, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Chex Mix, and $1.99 pizzas. I also made a devil’s food cake once and got SO MANY compliments on it!
What do you suggest to freeze an avocado and what do you use it for after it’s been frozen? Will it work for guacamole after it’s frozen. I’d appreciate all tips as I’m looking to stock up if it is worth it!
Mary – I’d use it for guacamole or for a banana avocado smoothie my family makes. For the smoothie we put in 1 ripe avocado, 2 ripe bananas and some milk. Yum! I’ll puree the avocado and freeze it in an ice cubue tray, then pop them out of the tray into a ziploc once frozen so they are easy to throw into the blender for a smoothie or portioned for guac.
Last time I bought produce at Aldi’s in Savage, I was pretty disappointed. The quality was really pretty bad in my opinion. I might have to check the Rosemount store to see if it is any better. For avacados I’m willing to try! I stocked up on the 50 cent avacados at Rainbow a few weeks back and we have been thoroughly enjoying those! I made a huge batch of guacamole and froze some of it, and it’s turned out great! Carrie, thanks for the tip on pureeing it and freezing it – I might have to try that! Although it works pretty well to make the whole batch of guacamole and freeze it that way, and we’re not likely to use it in a smoothie…
Laura – Yes, freezing already made guacamole…yum!
I have been an Aldi shopper for years. I usually buy as much as I can at Aldi and shop strictly sale items at other places. I would recommend their pasta salad kits: they taste exactly like the Suddenly Salad pasta salads (and in fact I have had several friends who were pleasently surprised that it was from Aldi), they have a cereal that tastes exactly like Reeces Pieces cereal, their cheese is alway good and I almost always get lettuce there if there is not a sale somewhere else. I have always had good luck with their produce as well.
I am a convert to Aldi too, you must take advantage of their 99 cent bags of pre cut salad mixes, and on sale its been as cheap as 39 cent a bag!
I love avocadoes. I use them on a bunch of things, sandwiches, salads, tortilla wraps or just plain eat them. I actually hardly ever make guacamole. And the kids love them. I buy them everytime they’re on sale. I’ll have to pick up a few.
I’ve been shopping at Aldi for about 15 years (I was in another state for most of that time). I have never been quite sure why people are so reluctant to try Aldi products. I guess it goes to show how much advertising affects us. Aldi has a double your money back guarantee on all of their label products so there really is no risk. In all that time I have only ever returned one item that I didn’t like. As for produce – I have seen a big improvement over the years. I know people who refuse to shop at Aldi insisting that the quality is poor but I figure that it’s like anything else, you look it over and choose what looks the best. The lower prices to me seem worth giving it a try! Since reading this blog I have begun to shop at other stores for specials and use coupons more often but I still really love Aldi for many of my staple items and produce.
We need a name for Aldi shoppers. Aldiac? Aldian? Anyway, the only thing I’ve ever wanted to return was their detergent, I think it was the Tandil. It didn’t seem to rinse out of the clothes very well. That said, I love their products and produce! I buy my staples there and I think their fish is a great value and high quality! I really wish they would carry some whole wheat flour, but the Fit and Active label there seems to be expanding all the time, so maybe they will in the near future.
I keep meaning to try Aldi’s, I just haven’t gotten around it. Thanks for the comparisons to the name brands. I took some notes and will try to get there this week. I see several things that I’m interested in this week.
I also wanted to comment, though, on how easy it is to make your own dips. Why buy store versions when you can make it for so much cheaper, you know?
I’ve shopped at Aldi since it came to the metro area and for baking staples, lean ground turkey and the things like broccoli and cauliflower. I buy alot of it when on sale and blanch/freeze them and freeze strawberries too. However, I did find the canned cat food doesn’t work for kitty, he got sick immediately so I don’t want to clean that mess up again.
The avacados at ALDI – at least at the one I shop at- are limited to 2 per family per day. This doesn’t begin to allow my family to make guacamole or anything else. I get that they want to limit such a good deal (39 cents each), but 2 seems a bit stingy, especially since they were so small.