Shopping at Aldi is akin to going on a grocery deal hunt, with a quarter in tow for your cart. Since it opened in Iowa in 1976, Aldi has been a budget shopper’s paradise. And with over 2,357 stores across the country, it’s not hard to find one. We spill 20 top secrets for shopping at Aldi, from Wednesday specials and decoding the color of its price tags so you shop smarter, not harder, and definitely for a lot less.
One of the best things about Aldi is NOT wasting time couponing, just shop there on Wednesdays (preferably before lunch) and zero in on the store's “Special Buys” which can turn up some awesome bargains.
Pro Tip: Can’t shop in person? Get Aldi delivered to you via Instacart, even after fees and shopper tips, you’re probably still saving money.
This tip will save you both time and money. Tyson’s ready-made pot roast (2.75lb) for $12.95 is made specifically for the slow cooker and other fully cooked, microwavable meals like Park Street Deli’s 16oz Hawaiian Style Chicken for $7.69 aren’t just tasty but make weeknight meals super easy to execute.
Related: Costco Prepared Meals That'll Feed Your Whole Family
Aldi is so confident you’ll like its products against big-name national brands that they offer to give you a full refund/replacement if you don’t like what you’ve bought, or the quality isn’t up to scratch. I haven’t tried to take them up on this before but appreciate this guarantee as it gives me the confidence to give its brand-name goods a whirl.
Fun fact: Did you know that Aldi owns Trader Joe’s? They bought it in 1979.
Diapers, you’re always going to need them and at Aldi, the Little Journey brand goes as cheap as $0.19 per diaper which is around half the price of Pampers. Plus they’re good enough to last overnight. While Target regularly runs Buy-$100-Receive-a-$30-Gift-Card deals around baby items, these are regular Aldi prices ($14.29 for a 72-pack of Size 5 diapers) which are frankly unbeatable, and still cheaper after the discount.
How to save even more money grocery shopping at Aldi? Look at the color of the price tags. The yellow with red text means the product is on sale. Blue points to a seasonal item (so stock up if you like it) and the white with red text is an Aldi Find, which arrives every Wednesday and usually sells out. Also, keep an eye out for Aldi Savers tags as they’re temporarily reduced in price — often these are bakery goods.
Aldi Find enthusiasts are passionate about turning up these special buys that are usually impromptu flash deals. Get familiar with some brands or items — German baked goods, Asian meal kits — that typically fall under an Aldi Find with this video by Bobby Parish.
Related: 'They Taste Like Cardboard Now': Aldi Superfans Say These 9 Products Have Gone Downhill
An 8-ounce container of Burrata for $5.39? A 4-ounce Goat Cheese Crumbles for $2.89 and a 15-ounce container of Ricotta Cheese for $2.65? Why in the world would you ever buy cheese from Whole Foods or Kroger ever again? Depending on your Aldi, the selection will vary but you can bet it’ll be cheaper to put together a charcuterie board from Aldi.
Related: Make a Stunning Trader Joe's Charcuterie Board With These 16 Ingredients
If sending a card is something you still do, Aldi has some great pop-up cards for under $3 — Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s Day — that look a lot more expensive than you expect, and honestly we just like them better than Hallmark.
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Maybe its candles and garlands won’t be as cheap as what you can find at the Dollar Tree but they look a lot (and smell) more expensive than the price tag lets on. Huntington Home candles for $4.49, Valentine’s decor for $3.99, it’s a steal.
Related: 40 Holiday Gifts You Can Buy at Aldi
When was the last time you changed out your paprika? On average you should do a complete overhaul of your spice rack every 8 months or so. At Aldi, Stonemill spices go for $1.09 per bottle and $0.79 for seasoning packet mixes, and there’s quite a variety, so there’s no excuse not to buy them there.
Related: How to Find the Secret Cheap Spice Section in Your Supermarket
Did you know you can get a bottle of really decent Chianti for $5.99 (look for the Adventure Series Chianti DOCG) at Aldi? We didn’t until we read that they work with more than 50 wineries all around the world, from Napa Valley to Tuscany. When in doubt, pick something from Aldi's Specially Selected label, chances are it’ll be more than drinkable.
Eating better can still be affordable and Aldi's LiveGFree line has a whole range of nicely priced gluten-free products. LiveGFree pancake mix (16 ounces) and brown Rice Gluten Free Pasta (1 pound) for $2.39 are prices you’re unlikely to see anywhere else.
Related: Seasonal Aldi Favorites That Should Be Available Year-Round, According to Superfans
Just like Trader Joe’s has die-hard fans, Aldi has a bunch of super fan accounts that make it their mission to share the best deals they’ve found. Adventuresinaldi is great if you want to know what’s new in-store and for how much. Ohheyaldi does a weekly Aldi Find video and pointed me to my awesome Christmas Advent Calendar.
Buying in bulk looks expensive upfront but when you do the math (and meal portions) you might find yourself paying less than $5.29 for a pound of barbecue seasoned brisket, $6.49 for Black Angus cubed steak, definitely better priced and equal quality to Publix.
We get it, you’ve been eating Oscar Mayer and Kraft all your life, but Aldi’s in-house brands are a dead ringer taste-wise (sometimes, even better), and sometimes as much as 50 percent cheaper. Give brands like Specially Selected, Benton’s, Millville, Happy Farms, and Deutsche Kuche a try, and you’ll be a convert.
If you’ve gotten sticker shock at Whole Foods for your regular organic haul, Aldi’s Simply Nature brand gives you affordable organic and/or non-GMO verified alternatives. You can find everything from cage-free eggs to red lentil rotini pasta.
Related: Whole Foods on the Cheap: The 8 Best 365 Products at Whole Foods, According to Superfans
If you’re used to stocking up on your favorite beverages, don’t assume they’re going to be cheaper at Aldi — because sometimes they aren’t. The only caveat is when they’re sold in bulk — 15 cans of LaCroix at $0.35 per can is not unusual — so when you see this type of deal, stock up.
Hands down, Walmart or even Winn Dixie will give you a better $15 for 5 or Buy-2-Get-1-Free soda deal than at Aldi but if you do need soda, buy the Summit brand which goes for half the price of a named brand of soda.
There’s no deli counter but there’s still a decent selection of deli meat at unbeatable prices. 3-ounce packaging of imported smoked Italian speck for $3.89, 8-ounce packaging of Applewood’s gluten-free dry salami for $7.15, and 9-ounce cold smoked salmon in three flavors for $12.99, sounds good to me.
You may never buy pantry items anywhere else again. Aldi stocks a wide variety of dry goods with known brands like Reggano, Earthly Grains, and Simply Nature, and they’re very well-priced, even before they go on sale.