We have heard about 100,000 times how amazing Aldi is – being fans of Trader Joes and Whole Foods, we never checked out what seems to be a crowd favorite so we did this weekend. Here’s the honest review of what we picked up! Do you think we’ll be going back to Aldi? Keep on reading to find out!
What is Aldi?
For other fellow Aldi newbies, Aldi is a German supermarket that is no frills but cheap. Most products are their own proprietary brand (Grandessa, Happy Farms, Millville, Simply Nature, and Fit & Active) but I did see some main stream brand products Goya and Pepperidge Farms. If you elect to shop with a cart, you must deposit a quarter which will then release the cart. Need a bag for your groceries? That one is on you! There are no baggers (you are your own bagger) and they do not offer plastic bags (though you can pick up boxes, similar to Costco).
What was on my grocery list?
| Sun Dried Tomatoes | Tomato Sauce | Diced Tomatoes |
| Red onions | Spinach | Parmesan Cheese |
| Brocollini | Peanut Butter | Beef Jerky |
| Coconut milk | Cheese Tortellini | Dried Basil |
Needless to say I didn’t need TOO much this week. Also, as a side note, we buy all of our meat through Butcher Box.
So…how did it go?
I arrived to Aldi, grabbed my shopping cart, and headed in. The grocery store was very clean but shelves are not organized like you would see in Wegmans or Whole Foods. Aldi offers essentially one brand of what you need but they pretty much only carry staple items. With that being said, I wasn’t able to find everything so here is what I found:
| Diced Tomatoes | Tomato Sauce | Coconut Milk* |
| Red Onions | Spinach | Peanut Butter |
| Beef Jerky | Ginger* |
My total bill at Aldi was $12.40 with my most expensive item being beef jerky at $2.39.
After I left Aldi, I headed over to Trader Joes (which happens to be owned by Aldi) to pick up the rest of my groceries – these items totaled $12.56 for an aggregate total of $24.96. That is CRAZY cheap!
Ok, but what did you save?
Being die hard for Amazon Fresh/Whole Foods (I’ll be honest, I love the convenience of it), I assumed my savings would be large. So here’s the breakdown:
As mentioned above, my grand total was $24.96. Through Whole Foods my total would have been $49.46 (per online ordering). That is a 50% savings…FIF-TY PER-CENT! That is incredible!
Will you go back?
I am the person who feels like grocery shopping is an experience. Looking at the options, looking up and down every aisle, and trying out new foods. But with how busy our lives are, some weeks, I don’t find this to be a priority (which is why I had moved to Whole Foods via Amazon). I say all of this because if you want and desire an experience at the grocery store, Aldi is NOT for you. It is a get in, find what you need, and get out. The Aldi shopper also needs to either plan their meals around what they can find at Aldi or be okay going to a second grocery store. But…you will save a good amount of money.
In the end, I am ultimately on the fence with Aldi. In total it took me about 1-1.50 hours to hit both groceries stores, get all of the food we need, and get home. BUT, I saved a bunch of money this way. I think I will hit Aldi if I have a small grocery list with mostly staple items but for hauls where I need some more “obscure” items, I’ll still to Trader Joes!
Are you an Aldi shopper? What is your go to store?
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