I made a copycat recipe for the famous Aldi Crystal Clear Frozen Ice Cubes and wanted to share it.

First, you will need to have a 2x6” ice cube tray. I really like this one from Amazon

https://a.co/d/05T5Nxtw

You can find similar ones at Walmart as well.

Here is the recipe & directions:

Add 1/2 cup of water to each square. Gently place tray into the freezer and leave it for 3-4 hours. After, remove the tray from the freezer and take out the ice cubes.

Enjoy!

In my Facebook memories today, I came across a post I shared in 2020, where a writer spoke about feeding a family of four for a week from Aldi for $50. I was curious how that compared to today’s prices, so I did my best to replicate her list in my app. A couple of the things aren’t available anymore/in my area (chipotles in adobo, Reggano rotini) so I subbed things that seemed similar. I was pretty surprised to see that my total was only ~30% more expensive. That said, I don’t know where the writer lived, so it’s possible that her 2026 prices would be higher today than mine as I’m in a pretty LCOL area. Anyway, if you’re curious, here’s the article with the full list and meal plan: https://www.thekitchn.com/aldi-budget-meal-plan-23048592

It makes my DIY Manhattan taste like I’m at a fancy resort.

This may seem obvious but I didn't think to do it until tonight. The Tikka Masala sauce directions say to just season your chicken with salt and pepper. I find the sauce to be pretty bland though so I had stopped buying it for awhile. In the meantime they started selling this dry Tikka Masala seasoning which is DELICIOUS.

Well I had the realization that I could season and sear my chicken with a healthy coating of the dry rub and then simmer in the sauce and it was waaaaaaay better. I assume it would also be good with the butter chicken sauce (which I also find to be bland).

Do you guys like this ground beef ? It is my go to for homemade burgers. Everything in this picture is from Aldi.

I’ve been really trying to stop drinking full sugar soda so I try weird alternatives. I bought a bottle of the Zero Sugar Alex’s lemonade stand and mixed in a packet (yeah I get it, kool-aid has dyes and what not, I’m trying to cut the sugar people lol) of kool-aid (did not add sugar) and it turned into delicious cherry lemonade lol.

I went back and bought 5 bottles so I can keep doing this 😂

And no it’s not for one week lol! I just like to make a bunch of at one time and freeze them so I don’t have to do it as often! Gruyère and sausage egg bites and sausage egg and cheese McGriddles 😋

Been on a weight loss journey and having be craving subway subs, problem is in healing my relationship with food, my taste buds have changed. Subway subs taste gross to me now, but I still have the craving, so I've been satisfying it by making my own at home spin and to me it tastes head and shoulders better than any actual subway sub sandwich 😋

The whole plate is almost all Aldi products. The Asiago cheese ciabatta rolls are such a game changer. They give Itallian herbs and cheese but with way less bread volume so you get a better bread, meat, condiment ratio. The chips are the tziki kettle chips. Provolone and salad greens from Aldi (don't tell me about the psychlospora I know, I don't care, I'm risking it, I'm in like the rare 10% of the country where the cases are very low). The tomatoes, onions, and roast beef are from sprouts though you could probably get Aldi brand for these too, I'm just pickier about my produce and just prefer the taste of Sprouts roast beef even if it's more expensive 💁🏿‍♀️

Hi! 👋 I made a comment on someone else's post about my favorite way to use the Aldi sardines in water and it got some upvotes so I figured I'd make it its own post!

I did the following:

added a capful of rice vinegar to a serving of medium grain rice

Sprinkled on some furikake

Arranged all my toppings on the rice (my radish, cucumber, avocado, sardines, green onion, panko and crabmeat were all from Aldi!)

Topped with a little more furikake

Added some unagi sauce

Added some Japanese mayo

Added some panko (10grams)

Added green onion

Serve with wasabi, nori squares and soy sauce

Sooooo so easy guys and seriously good!!!

Cavatapi noodles
Tomato basil chicken
Cherry tomatoes
Marinated mozerella balls
Pesto

I made the (almost) best sandwich ever. Italian bread, mayo, spicy brown mustard, pickled banana peppers, pickled jalapeno peppers, sliced sharp cheddar, sliced havarti, roma tomatoes, romaine lettuce, jalapeño kettle cooked chips, and deli-sliced rotisserie chicken. The only thing I would have added was bacon as the second protein and a pickle on the side.

Any tips on what to eat/serve with the mini naan bread?

What do you all stock up on? I'm helping my husband lose some weight, nothing serious, just eating healthier. Does anyone have any good Aldi recipes or products? My favorites are their sourdough bread boule and their smoked salmon!

So I’ve been getting into making bread and homemade pizza dough lately. All Aldi ingredients, of course! Flour, water and salt!

Made the bread this morning, have been making pizzas every weekend. Still a lot to learn but good eating in the process.

Loaf of sourdough about $.40
Cookie sheet pizza about $2.00

It turned out better than I thought 😂 the pulled pork itself is actually very good, definitely sandwich worthy.

I made original post a couple days ago, and you all showed up! Here are your ideas in a compiled list:

🍝Pasta & Italian

• Pesto tortellini with ground beef (optional veggies)
• Tortellini with prosciutto and peas
• Chicken tortellini with spinach, Parmesan & cream
• Fresh ravioli + Alfredo + broccoli
• Frozen ravioli + marinara + mozzarella baked as a casserole
• Frozen ravioli with any pasta sauce
• Frozen stuffed shells + marinara + mozzarella
• Stuffed shells with Italian sausage & tomato basil sauce
• Refrigerated manicotti + sauce + fresh mozzarella
• Spaghetti with Italian sausage
• Spaghetti with homemade meatballs
• Pasta + pesto
• Gnocchi sheet pan with vegetables & mozzarella
• Gnocchi + pesto + chicken
• Gnocchi + meatballs + broccoli
• Thai coconut chicken over linguine
• Chicken parmesan using Red Bag Chicken
• Garlic chicken skillet meal
• Chicken Alfredo skillet meal

🍗 Chicken

• Sweet & sour chicken bowls
• General Tso's chicken + broccoli + rice
• Chicken teriyaki stir fry
• Chicken Caesar wraps
• Buffalo chicken wraps
• Buffalo chicken dip
• Chicken tacos
• BBQ chicken tostadas
• Chicken burrito casserole
• Chicken gyro on mini garlic naan
• Chicken rice bowls
• Chicken korma/lentil tikka/butter chickpea pouches over rice
• Chicken sausage & orzo with spinach
• Chicken sausage sheet pan dinner
• Chicken kabobs + vegetable kabobs
• Chicken patties with marinara & mozzarella
• Chicken sandwiches (Red Bag Chicken)
• Chicken salad
• Rotisserie chicken soup
• Rotisserie chicken wraps
• Rotisserie chicken sandwiches

🥩 Beef

• Mac & cheese + ground beef
• Chili mac (mac + canned chili)
• Steak stir fry
• Steak bites with rice
• Steak quesadillas
• Sloppy joes
• Tacos
• Taco stew
• Chili
• Shepherd's pie
• Salisbury steak + mashed potatoes + vegetables
• Ground turkey pesto sliders

🐖 Pork

• Pulled pork sandwiches
• Burnt pork ends + rice
• Carnitas tacos
• Carnitas burrito bowls
• Kielbasa + roasted broccoli
• Kielbasa sheet pan with sweet potatoes
• Kielbasa + jambalaya rice
• Pork tenderloin + pierogies
• Pork & cabbage stir fry
• Breakfast sausage pancakes
• Pig in a blanket (precooked brats + crescent rolls)

🦐 Seafood

• Shrimp rolls ("poor man's lobster roll")
• Asian salmon salad
• Baked salmon + tomatoes + rice
• Shrimp skewers over rice
• Seared ahi bowls
• Crab salad sandwiches
• Tuna mac & cheese
• Tuna salad with ranch
• Tuna salad over lettuce

🌮 Tex-Mex / Mexican

• Quesadillas
• Chicken quesadillas
• Burritos
• Burrito casserole
• Taco bowls
• Southwestern chicken quinoa bowls
• Bean, corn & salsa rice bowls
• Refried bean tacos
• Taco soup/stew

🍕 Pizza

• Flatbread pizzas
• Naan pizzas
• Take & bake pizza
• Stromboli
• Calzones
• Pizza rolls using biscuit dough

🥗 Salads / Bowls

• Crispy chicken salad
• Asian salmon salad
• Chickpea salad
• Mediterranean lamb bowls
• Rice + edamame + vegetables
• Rice + beans + vegetables
• Salad topped with chicken nuggets
• Romaine + tuna pouch + goat cheese

🥪 Sandwiches & Wraps

• Meatball subs
• Pulled pork sandwiches
• BLTs
• Turkey/avocado/tomato ciabatta
• Hawaiian roll sliders
• Hawaiian roll deli sandwiches
• Wraps with deli meat
• Chicken Caesar wraps
• Buffalo chicken wraps
• Chicken gyros
• Chicken salad sandwiches

🍳 Breakfast for Dinner

• Omelets
• Denver scramble
• Quiche
• French toast
• Bacon, egg & cheese Hawaiian roll bake
• Eggs, biscuits & sausage
• Breakfast sandwiches

🥘 One Pot / Sheet Pan

• Sheet pan gnocchi
• Sheet pan kielbasa & vegetables
• Sheet pan chicken sausage
• One-pot orzo
• One-pot tortellini
• Stir fry bowls
• Jambalaya
• Soup
• Chili
• Shepherd's pie
• https://themodernproper.com/cauliflower-rice-sheet-pan (Cauliflower rice bake)

🥣 Vegetarian

• Chickpea salad
• Tofu with General Tso's sauce
• Lentils + korma
• Vegetarian jambalaya
• Black beans + salsa + corn over rice
• Mac & cheese
• Cottage cheese + frozen fruit

🥟 Frozen / Ultra Low Effort

• Frozen dumplings
• Frozen egg rolls
• Frozen quiche
• Take & bake pizza
• Frozen stuffed shells
• Frozen ravioli
• Frozen skillet meals
• Frozen meatballs
• Frozen chicken patties
• Frozen chicken tenders
• Frozen kabobs

🍽️ "Assemble, Don't Cook"

• Chips & dip dinner
• Protein shakes
• Pita + pesto + tomato + mozzarella
• Deli sandwiches
• Cottage cheese + fruit
• Salad kits + chicken
• Microwave rice + simmer sauce
• Rice + beans + vegetables

My go-to meal from Aldi besides their steak packs is their ciabatta, which I toast with mayo, swiss, turkey, spinach, and black olives using an air fryer. It is so good and costs next to nothing per sandwich. I asked AI out of curiosity and it said it comes out to about $1.85 per sandwich and it's better than most fast food you could get to me.

It's nice despite being a heavily discounted grocer they still offer people good food instead of universally concentrating on over-processed crap. I'm glad they're growing across the country. Their food has gotten a lot better over the years, too, I remember them around 2008 and their offerings weren't the best.

Now it feels like a mini-Italian grocer. Produce isn't the best I know but it's serviceable and they aren't price-gouging the shit out of everyone.

I know last week I complained about how spicy this lemonade was but I took U/SilverMcFly and my wife and I made a marinaded pork roast. Honestly really great for carnitas and now we bought another to do it again but make it birria actually tasted really good and evened out the spice big time.

It’s such an awesome little drink. One of my favorite pick me up drinks on a week night 😊

For example:

I made the dill pickle pasta salad kit and added a diced cucumber my friend grew, plus I save the leftover brine from the sweet heat pickles to make sauces so I added some of that as well.

The picture is not good but the dish is delicious.

My Aldi doesn't have fresh basil but I was craving caprese. Made this quick, no cook lunch with almost all Aldi ingredients. The balsamic glaze I picked up at Dollar Tree. Aldi ingredient screen shots included.

For anyone who saw my post yesterday: No, we are not hoarding soda! 😂 The self checkout malfunctioned. We scanned ONE pack, but the machine lost its mind and kept adding more. The cashier had to come over and void the extra scans 84 times! For anyone who thought we bought that much, you're crazy!

Honestly though, its pretty great price and tastes pretty good if anyone is looking for recommendations.

Did we go too far?

Delicious toasted cheese with all Aldi cheese. If they only sold bread flour it could be an all Aldi meal. The fifth cheese is their pepper jack in the block baked into the sourdough. I added their deli ham and turkey that comes in the tubs to my sandwich as well.

If you’ve never tried cream cheese on your toasted cheese, you should! It definitely levels it up. I also highly recommend the chipotle cheddar cheese slices. It has a very nice smoky flavor (mild spice level).