ALDI has the best prices of any grocery store around. There are certainly cheaper individual items elsewhere (I see you, Wal-Mart and Costco), but for total savings on an overall grocery budget, ALDI is where it’s at.
I’ve already written all about HOW to shop at ALDI grocery stores. Admittedly, the logistics can be confusing at first.
But now the question is, WHAT should one buy at ALDI??
ALDI has tons of cheap food options for toddlers and children– both for snacks AND meals.
I generally strive to strike a reasonable balance of:
NOURISHING + LIKELY TO BE EATEN + FUN + NOT EXPENSIVE when buying weekly groceries for my kids.
The items on this list strive to achieve most, if not all, of those prerequisites. They aren’t the most exciting, maybe, but are the ones my kids gobble up and have a very low price tag.
So, if you have older babies, toddlers, preschoolers, or children that need to be fed… check out these 10 foods that we like to buy at ALDI!
Final note: I’m not sponsored or affiliated with ALDI, just sharing personal tips from a mom who has done a lot a lot of grocery shopping.
1. Fresh Fruits & Veggies
(Some of the items on this list are much more specific, bear with me. I know this isn’t super exciting, but it’s just undeniably true.)
The first section you’ll likely see when you enter ALDI is their produce section. Don’t pass it by! I like to stock up on their:
- bananas
- strawberries (but not other berries, which tend to be much cheaper at our Costco)
- bags of apples
- grapes
- carrots
- cucumbers
- bell peppers
2. Take & Bake Five Cheese Pizza
Move aside, Papa Murphy’s– Papa Aldi has our pizza needs met already! ALDI’s Take & Bake pizzas come in several different varieties, but my kids (predictably) love the cheese one the most.
I love the flexibility of a take & bake for weeknight dinners. And the portions are HUGE! You can truly feed your hungry family with just one of these pizzas (I mean, probably).
And $6.15 for a 16-inch pizza is pretty remarkable!
(For comparison, a Costco 18-inch pizza costs $9.95 which is also a fabulous deal).
3. Crispy Oats Cereal
Listen, Cheerios are better than any of the knock off brands. Even my seven year old has figured that out by now.
However… these aren’t bad at all!
My kids love cereal in the mornings (or mid-morning, or in the afternoons, or at night…) and this is one that doesn’t leave them on a crazy sugar high afterwards. I’m all about that.
It also doubles as an easy on-the-go dry snack!
AND it’s only $1.65 for this box!
(In case you’re wondering, Walmart’s Great Value Toasted O’s are $1.67 for the same 12 oz. box–practically interchangeable).
4. Snack Pack Raisins (6-pack)
My elementary kids need to bring a snack to school every day, so we have a huge box of individually portioned snacks they can grab for their backpack each morning.
I love adding these to the mix of snack options!
All of my kids enjoy them, and it’s only $1.65 for the pack!
(Walmart has their Great Value 6-pack snack raisins coming in at $2.08, so just a bit higher.)
5. Mini Alphabet Cookies
My friend passed these out once to all the kids as a treat, and they were so cute and fun!
You may already know that I’m a sucker for alphabet cookies (see our Trader Joe’s list). This is especially true for preschoolers and kindergarteners that are busy learning letters, sounds, and words! Magic, I tell you.
These delightful little shortbread-style cookies are priced just over $3.
6. Mini Pretzel Twists
Like I said– I didn’t promise this list would be full of things that are new & exciting. Mini twist pretzels are a tale as old as time for kids. But if it’s not broke, why fix it??
This bag was $1.89 and will provide DOZENS of snack servings for my kiddos. Please & thank you!
(For those interested, it’s $2.24 for the same amount but, IMO, lower quality of Great Value mini twists at Walmart.)
7. Jar of Applesauce
Applesauce pouches are typically a go-to snack in our home (I mention this in my post all about underrated childhood milestones). In fact, receiving an applesauce pouch is the stipulation with which my toddler daughter will willingly get into her car seat for the school pick-up line.
But there is no better price in all the land for applesauce pouches than Costco. So we do NOT generally buy ALDI applesauce pouches…
HOWEVER, I love this jar of unsweetened applesauce for when we are at home!
Or, as my daughter calls it, “pa-pple sauce”. Stay two forever, lady!!
8. Dino Nuggets
I don’t know what it is about these nuggets. They are far and away the favorite store-bought/frozen chicken nuggets we’ve all tried. And… we have tried quite a few.
The dino shape is a fun bonus, too. RAWR!
We put them in the air fryer for about 8 minutes or so.
You pay $7.99 for a 35 oz box of these at ALDI.
I’m sure the massive bags of other chicken nugget brands at Costco are cheaper per oz! This smaller box works well for our family right now, though.
9. Frozen Fruits & Veggies
Again, I know this is not exciting. But the truth is there’s a great selection of frozen fruits and vegetables at ALDI.
I love that we can have a few different types of frozen fruits (versus the massive Costco bags of just cherries hogging up our freezer space).
We use the frozen fruit in smoothies mostly, or add the blueberries in their yogurt.
There are all of the expected frozen veggie options: California medleys, classic mixed veggies, peas, broccoli, corn, etc…many of which we like to throw in the air fryer for a quick weeknight veggie!
There are LOTS of frozen potato options, too! Is a potato a veggie or a starch? Both??
10. Cheese Cubes
My kids go through major phases with string cheese and stick cheese. They either love them or hate ’em, and for the life of my I cannot predict which it will be when.
However, for some reason, they will usually eat these cheese cubes. They stack them up, put them on crackers, and most importantly– EAT them.
In my opinion, it tastes better to chop up an actual block of cheese; and that’s definitely the cheaper way to do it…
But my busy momma heart loves grabbing these pre-cubed bags of cheese from the fridge when the schedule is chaotic!
That wraps up our list of 10 Great Foods for Toddlers & Kids at ALDI!
Do you agree with this list? What would you add??
Do you like shopping at ALDI?
Let me know in the comments below!
