Shopping in Aldi

corblimey

In an effort to save some money, I'm doing a little experiment at the moment. I've used Tesco for everything for the last 15 years, but this month (Feb) I'm going to use Aldi as much as possible, see what I can save. I'll probably alternate on this for a good few months to average things out. This is how I spend my weekends

Since I only cook once a week usually, I suspect that I won't get through a full shopping list (for example, I have no need to buy say mince this month), is there anything I should be looking at in Aldi and Lidl that is cheaper but still as good, if not better, than Tesco, and would be considered a useful basic.

I'm thinking of stuff like marinades, canned food, frozen meat, fruit and veg, condiments, spices, etc etc. The freezer & cupboard "staples" that it would be better to buy for half price now than end up getting for full price next month in Tesco.

(Also, it might be handy to know some stuff to avoid as it's nasty and once I dump say a load of off-brand chopped tomatoes into my bolognaise, it's been ruined)

To be honest, I'm not sure this belongs here, but I thought chefs with an high for quality and the purse strings would have some good advice.

m.j.w

Just my opinion but I think tesco own range of goods is better than most of the stuff in lidl or aldi and is probably a bit cheaper to. I goto aldi to get the odd bit of meat (chorizo and steak) but I dont know how people can do a weeks shopping there.

c montgomery

In my opinion lidl is much better than aldi if you are trying to do a weekly shop. They have a much larger selection and bigger range of products.

Theres certain things in aldi that i love and always pop in for but id never spend too much in there. Lidl's where its at for me:)

boodlesdoodles

Aldi's tinned tomatoes are really good, they are lovely and thick and really good value. Their deli meats, Serrano and Prosciutto, are excellent too. I tend to buy from all the supermarkets but I have to say as someone who was afraid of so-called cheaper brands I'm pretty impressed with Aldi and Lidl.

olaola

I go to Aldi and Lidl all the time now - but I still get my meat from the butchers. I'll alternate them, maybe going to Aldi more.
Aldi has great Parmesean, Specially selected cheese (incl the cheddar), Specially selected steaks, chick peas, kidney beans, pasta, veg - I get most of mine here, bags of rocket, baking supplies - flour etc, pressed apple juice, choccie biccies and fizzy water. I love Lidl for the great bags of rocket, loose tomatoes and they've got some great yoghurts and I think their canned tomatoes are pretty top notch. I'd buy them in slabs of 16 when I go in.

olaola

Forgot to mention the serrano ham/proscuitto/chorizo in Aldi.

Corsendonk

m.j.w wrote: »

Just my opinion but I think tesco own range of goods is better than most of the stuff in lidl or aldi and is probably a bit cheaper to. I goto aldi to get the odd bit of meat (chorizo and steak) but I dont know how people can do a weeks shopping there.

Not really, Aldi and Lidl has better quality if a fairly limited range. Tesco Value range is often inferior quality compared to Aldi/Lidl products. I do like shopping in Aldi over Lidl except the fruit & veg in Aldi never has the shelflife like Lidl. The German branded beers are good in both, frozen food in each is good, Aldi do a nice range in cheeses, biscuits are good, preserves actually have a higher fruit content in Aldi/Lidl than Tesco. Cooked meats in Aldi are good. Aldi does do a nice range of Irish products in its version of Tesco Finest.

MarkR

Their angus steak is lovely. Frozen haddock is nice too. Their tea and coffee is very good. Yoghurts and cheeses are all good. Their wacko bars are lovely, the mars equivalent is nice, twix one not great. Chocolate chip cookies are gorgeous. The ones in the black package.

I've had nothing mank from there really. Go wild and experiment.

Malari

olaola wrote: »

I go to Aldi and Lidl all the time now - but I still get my meat from the butchers. I'll alternate them, maybe going to Aldi more.
Aldi has great Parmesean, Specially selected cheese (incl the cheddar), Specially selected steaks, chick peas, kidney beans, pasta, veg - I get most of mine here, bags of rocket, baking supplies - flour etc, pressed apple juice, choccie biccies and fizzy water. I love Lidl for the great bags of rocket, loose tomatoes and they've got some great yoghurts and I think their canned tomatoes are pretty top notch. I'd buy them in slabs of 16 when I go in.

Yeah, this sounds like my shopping list when I go to Aldi! Tinned stuff, the 69c special fruit and veg, dairy, bags of nuts, wheaten bread and those chocolate bars are great for baking.

Lidl do have fab yoghurts and muesli.

No, you can't get everything there, and there are a few bits and pieces that we still buy branded versions only. However, I've been buying there for years and find the quality great.

olaola

Malari wrote: »

No, you can't get everything there, and there are a few bits and pieces that we still buy branded versions only. However, I've been buying there for years and find the quality great.

I usually buy branded toiletries in Boots etc - and Fariy and all that in Dunnes. The Lidl washing powder ranks highly in tests in Which? magazine, so I use that all the time now. The two top dishwasher tablets tested are Aldi & Lidl (in that order)

OH and I LOVE the barrell bread in Aldi, and those Mediterranian wraps - deeelishhh!

Eviledna

I get the majority of my shopping in Aldi. I bake with their ingredients. I clean with their solutions. But I always buy ariel excel gel for the clothes as I've found aldi stuff leaves a residue.

Recommended Aldi products:

Tinned PLUM tomatoes, not chopped, far superior for only 45c
Barrel Bread
Fruit of all types
Veggies of all types
Free range chicken breasts are massive for only 3.99
Free range chicken gorgeous for 5.99
Angus mince is lovely, as are the steaks, lean and tasty.
Dusted lemon sole, frozen, 2.49.
Specially selected carlos frozen pizzas kick goodfellas ass!
Sugar/eggs/oil/butter/nuts all for baking.
Cheese all lovely, especially the little chilli brie for ~1.50, yum with their wheaten crackers!
Pork products all great, rashers red pack smoked are lovely.
Jarred peppers and sundried tomatoes are great and so handy.
Spices and condiments are also brillo.
Baking paper, freezer bags, sandwich bags, tin foil all cheaper and great.
Pasta sauces especially arribiata.
Frozen fish and prawns great.
Dog food great (well so my little terrier says!:))
Bleach is bleach for 79c
Specially selected range usually fantastic at pretty much everything.

Things to avoid...
Bad firelogs
Bad chopped tomatoes
Bad Tuna
Bad Cakes...mostly styrofoam!
Choccie better in lidl.
Bad washing powder.

I believe in Fairy Liquid..only.

That's it. I wouldn't have survived the last year without aldi. I get creative with their ingredients and eat really well from there...I've got the tum to prove it!:P

smiles302

The smoked salmon in Aldi is yummy, the fresh fish aren't worth buying. Although I don't think Tesco do much better there either.

nesbitt

I do my meal plan each week, make list for Lidl can get 90% of my food there, love their dairy products, chorizo, salami, cooked ham all very good. Their Bourbon Vanilla ice cream is lovely too... Veg is excellent in my view.

However, I buy most of my meat from the butchers again with my list in hand... Thats my choice, but Lidl meat is Bord Bia approved so I get streaky rashers, sausages and sometimes white pudding, but I love Clonakilty pudding so thats my choice....

I go to Superquinn for Just Bouillon stock cubes, Woolite complete care, Berio Olive oil, Lenor, smoked paprika, clonakilty pudding, all that type of thing, twice a month.

I can't/won't shop without a list, for me this is the key to saving money and eating well. It can be done.

I do not buy loads of goodies but try to bake twice a week now. It was sponge cake this week so far with jam & fresh whipped cream, all ingredients bought in Lidl, the strawberry Jam was 50% fruit reduced sugar and was very good indeed.

brianthebard

Aldi are very good only problem I had with them before was pumpernickel which tasted terrible but probably was how it was supposed to taste. If they had baskets I would do all my shopping there but it can be awkward carrying everything in your hand or trying to find a box.
I think I read before that Aldi has the most Irish meat products of any of the supermarkets, might not have got that exactly right. Their meat is good and everything is clearly labelled, their aged steaks are better than any butcher I've tried in Galway. They are also not afraid to label foreign meats (particularly german pork products) with their country of origin which is refreshing.

BlackBlade

c montgomery wrote: »

In my opinion lidl is much better than aldi if you are trying to do a weekly shop. They have a much larger selection and bigger range of products.

Theres certain things in aldi that i love and always pop in for but id never spend too much in there. Lidl's where its at for me:)

I thought Lidl was better but find myself getting more and more in aldi!

bmarley

Hi, I go to Lidl for juices, cheeses (so much cheaper than anywhere else), wine, chocolate (simply the best!). Fruit/veg is sometimes cheaper. Go to supervalu to see what offers they have on - but avoid going there on Sundays (in between offers, so loads of mix ups on receipt). I like Dunnes but fruit and veg seem to have gone up a lot in price lately. I avoid Tesco, don't like the quality of the food, fruit and veg last no length.

Honey-ec

I LOVE Aldi and do 90% of my shopping there. I buy most of my meat from my local butcher, not because Aldi's meat is bad, but because he's a fantastic local business and I like to support him. However, I buy all my steak in Aldi, as their Irish Angus is, I eventually had to admit, better than my butcher's.

I will admit that Lild tends to have a wider selection of fresh fruit & veg, but to be honest, I find shopping there such a depressing experience that I just avoid it altogether.

OP, if you're just weaning yourself onto Aldi, then I recommend specifically going for the following:

Bagels
Manuka honey (10+ for 5.99)
Pasta
Tea & coffee (all by Robt. Roberts)
Whole tinned tomatoes
Kidney beans & chickpeas
Irish Angus steaks
Bags of spinach & rocket
Prosciutto di Parma
Parmigiano Regatto
Natural yoghurt
Wine
Washing liquid & fabric softener*

I started off only buying a few bits but found myself doing more and more of my shop there as I realised how high the quality is; chances are you'll do the same. Aldi also have a quarterly-updated magazine instore which details all of their Irish products.

*I know another poster said they found these leave a residue, but I live in a semi-hard water area and find these fantastic. I use the concentrated versions, non-bio in the detergent and almond & macadamia oil in the softener.

corblimey

olaola wrote: »

I go to Aldi and Lidl all the time now

Do you go 'Aldi' time? Sorry I'll get my coat.

Thanks a million for the tips. My local Aldi isn't great, but there's a bigger one just down the road so I'll be checking it out tomorrow and see what's going on. I've made a note of all the recommendations here - stuff that'll keep for a few months is definitely high on my list. Thanks all!

spiderjazz

I would do pretty much all my shopping in Aldi these days. It started off with wanting to save a bit of money, but I genuinely believe that the quality of the majority of food there is superior to tesco, dunnes etc. at a far more attractive price. The only thing that disappoints sometimes is the fruit/veg, it seems to have a relatively poor shelf life.

Things I recommend from there:

Olive Oil
Multigrain Loaf
Specially selected steaks
Diet Fizzy Orange/7up
Teabags
Sliced hams/chicken
Specially selected sausages
Yoghurts
Specially selected Relish
Porridge Oats

Corsendonk

brianthebard wrote: »

Aldi are very good only problem I had with them before was pumpernickel which tasted terrible but probably was how it was supposed to taste. If they had baskets I would do all my shopping there but it can be awkward carrying everything in your hand or trying to find a box.
I think I read before that Aldi has the most Irish meat products of any of the supermarkets, might not have got that exactly right. Their meat is good and everything is clearly labelled, their aged steaks are better than any butcher I've tried in Galway. They are also not afraid to label foreign meats (particularly german pork products) with their country of origin which is refreshing.

I understand that the tight vac pack that they use on the steaks also has a tenderising effect as a bonus.

Kat1170

Lidl's Cod Florentine and Cod Provencal are delish..

Malari

corblimey wrote: »

Do you go 'Aldi' time? Sorry I'll get my coat.

Oh my god, I am so using that. I already say "every Lidl helps" whenever we go into Tesco :-)

nesbitt

corblimey wrote: »

Do you go 'Aldi' time? Sorry I'll get my coat.

:D

l5lr

I do around 80% of my shopping in Aldi. I have to say they have some of the best pre-packed beef I've ever bought. Can't say the same for their chicken though, it's fairly overpriced and poor quality.

I'm normally a bit picky when it comes to veg, so anything I buy goes into soups for the week, can't beat over 2L of vegetable soup for under €8

I highly recommend their pasta sauces (much nicer than dolmio in my opinion) dog food, dog treats and also their spices.

Compared to Lidl, I find aldi is a much better experience. I've found lidl to be over-crowded, full of screaming kids and 9 out of 10 times very dirty. Aldi seems to be cleaner and have a better layout with less people

squeakyduck

I do my shop in Lidl one a month. I do love the fish in lidl but the mince I have to say I find a little bitty but mixed in with other mince its grand. Very cheap too.

I love their bounty bars, cranberry juice, sausages (glenview farm) fish pizza slices, beans, peas and kidney beans. Alot of them taste great and are nice an cheap.

Would it be a cheaper alternative to go to a butcher for meat or should I continue to shop at lidl for it? I do find that 3 for €9 a good deal in tesco though!

nesbitt

squeakyduck wrote: »

I do my shop in Lidl one a month. I do love the fish in lidl but the mince I have to say I find a little bitty but mixed in with other mince its grand. Very cheap too.

I love their bounty bars, cranberry juice, sausages (glenview farm) fish pizza slices, beans, peas and kidney beans. Alot of them taste great and are nice an cheap.

Would it be a cheaper alternative to go to a butcher for meat or should I continue to shop at lidl for it? I do find that 3 for €9 a good deal in tesco though!

Depends on how much meat you eat, and what type of meat you want. I shop each week in large deli style butcher. They have offers on good mince and chicken fillets, fab rib beef for casseroles. Hugh choice of meat so it can be great to have a note/list of what you want for the week. I love the fact that I can buy all my meat in the one shop and get home and put away quickly. I cannot stand being in a busy supermarket queue with chilled goods warming up in my trolley:) However, I do buy rashers, sausages, sometimes white pudding, sometimes their lean mince beef, chicken thighs for casseroles, their premium Dulano cooked ham very good in Lidl, no problems at all....

I go to my local Lidl when it is very quiet one morning early in the week, bliss.... Not everyone can do this I know. Agree that I hate it when it is busy and full of loons.:D

hsi

In castlebar Aldi and Tesco are beside each other. 2 min walk. So we go to Aldi 1st and the get otherstuff from Tesco.

You have to shop around. Some stuff in Aldi is cheaper and better than Tesco. Bought 2 PC's from Aldi over the last 7 years and found them great (using my Medion now).

Babies nappys in Aldi would not recommend. Fruit/Veg is better than tesco. Meat is Irish. Milk better than tesco and cheaper.

Shop and compare.

Pinnacle

Anyone know if aldi sell hummus?

Remember having it in America and nearly certain my sister got it from there

funnygirl2009

love aldi, took me a few months to change to aldi from dunnes, was spending 110euro in dunnes weekly for 2 adults and 2 dogs, now its 2 adults, one 18mnth old, and 2 dogs and its between 60/80 per week depending what i need.

i get my nappies in sainsburys still, as use their own brand, they are super and big. did use aldi nappies when she was in smaller size, but they biggest nappy is a size 5 where my little girl needs 5+

love aldi jive bars, like twix. bread, fruit, yougurts, mince, bacon, sausage,eggs cheese, they have a carton of passata, sieved tomatos and they are love in bolgense where i use to use only dolmino and then carton is about 40/50c

buy there fire logs, cleaning stuff, dog food, beans and cereals.

only tink i go to dunnes for now is shampoo.conditioners,shower gels and razors

nesbitt

funnygirl2009 wrote: »

spending 110euro in dunnes weekly for 2 adults and 2 dogs, now its 2 adults, one 18mnth old, and 2 dogs and its between 60/80 per week depending what i need.

I am shopping for a family and my savings on average was 50 to 60 euro per week on grocery shopping when I switched from Tesco/Dunnes to Lidl. My spending power is greater though! I can buy far more for less money and I am not compromised on quality. Also one other important point about shopping in either Aldi or Lidl is that you can get your shop done in far less time.... I just want the best value so I do not have to do headwreck comparisons on multiple different versions of the one product like I had to do in Tesco or Dunnes. This is a real bonus for me as I find grocery shopping tedious and annoying.

biddywiddy

I love Lidl and Aldi and do 90% of my shopping between them. I pick up some of the offers in Super Valu as it's right beside me, and then some branded items in Tesco about once a month.

Aldi:
baking supplies - flour, seeds, sugars, spices, dried fruit, almonds (I heard/read somewhere that their flour is made by Odlums?)
chocolate (they have a "rich milk" chocolate with 64% cocoa, great for baking)
tinned mixed beans and chickpeas
tinned coconut milk
ziploc bags
parchment paper
free range chickens (great price and they are good quality)
specially selected steaks - the fillet and ribeye steaks are really great.
free range eggs
oats
the super saver fruit & veggies - great value!
sausages - high % pork
ice-cream
olive oil
pasta - they do wholewheat penne and spaghetti
tea (mc grath's) & coffee (specially selected java)
frozen vegetables (broccoli)


Lidl:
baking supplies - flour, caster sugar, icing sugar, ground nuts
chocolate
greek yoghurt - this stuff is to die for
cat litter
skim milk (uht)
creme fraiche
smoked salmon
free range eggs
oats
cheese
tinned tomatoes and tomato puree
passata
herbs
honey
wafer sliced ham/turkey/chicken - no added water!
non-bio washing powder
antibacterial washing up liquid (the orange stuff (only) is great! Aldi wash-up liquid is crap)
dish sponges/scourers/cloths
frozen vegetables (mixed veg, peas)

I don't like the mince beef from Lidl, but the frozen leg of lamb is good quality. Frozen plain fish fillets from both stores are a great freezer standby. If either store would start stocking strong white & brown flour, my life would be complete!

Loopy

Eviledna wrote: »

I get the majority of my shopping in Aldi. I bake with their ingredients. I clean with their solutions. But I always buy ariel excel gel for the clothes as I've found aldi stuff leaves a residue.

Recommended Aldi products:

Tinned PLUM tomatoes, not chopped, far superior for only 45c
Barrel Bread
Fruit of all types
Veggies of all types
Free range chicken breasts are massive for only 3.99
Free range chicken gorgeous for 5.99
Angus mince is lovely, as are the steaks, lean and tasty.
Dusted lemon sole, frozen, 2.49.
Specially selected carlos frozen pizzas kick goodfellas ass!
Sugar/eggs/oil/butter/nuts all for baking.
Cheese all lovely, especially the little chilli brie for ~1.50, yum with their wheaten crackers!
Pork products all great, rashers red pack smoked are lovely.
Jarred peppers and sundried tomatoes are great and so handy.
Spices and condiments are also brillo.
Baking paper, freezer bags, sandwich bags, tin foil all cheaper and great.
Pasta sauces especially arribiata.
Frozen fish and prawns great.
Dog food great (well so my little terrier says!:))
Bleach is bleach for 79c
Specially selected range usually fantastic at pretty much everything.

Thanks!
I buy a lot of this stuff and was just about to write out my shopping list.
Gonna print this now

corblimey

Tks, Eviledna for the list, there's a few on that list I need this weekend. So far, my experiment has gone well, I've found about half my list from last weekend was cheaper (and as good as, if not better) than Tesco.

For me, the problem with the fruit and veg in Aldi is that it's all prepacked, I don't need a kilo of carrots, I need 3. I don't need 5 stone of potato, I need half a dozen, so it looks like it'll be Tesco for them for the moment. Also, there's a few branded items I just can't do without, mccain oven chips and doritos.

But so far, so good. Another few shops like this and I should be able to afford biscuits again

BTW, I agree on the steak, although it does turn out more expensive than the cuts I was getting in Tesco, it's worth the extra few pennies

Honey-ec

corblimey wrote: »

there's a few branded items I just can't do without, mccain oven chips and doritos.

Seriously, the Aldi tortilla chips are just as good as Doritos, give them a go. And I will admit that I'm not the world's biggest chip eater, but Aldi's oven chips are lovely too - they even do a "Specially Selected" version, which is their equivalent of Tesco Finest.

And to the poster who asked if Aldi do hummous - they do, but like most commercial versions, it's not great. Instead, just buy yourself the ingredients (they carry everything you need) and make your own. It takes about three minutes and it's so, so worth it.

curly from cork

I agree with the tortilla chips and frozen chips recommendations , or your money back !! :)

nesbitt

This is my Lidl good buys...:)

All veg especially their organic range great quality and value.
Porcini mushrooms (dried) 1.49
Strawberries always 1.99
Blueberries
Lemons bag of 3 @ .59c
Limes bag of 3 @ .79c

Dairy

Creme Fresh (spelling) excellent...
Mozzarella grated by the bag for pizza @ 1.49
Mozzarella (ball) @ 0.99c
Edam/Gouda sliced
Champion Butter @ 1.95
Whipping cream btl with screw top
Double cream btl with screw top
Greek Yogurt (lovely) 1L tub! think its 2 euro
Fruit puree yogurt - grand
Vanilla yogurt - grand
Natural yogurt @ 0.69c? - fab

Chilled cooked meat

Salami with black pepper sliced 0.99c
Chorizo sliced
Chorizo cooking sausage v. good
Premium cooked ham (Dulano) large pack for around 3euro
Dry cured back bacon rashers
Dry cured streaky bacon rashers
Irish Sausages (okay) not loaded with fat or too peppery

Chilled Meat all Bord Bia approved

Chicken Drumsticks - grand
Chicken Thighs - grand
Lean mince Beef okay but prefers butchers

Bakery (baked on premises in my local Lidl)

Fresh baked traditional cob - delicious @1.49
Pastries - yum


Other

Noodles
Organic Pasta
Pasta Sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from Lucca in Italy) excellent
Cream Flour
Self Raising Flour
All baking items -, sugars, nuts, dried fruits etc. - great value
Golden Syrup
Jams - 50% fruit reduced sugar - yum @99c
Chocolate so cheap and lovely for eating and baking
Kids treats/sweets

Bin bags, great quality
cling film
freezer bags - great quality
tin foil

At this stage apart from my weekly butchers shop its Lidl for practically everything except certain favourites I buy in Superquinn as I said earlier in this thread. Cannot give up my Maldon sea salt flakes:) That type of thing...

Anyway for someone like myself who hates the grocery shopping but loves the cooking/eating I have become more than savvy at saving my few bob!:)