Cattlemen’s Ranch Corned Beef Reuben Bites
Aldi pulls out all the stops for St. Patrick’s Day, selling everything you need for a corned beef and cabbage dinner, plus other items such as Irish cream cheesecake, sugar cookies topped with green sprinkles, and a selection of Irish liquor. Then there are the Irish-American-inspired novelties you didn’t even know you needed until you saw them in the store. That’s the case with the Corned Beef Reuben Bites that showed up this year.
Cattlemen’s Ranch Corned Beef Reuben Bites are $7.99 for a 24-oz. package at the time of publication. They are an “uncured corned beef, sauerkraut & pasteurized processed provolone cheese fritter” with dipping sauce included. They’re processed in the U.S. and contain no nitrites or nitrates.
These are an ALDI Find (Special Buy), which means they’re only in stores for a short time, so get them while you can.
They’re obviously a highly processed food with a lengthy ingredient list. The primary ingredient is beef, though. People with allergies should be aware the Reuben Bites contain milk, wheat, soy, and egg. The sauce contains egg.
One 3-oz. serving with 1 1/4 tablespoons of sauce has 240 calories, 13 grams of total fat (17% of your daily value), 4 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), 570 mg of sodium (25% DV), 21 grams of total carbohydrates (8% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 3 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV), and 11 grams of protein.
The Reuben Bites can be prepared in a conventional oven, convection oven, deep fryer, or air fryer.
To bake in a conventional oven, preheat oven to 425 degrees and cook for 10-12 minutes on a baking sheet.
To prepare in a convection oven, preheat to 350 degrees and cook for 8-9 minutes.
To deep fry, preheat oil to 350 degrees and cook for 4-5 minutes.
To air fry, preheat to 390 degrees and cook for 5-6 minutes.
I opted to heat our Reuben Bites in the air fryer we purchased from Aldi last year. They didn’t seem quite hot enough after 6 minutes, so I let them go for another 3 and they were fine. There were no directions for the little packet of dipping sauce, so I set it in a bowl of hot water to thaw while the Reuben Bites were in the air fryer. Just before serving, I poured the sauce into a small bowl and microwaved it for 30 seconds to take the remaining chill off.
I went full St. Patrick’s Day and served these alongside some traditional corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes prepared in my slow cooker. My family likes corned beef and cabbage, and they also instantly loved the Reuben Bites. Even the more picky eaters among gobbled them up, including the dipping sauce, and we had no leftovers.
The Reuben Bites are like a Reuben sandwich version of chicken nuggets, and they look a lot like chicken nuggets from the outside, which might explain why the kids in my house liked these so much. They have a satisfying crispy breading, especially when air fried. Inside, the corned beef is the most prominent component of the filling. We saw the processed provolone cheese mixed in with the corned beef, and while we thought there was an adequate amount of cheese, these don’t drip cheese when you bite into them. What we didn’t see or detect much of was the sauerkraut. If I hadn’t read on the package that these contain sauerkraut, I might not know they have it.
The dipping sauce is like a Thousand Island dressing and is fairly smooth in texture, with small bits here and there of the sweet relish listed in the ingredients. Its sweetness nicely complemented the savory beefy Reuben nuggets.
Overall, these were extremely popular in my house, with family members requesting that I buy them again. Since they’re not the healthiest things, I won’t buy them often, but they would make a good once-a-year treat if Aldi decides to bring them back again next year.
The Verdict:
Cattlemen’s Ranch Corned Beef Reuben Bites look like chicken nuggets and contain savory corned beef and processed provolone cheese. The package says they have sauerkraut, too, but we didn’t see much of it. Despite that minor quibble, these were a hit in my household. The Thousand Island-style dipping sauce hits the spot as well. The package even has air fryer instructions, which we don’t typically see on packaged food preparation instructions. Recommended as a fun St. Patrick’s Day-themed seasonal indulgence.
“F” grade for nutrition. Shame.
Best darn thing I have made in my air fryer yet…. I’m not buying my figure, I’m satisfying my appetite!
These are delicious! Not something you want to serve on a regular basis, but a satisfying special treat as an appetizer or party snack.
5 stars love them
Incredibly flavorless, insipid, bland, etc. Were it not for the bag’s label which I know by law cannot falsely identify the contents, we would have had no idea what it was we were eating, we certainly had no idea otherwise. .
I saw these advertised in the weekly ad and made a special trip to Aldi to get them. I love Ruebens and really wanted to like these, but I didn’t. I honestly can’t describe the taste, but it wasn’t Rueben. I can usually eat anything even if I don’t like it. These, I coulden’t finish the ones that I had air fried. I did like the sauce though. I see most of the folks that posted thought they were great, so maybe I got a bad batch.
Thought the taste was good, enjoyed first bite, then gristle and small pieces of bone. Going in the trash!
Bought these on several occasions, the last time they had gristle also! Very disappointed, won’t buy again!
These were horrible, poor quality, so much grissle and fat. Into the garbage!
I am not sure about the bad reviews. I tried these and they are delicious
I noticed more sauerkraut flavor when I tried mine after 5 minutes, but like you I needed extra time. Tried first batch 5 and then flip, 5 more, second batch 5 flip 7 more. Neither was really different.
I’m personally going to skip them, I love reubans, but the end product isn’t great as I can just make a reuban, but if you love pastrami and wanted it in a small bite, this is perfect.
Good review though.
I bought these and cooked them in the air fryer for 5 minutes on each side @ 375 and they were cooked perfectly. I used my own dipping sauce that is made from mayo, ketchup, and sriracha sauce, and they were excellent! I went back and bought 2 more bags since everyone in my family loved them!
I’m not a real picky eater. These are no better than McDonalds’ chicken nuggets. All I tasted was the crust.
Nicely done snack food. Needs more kraut and sauce. I eat them almost daily. I use my freezer at work to store them. The Lancaster ohio store did have lot of them. So I cleaned ed the Canal Winchester out.
you are waiting your money if you buy them they are full of grissel and are nasty I bought 2 bags of them one for me and one for my neighbor and we both had the same feelings about them no good nasty
These were gross. I threw the rest away after 2 bites. As others posted, there is bone and gristle. Not much of any saurkraut. Would never buy again.
I LOVED LOVED loved these and am searching for a way to get them, can’t wait till March!!
They were delicious. I wished I had bought more than one bag. Don’t know where to find them now.