A few years ago, Aldi introduced Lobster Bites and Pub-Style Battered Shrimp Bites as limited-time specials. They looked delicious and immediately caught my attention. They consisted of breading covering a mix of seafood and cheese, among other things. They ended up being all right but not as memorable as I’d hoped, being light on the lobster and shrimp, with vibes similar to very bready bite-sized crab cakes.
Fast forward to this week, and Aldi has dropped some similar new appetizers into its limited-time Aldi Find freezer aisle. This time, it’s Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites and Shrimp Queso Bites. Ever the optimist, I picked up a package of each to try.
Fremont Fish Market Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites and Fremont Fish Market Shrimp Queso Bites are both Aldi Finds. That means they’re only in stores for a short time. Each store receives one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone unless Aldi decides to bring them back later. You can’t order these online if they’re sold out at your local store.
These cost $4.99 for an 11-ounce bag at the time of publication. That comes out to about 45 cents per ounce. With three 3-bite servings per package, that’s about $1.66 per serving.
These are products of the U.S.
The packages have directions for cooking these from frozen in either a conventional oven or an air fryer.
To bake in an oven, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place frozen bites in a single layer on a lightly greased foil-lined tray. Bake for 12-14 minutes. For a crunchy finish, turn halfway through cooking. Cook to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Let rest for 1-2 minutes before serving.
To air fry, preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees. Place desired amount of frozen bites in the air fryer in a single layer. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until internal temperature is 145 degrees. Let rest for 1-2 minutes before serving.
I cooked these in my air fryer and they came out hot and crispy after about 10 minutes.
Read on for more information about each variety.
Fremont Fish Market Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites:
Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites ready to serve.
These Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites have lots of gooey cheese inside them. They don’t have the strongest bacon flavor. The scallops are in very small pieces and are hard to find at times, but I am not surprised by that because the Lobster Bites and Pub-Style Battered Shrimp Bites that Aldi has previously sold were also light on actual seafood. If you’re okay with tiny scallop pieces, these bites are good.
Fremont Fish Market Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
The package bears the Marine Stewardship Council seal for certified sustainable seafood. It contains scallops that were wild caught in FAO area 21 in the Northwest Atlantic using the dredge method.
If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain molluscan shellfish (scallops), milk, wheat, and crustacean shellfish (lobster).
This has a lengthy ingredients list that includes some processed ingredients, and it has plenty of calories, fat, and sodium. One 3-bite serving (85 grams) has 230 calories, 10 grams of total fat (13% DV), 4 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), 680 mg of sodium (30% DV), 24 grams of total carbohydrates (9% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 2 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of added sugar (2% DV), and 11 grams of protein.
Fremont Fish Market Shrimp Queso Bites:
Shrimp Queso Bites ready to serve.
These are filled with lots of cheese as well. The shrimp are in small pieces, but they seem larger and easier to find than the scallops in the Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites above. These also have a distinct shrimp/fish flavor. These are pretty good as well, as long as you are okay with the fact that they don’t have huge pieces of shrimp inside.
Fremont Fish Market Shrimp Queso Bites nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
This contains farm-raised shrimp and bears the Best Aquaculture Practices seal.
If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain crustacean shellfish (shrimp, lobster), milk, and wheat.
This includes some processed ingredients in its lengthy ingredients list, and it has its share of calories, fat, and sodium. One 3-bite serving (85 grams) has 10 grams of total fat (13% DV), 4.5 grams of saturated fat (23% DV), 780 mg of sodium (34% DV), 23 grams of total carbohydrates (8% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 1 gram of total sugar, no added sugar, and 11 grams of protein.
The Verdict:
Fremont Fish Market Cheddar Bacon Scallop Bites and Fremont Fish Market Shrimp Queso Bites feature crispy breading around lots of cheese, seasonings, and small (sometimes very small) pieces of scallops or shrimp. We like these but wish they had a little more seafood.
