Not long ago, my family tried cheese blintzes for the first time. We spotted them in the freezer section at Aldi’s cousin, Trader Joe’s, and brought home a box. The crepes with a cottage cheese-based filling were a hit, and so when I saw Aldi selling cheese blintzes as a limited-time special, I picked up some of those, too.
Wikipedia states that a blintz is a “popular traditional Jewish cigar-shaped filled pancake similar to crepe of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, that is commonly filled with farmer’s cheese or fruit, and is traditionally served for Shavuot, and less commonly for Chanukah, and other Jewish holidays.”
Golden Cheese Blintzes cost $3.49 at the time of publication for a 13-oz. box containing six crepes. They cost the same per box as the Trader Joe’s blintzes, although the Trader Joe’s box is slightly larger at 13.5 ounces. These blintzes are found in the frozen section at Aldi, and they are an Aldi Find (Special Buy), which means once they sell out, they’re gone.
These blintzes are advertised as being made with “100% real cheese” with no preservatives or artificial colors. They’re manufactured by Old Fashioned Kitchen Inc., which is based in Lakewood, New Jersey, and sells a variety of blintzes, potato pancakes, crepes, and pierogies. Their website states that all of their products are kosher, and production is supervised by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation of America.
Old Fashioned Kitchen’s products are not exclusive to Aldi, and they can be found at retailers throughout the U.S., including Kroger, Marsh, Safeway, Wegmans, Price Chopper, ShopRite, H.E.B., Albertson’s, Publix, Winn Dixie, Harris Teeter, and many more.
Ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
Like most cheese blintzes, these contain a cottage cheese filling. If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain wheat, eggs, milk, and soy.
Nutrition information. (Click to enlarge.)
One serving consists of one cheese blintz, which nets you 80 calories, 2 grams of total fat (3% DV), 0.5 grams of saturated fat (3% DV), 135 mg of sodium (5% DV), 13 grams of carbohydrates (4% DV), and 5 grams of sugars.
The cheese blintzes can be prepared in a skillet or in a conventional or toaster oven.
To heat them in the skillet, heat an ample amount of cooking oil, margarine, or butter to cover the surface. Add the frozen blintzes. Over medium heat, lightly brown each side, turning occasionally.
To heat in a conventional or toaster oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the frozen blintzes on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the blintzes over and bake for an additional 3 minutes.
The box suggests serving these with sour cream, fruit preserves, or fresh fruit if desired.
These cooked up crisp in our skillet, and we topped them with fruit and whipped topping. We found them to have a slightly less sweet taste compared to Trader Joe’s cheese blintzes. That was not a bad thing, just different, and everyone in our family liked the Aldi cheese blintzes.
The Verdict:
Golden Cheese Blintzes, which can be found at other national retailers, are a satisfying treat. They are not as sweet as the cheese blintzes that Trader Joe’s sells, but they are still good. I’ll probably buy these again the next time they show up in Aldi stores.
My Jewish grandmother made blintzes from scratch, which included the wrap. Nothing like it.
She was a chef to us, but to she cooked just about everything herself because the when she migrated to this country from Russia, she (and her spouse-to-be) were dirt-poor. Even when the family wasn’t poor in later years, she continued to cook everything. You could smell her chicken soup around the block!
I have been buying Goldens cheese blinds for along time, but the new recipe with flakes crepes have turned me off. Blinds are not supposed to be flakey. The do not brown and when you try to turn them over they call apart, the final result is cheese with crepe mess on the plate that I would not serve to anyone.
I agree with everything you’ve said, Patricia. At first, I thought they were stale, but the last four purchases were as you described. Really disappointed with the new product.
I’ve had some like this. They shouldn’t be like that. I think they have defrosted and froze again. I wrote them and they sent me coupons.
I made the potato blintzes twice, following package directions carefully. They flaked and fell apart. I tried calling Old Fashioned Kitchens.com, mentioned on the package. They say they only deal with the kosher issues. I can’t seem to reach Goldens. Any suggestions? Thank you.
I also was told the same when I reached out to Old Fashioned Kitchens. When I googled “who manufactures Golden Blintzes?”, it came up with Old Fashioned Kitchens. Something is not “Kosher here”. It is not the same recipe they used 15 years ago; now they are dry and taste stale.