Every time a new Aldi ad rolls out with different ALDI Find (Special Buy) products, it feels a little bit like Christmas. I enjoy the variety of items the store offers. Some Special Buy food items are good enough that — if they can be stored in my freezer or will last a while in my pantry — I buy a few extra every time they show up in the store.
It’s always good to stock up on these kinds of products if you like them because Aldi only sells them once a year, or a few times a year at most. You can’t order them online, and none of us knows exactly if or when they will be back at Aldi stores. Read more about how Aldi’s limited-time ALDI Finds (Special Buys) work at this link and this link.
Here are 17 ALDI Find (Special Buy) products I love to stock up on:
1. Tuscan Garden Tortilla Strips
Thoughts: These crunchy salad toppings are fun. They show up in stores a few times a year, and I sometimes buy half a dozen bags. I stash extra things like this on shelves in my laundry room that serve as my pantry overflow storage area.
2. Appetitos Southwestern rolls
Thoughts: These are like egg rolls but with a southwestern flair, and they show up once or twice a year at Aldi among the frozen foods. They include ingredients such as corn, beans, and spices. My family likes to dip them in Ranch dressing.
Full review: here
3. Fusia Chinese Food
Thoughts: Aldi has several good Regular Buy frozen Chinese options such as egg rolls and chicken entrees that are always in stores, but a few times a year Aldi rolls out goodies such as pot stickers, crab rangoon, specialty egg rolls, and additional entrees. I often buy extra of everything and store it in my deep freezer for nights when I need to make easy dinners.
4. Journey to India Samosas
Thoughts: My family likes Indian food, and you can buy jarred sauces like Tikka Masala year-round as Regular Buys at Aldi, but these samosas show up in the frozen foods section only a few times a year. They are a little on the spicy side (it’s Indian food, after all), but they are so good.
Full review: here
5. Fresh Pumpkins
Thoughts: Every fall, my local Aldi sells good-sized pumpkins for about $2.50. Aldi also usually sells bags of mini gourds and mini pumpkins each fall. These are great ways to decorate without breaking your budget, and the pumpkins I buy from Aldi last several weeks on my porch. You can almost never have too many pumpkins, especially if you’re carving them with multiple children. I toss them in a back corner of my yard to decompose at the end of the season, and sometimes they surprise me and sprout new pumpkin vines the following summer.
6. Specially Selected Pumpkin Cake Rolls
Thoughts: These cake-and-cream-cheese desserts appear at Aldi every fall, and they. are. wonderful. Look for them in the freezer section. These are actually classified as a Seasonal Favorite, which means they are in stores for slightly longer than an ALDI Find (Special Buy), and they can usually be found through the months of October and November.
Full review: here
7. Benner Tea Co. Holiday Teas
Thoughts: Some years — but not every year — around Christmas time, Aldi sometimes sells a few special tea flavors: Candy Cane Herbal Tea, Cinnamon Spice Herbal Tea, and Chai Tea. I drink tea every morning and am a sucker for Christmas-themed flavors, so I always buy one of each flavor. People often contact us and ask where they can buy this tea. If it’s not in Aldi stores currently, you can’t buy it. And please don’t ask if you can order it from us because we’re not Aldi.
Full review: here
8. Diana’s Bananas Banana Babies
Thoughts: These are a summer Special Buy at Aldi, but they aren’t limited to Aldi stores. Target and several of my local grocery stores also sell them. But they’re a good deal at Aldi, and they’re a nice healthier frozen treat.
Full review: here
9. Specially Selected Crab Cakes
Thoughts: These are available in Boardwalk style (with bell peppers and onions) and Maryland style (without the extra veggies). Both are excellent and feature plenty of crab and not just an overabundance of breading. Look for them in the freezer section.
Full review: here
10. Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen Dip-N-Strips
Thoughts: Maybe it’s because I’ve always loved Papa John’s garlic butter sauce, but I really like these pizzas and like to pick up a few for my deep freezer when I see them at Aldi. They break or slice up into strips of pizza that you can dip in garlic butter or marinara sauce.
Full review: here
11. Mama Cozzi’s Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza
Thoughts: Because who doesn’t like stuffed crust pizza?
Full review: here
12. Baker’s Corner Funnel Cake Pitcher and Mix
Thoughts: It’s not that hard to make funnel cakes at home if you buy this kit that Aldi sells during the summer. As an added bonus, the yellow pitcher the cake mix comes in can be reused as a watering can or children’s bath toy. I also like the Baker’s Corner Elephant Ear Mix, but it’s a bit more complicated to make.
Full review: here
13. Specially Selected Lobster Mac and Cheese
Thoughts: This frozen entree shows up from time to time at Aldi. It’s a bit pricier, but if you’re a fan of lobster and of macaroni and cheese, you’ll probably appreciate this. I also like its close cousin, the Specially Selected Shrimp and Lobster Bake.
Full review: here
14. Specially Selected Assorted Macarons
Thoughts: These delicate handmade French macarons come frozen and include a variety of flavors: raspberry, vanilla, pistachio, salted caramel, lemon, and chocolate. They are indistinguishable in terms of quality from Trader Joe’s macarons, although the flavors vary some. Macarons are always a bit pricey, but you will rarely find them cheaper anywhere besides Aldi. These are good for stashing in my deep freezer.
Full review: here
15. Season’s Choice Gourmet Onion Rings
Thoughts: These onion rings are made with whole sliced onions, like what you might get at a restaurant. They can be baked in an oven and turn out fine (I bake them on the longer side of the recommended time range to get them good and crisp, but be careful not to burn them), but if you fry these up in a deep fryer (Aldi sometimes sells deep fryers) they’ll taste just like what you get in restaurants, for a fraction of the cost.
Full review: here
16. Seasonal Scented Source Liquid Hand Soap
Thoughts: Over the years, during the summer, I’ve picked up fun scents such as Coconut, Sangria, and Mango. In the fall, Aldi sometimes sells Pumpkin Spice and Apple Cinnamon hand soaps. A year ago, I bought a Christmas gift pack of hand soaps that included Lemon Mint Leaf, Lychee Berry, Valencia Orange and Hibiscus, and Coconut Splash. Because Aldi is a limited-inventory store, I get excited when I have more than the standard two boring-but-reliable choices in hand soap scents.
17. Seasonal Scented Radiance Dish Soap
Thoughts: Aldi sells just three kinds of liquid dish soaps: original (with a fresh scent) and two types of antibacterial (your choice of citrus or apple scents). Again, it’s kind of boring for me as a consumer, but I stick with the Aldi products because they’re a bargain. However, during the fall, the store sometimes sells Pumpkin Spice and Apple Cinnamon dish soaps. During the Christmas season, Candy Cane dish soap and other holiday scents hit the shelves. During the summer, I can sometimes buy Pomegranate, Lemongrass, or Sangria dish soaps. I hoard them so they last me through the entire season.
What are your favorite ALDI Finds (Special Buys)?
I buy inexpensive shampoo with added conditioner and use that for hand soap – I like it better and it is much more economical.
I LOVE ALDI shop there weekly.. Great price good selection.
I tried ALDI’s special buy “Journey to Spain” Paella Meal Kit where all you do is add your choice of meat (chicken, shrimp, sausage, etc.) to the included rice/vegetable and seasoning mix and it was so good I went back to the store and bought every one of their remaining inventory of this item. I prepared with a combination of chicken and sausage and the whole family loved it! I sure hope ALDI chooses to bring this specific item back again and considers offering on an everyday basis.
I’ll have to look for that kit next time it’s in stores. Sounds good!