Home » Features » The 13 Weirdest Products We’ve Ever Seen at Aldi

The 13 Weirdest Products We’ve Ever Seen at Aldi

Aisle of Shame

EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated to add a link to our review of Clancy’s Dill Pickle Popcorn. 

You never know what might show up in the middle aisle at Aldi. Basically, anything you might find in a big box store could potentially pop up at Aldi at any time of year. The discount grocery store sells some incredibly practical things, including cookware, small kitchen appliances such as toasters and air fryers, gardening supplies, clothing, gifts, and even some tools. However, sometimes Aldi sells things that inspire funny memes and make us scratch our heads. Here, we present a list of some of the oddest things we’ve seen Aldi sell over the years.

Keep in mind that most of these products listed here were or are limited-time Aldi Finds, which means they’re only in stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone unless Aldi decides to bring them back at some point. Aldi doesn’t offer online ordering for items that aren’t at your local store, so if you can’t find one of these weird products at your store, you’re out of luck.

Now, without further ado, we present: The 13 Weirdest Things We’ve Ever Seen Aldi Sell.

1. Easy Home Motion-Activated Toilet Bowl Nightlight

Easy Home Motion-Activated LED Toilet Bowl Night Light

Cost: $7.99 in 2018

Thoughts: We found this toilet bowl nightlight at Aldi in 2018, and for only $8, we couldn’t resist. It was fun to see reactions from unsuspecting house guests when they saw the rainbow glow emanating from the toilet in the hall bathroom. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few months before it stopped working, and we received many reader comments stating they had the same problem. Still, it was fun while it lasted. We don’t think these have returned to Aldi since 2018, probably because Aldi realized they were duds.

Full review: here

2. Summer Waves Giant Sprinklers

Summer Waves Giant Dino Sprinkler + Summer Waves Giant Unicorn Sprinkler

Cost: $39.99 in 2020

Thoughts: Introduced in the summer of 2020, this giant sprinkler was sold in unicorn or dinosaur varieties. They hook up to your garden hose and spit water out of their mouths. Our dinosaur sprinkler had a leaky leg, so he never really stood up properly without being propped up by a lawn chair, but he was still a lot of fun for the kids while he lasted. Similar to the toilet bowl nightlight mentioned above, he also made for a fun conversation piece.

Full review: here

3. Welby Squatting Stool

Welby Squatting Stool
The stool in position in our bathroom.

Cost: $16.99 in 2022; we purchased it for $9.99 in 2020

Thoughts: This stool is the Aldi version of a name-brand Squatty Potty, which claims to promote more complete and comfortable bowel movements. You’ve perhaps seen the ads for the Squatty Potty featuring a rainbow-pooping unicorn. You place your feet on this stool while sitting on the toilet, and the idea is that it straightens your colon to provide for a better experience. Some of our family members didn’t like this stool, specifically mentioning that putting their feet up on the stool made the toilet seat uncomfortable to sit on. We’ve heard reports that the name brand offers a more comfortable experience. Still, it was interesting to try the Aldi stool.

Full review: here

4. Bee Happy Giant Plush Masks

Bee Happy Giant Plush Mask
The mask on an adult.

Cost: $12.99 in 2022

Thoughts: Sold in advance of Halloween, these large soft masks cover your entire head and were available in several options, including a cat, unicorn, dinosaur, pumpkin, panda, shark, dog and bunny. We bought the cat mask, and it is hilarious. We may or may not have greeted unsuspecting visiting friends at our front door while wearing this just to see their reactions.

Full review: here

5. Crofton Pancake pan

Crofton Pancake Pan Assortment

Cost: $11.99 in 2022; we purchased it for $9.99 in 2021

Thoughts: This pan added a new element of fun to weekend breakfasts. It’s a guaranteed hit with kids and kids at heart. It’s not what we would have expected to see in the Aldi middle aisle, but we approve!

Full review: here

6. Crofton Microwave Popcorn Maker

Crofton Popcorn Maker

Cost: $4.99 in 2022

Thoughts: This simple kitchen accessory takes you from hard corn kernels to freshly popped popcorn in minutes, all in the microwave. It’s literally just a plastic cup — it looks like a mini trash can — with a small insert for the kernels, and a lid to top it off. Unfortunately, it was hard to make popcorn without scorching it or having it come out chewy. You’re better off making popcorn with a saucepan and some oil. But this popcorn maker gets points for quirkiness.

Full review: here

7. Belmont Strawberry Piñata cake

Belmont Strawberry Pinata Cake

Thoughts: This unique cake was one of the first Aldi products we ever wrote about back in 2016. It featured white cake layered with mousse and strawberry sauce, and it was filled with confetti candy pieces and topped with a hard white chocolate shell. Slicing into this cake was like an instant party with brightly colored candy spilling out everywhere. We’ve never seen it at Aldi again since then.

Full review: here

8. Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Macaroni and Cheese Deli Pizza

Mama Cozzi’s Macaroni & Cheese Take & Bake Pizza

Cost: $5.99 in 2022

Thoughts: Pizza and mac and cheese are two of the more popular comfort foods out there, so why not combine them? This thin crust pizza features a gooey cheese sauce along with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses and … that’s right, macaroni noodles. It’s surprisingly good, although not good for you.

Full review: here

9. Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Green Bean Casserole Deli Pizza

Mama Cozzi's Take & Bake Green Bean Casserole Deli Pizza

Cost: $4.79 in 2021

Thoughts: If you thought a mac and cheese pizza was strange, you haven’t seen anything yet. Aldi introduced this green bean casserole pizza in time for Thanksgiving in 2021. After you get over the mental hurdle of eating a Thanksgiving casserole in pizza form, this is actually pretty good. It has a thin crust topped with what tastes like a cheesy green bean casserole with plenty of cheese, a good amount of crispy fried onions, and just enough green beans to make it interesting. The creamy sauce under the toppings tastes like a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and alfredo sauce.

Full review: here

10. Happy Farms Preferred ’80s Smash Hits Cheese Assortment

Happy Farms Preferred '80s Smash Hits Cheese Assortment

Cost: $3.49 each in 2019

Thoughts: For fans of ’80s music, Aldi offered several one-time cheese selections with quirky names, including Wake Me Up Before You Goat Goat, Total Eclipse of the Havarti, Pour Some Gouda on Me, Sweet Cheddar of Mine, Girls Just Wanna Have Fontina, and Billie Goat is My Lover. Someone in the Aldi marketing department had a lot of fun with these.

More information: here

11. Deutsche Küche Pickle Cheese Schupfnudeln

Deutsche Küche Pickle Cheese Schupfnudeln

Cost: $4.29 in the fall of 2022

Thoughts: Sold alongside various German foods during Aldi’s twice-annual German week, these are a type of potato dumpling (similar to gnocchi) also called fingernudel (because they’re finger-shaped). They can be served with a savory sauce with butter and sauerkraut, or they can be served sweet with sugar and cinnamon. Or, as Aldi demonstrates, they can be served in a dill pickle-flavored sauce. Pickles are popular in German cuisine, but this seems like an unusual pairing. As one commenter on reddit stated, it sounds like something a pregnant person would have cravings for.

Full review: here

12. Clancy’s Dill Pickle Popcorn

Clancy's Dill Pickle Flavor Popcorn

Thoughts: We like pickles, and we like popcorn, but we were not sure about pickle-flavored popcorn. We finally tried this when it was in stores recently. It doesn’t have as strong of a dill flavor as we expected, but it’s not bad.

Full review: here

13. Park Street Deli Dessert Hummus

Aldi dessert hummus

Thoughts: As popular as hummus is these days, it’s a challenge to get our family members to eat regular hummus, let alone dessert-flavored hummus. Aldi sells several varieties ranging from brownie batter-flavored hummus to seasonal salted caramel or pumpkin pie hummus. We’re sure some people love these, but we haven’t been able to bring ourselves to try them yet.


What’s the weirdest product you’ve ever seen at Aldi? And did you actually buy it? Let us know in the comments below. 

Related Posts

6 Comments

  1. Always enjoy reading your reviews! As we now live in an area where we rely on Aldi heavily, we are becoming more wary about the middle aisle products as well as have begun reading food labels very carefully.

    So much of their food is loaded with sodium and saturated fats like palm oil, which is extremely unhealthy (but inexpensive). There are plenty of things we do like though, such as their plain frozen veggies, cheeses, OJ, dry pastas, crackers, salad dressings, and so on. Other stuff not so much (quick cook brown rice was not good, Clancy kettle chips disgustingly greasy, Mama Cozzi pizza crusts like cardboard).

    The few middle aisle items we’ve bought have either stopped working (solar garden lantern, no reply from their customer service email) or are not as advertised (holiday tablecloth was a full 11 inches shorter in length – before washing – than labeled). Returning stuff is a hassle as our Aldi is 20 miles away.

    I guess the conclusion is buyer beware, read labels, and be prepared to return stuff, so keep receipts!

    1. Use chicken broth to cook the quick brown rice. It will taste so much better. If you use water it will taste like cardboard lol. Great review.

  2. Just like every other grocery store. You try a product and if family does not like you don’t buy again. The advantages and price of their other products especially the fresh produce outweighs the negative. Some things I can’t get there but it is my first stop.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *