Whole & Simple Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl + Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl

The Whole & Simple private label at Aldi focuses on healthy convenience meals without processed ingredients or lots of additives. Year round, you’ll find items such as Whole & Simple chicken quinoa bowls in Southwestern or Mediterranean varieties. At different times of the year, Aldi also rotates wholesome options in a limited-time specials, including Whole & Simple burritos, omelet breakfast bites, and riced cauliflower bowls.

I usually like everything I’ve tried in the Whole & Simple product line at Aldi, so when I spotted some shrimp bowls in the Aldi Find freezer aisle, I got one of each variety to try.

Whole & Simple Shrimp & Asparagus Bowls and Whole & Simple Shrimp & Quinoa Bowls cost $4.49 for a 10-ounce package at the time of publication. The Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl features couscous, organic farro, extra virgin olive oil, and red onions. The Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl features tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, and extra virgin olive oil.

These are Aldi Finds, which means they’re only in stores for a short time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for specials that are not in stock at your local store.

These are both a product of Canada. The packages advertise “nothing artificial whatsoever” and say they contain half a cup of vegetables per serving. These are both solid options if you want a healthy, convenient, quick lunch at work, school, or anywhere. I also found both of them to be pretty filling.

These shrimp bowls can be cooked from frozen in the microwave or in a conventional oven. The packages do not recommend using a toaster oven to cook these. The shrimp in both of these bowls are raw, so it’s important to thoroughly cook them. I opted to microwave both bowls.

To microwave, remove the bowl from the carton. Do not pierce or remove the film. Heat on high for 3 minutes. Peel back the film and stir thoroughly. Replace the film and microwave on high for an additional 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, stir, and let stand for 1-2 minutes before serving. The bowl will be hot, so be careful.

To bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the bowl from the carton. Do not pierce or remove the film. Place the bowl on a baking sheet on the middle oven rack for 25-30 minutes. Halfway through cooking, peel back the film, stir, and replace the film for the remaining cooking time. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, remove the film, and stir thoroughly. Let stand 1-2 minutes before serving.

Read on for more information about each flavor.

Whole & Simple Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl

Whole and Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Bowl nutrition information, ingredients, and cooking directions. (Click to enlarge.)

This contains cooked couscous, asparagus, organic farro, shrimp, extra virgin olive oil, red onions, almonds, salt, honey, sugar, concentrated lemon juice, dijon mustard, black pepper, and turmeric.

If you’re looking out for allergens, the Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl contains wheat, shrimp (shellfish), and almonds (tree nuts).

The Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl has 350 calories per serving, 15 grams of total fat (19% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (13% DV), 790 mg of sodium (34% DV), 43 grams of total carbohydrates (16% DV), and 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV).

Whole & Simple Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl.

The Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl contained a decent amount of shrimp, although not a ton, along with plenty of asparagus, plus lots of tender couscous and a nice amount of farro grains. It’s definitely heaviest on the couscous and asparagus. It doesn’t taste heavily seasoned, but I could make out a hint of lemon flavor.

The asparagus pieces didn’t include many tips (I think I only spotted one or maybe two), which was a bit disappointing because that’s my favorite part of asparagus, but for a frozen meal I thought the texture of the asparagus was okay and not mushy.

This was my least favorite bowl flavor, in part because the skins from the sliced almonds have a slightly tough texture, and I wasn’t always sure if I was eating a tough bit of asparagus or just a bit of almond skin. (I only had one or two tough pieces of asparagus.)

One other observation about the Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl: I often make the boxed couscous varieties with seasoning pouches from Aldi as a quick and easy side dish to many meals, and the couscous in this bowl is different. Aldi boxed couscous has smaller pieces and a much finer texture, while the couscous in this bowl is a larger variety. I liked the couscous, but there are different types of couscous that come from different areas, so just be aware that this might not be what you’re used to.

Whole & Simple Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl

Whole and Simple Shrimp and Quinoa Bowl nutrition information, ingredients, and cooking directions. (Click to enlarge.)

This contains cooked quinoa, shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, sugar, honey, salt, concentrated lemon juice, dijon mustard, dehydrated parsley, spearmint, black pepper, garlic powder, and turmeric.

If you’re looking out for allergens, the Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl contains shrimp (shellfish).

The Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl has 390 calories per serving, 17 grams of total fat (22% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (13% DV), 730 mg of sodium (32% DV), 48 grams of total carbohydrates (17% DV), and 4 grams of added sugars (8% DV).

Whole & Simple Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl.

This Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl contained six shrimp, similar to the number of shrimp in the Shrimp & Asparagus Bowl. The grains are definitely the highlight in these bowls. The Shrimp & Quinoa Bowl has a slightly sweet taste, and with 4 grams of added sugars, I thought it probably would have been fine with a little less sugar. I wasn’t sure about eating cooked cucumber, but the diced cucumber nicely complements the sweet tomato pieces, and overall this has a good Mediterranean-style flavor. The quinoa is also tender, and the whole mix is well seasoned. This was surprisingly good, and I might buy this one again.

The Verdict:

Whole & Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Bowls and Whole & Simple Shrimp and Quinoa Bowls feature individual servings of healthy grains, shrimp, and veggies. If you like quinoa or the larger varieties of couscous, you might consider trying these, especially if you want a quick microwavable meal that won’t destroy your healthy eating goals. Our favorite flavor is the Shrimp & Quinoa.