Aldi Vs Costco: Who Has The Better Deal On Frozen Chicken Wings?

Chicken wings are already an affordable, easy-to-cook cut, but for hectic game day parties or throw-together dinners, a bag of frozen wings is always handy. To get the most cluck for your buck, it helps to buy wings from grocers known for great deals, such as Aldi and Costco. We did some math to find out which of these chains sells cheaper house-brand frozen wings, and while the results were close, Costco ultimately triumphed.

First, let's look at Aldi's Kirkwood Frozen Chicken Wings, not to be confused with Costco's Kirkland Signature Chicken Wings, the other product in this showdown. Aldi's meat is so affordable due to its commitment to private labeling, as is the case with these uncooked wings, which cost only $13.15 online for a four-pound bag (or 21 cents per ounce). However, Kirkland Signature Chicken Wings come in a whopping 10-pound bag for $31.77 online. That seems more expensive than Aldi's at a glance, but when you do the math, Costco's wings actually come out to 20 cents per ounce.

Incidentally, fresh chicken wings are some of the best-value cuts of meat to buy at Costco, making the warehouse chain a reliable stop for the cheapest flats and drums. But while Kirkland's product is a slightly cheaper pick over Aldi's for your Super Bowl wing recipes, with prices this close, you may wonder which of the two items is better quality. Examining their ingredients, as well as customer feedback, revealed yet more surprising facts about their value and taste.

Many Costco customers are loyal to the Kirkland Signature brand of frozen chicken wings, praising the way they cook. Positive reviews on Costco's website deem the chicken meaty, juicy, and a great buy for the price. "I put them straight from the bag into the air fryer," one Reddit user wrote. "They seem to always come out delicious." While some have complained of rubbery meat, fans online claim that the wings may not have been cooked long enough. Game-changing tips for air fryer chicken wings can further help you avoid such issues.

That said, this product has also disappointed shoppers in other ways. A common complaint is that some wings are sold broken into pieces, while other customers say they're stingy in size. Likewise, Aldi's Kirkwood wings have earned positive buzz for their value and taste. "We had them the other night [and] couldn't believe how good for that cheap!" one user commented on Facebook. But while some say the wings are nice and meaty, others complain that they're extremely small, even "pigeon size."

Both Aldi and Costco's wings have also been criticized for having feathers still stuck in the meat. Much like their prices, the quality levels of these two products seem similar, but there's another major factor to address: Kirkwood Frozen Chicken Wings have a bit of a sodium problem.

A small 3.5-ounce serving of Aldi's Kirkwood Frozen Chicken Wings contains 320 milligrams of sodium. For context, the American Heart Association recommends a limit of 2,300 milligrams of salt per day for adults, and four servings of these wings (with no extra sauces or seasonings) puts you over half of that limit. Some Aldi shoppers suppose that this is due to the saline solution injected into the chicken. Indeed, according to its own packaging, these Kirkwood frozen wings contain "up to 15% of chicken broth and salt."

Conversely, the frozen Kirkland Signature Chicken Wings contain "up to 8% solution of water and kosher salt," coming out to 200 milligrams of sodium per four-ounce serving. While Costco's wings are not a low-salt food by any means, that's quite a difference from Aldi. Even if you're not concerned about high sodium foods, there's another downside to chicken that contains a high percentage of saline solutions. Soaking or injecting the meat makes it heavier, so if you choose Aldi's wings over Costco's, you're actually paying for more brine than meat per ounce.

This further proves that Kirkland's wings are a better value overall. Of course, both Costco and Aldi's chicken wings are affordable, if a little inconsistent in quality. However, we say Kirkland Signature wins not only for costing less per ounce but giving you more chicken in every wing.