The 9 Most Overrated Aldi Products

Aldi is one of my all-time favorite grocery stores, thanks to its relatively small footprint compared to other grocery stores, its fantastic house-brand products, and its competitive prices. So many of Aldi's reliable pantry staples are worth checking out, whether you're shopping there on a weekly basis for your essentials or you're looking for items to buy during your first trip to Aldi. But that doesn't mean that every single product in its stores is necessarily worth buying. Knowing which are worth seeking out and which are not necessarily all that great is important to ensure that you're getting the best deal while shopping at Aldi.

This list of some of the most overrated Aldi products highlights some of those items you could probably skip without too much fuss. That's not to say that any of these products are downright bad, but these items are generally overhyped, and I don't really think you need to go out of your way to find them. By not buying into that hype, you might be able to leave some of these items out of your cart, save some money, and save some room in your fridge and pantry for worthier items.

Every year, Aldi puts out a list of its fan favorites, which are products that are especially popular amongst its customers. Going through this list, you can identify some of the chain's must-buy products so you can check them out the next time you go shopping at Aldi. But just because a product appears on this list doesn't necessarily mean it's going to blow you away. That's certainly true when it comes to Clancy's Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips, which appeared on Aldi's 2024 Fan Favorites list.

There's nothing particularly wrong with these chips, but they're not really all that exciting, either. They're just basic tortilla chips. Although they do have a nice saltiness to them, I find that they tend to be too thin, which makes them not exactly ideal for dipping into salsa, queso, or guacamole. If you really need tortilla chips and you're already at Aldi, they're worth snagging in a pinch. But you definitely don't need to make a special trip just for this snack — there are much better tortilla chip brands out there.

In 2023, one of the products on Aldi's Fan Favorites list was Friendly Farms Cottage Cheese. That's probably unsurprising, considering how popular cottage cheese has become in the last few years. But if you ask me, not every cottage cheese tastes the same, and choosing the right brand is of the utmost importance if you want your snack or meal to taste rich and creamy instead of thin and watery. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly enjoy Friendly Farms Cottage Cheese. It's passable, sure, but it doesn't have the deliciously creamy saltiness that you find from some other brands.

This is another one of those products that's not necessarily bad, but also isn't anything to get excited about. Perhaps it ended up on Aldi's Fan Favorites list just because people were trying to get in on the cottage cheese trend and Aldi was where they were shopping for groceries anyway. However, cottage cheese brands like Breakstone's and Good Culture are better options if you really want to taste this trendy ingredient at its best.

Don't get me wrong: I absolutely love a quick and easy dessert that takes no prep work and feels fancy enough to serve to guests. And apparently, in 2024, many Aldi shoppers felt the same way, considering Aldi's Bake Shop Cheesecake Sampler landed on the Fan Favorites list for that year. But to me, this cheesecake sampler wasn't particularly appealing. First of all, you can get this kind of sampler at just about any grocery store, and it'll have roughly the same flavors: New York style, strawberry swirl, turtle, and triple chocolate.

I found that the turtle and triple chocolate slices weren't bad, although they were all exceptionally sweet. However, the New York style cheesecake basically tasted like sugar and nothing else, and the strawberry swirl had almost a medicinal flavor to it. Ideally, all of the flavors in a pack like this would be tasty, with maybe just one miss in the bunch. Head to another grocery store, and you'll be able to find another product that's nearly identical to this one — and there's a good chance that it'll taste better than Aldi's version.

Go down the drinks aisle of your local grocery store, and you'll be met with a slew of prebiotic sodas. They ostensibly appeal to those who want a bubbly, sweet beverage but are looking for something that's at least marginally healthier than, say, a Sprite or a Coke. They've gained a ton of popularity in recent years, with brands like Poppi and Olipop leading the pack. It only makes sense, then, that Aldi would try to get in on the trend with its own name brand product. Enter Summit Popz Prebiotic Sodas, which appeared on Aldi's list of 2025's top products of the year.

For transparency, I'm generally not fond of prebiotic sodas in the first place, but I find that Aldi's Summit Popz are especially unpleasant to drink. They have an artificial flavor to them, with a cloying sweetness that makes every sip feel like a chore. I've only tasted the cranberry flavor, but honestly, it was enough to turn me off of the whole line of products entirely. If you're into this kind of beverage, check out better prebiotic and probiotic drink brands for a more delicious sipping experience.

There have been health rumors going around the internet for a few years now that seed oils are bad for you, leading some consumers to opt for alternative oils to cook with. Perhaps this is one of the reasons we're seeing more avocado oil on store shelves these days. If you take a look at the actual science, though, there's not a lot of evidence to support the claim that seed oils are particularly bad for you. This is why I'm generally not a fan of avocado oil in the first place — you're just spending more money on a specialty oil that isn't much different to cook with than, say, canola oil.

However, some people prefer the flavor of avocado oil, which is perhaps why Simply Nature Avocado Oil made Aldi's Fan Favorites list in 2023. It turns out, though, that despite the bottle's claims that it contained 100% avocado oil, that's actually not the case. A class action lawsuit found that there were undisclosed oils in this product. Whether you're buying this avocado oil for the purported health benefits or just because you think it tastes better than canola oil, you could be getting ripped off.

In the past several years, there's been a rise in interest in Greek yogurt. Some prefer the tangy flavor profile and thicker texture to more sugar-laden yogurt varieties. But if you ask me, this is another one of those foods that can taste very different when you purchase it from different brands. Although Aldi's Specially Selected Indulgent Greek Yogurt landed on the Fan Favorite list on 2022, it's still not one of my favorite products.

I found this yogurt was lacking in the tanginess department, which is a big reason for choosing Greek yogurt over other varieties. It's also somewhat thin, which makes for a less-than-ideal texture, whether you're eating it on its own or mixing it into different recipes. Luckily, there are plenty of other, better Greek yogurt brands out there to choose, many of which offer a more intense tanginess and richer texture.

For those who love snacking but are trying to cut down on the amount of carbs they eat, cheese crisps are a solid option. They typically have all the salty savoriness of your favorite carb-y snacks, but with a more interesting, umami flavor profile. I love cheese crisps, and apparently, I'm not alone, judging by the fact that Savoritz Cheddar Cheese Crisps are one of Aldi's products of the year for 2025.

Admittedly, I think these crisps are solid, and they have a nice saltiness to them. However, I don't think they even come close to the deliciousness that the Parmesan version of the snack offers (which made the Aldi 2025 Products of the Year list as well). While the Parmesan crisps have that bold, intense umami quality to them, you get more of a mild, fresh dairy flavor (instead of an expected sharp cheddar note) with the cheddar cheese variety that falls a bit flat due to its lack of intensity. After a few bites, they taste flavorless, which isn't ideal unless you're looking for a particularly bland snack. You can try them both out if you're interested in how they stack up against one another, but if you prefer a more complex flavor profile, then there's a good chance you'll be a bigger fan of the Parmesan variety.

These days, you can go to the grocery store and find a seemingly endless array of different plant-based milks to choose from. From soy milk to oat milk to even less-common varieties like macadamia nut milk, there's something for just about everyone. Almond milk tends to be a popular option for many, since it's pretty low in calories, and you can snag yourself a carton of Friendly Farms Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk at your local Aldi store.

This product made the 2020 Fan Favorites list, but I don't think it's anything particularly special. It just tastes like regular almond milk to me, and it's not nearly as fresh-tasting as other almond milk brands out there. It tastes more watery than other plant milks I've tried in the past, with a strange saltiness that tastes out of place in most applications. This is another one of those products that's fine to pick up if you're already at Aldi and you need to stock your fridge, but you can certainly find better almond milk elsewhere.

Aldi has a pretty fantastic alcohol selection if you're trying to drink on a budget. But since many of these offerings are so cheap, you need to know the Aldi alcohol items to buy and which to skip. Unfortunately, I have to put Belletti Sparkling Moscato Rose in the latter category. Despite the fact that it was an Aldi 2023 Fan Favorite, I really don't think it's worth picking up a bottle of this stuff.

If you have experience with moscato, then there's a good chance you won't like this fizzy drink. It tastes more like a wine-infused beverage rather than genuine wine, and it has a lemonade-like quality to it that makes it taste cheap. It's also quite sweet, so if you're the kind of person who prefers dry wine, then it may taste overwhelming to you. That's not to say that there aren't customers out there who will find this beverage delicious, but I think there are definitely much better ways to spend your booze budget at Aldi.

All the items that appear on this roundup of overhyped Aldi products were popular among die-hard Aldi customers recently. Either they landed on the company's Fan Favorites list sometime in the last few years, or they wound up on a list of the top products of the year, which indicates that they're highly rated. I determined that these selections were overrated based on my personal experience trying them. They're either not remarkable for their category (and there are other brands that offer better flavor, texture, and so on), they just don't taste very good on their own regardless of comparisons, or they are falsely advertised.