7 Aldi Summer Fruits To Buy And 2 To Skip

As the temperatures rise, you might feel compelled to cool off with a refreshing fruit. Luckily, there are loads of scrumptious fruits that are seasonally available at Aldi this time of year, and I wanted to try a few out. I consulted the U.S. Department of Agriculture seasonal produce guide as my baseline on what to get and what's considered a summer-specific fruit. I was also limited by what my specific Aldi carries, but even so, I found nine fruits to test out.

If it was tasty, had a pleasant texture, and was generally good value, I considered it worth purchasing. However, if it had any kind of problem, it was deemed better to avoid. Aldi conveniently has a lot of great items, and fruit is one of the best things to buy at the grocery chain instead of Costco, according to loyal customers – for the most part, I agree! After reading through my taste test, you'll understand what you should stock up on and what you can conveniently walk past.

Aldi has multiple apples on deck, but I went with the Cosmic Crisp ones. When you want an apple that offers a thoroughly crisp texture as you bite into it (similar to Honeycrisp), then don't miss out on Cosmic Crisp. They really live up to their name. It's not just a fruit either; it's a science experiment 20 years in the making as part of research at Washington State University. This fruit is a cross between Enterprise and Honeycrisp, resulting in a super juicy, crunchy apple. 

The apple variety comes in 2-pound bags, so you can choose the one that works best for you or your family. For example, I picked out a bag with four large apples because that's easier for my family to cut up and eat, but you could find one with more apples in smaller sizes. This type of apple works quite nicely sliced into wedges and paired with peanut butter or your favorite nut butter. The crunchiness is its claim to fame, so I'd avoid baking with it. If you spot these at your local Aldi, make sure to pick up a bag — they're one of the grocery chain's best apple offerings.

Cherries are one of my favorite fruits, but they are among the hardest to find, at least in my area. Unlike classics like strawberries and bananas, which I can buy year-round, I'm forced to buy my beloved cherries only in the summer months. And when I do find the red, round fruit, they're always pretty expensive. These Aldi ones are in that camp. They are priced per pound, and although there's some variation in weight, mine was around 2 pounds. That means you have to be dedicated to eating a couple of pounds of them before they go bad. 

As much as I love cherries, I'm not fond of the price, so I typically try to find the best deal when I buy them — sometimes a grocery store might have them on offer, but you have to really keep your eyes peeled. I usually buy my summer cherries at Costco, which are sold at a similar, if slightly higher price than Aldi. Therefore, Aldi is a good enough offer, and I don't see anything much cheaper in my area at the time of writing. However, if you find something more affordable, I'd suggest just going that route. That said, I have to get my cherry fix somewhere, and these juicy, sweet Aldi fruits get the job done. They're delightful and truly hit the spot.

I've never had Autumncrisp grapes before, and the texture truly impressed me. Eating them is like experiencing ASMR in real time. It has such a noticeable "pop" as you bite into it. You can hear it and feel it — that makes it a fun and flavorful experience. That said, Autumncrisp isn't too sweet — at least based on the ones I had. It has a muted grape flavor, so it's not my personal favorite grape in terms of taste. (I wish the cotton candy variety had this level of snap!) 

I looked at my box just to check for any smashed or moldy fruits, and it looked impeccable. However, my batch had a mix of smaller grapes and enormous ones nearly the size of an apricot, which you can spot in the photo. Why? No clue. People say these specific ones from Aldi are elite over other places like Kroger, which is a big win. I yearn for a crunchy grape, and these definitely succeed. Other fans say they like to freeze the grapes and eat them that way, freeze them to pop in a glass of wine, mix them with Jell-O powder, or dip them in caramel. These grapes are an experience above all. They'd make a terrific option if you're looking for ways to add flavor and texture to a chicken salad.

Okay, so I have some insights for these organic berries. They looked beautiful when I bought them, but quickly started to deteriorate, so I'd advise eating them rapidly. Don't leave them for more than a couple of days, or they'll turn to mush — ideally, you'd just down them that same day. However, since this isn't an Aldi-specific problem, I can't dock points from the chain. Instead, this is a raspberry — organic raspberry, to be exact — problem.

These are so organic that I found a teensy weensy caterpillar that was the size of the raspberry hair. — if you zoom in on the photo, he's on the third berry on the right in the bottom row on the right-hand side. I'm not docking points for that, though, just noting it. And don't wash them until you're ready to eat them; doing so will transform them into a mashed jam-like substance rather than whole fruits. While these fruits are incredibly red and have a wonderful berry flavor, I have to say that they are a skip for a couple of reasons. 

One is the short lifespan, and two is the price. If you can find the organic raspberries on sale, it might be worth purchasing. Otherwise, get the regular raspberries instead because the price difference is well over $1 for such a small 6-ounce package.

The vibrant red organic strawberries look picture perfect, as though someone just picked them that day, rubbed them to make them shiny, placed them in a plastic clamshell, and handed them to me. Most of the fruit looks deep red, which I take as a signal of its sweetness. Only a few had slightly whiter tops, but otherwise this was a stunning batch. I mean, granted, I looked at the carton and found the best one before buying, but I reckon that most people do that. 

These lasted a bit longer than the raspberries I bought and are considerably sturdier if you plan to pack them in a lunch or take them as a snack at an outing. However, they are already quite ripe, so I wouldn't suggest leaving them too long before eating them. Aldi also offers non-organic strawberries, but the price difference isn't enormous; therefore, getting the organic ones doesn't feel like much of a splurge. These organic ones are worth buying, unlike the organic raspberries.

Like several other fruits on this list, the D'Anjou pears took a few days to ripen. They don't change color when they're ripe and ready to eat, which makes them unlike other fruits and other pear varieties. If you aren't privy to D'Anjou pears' ripening cycle, you might have eaten them too soon — which might contribute to some of their poor reviews online. I tried one when I picked them up to get a baseline, and while edible, the pear was very firm, crisp, not too juicy, and not very sweet. 

However, if you plan to make poached pears, a slightly unripe fruit is actually the way to go to ensure it doesn't turn to mush. After ripening for a few days, they were a juicy, sweet delight. It looked the same, but they were considerably more delicate. I should note, though, that I really had to look through the bags to find the best one; some were smashed, and others had noticeable moldy fruit. The price for the bag seems pretty aligned with other grocery stores near me, so this is still worth purchasing.

Bananas are on the list of produce items from Aldi to avoid because they stay green for way too long. Usually, in stores, you can find a variety to empower you to purchase something that may ripen in a couple of days or something to eat that day. My bananas took three days before they were ready to eat (and for context, this photo was taken on day five). I usually buy bananas because I want my family to eat them right away — I'd consider it a daily fruit purely because of its affordability. But this banana takes a bit of planning.

Certain fruits are worth waiting for — like avocado, since you may want to use it for dinner in two days' time — but banana isn't one of them, since they are so readily available. Plus, I want to add it to yogurt bowls, snack on one whole, or pop it into a smoothie without waiting days for the best results. It's true that many recipes work really nicely with green bananas, especially if you prefer a fruit that's less sweet; use them in everything from salads to curries. However, if you're looking for a standard banana-eating experience, then grab the fruit elsewhere.

I used everything I learned about picking a juicy watermelon and was surprised by the epic results. I sought out a melon with a yellow spot and a nice hollow drum sound. This Aldi fruit was perfectly ripe and juicy, so much so that it started dripping right as I hacked into it — it's worth noting that I opened it up on day five, so it took some ripening time. I didn't find much variation in size at Aldi, so you'll have to commit to a fairly large melon. But that's kind of a bonus because the fruit has a set price; you may want to buy the biggest one in that case, since it's a better value than a small one.

The Aldi watermelon is a great purchase if you are entertaining guests or have a few friends or family members ready to eat it. Since it was already quite ripe when opened, I wouldn't leave it in the fridge for more than a couple of days after preparing it. You could make watermelon juice for a refreshing outdoor gathering or perhaps grilled watermelon salad with spinach, cotija cheese, and other flavorful additions. I'd definitely recommend this Aldi fruit if you can pick a good one.

Mango is pretty easy to find near me, so I wouldn't consider Aldi the hotspot in town for it. Plenty of stores offer it at a similar price, some even have sales. However, if you don't have many mango prospects near your place, it's worth buying at Aldi — especially if you're already doing your shopping there and don't want to make a separate trip. I waited five days after purchasing to dig into my fruit, and the mango was ripe and ready to enjoy — juicy and ultra-sweet. 

If you're unsure if your mango is ready for consumption, it should be slightly soft to the touch. It should have some give, kind of like when an avocado is ready. You don't necessarily want it to be mushy, but comparing it from day one's firmness to day five's softer malleability made it easy to discern that it was ripe for the picking (so to speak). When I opened it, it was a delight to eat. I like that you can pick your own mangos rather than getting a bag, unlike apples and pears. You're less likely to get duds that way. I'd say mangos are an Aldi buy, but don't stop what you're doing to get one.

I bought all the fruit at once, and while most were ready to eat right away, some needed to ripen. I based what to buy and avoid on how flavorful the fruit was, its texture (firm, mushy, etc.), and its overall value. If the fruit had flavor or texture issues or could be purchased elsewhere at a better price, it was deemed avoidable.

I don't mention exact pricing because it may vary by your location and fruit weight, but I use the price and weight as part of the value. I picked "summer" fruits based on what is typically in season during summer, even though most of the fruit is available year-round in my area.