'They Smell Like Plastic'- The Aldi Freezer Aisle Staple Customers Are Starting To Avoid

Aldi has a wide selection of frozen foods, many of which are in constant rotation. However, frozen vegetables are a freezer staple you can find year-round. While Aldi's frozen green beans were once a highly lauded commodity, lately customers have noticed an unpleasant turn for the worse in product quality. One Redditor noticed a recent change with the green beans that. They said, "All of a sudden they are a noticeably more bright and iridescent color and they smell like plastic or chlorine or something chemical. It's [a] very noticeable and a striking difference from the past."

Responses within the Reddit thread claimed that the green beans didn't just smell off, but tasted off too. "I just ate these green beans last night and the taste was weird to me," said one. "This happened to me! I threw out the bag ... as it tasted funny. I thought I cooked it incorrectly," noted another. Customers surmised that the plastic bag in which the green beans are sold may be responsible for leaching plastic chemicals that affect the taste and smell. Apparently, you can steam Aldi's green beans inside the plastic bag for even more convenience. 

A customer recommended "cooking them the traditional way, on the stove in a pan of water." However, another customer confirmed that steaming or boiling the green beans without the bag produced the same chemical smell and taste. While customers hoped they just got a bad batch, repeat customers said they bought multiple bags on various occasions and had to throw them out. Unfortunately, many customers have decided to give up on the green beans, leaving them in the store freezer instead of risking yet another bad bag.

Customers recommend swapping Aldi's frozen green beans for Walmart's, claiming that they are consistently good and cheap. Another customer raved about the frozen French green beans from Trader Joe's, which they claimed are even cheaper than fresh beans. Tasting Table also ranked Trader Joe's frozen French green beans among the best frozen vegetables the chain has to offer. 

Frozen veggies are generally cheaper than fresh, and they often taste better, especially if you're buying seasonal frozen produce. According to Redditors, Aldi's frozen broccoli bags are a safe bet that you can pick up instead of the green beans. Unfortunately, Aldi's fresh green beans aren't much better; the snipped green beans are one of the seven Aldi produce section items to skip. 

It's worth looking for frozen green beans elsewhere, as they're often better than fresh in many instances. They're certainly the best choice for a green bean casserole. Whether you're boiling, steaming, or air-frying frozen green beans into blistered bliss, they're a staple worth storing.