If you walk into an Aldi and things start to smell a little fishy, don't get overwhelmed!
Here's our foolproof guide for which seafood to buy and which ones to completely avoid.
Aldi has fresh fish, and you don't want to miss out on it. You can even find some
that are pre-seasoned, like Atlantic salmon with Mediterranean herbs or fresh tilapia
with garlic herbs. Fresh salmon is an especially popular choice, and if the quantities available
are a bit too much for your purposes, you can always divide them up and freeze some for later.
Aldi's fresh fish comes in vacuum-sealed packaging, and it's never been frozen.
Removing all the oxygen with that vacuum sealing keeps the fish as fresh and bacteria-free as
possible through the expiration date. You should be sure to keep it refrigerated below 38 degrees
Fahrenheit to avoid cultivating the bacteria that causes botulism. Even if you live inland, you can
trust the quality of Aldi's fresh fish as long as you keep it cold. And if you pay close attention,
you can find some really good deals on fresh fish as they approach their expiration date.
Not every battered fish plank in the frozen food section is a winner,
although the Fremont Fish Market wild-caught beer battered cod fillets at Aldi are a
fan favorite. When compared to a brand like Gorton's, they taste and look pretty similar,
and they're about the same price. So there's no reason to make a side quest
to another store for Gorton's when you can get the same quality at Aldi.
Unlike many other items at Aldi, the cod fillets can be found year-round. So they
can easily become a staple in your freezer for those nights when you're in the mood for
some fish and chips. The only negative is that there are only four to five fillets per package,
and it takes 22 to 24 minutes to cook them. But they're still totally worth it!
Aldi's wild-caught ahi tuna steaks come skinless and in individual vacuum-sealed packages within
a larger resealable bag. Since they're "sushi quality," they should theoretically be safe
to eat raw or medium rare. However, it's important to note that there aren't any
regulations behind the "sushi-grade" label. So to stay safe and healthy,
you should follow the directions on the package for thawing very carefully.
Allowing it to thaw for about 12 hours in the fridge should be long enough to unfreeze it.
Social media users are over the moon for these ahi tuna steaks. As one fan declared on Reddit,
"The quality isn’t up with what I get from the local Japanese markets [in the] Chicago
area but it’s also not [40 dollars per pound], so [it's] a trade off we’re willing to make!"
And another Redditor noted,
"It's definitely very affordable and delicious for what it is."
"Definitely a buy."
Herring isn't very common in American cuisine, so it's understandable if you're a little hesitant to
try it. It has a robust, rich flavor that makes it the steak of the sea. Plus, it's not overly fishy.
When Aldi celebrates German week each year, you'll want to look for their Deutsche Kuche
herring fillets in the Aldi Finds section. They come with your choice of three different sauces:
curry pineapple, tomato, or mango pepper. If you like them as much as we do,
you'll end up buying every one they have in stock — they're that good.
Just warm them up for about a minute in the microwave and they're ready to eat.
The sweet sauces pair perfectly with the herring's
umami flavors. The tomato sauce is a little disappointing, but the pineapple and the
mango balance well with the other flavors so that everything works together perfectly.
You might even find yourself eating the sauces by themselves after you've finished the fish!
If it's not tuna, mackerel, and sardines, you might be wary of a fish in a jar if you're an
American. But pickled fish is a way of life in many other countries, and you might be surprised
how much you like it once you give it a try. Herring is more popular in European spots like the
Netherlands and Germany, so it's not surprising to find it in a German-owned grocery store like Aldi.
It's pretty common to find pickled herring in wine sauce. This particular offering contains both
sugar and vinegar in addition to the wine, so its flavor balances out savory with sweet and sour.
Aldi customers who have tried it tend to get pretty excited once it shows back up
on the shelves. It's commonly enjoyed on a cracker or rye bread with a bit of onion
and maybe some cream cheese. So embrace your inner culinary daredevil and give it a try!
If you don't like the idea of boiling a lobster alive but also don't want to pay
fancy restaurant prices for someone to do it for you, Aldi has a solution. Both
their whole lobsters and the lobster tails have excellent reputations with customers,
and they're reasonably priced. In 2023, customers have reported seeing two lobster
tails on discount for around seven dollars, and a whole cooked lobster for about 11 dollars. You
really can't beat that. One customer who tried the pre-cooked whole lobster noted on Reddit,
"We had them and they were great! We are very picky, too, and we were skeptical."
Another Redditor raved,
"Even my New England born and bred father
gave them his stamp of approval! He was amazed they were frozen and precooked."
If you're planning to add them to a dish, you should know that these
lobsters come soaked in a salty brine, so they will add some extra saltiness
to anything. You can try rinsing them, but some of that salt will still remain.
"Mm, that's a little … salty."
If you've been skipping the frozen jumbo scallops, you're missing out! Just because
they're inexpensive doesn't mean they're not high-quality. When seafood lovers were
discussing Aldi's frozen jumbo scallops on a Reddit thread, one fan admitted,
"I've had many many scallops in my life and these
are within reach of some of the finest I have ever had."
The ingredients don't contain any extra preservatives, so they're what's known
as "dry scallops," which means that they're not as rubbery as some of
the scallops you will find fresh that have been treated with sodium tripolyphosphate.
If you happen to see bacon-wrapped scallops available in the frozen food section,
you won't want to skip those either. Chances are you'll
be back to buy several boxes after you taste them for the first time!
Aldi customers seem to enjoy the smoked salmon well enough. Alas,
it's not quite the greatest deal around, as you could spend as much as 20 dollars per
pound. At that price, you may find smoked salmon cheaper at another grocery store,
but it might just be worth it. Also, for many people, Aldi may be the only grocery store for
miles around that carries smoked salmon at all, making it the only practical option.
This smoked salmon is a little salty and definitely smokey, as you would probably
expect. If you can't justify the price of ordinary smoked salmon, we suggest trying
a flavored version when it's available. In the spring of 2023, Aldi offered Specially Selected
gold-smoked Atlantic salmon in boozy flavors like decadent red wine, old fashioned, and mojito.
"Aldi salmon for the win! What, what!"
Aldi customers get positively giddy when they find flounder in the frozen food section! Flounder is
a mild-tasting fish without the earthy taste of catfish or other similarly mild fish. The lightly
breaded version is seasonal, so you won't find it available year-round. These taste less like frozen
fish fillets and more like the type you'd get at a restaurant. Aldi also sells a non-breaded version
from Fremont Fish Market. If you're lucky, you may also encounter some flavored top-crusted versions.
Aldi has flavored top-crusted flounder that is also seasonal. For instance,
there's a Southwestern-seasoned variety from Specially Selected that's breaded with
breadcrumbs and tortilla chips. There's also one with coconut and another with macadamia
nuts that you can find from time to time. If you stumble across any of these flavored flounder,
you'll want to snatch them up as quickly as possible, as they tend to be pretty popular.
Some of Aldi's frozen shrimp options are better than others. Sometimes,
you'll end up with a bag that's supposed to be peeled and deveined,
only to find peels and veins. Despite that inconsistency, you should keep
an eye out for gulf shrimp. It may be more expensive than Aldi's other shrimp offerings,
but it's absolutely worth buying several bags. Another good option is the EZ peel jumbo shrimp.
You have to clean it yourself, but it doesn't take a lot of work, and the flavor is fresh.
Another popular choice is the frozen cocktail shrimp ring, which comes with a cocktail sauce
that thaws out with the shrimp for dipping. Granted, the fresh shrimp cocktail that comes
from Costco might be slightly better. But if you don't have a Costco membership, Aldi is a strong
alternate option that can be in your freezer whenever you're craving shrimp and cocktail sauce.
Now that we've covered the Aldi fish that's worth its gills, it's time to sound a warning about
what you ought to avoid. First up: frozen sushi. Sushi can be hard to come by if you
don't live in a big city, but buying it frozen from Aldi just isn't the right solution. The
consistency and flavor are nowhere near fresh. You'll also need to defrost it before you eat
it. The quickest way is in the microwave, but it's not easy to predict how that'll
go. The other suggested defrosting methods are in a water bath or on the countertop.
When the Aldi Nerd blog gave the frozen sushi a try, they found that the rice
had an unfortunately sticky texture and that it was overall too mushy.
The instructions say not to thaw it in the fridge, but the Aldi Nerd found the rice to
have a better texture after leaving it in the fridge to thaw for a few hours.
"It's like thanks, but no thanks."
While the fresh salmon is a big hit at Aldi,
the frozen version doesn't get as much love. As one shopper zinged it on Reddit,
"It seemed flavorless, which was strange because the unique
taste and [...] aroma is what I don't really like about salmon. It was okay
but it doesn't seem to be of very high quality. They are also tiny in size."
The fresh salmon portion can often be large, but you can cut it into individual servings and
freeze it for later. If you think about how many servings you can get from an Aldi-sized portion of
frozen salmon, you'll realize it's actually a good deal. If you'd rather not do that type of work,
though, Sam's Club shoppers swear by Member's Mark frozen Atlantic salmon
fillets. So maybe it's worth making the switch for your frozen salmon needs.
If you're a seafood lover, you've probably bought tilapia at some point,
since it's mild and cheap. Many chefs like it because the mild flavor profile allows them
to imbue it with whatever other flavors they want. Alas, when it comes to Aldi's tilapia,
there have been multiple reports that it ends up smelling like ammonia. So,
not exactly what you hope to sniff when you're craving frozen fish.
Furthermore, tilapia may not be the best fish to eat in general. For one thing, the flavor often
depends on where it's raised and what it eats. The majority of our tilapia, including Aldi's, comes
from China, where food regulations are far laxer than in the U.S. There have been reports from the
FDA of Chinese tilapia farmers feeding their fish manure from the meat production industry.
"Manure! I hate manure!"
The FDA has also rejected some tilapia from China because lab tests came back
positive for too many unsafe drugs and banned toxic chemicals. Fremont Fish Market boneless
tilapia has a high Environmental Working Group food score with no worries over nutrition and
ingredients. Unfortunately, it rates medium for processing concerns and may have been fed
antibiotics. In general, you're just taking too many risks when it comes to the frozen tilapia.