Aldi is known for its store-brand products, which are typically available at a great price,
but the company is also known for changing the ingredients on these products any time
they wish. Thankfully, there are observant shoppers calling out these changes.
Aldi's imitation of Kraft Mac 'n Cheese is the Macaroni and Cheese Dinner from the chain's
Cheese Club brand. In 2017, the blog Aldi Reviewer gave the product a dismal review.
But then Aldi changed the recipe the following year, and Aldi Reviewer gave it a second chance.
The process to make it remained the same, but according to Aldi Reviewer,
"[The taste] is definitely better, with actual flavor, something that was altogether missing
in the previous formulation."
The salt increased by about 80 milligrams, which was likely a big factor in the better
taste. Some shoppers enjoy the new mac 'n cheese, like one full-time college student
who declared on Reddit that it's "cheap and tastes amazing." It hasn't won over everyone,
though, as Cheapism.com ranked it close to last in a boxed mac 'n cheese tasting in 2019,
calling it, quote:
"another buttery, bland, slightly mushy also-ran."
The Tikka Masala simmer sauce from Aldi's Journey to India brand once had passionate
fans. But then the ingredients changed. At first it had 70 calories, then that number
dropped to 60, and again down to 45. Shoppers haven't been happy, with one confessing on
the Aldi subreddit,
"I have 5 jars of the older one sitting in my closet. I'm holding on to it for dear life.
No other jarred tikka masala sauce has even compared to the 70 [calorie] Aldi sauce."
Aldi Reviewer got their hands on all three versions and decided to give them a try. The
original 70-calorie edition was the favorite because it has a rich flavor, medium heat,
and ability to soak well with chicken. The 60-calorie version lacks coconut cream and
garam masala, which makes it lower in fat and sodium but also lower in flavor. Finally,
there's the 45-calorie sauce, which lists water as the first ingredient and takes out
the cayenne pepper as well as the coconut cream and garam masala that's in the 70-calorie
version. That resulted in a big hit on the flavor, as you might imagine. On the Aldi
subreddit, there are complaints about how the consistency is all wrong and how the new
sauce can't stand up to adding vegetables.
"America's the greatest country in the world. Think of all the great things that have come
from America."
"Rugby."
"Chicken tikka masala."
The Tikka Masala isn't the only sauce that Aldi has changed recently. In February 2020,
a customer posted on the Aldi subreddit about the first time they were burned by a recipe
alteration. The offending product in question was the Reggano Marinara sauce, and the problematic
change was added sugars.
The new version has eight grams of sugar, which is three more than before. There's also
a side note that it comes from "added sugars," meaning not naturally occurring from the ingredients.
The original sauce's ingredients listed tomato puree first and foremost, followed by diced
tomatoes and 2 percent or less of seasonings like onion, garlic, and parsley.
The new sauce also has the puree and diced tomatoes listed first, but then things change.
Sugar and soybean oil follow next, before getting into all of the spices. Pre-made sauces
can be on the simple side as long as there's the right balance of flavors between sweet,
salty, and savory, but it unfortunately appears that the new formulation appeals more to those
with a sweet tooth.
In 2019, an Aldi fan posted on Reddit that the fruit-flavored snacks from Simply Nature
had changed. The difference was right there on the front of the box. The sodium content
had been cut in half, from 40 to 20 milligrams, while the sugar went up slightly, from 13
to 15 grams. But perhaps the biggest change was that the phrase "Made from organic fruit
juice" had been removed from the box entirely. Another Reddit poster noted that the first
ingredient was changed from pear juice to rice syrup, while declaring,
"It's basically a different product with the same packaging."
The original version used to be a fan favorite, and those who prefer that edition may actually
still be in luck, as Aldi's website currently lists the fruit flavored snacks that had everyone
from kids to adults to the young at heart eating fruit flavored gummies.
Aldi started in Germany, and in the United States the company has a theme called "German
Week" twice per year, once in March and once in September. It's a celebration of all foods
from Germany as well as foods inspired by the country. The sauerkraut is one of those
beloved products that make the rounds during German Week, though several Aldi customers
noticed that it underwent a major change in 2019. In a 2020 post on the subreddit, someone
noted that the sauerkraut label had switched from saying "Imported from Germany" to "Inspired
by Germany."
And that wasn't the only change. The "inspired by" version has 440 milligrams of sodium versus
260 for the "imported from" version, while the new edition also has 5 fewer calories
and added water. That's a lot of extra salt and water for a product that many Aldi fans
already knew and loved. As the Reddit poster bemoaned,
"It also looks like it's generic 'hotdog sauerkraut in a bag' garbage that other stores sell."
Reddit wasn't the only place where customers noticed the switch, as a commenter on the
Almost All Aldi blog called it out by declaring,
"I don’t mind a small price increase, especially for high quality imported goods. But don’t
cheapen the product and try to pass it off as the original."
"Don't touch my sauerkraut in German. Whenever you're ready, go."
Aldi's sauerkraut isn't the only product that changed in flavor when it shifted from being
"imported from" to "inspired by," as one keen-eyed customer on Reddit noticed that the beer mustard
made a big switch in its ingredients. The original version had the certification that
it had been imported from Austria. Its ingredients listed beer first and foremost, followed by
water, mustard flour, vinegar, apple juice from concentrate, sugar, salt, and caramel
sugar syrup. The type of beer isn't listed, but in general, malty beers that aren't too
hoppy are best, at least according to CraftBeering.com.
The new version shockingly loses its namesake ingredient of beer. In the new recipe, the
ingredients are water, mustard seed, distilled vinegar, sugar, natural beer flavor, salt,
apple juice from concentrate, and caramel for color. It doesn't specify what "natural
beer flavor" is.
Customers who tried the beer mustard, or rather, the "beer-flavored" mustard, noted on Reddit
that it has a strange sweet taste to it. The original was so beloved that it inspired customers
to lament when the limited-time sales period ended every year. The verdict is still out
on whether the new beerless beer mustard could ever inspire such love.
Ketchup is a condiment staple, and Aldi has multiple brands available. Burman's is one
popular option that's widely considered as good or better than the name brand ketchups.
And then there's Simply Nature, which makes a number of different Aldi products. The latter
was a decent ketchup, but the ingredients were altered around 2018, according to a customer
who complained about the change on Reddit
The original bottle had a long neck similar to Hunt's ketchup, while the new one is stubbier,
and it notably has a "non-GMO" tag on its label. The Reddit poster who noticed the difference
noted that the old version of the ketchup is slightly more vinegary than the new edition,
which makes it taste somewhat sweeter and richer. This customer did admit that the difference
is subtle, and that you can only notice it if you taste them side by side.
Despite these subtle differences, Aldi experts tend to have a favorable opinion of Simply
Nature's ketchup. On a 2019 AldiReviewer.com post about ketchup, the Simply Nature version
was rated as the best choice for people who want an option without high fructose corn
syrup. Whether or not you notice a difference could very well depend on whether you prefer
your fries dipped in something sweet or something a little more on the sour side.
"All we need's a little bit of ketchup on it."
This one might be a bugaboo for people who prefer margarine over butter. For those who
don't know, butter comes from dairy, whereas margarine comes from plant oils. In 2018,
Aldi's Countryside Creamery Homestyle Spread switched recipes, and container shapes. As
detailed on MousePrint.org, it started with price changes.
First it went up from $1.79 to $1.99, and then up further to $2.29. With the last switch,
it also changed from a cylindrical to a rectangular tub. The ingredient change was no less dramatic,
as Aldi cut the amount of oil in the spread by over 10 percent, from 51 to 40 percent.
And where oil was the primary ingredient before, the new version listed water as the primary
ingredient.
According to the Aldi Reviewer blog, the previous version was comparable in flavor and ingredients
to Country Crock. It also carried the overly long name of Countryside Creamery Country
Recipe Homestyle Spread With Hydrogenated Oils. We'll have to wait and see if this new
version gets reviews that are just as positive.
Aldi's Choceur Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups have some passionate fans. This candy
is similar to Reese's, and some say Aldi's version is even better thanks to a creamier
and more plentiful filling. The recipe and ingredients are obviously a big part of why
Aldi is able to punch above its weight and compete in terms of flavor with Reese's, the
most popular Halloween candy of 2019, according to USA Today.
But these peanut butter cups weren't always so sought-after. Aldi Reviewer first tried
the product in 2018 and deemed it to be fine but not quite as good as Reese's. But then
the recipe changed in 2019, and the Aldi reviewers changed their tune. In a word, the Choceur
Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are now "sensational." It can be worrying when a beloved
Aldi food changes its ingredients because you never know if it'll be an improvement
or a downgrade. But in this case, it falls squarely and unquestionably under "Improved."
Although, it should be noted that, as of October 2020, Aldi has once again toyed with its peanut
butter cup recipe, and now each cup is individually wrapped in foil. Still, even through all the
changes, these candies have remained a must-buy Aldi snack food.
"You have aroused the chocolate gods."
Aldi's canned black olives underwent a recent change in both appearance and substance. Eagle-eyed
observers may have noticed right away that the old cans had silver tops while the newer
ones have copper tops. And while the older version of Tuscan Garden Large Black Olives
were non-GMO certified and from the United States, the new edition is not certified and
it's a product of Greece. Interestingly, neither version comes from Tuscany or even Italy,
which grows the second most olives in the world. When Aldi Reviewer tested the new olives
out, they found the older version to have more flavor, a better salt level, and a thinner
skin versus the less flavorful and chewier new olives. However, a representative from
the company that makes the Greek olives reached out and told Aldi Reviewer that it was a bad
batch. According to the rep,
"I'm reaching out because I believe you may have gotten one of the first loads that arrived
to Aldi of this new item from Greek olives, which were a bit lower in salt. Since this
point, the item has been adjusted accordingly and I believe it will better align with your
taste preferences and hopefully perform well in a side by side sampling."
Upon second tasting, the revamped Tuscan Garden Large Black Olives stood up to the flavor
profile of the original. Change isn't always easy, but thankfully for olive fans, this
particular change turned out pretty tasty. As we've seen, these adjustments don't always
have a happy ending, so we have to savor the times when Aldi gets it right.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite
foods are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.