The Aldi Brownie Mix That Gives Ghiradelli A Run For Its Money

Aldi has built its reputation on dupes of name brand food items, and some are better than the original (and some are worse). However, few dupes are as convincing as its Specially Selected Double Chocolate Premium Brownie Mix. Priced at just $2.59, it's less than half the cost of Ghirardelli's boxed mix, yet in a side-by-side comparison, they're almost indistinguishable. Both boxes call for the same add-ins and follow the same baking instructions, right down to the pan size. The one noticeable distinction? Aldi opts for natural flavoring, while Ghirardelli relies on artificial.

That difference disappears once baked. In a blind taste test, the Aldi batch came out slightly fudgier, while the Ghirardelli leaned a little fluffier — and no one could confidently tell which was which. Either way, both turned out rich, chocolatey, and far superior to the forgettable store-brand mixes most of us grew up with. Suddenly, a humble mix becomes bakery-worthy. And Aldi just happens to package that upgrade for you.

Boxed brownies inspire the same kinds of fierce opinions usually reserved for frozen pizza or fried chicken. Everyone has a brand they swear by, whether it's nostalgia-fueled Duncan Hines or Ghirardelli's slightly more upscale take. Aldi's success with its brownie dupe might inspire that same degree of loyalty by showing how much small differences in texture and richness matter when the base recipe is nearly identical. It's also proof that sometimes "off-brand" doesn't just match the upscale brands — it can outshine it.

Brownies, by nature, invite tinkering. Some bakers swear by stirring in unexpected additions, like baby food for extra moisture, while others lean on hacks like folding in espresso powder or swapping oils. Before we were tipped off about Aldi's version, we even put store-bought brownie mixes head-to-head in a blind taste test to determine which brand actually holds up best. Luckily for Aldi fans, that comfort comes cheap, easy, and almost indistinguishable from the so-called premium picks.