9 Aldi Baked Goods You Should Buy And 3 You Should Always Skip

You can find a lot of fun stuff at Aldi: artisan cheeses, cult-favorite snacks, and maybe a giant stuffed gnome or a pair of sparkly sequin pants, if it's your lucky day in the Aisle of Shame. One thing you won't find, however, is an in-house bakery. While the discount grocery chain experimented with fresh bakeries in a small batch of Illinois, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Maryland stores around 2018-2019, the concept eventually fell flat. The days of walking out of Aldi with a warm German pretzel or hazelnut croissant appear to be long gone.

In their place, you'll see an extensive section of pre-packaged, private-label goodies waiting to be unwrapped. These breads and pastries are not prepared by Aldi staff at the back of the store, but many do come from the same commercial bakeries behind popular brands. Aldi negotiates sweet deals with these behind-the-scenes suppliers, attaches its own brand labels (Bake Shop, L'Oven Fresh, Specially Selected), and passes the savings onto you and me. 

Of course, low prices aren't everything — there's little joy to be found in a stale muffin or a subpar slice of cheesecake. So I decided to put a dozen Aldi baked goods to the test. Which ones deserve a spot in your cart, and which are best left on the shelf? I found one Bake Shop treat that most likely comes from a beloved Chicago donut shop. 

Aldi's robust bakery section features well over 100 different desserts, breads, and tortillas at budget-friendly prices. I buy my personal favorites (chocolate chunk cookies, brioche bagels, and naan) on repeat, but there are tons of potential goodies that have managed to escape my consideration. For this review, I sifted through years' worth of award-winning Aldi products but also honed in on favorites hyped within grocery fan groups like the ALDI Aisle of Shame Community on Facebook and r/aldi (the unofficial Aldi subreddit). 

Armed with recommendations, I dropped 12 of the most-mentioned items in my Aldi cart for an at-home taste testing with family. All products were sampled within two days of purchase (and before best-by dates) to ensure freshness. The baked goods that landed on my "buy" list rose to the occasion with standout flavor and texture that didn't feel "discount." Product availability and pricing may vary by store location.

I pop into Aldi a few times a month, and I never leave without a pack of Specially Selected brioche buns. They get filled with deli meats and cheese slices for quick lunchbox sandwiches during the week, but on the weekend, they hold up to heftier grilled chicken breasts and burgers. Straight out of the cellophane bag or lightly toasted, the golden outer crust gives them a touch of structure without taking away from the subtly sweet fluff on the inside.

Priced at $4.39 for a 6-pack, Specially Selected brioche buns are not the least expensive option in the bread aisle. Savvy Aldi shoppers have still voted them to be an annual Fan Favorite product on repeat. Try them with Aldi's famous "red bag" chicken or the Cattlemen's Ranch beef patties. This Aldi must-buy features an authentic egg and butter recipe from France, and they instantly elevate any soulless sandwich to restaurant-quality fare. I like the Specially Selected brioche hot dog buns, too. 

It's really hard to say "no" to something this cute. I mean, this shareable cookie comes all packaged up in its own little tin and cardboard pizza box. The generous sprinkling of semi-sweet chocolate chips and chunks is also commendable. But out of the oven, this adorable heat-and-serve dessert somehow landed in the category of "just okay." 

Following the instructions (bake at 425 degrees for 3 minutes), we were treated to a little crunch around the edges along with warm hints of brown sugar. The inside of the cookie was chewy — but not at all gooey — like a true restaurant-style cookie skillet. For $4.39, maybe that's too much to expect? A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top helped, though.

Fans of Mama Cozzi's pizza cookie on Reddit have plenty of other ideas to level it up, whether that's a drizzle of caramel syrup or a topping of no-bake cheesecake and sprinkles. I say skip this pre-baked cookie pizza altogether and pick up Aldi's Specially Selected caramel chocolate chunk cookie dough instead. Press the raw dough into the bottom of a cast-iron skillet or pie plate, and control the bake until crispy on the edges but wonderfully soft, warm, and melty on the inside.

If you're from Chicago, there's one well-known cheesecake brand in your dessert vocabulary: Eli's. So forgive me if I didn't think a $5 "generic" cheesecake could possibly be any good. The truth is, Aldi's Bake Shop cheesecake sampler actually has a lot of deliciousness to offer. 

For starters, this ready-made refrigerated dessert features four different flavors, so everyone gets to pick their favorite piece (or two). There's the classic New York style plain, fruity strawberry swirl,  sweet-and-salty turtle, and decadent triple chocolate. I can't pick a favorite; they were all surprisingly tasty and silky-smooth in texture. (I was expecting dense and dry.)

The Bake Shop cheesecake sampler is an Aldi award winner and bona fide Fan Favorite, which was voted a top pick by shoppers in the chain's annual survey of most-loved products. Compared to other grocery store cheesecakes, this 16-ounce Aldi offering is on the petite side, and that's a plus. The smaller slices (and lower price) feel appropriate for any night of the week — not just the holidays.

I've been buying Aldi's Specially Selected brioche buns and bagels on repeat, but somehow never thought to grab a brioche loaf. Turns out, I've been missing out. These chocolate chip-studded bread slices are pre-packaged baked good perfection. My family was thrilled with the ¾-inch-thick pieces toasted, which we topped with butter for a swift, sweet breakfast — the loaf disappeared faster than I'd like to admit.

Made with an authentic brioche recipe from France, Aldi's chocolate chip brioche delivers a soft, airy-light center with a delicate golden flake around the edge. At our table, direct comparisons were made to chocolate croissants and even Italian panettone. The chocolate lover in me wouldn't mind a few more chocolate bits scattered throughout, but there are still plenty to make this bread feel like a weekend-worthy indulgence. 

Aldi enthusiasts across social media rave about topping slices with red raspberry jam, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and banana, or Nutella and strawberries. Others recommend the loaf for making a Martha Stewart-inspired French toast or bread pudding — if you can make it last that long. "It's never made it past the eating it out of the bag stage in our house," said one member of the ALDI Aisle of Shame Community on Facebook. "I don't think it's made it much past the car tbh." Priced at $5.45 for a 17.6-ounce loaf with 14 chunky slices, this Aldi baked good is a resounding "yes."

Triple Chocolate Crème Cake is an Aldi baked good that gets a whole lot of love in fan groups, and it's easy to see why. This decadent bundt-style treat features a triple threat of rich chocolate cake topped with chocolate chip sprinkles and a gooey chocolate drizzle. As a chocolate lover, I so wanted this cake to live up to the hype — and it certainly did. The crumb is lusciously moist without being too heavy, and a few seconds in the microwave created something akin to a lava cake experience.

Like Aldi's popular 7Up lemon lime cake, this 20-ounce treat is perfectly sized for a couple or small family to share. The label states seven servings, but fans in the ALDI Aisle of Shame Community warn, "You'll eat the whole thing alone." And a professional baker in the group said, "for a store bought cake it's very good." Priced at $4.95, the Bake Shop Triple Chocolate Creme Cake is a low-stakes splurge for a random Tuesday night or weekend dinner with company. Pair it with Aldi's Specially Selected premium vanilla ice cream or a side of whipped cream and strawberries.

I may be going against legions of fans, but these Bake Shop mini muffins are just meh. They smell like blueberries, and they taste like blueberries. But for the love of Aldi, where are the actual blueberries? The muffins I sampled harbored one or two at best. And that made these blueberry muffins feel way more factory-made than homemade, with natural and artificial flavors.

With a price tag of just $3.65, I really shouldn't protest any further. At face value, these minis do a decent job of playing the part. The clamshell container offers 12 bite-sized muffins (perfect for sharing), and each is topped with a buttery-sugar crumble. They're not too sweet and rather moist in texture — rendering them semi-enjoyable. Fans on Facebook seem to really like them and say these baked goods are always sold out at their stores, while others insist that the larger blueberry muffins are even better. Maybe I picked the wrong batch.

Aldi is known for its amazing private-label dupes. Sometimes, these dupes are actually made by the same company they're duping. I've spotted a few in the baked goods aisle. First, the Specially Selected naan — most likely supplied by the brand name Stonefire. Next, these Bake Shop chocolate-dipped donuts. After our taste test, my family was pretty convinced they're Stan's.

Stan's Donuts & Coffee is a popular donut chain with over 30 locations in the Chicago area. The neighborhood shops serve artisan, made-from-scratch treats, but the wholesale division supplies Chicagoland grocery stores with signature pink packs of its most-loved flavors: Chocolate Dipped and Birthday Cake. Aldi's "everyday donuts" from Bake Shop also come in these two flavors. To confirm our suspicions, I compared Stan's and Aldi's product labels, and guess what? The ingredients are identical, right down to the chopped lemon peel.

Tagged at $5.49 for a 12-ounce 6-pack, Bake Shop chocolate-dipped donuts are pretty pricey for an Aldi offering. But they look — and taste — higher end than the store's other donuts. Each round delivers a rich, vanilla cake base covered in an even coating of chocolate and a zigzag drizzle of white icing on top. They're perfectly sized for dunking in coffee or milk and making your morning.

Aldi's L'Oven Fresh Garlic Knots deliciously deserve their 2022 Product of the Year award and cult-favorite status. For $3.29 a bag, you get eight buttery-soft knots (sometimes nine if you're lucky!), and they bake up tender on the inside with a golden crust on the outside. If you have toddlers or teens in the house, you'd best stock up. When properly prepared, these garlic knots rival the fresh-baked look-alikes from your neighborhood pizzeria. They will be inhaled.

Here's the trick to getting them just right: Take the knots out of their foil baking bag, and cook them on a parchment-lined baking tray in the (toaster) oven for 6 to 7 minutes. If you have an air fryer, they hit the dinner table even faster — and crisper. Finish these off with a sprinkle of grated parmesan and serve with your favorite soup, pasta, or salad. While L'Oven Fresh garlic knots are sold at room temperature with the rest of Aldi's shelf-stable breads, I always bring a bag home to toss in the freezer. They're super quick to thaw and a total comfort on nights when dinner turns into a last-minute scramble. 

My family adores Aldi's soft-baked chocolate chunk cookies, so we were skeptical of the Kitchen Sink variety. As it turns out, there's plenty to love here — and then some. These Bake Shop treats are just as dense and chewy, and they're loaded with visible mix-ins: peanut butter chips, white and semi-sweet chocolate, pretzel pieces, and coconut flakes. Can a cookie constitute a meal? One is surely enough to satisfy any sweet-to-salty craving.

These cookies (sometimes called trash can cookies) are decadent. Fans in the ALDI Aisle of Shame Community say that they're delicious and more than one mentions it's their favorite. Redditors note they're amazing, and like a smaller-sized version of the popular kitchen sink confections sold at Panera. You can get a 14-ounce pack of 10 Bake Shop Kitchen Sink cookies at Aldi for around $4.39. Other flavors on my to-try list include oatmeal cranberry and the chocolate chip and double chocolate duo.

I've always believed cinnamon rolls should be bought at a legit bakery, or even better, made from scratch. But I could not ignore the overwhelming enthusiasm for these Bake Shop cinnamon sweet rolls in the Aldi fan groups. People on Facebook say they're the best and cheap. For reference, my local store sells the pack of eight for $3.75.

Here's the thing: To get the most bang out of these pre-made baked goods, you must heat them up. We tinkered with 10 to 30 seconds in the microwave, and somewhere in between is the sweet spot. The cakey part of the roll emerged doughy soft, and the icing melted right into the cracks and swirls. As for flavor, these aren't the best cinnamon rolls in the U.S., but in a pinch, they're much more homey and delightful than those pastries out of a can. The cinnamon is warmly present yet subtle, and it's not over-the-top sweet. 

If you like your cinnamon rolls with a firmer, crisper crumb around the edges, opt for heating them up in your toaster or conventional oven for a minute or two. Finish with a pat of butter on top. 

If someone in your family has a sesame allergy, you know how challenging it can be to find an artisan-style sandwich bread that's truly sesame-flour and seed-free. While I've given up on shopping for bread at most major supermarkets, I have been able to find some viable options at Aldi. This Simply Nature Organic Rustic Italian Boule is one, crafted with just wheat flour, sourdough culture, water, sea salt, and organic enzymes. Shoppers looking to avoid preservatives and artificial ingredients are already talking this newer product up, with one member of the Aldi Finds and Special Buys Facebook group noting, "This is the cleanest bread I have been able to find."

Out of the bag, this hearty bread is not your typical Italian loaf. It's made with a natural sourdough fermentation process, revealing a mildly tangy-sour aroma and flavor. The interior offers a soft and chewy texture with airy, open crumb throughout. And the crust looks more traditional — though I wish it were a bit more crackly, golden, and "rustic." 

For $4.39, this generously sized 1.5-pound round provides 12 hearty 2-slice servings for your avocado toast, BLTs, grilled cheese, and pressed paninis. One drawback: Fans in r/aldi and the ALDI Aisle of Shame lament that this loaf can be tough to locate. If you spot it at your neighborhood Aldi, bring one home. Some say it's the best loaf the company has.

I'm a fan of most things cookies and cream, but these Aldi cake pops are a devastating NO R-E-O.  The outer white candy melt coating is thick and carnauba waxy, without offering any sweetness. The inside cake has a dark, dry, floury texture and a weird, indistinct taste. It doesn't land on a chocolate cookie or cream or any other familiar flavor in between. 

To their credit, the Bake House Creations cake pops are free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, and they're ready to eat straight from the package for 150 calories a pop. On paper, that's great, but the overall experience is far too off-kilter to feel like a real treat. 

That being said, plenty of Aldi shoppers seem to enjoy cookies and cream, chocolate cake, and birthday cake flavors as budget-friendly alternatives to the much pricier cake pops made famous by Starbucks. Visually, they are quite similar, but you can do dessert so much better with any other Aldi dessert on this list. With a price tag of $5.49 a pack, one bite of cake pop left me full of regret.