16 Aldi Candies And Chocolates You Should Know About

In spite — or perhaps because — of the 2020s having been a bit of a bummer so far, we may arguably be entering a Golden Age of candy that compares to the 1930s when so many now-vintage confections were born. (When times get tough, not everyone drowns their sorrows in alcohol. Liquor may be quicker, but dandy candy doesn't cause accidents or hangovers.) Old-timey treats and the latest sensations can both be found at discount retail stores like Five Below and Dollar Tree (here are some of our picks). But Aldi is another budget-priced retailer that candy connoisseurs shouldn't pass over. The store-brand confection selection at these locations is as affordable as it is indulgent, and even name brand candies won't break the bank.

Since the Aldi chain originated in Germany, it's no surprise that many of its chocolates are imported from that country. The chocolates themselves, however, are very much in line with American tastes, encompassing a wide range of chocolate bars, both plain and flavored, as well as chocolate-covered fruits and nuts. While Aldi's candy aisle is somewhat chocolate-centric, the store also has Mexican-style gummies, Australian licorice, and sugar-free hard candies.

The cheapest and most basic of Aldi's chocolate bars are sold under the Choceur label. These weigh in at 5.29 ounces and are available in four varieties. Despite being made with hazelnut spread, the plain milk chocolate doesn't taste particularly nutty, but is rather like an extra smooth, higher-quality Hershey bar. Ditto for the milk chocolate with almonds, only with extra added nuts. The dark chocolate bar is my preferred kind — just 49% cacao, so it's dark without being bitter like high-percentage bars tend to be. My go-to Aldi candy bar, however, is the Choceur dark chocolate with almonds. Five stars; no notes.

Purchase basic Choceur chocolate bars at Aldi for $1.99.

If your Aldi is laid out like the ones where I shop, up by the registers is where you'll find the chunky 1.5-ounce Belgian chocolate bars. These, too, are from Choceur, and at present, there are two flavors available. The milk chocolate bar has a burnt caramel sea salt filling, while the dark chocolate sea salt bar is solid.

Purchase Choceur Belgian chocolate bars at Aldi for $1.89.

One item I've yet to see at my Aldi is the 12-ounce package of Choceur milk chocolate peanut butter cups, which look just like Reese's minis but with less flashy wrapping. Apparently, the boring beige bag does not deter people from snapping them up: As one Redditor bemoaned, " ... they're so, so good. Whoever shops at my local aldi clears them out whenever they get restocked, lol." Others agreed that they may be the best peanut butter cups to be found anywhere ... assuming you can find them, that is.

Purchase Choceur milk chocolate peanut butter cups at Aldi for $5.49.

I'm not usually a big caramel person, since I find that it can be too sugary. This isn't the case with the 13.8-ounce tubs of Choceur Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. The dark chocolate tempers the caramel sweet, and the salt, while not overwhelming, adds an element of complexity that takes the flavor over the top. These candies also have a really nice texture: firm, but not so tough that you'll wear out your jaw chewing on them.

Purchase Choceur Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels at Aldi for $4.75.

Simply Nature is an Aldi house brand that tends to feature less processed products, and its contribution to the candy aisle is in the form of two types of chocolate-covered freeze-dried fruits. Both Simply Nature dark chocolate-covered bananas and Simply Nature dark chocolate-covered strawberries come in resealable 4-ounce pouches. While not labeled as organic, they are made without GMOs and artificial ingredients.

Purchase Simply Nature chocolate-covered fruit at Aldi for $4.39.

Chocolate-dipped almonds are something I consider a non-guilty pleasure. While I love all things almond-flavored, plain roast almonds are simply too boring to eat. Coat them in chocolate, though, and I'm all over those nutritious nuts. Aldi sells 10-ounce tubs of Choceur chocolate-covered almonds in four varieties: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate coconut, and milk chocolate English toffee. All of them are excellent, but I feel the latter two special flavors are worth the slight upcharge (they sell for $0.44 more than the plainer varieties).

Purchase Choceur chocolate-covered almonds at Aldi starting at $6.15.

Survey says ... America's most popular nut is the cashew, and for good reason, since they taste great even when unflavored. When dipped in chocolate, though, they're downright amazing. Aldi's Specially Selected brand offers two different types packed in 9-ounce tubs. Both the milk chocolate sea salt cashews and dark chocolate sea salt cashews are absolutely delicious; what more do you need to know?

Purchase Specially Selected chocolate cashews at Aldi for $6.59.

Certain Aldi items are obvious dupes of big-name products, and Moser Roth Délice truffles are clearly patterned after Lindor truffles. One big difference, however, is the price, since a 5-ounce bag of the former could cost less than half of what you'd pay for the latter. The Délice truffles are available in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate; there's also a bag of assorted truffles containing dark chocolate, cappuccino, and crispy hazelnut flavors.

Purchase Moser Roth Délice truffles at Aldi for $3.29.

Aldi may be a little slow to hop on any bandwagons that may be rumbling past, but it gets there eventually if the trend looks to be sticking around. You may not see the chain selling the viral angel hair bar any time soon (that's more of a Five Below thing), but it does now carry Dubai chocolate. I've yet to see the 3.5-ounce Picca Dubai-style milk chocolate bar at the Aldi locations where I shop, but I'll certainly keep an eye out. One Facebook user who did manage to find it raved: "It's so good that I couldn't stop eating it."

Purchase the Picca Dubai-style milk chocolate bar at Aldi for $3.99.

We've already discussed the basic Choceur chocolate bar lineup, but the brand also has slightly larger, pricier bars in a wider flavor range. They weigh in at 7 ounces each, and come in a wide array of available varieties, include dark chocolate with roasted hazelnuts, milk chocolate with roasted hazelnuts, milk chocolate with honey salted almonds, and milk chocolate with smooth peanut butter.

Purchase premium Choceur chocolate bars at Aldi for $4.39.

If unit price is anything to go buy, Moser Rother bars are at the top of Aldi's chocolate bar chains. They're still pretty budget-friendly, though — we're talking just $0.75 per ounce for these 4.4-ounce bars, as opposed to $0.62  per ounce for the premium Choceur bars. The Moser Roth lineup includes one milk chocolate offering — toffee crunch — but most of the bars are filled or flavored dark chocolate: sea salt, sea salt and caramel, raspberry almond, orange almond, mint, and cranberry. (The last-named is a flavor you don't see every day unless you're a regular Aldi shopper.) One thing I really appreciate about these bars is that each one is divided into five individually wrapped pieces for easy portion control.

Purchase Moser Roth chocolate bars at Aldi for $3.29.

Choceur also has a few chocolate bars that are perfect for portion control. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate mini bars, each weighing 1.4 ounces, are sold in bundles of five. For 10 cents more, you can purchase 7.1-ounce milk chocolate bars filled with either hazelnut milk crisp or strawberry yogurt. Inside both packages are 11 individually wrapped mini bars.

Purchase Choceur mini bars at Aldi starting at $3.55.

Surprisingly enough, it's not Aldi's Simply Nature label, but rather Choceur that dips into the sustainable chocolate category. The brand offers three different 5.29-ounce bars that each bear the logo "Be a Choco Changer & Support Cocoa Farmers," which is kind of a mouthful as candy bar names go. At least it's a tasty mouthful, though, as the flavors include dark chocolate with salty fudge and almond, milk chocolate with brownie and salted caramel, and milk chocolate with nougat honeycomb.

Purchase Choceur Choco Changer bars at Aldi for $3.59.

Aldi doesn't seem to have an in-house licorice brand, which is surprising, considering the company's European roots. (Licorice may be polarizing in the U.S., but they love it back on the Continent.) At present, however, Aldi is carrying 7-ounce bags of Darrell Lea pink lemonade licorice imported from Australia. I'm in no position to render a verdict, since I'm on the "licorice is icky" end of the spectrum. Instead, I'm outsourcing my verdict to the Redditor who tried the Darrell Lea strawberry licorice that Aldi sold a few years back and proclaimed, "This licorice is AMAZING." Fellow licorice lovers in the comment section did not disagree, so it seems likely that the pink lemonade version will also appeal to people who enjoy this sort of thing.

Purchase Darrell Lea pink lemonade licorice at Aldi for $2.69.

Jovy peach and watermelon chamoy rings, available in 6-ounce bags, are a must-try for Mexican candy fans, as well as anyone fond of sweet and spicy flavor combos. "I bought the peach yesterday and I love them!," declared one Redditor, while another enthused, "The Watermelon is Soooo YUMMY!! This did not not disappoint!!"

Purchase Jovy chamoy rings gummy candy at Aldi for $1.99.

Even people who can't have sugar can find something in the candy aisle at Aldi, since the Excitemint brand offers four different sugar-free hard candies packages in cute little 1.5-ounce canisters. The first two flavors — peppermint and wintergreen — live up to the brand name. The others, however, aren't really mints, but are actually fruit-flavored sour candies. The red sours taste like a mixture of cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, while the yellow sours have a green apple, tangerine, and watermelon-ish flavor. 

Purchase Excitemint sugar-free candies at Aldi for $1.99.