6 Aldi Produce Finds You Should Buy And 3 To Skip

Aldi has built a loyal following thanks to its low prices and streamlined, private-label products. For many shoppers, it's a go-to destination for weekly staples. While there are a plethora of products that shoppers turn to time and time again, sometimes Aldi produce can be a hit or a miss. Certain fruits and vegetables from Aldi are consistently fresh and flavorful, while others may warrant less enthusiastic reviews, prompting you to skip them altogether.

Because Aldi has grown so popular, there are many online forums and message boards that you can peruse before purchasing pretty much any item. It's here you can find conversations about shoppers who found the best oranges and apples, if the cucumbers are consistently mealy, or if the bananas regularly overripe. Knowing which products are winners and which to leave on the shelf can save you money and time.

I shop at Aldi on at least a biweekly basis, and sometimes more often than that. I have a lot of luck here, especially in the produce section. In fact, the produce is actually what drew me to Aldi in the first place — I've found that the prices are much more affordable than at my other local stores. However, just because I'm am Aldi advocate doesn't mean I'm blind to the fact that some items just aren't the quality you want them to be. While I do buy a lot at Aldi, there are still some weekly staples I tend to purchase elsewhere.

Aldi's carrots are one of the highest-praised produce items on sale. This staple vegetable is a regular buy for many Aldi shoppers thanks to their size, flavor, and affordability. They're crisp, fresh, and last a long time in the fridge. Some produce can be finicky, with season affecting the taste or texture, but carrots seem to be a product that holds up year-round. I buy carrots almost weekly from Aldi. I'm usually eating them raw or storing them in the fridge chopped in a bit of water, where they keep for couple of weeks. I've also found that they're great in soups, and cook up nicely with a bit of a sweet flavor. 

While some customers have complained about the baby variety being a bit slimy (which is a problem you might find at any grocery store), good old-fashioned grown-up carrots from Aldi have pretty solid marks. Whether you're roasting, shredding, or using them for a healthy snack, they're a dependable choice in the produce aisle.

Ah, the poor potato. Aldi potatoes are unfortunately one of the most criticized produce items that the store carries. Customers are consistently disappointed in the quality and freshness of the spuds, even after buying them several times. Complaints tend to center around bruised, sprouting potatoes that have black spots or a strange taste. Because potatoes are often sold in large bags, sometimes the spoilage isn't found until the customer is home, which can be doubly frustrating.

While Aldi's prices are certainly lower, the potential for a spoiled product can offset the savings for some shoppers. A good potato should be firm, smooth, and free of sprouting or spots, but shoppers have on occasion noted that they could smell the potatoes rotting in the produce section of the store. A rotting potato has a pretty distinct scent, so it's hard to miss decomposing produce right in front of you. (A fresh potato should smell only of dirt.) While some people have plenty of luck with Aldi potatoes, the fact that they are somewhat of a gamble might make them worth buying elsewhere.

Perfect for an on-the-go snack or as a complement to a charcuterie board are Autumn Crisp grapes. Receiving tons of compliments for their crisp texture and sweet flavor, these are known to fly off Aldi's shelves. Customers are surprised at their quality, rivaling more mainstream grocery options for a much more reasonable price.

These grapes are always crunchy and have a candy-like flavor, with one Facebook commenter noting that there's "not a bad one in the batch." Grapes can be one of the more challenging produce items to keep tasting fresh, seeing as they go soft fairly quickly, but these are noted for keeping their crispy bite and having a relatively long shelf life if stored properly. Especially when they're in season, the amount of praise that Aldi's grapes get on online forums and review boards are reason enough to give them a try on your next shopping trip.

If you peruse Aldi forums and message boards, there's one fruit that is consistently dragged through the mud: bananas. Aldi's bananas can't seem to keep up with some of the better produce sold at the chain. Customers complain that bananas go from underripe to overripe extremely quickly, giving them a short window in which to eat them. Not only do they ripen quickly, but sometimes the fruit is already rotten or bruised right at the store. Shoppers have complained of having to look through several bunches of bananas before finding one suitable for purchase.

While the low price may be appealing, you'd better inspect the fruit carefully before bringing it home. Even when customers do this, they still find that sometimes the bananas are black in the middle or that their flavor seems lacking or different from other grocery store bananas. I've personally had terrible luck with bananas at Aldi; I buy most of my produce here, but definitely have learned to buy my bananas elsewhere. Overall, there are enough online complaints about Aldi's bananas — both regular and organic — that it's probably best to skip them altogether.

Cara Cara oranges are a seasonal Aldi favorite that shoppers look forward to buying every year. Known for their pink-red flesh and sweet flavor, these oranges are a bit more elevated than your everyday citrus. They're low-acidity as well, so they're even sweeter than the oranges you're used to. Cara Caras are ideal for adding to salads, juicing, or, of course, eating on their own. Some shoppers have also noticed they can be difficult to find at other stores while Aldi usually seems to have a decent stock.

Even in online forums and Reddit threads where people have complaints about some Aldi produce, people still bring up that the Cara Cara oranges are consistently great and worth buying. Customers use them for baking and cooking as well as snacking on their own. With the Aldi price tag, shoppers can feel like they're getting a special treat or getting to try something new while still keeping within their budget. Citrus also stores well, so you won't have to worry about the oranges getting soft before you even get them home from the store.

Cucumbers can be a hit or miss at Aldi. When they're good, they taste fresh and crisp. However, some Aldi shoppers find that the cucumbers spoil easily and quickly, and that they're slimy within a couple of days of purchasing, even when stored correctly. Not only this, but the texture can be mealy, and the flavor can be completely lacking, tasting more like cucumber-infused water than the actual fruit. Because the water content is so high, cucumbers are more prone to spoilage than other fruits, but the window of use is so small with these cucumbers that the lower price can't even be justified.

A hack that customers seem to use to beat the cucumber blight is to buy the pre-wrapped English cucumbers, which do not seem to spoil as quickly. Even though these might not be the favorite variety among shoppers, these are the ones to buy to more likely guarantee you're going to get your money's worth. I actually don't buy cucumbers at Aldi at all anymore; even after buying at peak season, I found them disappointing. I stick to the farmers market for these.

Dates have been taking the healthy snack world by storm as an alternative to other sweets like candy and chocolate. Aldi's Medjool dates have developed a cult following among shoppers who love them for baking, snacking, or as a star in plant-based recipes. These dates are large, chewy, and exceptionally sweet, with a caramel-like flavor that makes them a great pairing for cheese plates or awards them the perfect flavor profile to be wrapped in bacon. I must confess I am a recent date convert myself — I have a pretty serious sweet tooth and these really hit the spot. 

Dates are known to be expensive at traditional grocery stores and co-ops, so the Aldi price tag on these dates is coveted by lovers of the fruit. They are also extremely versatile, with online recipes including peanut butter-stuffed dates and date-centered oatmeal energy bites. Because they're dried, their shelf life is much longer than that of fresh fruit, so they'll last if stored properly — but if reviews are any indication, they'll be long gone by their expiry date. Dates are a fruit that lets you feel like you're making a healthier snacking choice while also feeling a bit indulgent.

Apples can be one of Aldi's most dependable and beloved produce categories, especially when it comes to the famed Cosmic Crisp apples. Aldi offers many other types of apples as well, including Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp. Shoppers love the crisp texture and sweetness, as well as the quality for being on the lower end of the produce price scale. One Reddit user claimed that her son "ate a whole bag in one day!" If that isn't a testimonial for a good apple, nothing is. 

Apples are a staple grocery item for many shoppers, so if the quality dips, people will notice. Aldi fans claim that they're able to get fresh, crisp apples consistently, and as long as they don't keep them around the house too long, their freshness holds up. Customers do recommend checking the bags at the store for any bruising just to be safe. I buy a bag of the Gala apples at the beginning of every week, and they're pretty much always gone by Friday. I like to dip them in peanut butter for a bit of protein in the middle of my day. 

Bell peppers are an extremely versatile veggie, with uses from fajitas to salads to stuffed peppers. Multi-colored bell pepper mixes are one item that is frequently purchased and recommended from Aldi's produce section. The chain even sells "Aloha Peppers," a red-and-orange swirled pepper that is sure to bring some brightness and intrigue to your pepper-centered dish. Bell peppers are often fresh and affordable, and are easy to incorporate to a variety of meals to add some extra vitamins and nutrients, which is especially helpful if you have picky eaters in the house.

Given the rising costs in grocery stores around the country, Aldi shoppers appreciate that produce prices generally stay fairly low. This is due to many practices the store has in place specifically to keep consumers' costs down. People compare prices to big box stores like Costco, and still find they're getting the best price at Aldi. For families who cook regularly, getting produce like peppers at a consistently low price can really make a difference. These peppers will last through the week as well, especially if they are stored correctly.