10 Aldi Cheeses You Should Buy And 3 You Can Skip, According To Customers

Aldi is known for its no-frills displays, dependable pantry items, solid meat department, and competitive pricing, but its cheese section remains the supermarket's crown jewel. Stocked with unique, affordable varieties, Aldi has plenty to offer casual cheese lovers and formage aficionados alike. In one aisle, you can find cheeses from all over the world, from Scandinavian bread cheese to Danish Havarti to Mexican queso fresco.

For shoppers, this dizzying selection of shredded, blocked, fresh, and aged cheeses is both eye-opening and paralyzing. With so many options, how do you know what to grab for your next charcuterie board, potato gratin, or mac and cheese? Thankfully, Aldi has a dedicated customer base that is passionate (and opinionated) about its cheese. You can find dozens of different Reddit threads, Facebook posts, taste tests, and roundups that bring attention to the supermarket chain's most popular, obscure, and reliable cheeses.

To help you sort through the piles of Provolone, the stacks of Swiss, and the treasure trove of cheddar, I dug through these customer reviews to uncover the most delectable cheeses out there — and a few to avoid. The cheeses on this list range from practical to versatile to uncommon, but they all share one quality: you can find them at Aldi.

As far as I know, Aldi is one of the few major supermarkets in the United States that carries bread cheese. This hearty Scandinavian cheese is made by compressing fresh curds into a solid, loaf-like block. To address the carbohydrate in the room: No, there isn't any actual bread used to make bread cheese. The name comes from the toasty, golden-brown exterior that develops when the cheese is griddled or fried.

When searching through different Aldi cheese food forums (yes, many exist), I could hardly find a list of favorites that didn't include the bread cheese. A lot of the joy comes from how the cheese's texture transforms from slightly rubbery to smooth and luscious when heated. If prepared properly — don't heat on too low a flame or it won't hold its form — the cheese takes on the quality of a bread-less mozzarella stick or a crust-free grilled cheese. If this is hard to picture, think of a Greek Halloumi. Customers pair cooked chunks of garlic bread cheese with everything from marinara sauce to hot honey, with one Redditor even pointing out that it goes well dunked in coffee! You can also add a melted slab to a breakfast sandwich or cheeseburger. And if the garlic isn't your favorite, Aldi also carries original and bacon-flavored bread cheese.

Havarti is like that perfect little black dress: casual and comfortable yet interesting enough to keep you curious. This Danish cheese has a pleasant texture that isn't too soft or too firm, making it a great option for snacking. Taste-wise, Havarti fills the mouth with a gentle burst of butteriness. It's not an overpowering cheese, but it has a subtle aged quality that reminds you you're not just eating a square of blonde rubber.

For these reasons, Aldi's Dill Havarti is a consistent crowd pleaser. Aldi customers who don't tend to experiment with artisanal or imported cheese are often impressed by its interesting flavor profile and affordable price. The dill flavor is very mild, with some customers noting it's sometimes a little difficult to detect. But overall, it's deemed an excellent addition to cheese boards. Since the cheese is firm enough to be sliced, it's a natural addition to sandwiches and grilled cheese. You can also use it in baked goods, like pull-apart breads or these Havarti-dill popovers. The cheese is also quite meltable, making it a great fit for macaroni and cheese, especially if you're looking for a pop of pickle flavor.

The Cranberry White Cheddar Cheese is hands down one of Aldi's top-ranked cheeses. You can't read a cheese-focused Reddit forum or social media post without seeing it near the top of the list, with dozens of likes and upvotes. So what sets this cheese apart from the rest of the pack? Based on hundreds of Facebook comments, I'd say what makes this cheese so special is its uniquely harmonious mix of sweet and savory flavors. The cheese is sharp and salty, while the scattering of plump cranberries contributes a pop of sweetness and a faint sour whisper, with one Redditor accurately describing the combination as "well-balanced."

Given these characteristics, Aldi's Cranberry White Cheddar Cheese seems like a natural fit for the center of your cheese board — and this is true — but where it really shines is on sandwiches. Dozens of customer reviews suggest adding chunks of cheese to turkey clubs, chicken salad, or a classic grilled cheese. Its firm yet crumbly texture also makes it an exciting addition to your typical mixed green salad, but it's equally delicious paired with a cranberry jam and a firm cracker.

Compared to traditional cow's milk cheeses — Brie, mozzarella, Gouda, cheddar, etc. — goat cheese isn't as sweet, creamy, or buttery. But that doesn't mean it isn't as delicious. Goat milk is naturally lower in lactose, resulting in cheese that's slightly sour with a grassy, farm-fresh finish. Although it can be aged and sliced like a typical firm cheese, it's often sold young and fresh, with a soft, crumbly texture that's easy to scoop and spread.

This unique texture and flavor profile make young goat cheese a dynamic ingredient. Its inherent tang will electrify your taste buds without causing your mouth to pucker. In my opinion, it's one of the most versatile cheeses around, perfect for everything from ravioli to cheesecake to quesadillas. A slab of tangy goat cheese can also mellow the richness of a sirloin steak or balance the intensity of bitter salad greens.

However, the most common pairing is with something sweet — honey, raspberries, fruit preserves; let your imagination run wild. But for an instant appetizer, all you need is one of Aldi's Blueberry Vanilla Flavored Goat Cheese Logs. Customers drool over this cheese's blissful sweet, sour, and salty combination. The vanilla flavor is present but not overpowering, but you'll still probably want to reserve this cheese for a sweet-and-salty charcuterie board rather than a frisée salad. For an alternative, Aldi also sells a honey and a cranberry cinnamon goat cheese log.

Not every Aldi cheese is overly inventive, unique, or mind-blowing. Sometimes, as with interior decorating and wedding invitations, simple is best. And Aldi does simple cheeses really well, with its Cheddar Parmesan being a prime example. Although the formula isn't disclosed online, one ambitious Redditor theorized this type of cheese is made by crumbling larger chunks of Cheddar and compressing them with smaller crumbles of Parmesan. Whatever the process, the result is a nutty, tangy cheese studded with satisfyingly crunchy calcium lactate crystals.

Online, Aldi customers compare it to Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar, which is a pretty big compliment, given that this is one of TJ's most popular cheeses. People love it for its strong flavor and munchability, with several Facebook commenters calling it their "go-to" block cheese. This hard cheese grates easily, making it a flavorful option for adult macaroni and cheese or a basic cheeseburger. And if you're looking for something sweet and salty, a good aged Cheddar can bring the best out of your next homemade apple pie.

Smoking cheese is a delicate process. Obviously, if the heat is too high, the cheese will melt. Therefore, many home smokers use a cold smoking process with indirect heat that allows greater airflow and yields a less intense, more balanced smoke flavor. I don't know how Aldi's suppliers smoked the Applewood Smoked Cheddar Cheese, but whatever they're doing — it's working.

This smoked cheese is both intriguing and thought-provoking, something like an optical illusion for the mouth. On the front end, you'll pick up the aroma of campfire and barbecue, but on the back end, you'll be whisked away by the familiar flavors of a buttery Cheddar. And that's why customers have only good things to say about this Aldi cheese. Its smoky flavor enhances cheesy classics, like macaroni and cheese, queso, and grilled cheese, with a pleasant layer of smoke. On a cheeseboard, it pairs well with hot honey, mango chutney, almonds, apple slices, or fresh raspberries, but it's also delicious just on its own. For something a little more inventive, try adding smoked Cheddar to mini onion tarts or a cheesy cauliflower gratin.

Everyone knows the pumpkin spice trend has gotten out of hand. Coffee? — OK. Hard seltzer? — Meh. Spam? — Someone should probably be held accountable. Now, when Aldi released its Scary Pumpkin Spice Wensleydale Cheese, customers were inevitably curious. I mean, who wouldn't be? Wrapped in bright orange Jack-o'-lantern-inspired wax packaging, it's hard not to pull this one off the shelf and take it home with you. But unfortunately, this seasonal surprise is more trick than treat.

Wensleydale is a classic English cheese that's kept creamy thanks to the wax wrapper. It's often served alongside fruit, jams, or even fruit cakes, which is why the idea of pairing it with the warm, woodsy flavors of pumpkin spice isn't all that outrageous. But, according to customers online, the execution just wasn't there, with one reviewer describing it as "blended up crumbly disgusting kinds of cheese with pumpkin pie spice and held together with mayonnaise." Now, to be fair, this is a novelty product, and not part of Aldi's main repertoire. Still, you're probably better off just picking up one of the store's new pumpkin praline pies.

Aged White Cheddar is a staple of any respectable cheese case. Its color — typically a creamy white — simply means that it hasn't been dyed with annatto, a natural food coloring. But more important than its appearance is the aging process. For a cheddar to be considered "aged," it must mature for at least six months; however, this process can be extended to up to 10 years. As time passes, cheddar loses moisture, transforming its texture from soft to firm to totally stiff. During your time perusing the cheese section, you've likely come across terms like "sharp," "extra sharp," or "super aged." This, too, refers to the aging period and is directly related to the cheese's intensity and assertiveness.

Aldi's Aged Reserve White Cheddar Cheese is aged 12 months, putting it safely in the "sharp" category. On Reddit, customers applaud its mild cheddar flavor and firm, buttery texture. A block of aged cheddar is better for cooking than a bag of shredded because it's not coated with anti-caking cellulose, which can hinder or prevent proper melting. Shredding a White Aged Cheddar by hand is best, especially if you're making macaroni and cheese or a broccoli cheddar soup. It's also good for baked goods, sprinkled into scones and biscuit doughs.

Shredded cheese has its place in any refrigerator. It's convenience food at its finest, even though, as we mentioned, the cellulose gum surrounding the individual cheese shreds can affect its melting and moisture content. Still, the time you save not having to grate your cheese block (and knuckles) is a more than sensible tradeoff. Now, Aldi offers a wide variety of shredded cheeses, but not all of them offer that unique or premium flavor.

However, one type that manages to deliver on both fronts is the Specialty Shredded Swiss and Gruyère Cheese. What's special about this blend is how each cheese plays off the other: The Swiss is mild and smooth, while the Gruyère is sweet and nutty. This flavor combination works well in all sorts of savory recipes. Despite the cellulose coating, the Swiss still melts well, making it a natural fit for macaroni and cheese or a classic fondue. If you're making the latter, add a little cornstarch to help stabilize the cheese and wine to keep it from breaking. Beyond that, Redditors use this Aldi staple on garlic bread, tucked in omelets, and sprinkled over salads.

Aldi primarily carries two cheese brands: Emporium Selection and Happy Farms. The former covers Aldi's premium and specialty cheeses, while the latter includes its standard line of sliced, shredded, and block cheeses. From my research, I found that customers are generally less pleased with the Happy Farms products. Although a great value, they fail to deliver on texture, flavor, and utility.

We featured one great shredded cheese — the Swiss Gruyère blend — but the Happy Farms Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese is an example of a product that just misses the mark. In a Reddit thread dedicated to Aldi's shredded cheese, customers mostly say they buy their shredded cheese elsewhere. Meltability is part of the problem, often attributed to the anti-caking agent dusted over the shreds to prevent sticking, but the main issue is that the cheese is reported to be bland and tasteless. Thankfully, Aldi offers plenty of affordable cheeses you can easily grate yourself.

The name tells the whole story here. While a young Gouda is soft and sliceable, an aged variety grows firmer and more potent with the passing years. As with other aged cheeses, the longer a wheel sits, the more moisture escapes, creating a deeper flavor and harder, crumblier texture. This maturation shapes the cheese's taste and mouthfeel, creating crunchy calcium lactate crystals and a deep umami flavor with notes of cooked sugar and butterscotch.

Based on upvotes and comments, Aldi customers truly love this Gouda, so much so that it might be the store's most popular hard cheese, with people literally trying to buy as much as possible without bringing an uncomfortable level of attention upon themselves (we've all been there). Obviously, you can eat it as-is, but the magic comes from introducing it into other savory recipes. On Facebook, there's a whole post dedicated to what you can do with the 1,000-Day Aged Gouda, and the applications span the gamut from adding it to mashed potatoes to wrapping it up with mini hot dogs to make homemade pigs in a blanket. But if you want to enjoy this cheese in its purest form, let it come to room temperature before you taste it.

Queso fresco, which means "fresh cheese" in English, is just that — a simple, unaged cow's milk cheese. Made in a process similar to ricotta, farmer's cheese, or any other acid-set cheese, queso fresco differs slightly in that after the curds are separated from the whey, they are kneaded together, salted, and pressed, creating a firmer, drier texture and saltier flavor. Queso fresco is typically used as a seasoning, rather than the mainstay of a cheese plate. I like to think of it as tasting somewhere between a mild Parmesan and a ricotta salata, which is why it works so well as a topping for enchiladas, refried beans, or tortilla soup.

The Pueblo Lindo Queso Fresco Cheese at Aldi is a customer favorite because it's affordable, distinct, and fun to experiment with. In one Facebook post, commenters offered all kinds of dishes and recipes that can be improved with some queso fresco, including elote, shrimp tacos, scrambled eggs, slow-cooked chicken, or even as a substitute for paneer. Although the texture is crumbly, a few reviewers say you can slice the cheese into chunks or wedges and quickly pan-fry it in butter until golden.

People feel a certain way about Aldi's Borgonzola. And I have to admit, the combination is a little unusual. But you're probably wondering what it even is in the first place. Well, it's a combination of Brie and Gorgonzola. Brie is fresh, light, and creamy, while Gorgonzola is pungent and funky, thanks to a specific mold strain that's added at the beginning of the cheese-making process. Our friends at Tasting Table taste-tested over a dozen of Aldi's cheeses and ranked the Emporium Selection Borgonzola dead last, saying that it "takes the worst aspects of blue cheese and combines it with the worst aspects of Brie."

Now, not all customers are so put off by this cheese. The Reddit forums are somewhat divided, with some comments noting that it's tasty when paired with nuts and fruits. However, most said the flavor was simply too pungent and intense for their liking, while others said the texture was a little "plasticky." Still, to be fair, there were a good number of people who look forward to the Borgonzola, enjoying it alongside sliced pears and a crusty baguette. And that's the beauty of cheese — what's considered intense and funky for one person may be perfectly smelly for another. While we say "skip," it may be better to just approach this one with caution.

I checked dozens of roundups, lists, and online forums to find cheeses that customers consistently cited as their favorite or the best. I did my best to incorporate different varieties, not leaning too far into one cheese type. Some are preferred for snacking, while others shine in specific preparations. For the cheeses to avoid, I referenced online rankings and other social media message boards. Overall, most cheeses scored highly, with only a handful receiving unfavorable reviews.