14 Aldi Copycat Products That Taste Like The Real Thing

Everybody likes a bargain. It makes sense, then, that everybody seems to like shopping at Aldi. The supermarket chain has spread throughout the world, bringing its impressively affordable wares to an ever-hungry customer base. Aldi has gained particular notoriety for its copycat products, which mimic beloved branded edibles in both recipe and aesthetics. When you reach for a black bag of white cheddar popcorn at Aldi, you might be reaching for Smartfood — or you might be reaching for a deliberately Smartfood-esque bag of Clancy's White Cheddar Popcorn.

You might assume these copycat comestibles are cheap knockoffs, inferior in taste, texture, and longevity. But instead, they're often excellent. Many of these lookalikes are so successful, they equal the original in every respect — and sometimes even surpass it. The fact that they do so at a significantly reduced price makes them even more worthy of your attention. From Italian dressing to sweet rolls, these are the Aldi copycat products that taste like the real thing.

McVitie's Jaffa Cakes are a sweet, tangy, spongy delight. Despite their name, they're somewhere between a cake and cookie, being thin discs of sponge cake slathered with orange jam and chocolate. This unique makeup is difficult to approximate; any contender for the title of Best Jaffa Cake must match the original's springy texture, smooth chocolate, and just-sour-enough jam. That's a lot to get right. Moreover, given the cakes' popularity, every eater who tries a copycat will immediately compare it to their well-worn knowledge of the original treat.

This is a serious hurdle to clear, but Aldi's Belmont Biscuits' Jaffa Cakes sail right over it. Multiple Reddit users on the CasualUK subreddit note that the delectable little discs are just as good, if not better, than McVitie's originals. U/PerceptionGood went so far as to say, "Yep very much agree Aldi's Jaffa cakes are much better than the real deal!! much more moist.These delicate, flavor-mingling treats are well-regarded for their ratio of jam to sponge cake, the smoothness of their chocolate coating, and — like so many Aldi products — their frugal cost. McVitie's better watch out — Aldi's hot on their teatime tail.

There's nothing quite like a Pringle. This iconic brand of chips has cemented its place in the snack food firmament in a wide variety of ways, ranging from its distinctive tubular packaging to the uniquely paraboloid shape of its chips. It's not all aesthetics, either: Pringles are crispy, easily portable — that tube keeps the chips a whole lot more intact than most snack food bags — and tasty as all get-out.

But Aldi's Stackerz chips go toe-to-toe with Pringles in pretty much every respect. Just like Pringles, Stackerz come in a variety of vibrant flavors, including the ever-beloved sour cream and onion. They also boast a sturdy tube that can withstand all sorts of rough handling. Reddit user lo-key-glass kicked off a spirited debate on the chip by asking, "Anyone else like the Stackerz better than real Pringles?" Plenty of snackers chimed in to agree, or to state they think the two brands are equivalent. "I don't have a preference I think they're both [fire emoji]," noted u/lifeisalittlestrange. Over on SussexLive, writer Jacob Heath set out to compare the chips with a taste test. "[Stackerz] were the real deal, and at about one third of the standard price of a can of Pringles," he noted.

The invention of cookie butter might just be one of the greatest of the century so far. Who doesn't like cookies? Who doesn't like butter? Really, it's amazing humanity didn't come up with spreadable cookies decades earlier. A few brands have established themselves as the go-to options for this craveable condiment, with Lotus' Biscoff Biscuit Spread earning particular attention. With its sumptuously smooth texture, delicately caramelized flavor, and excellent balance of sweetness to spice, this spread might just be one of the greatest things you'll ever eat.

Leave it to Aldi to step up to this irresistible edible. Their Belmont Biscuit Spread is more than a match for Lotus' take, and quite a bit cheaper. Available in both smooth and crunchy versions, this spread quickly caught on among Aldi shoppers. According to The Sun, Facebook users raved about the sugary treat, and compared it positively to Lotus' product. "[It] tastes exactly same as Biscoff and good for cheesecakes," one poster enthused. Another noted that they'd gone out to snag some for themselves, only to discover other shoppers had already depleted their local Aldi of their entire stock. Hopefully a restock arrived soon — nobody should have to go without cookie butter for long.

Smartfood's white cheddar popcorn is a titan of the snack food industry. Its sleek black bag catches the eye among the hundred hues of the chip aisle, while its tangy, cheesy, inimitable taste keeps snackers coming back for more. This popcorn is so beloved, the Smartfood brand is pretty much inseparable from it. Did you know Smartfood makes other flavors of popcorn, including Flamin' Hot and Movie Theater Butter variants? We're guessing the answer is no. Their white cheddar popcorn is just that good.

And so, it turns out, is Aldi's copycat product. Clancy's White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn doesn't just borrow Smartfood's striking black packaging — it mimics its flavor and texture as well. There are no stale popcorn puffs or under-cheesed morsels to be found in these bags, nor an abundance of half-popped kernels, which hamstring so many inferior brands of popcorn. Each bag is a crunchy, cheddar-rich joyride. When a Reddit user inquired as to the Aldi-going public's experiences with this product, they were met with enthusiasm. "Eating these right now," u/brinaw722 remarked, "Absolutely the perfect dupe! So good." U/RobinNicole621 concurred: "I can blow through that bag so fast! I think it's really good!" Here's to smart snacking beyond Smartfood.

Nothing says Americana quite like a Kraft Single. Sure, it might not actually be cheese, if we're going by the strictest definitions. But nothing melts better over a slice of buttered bread or a beef patty. Millions of people have been eating Kraft Singles since they were capable of eating solid food, which means they're as intimately acquainted with its taste, smell, and texture as anyone can be. Any item attempting to ape it is in for a major challenge.

This makes Aldi's success in the endeavor all the more impressive — among the most impressive on this list, in fact. There's very little margin for error, here; it is, after all, just a small square of processed cheese product. But, as Saundra Latham at Cheapism explains, Aldi manages to clear the bar with their Happy Farms American Singles. She placed these golden squares in her "dead ringer" category of Aldi copycats, and wrote, "Unless you're offended by the brighter yellow or slightly thicker cut of Aldi's cheese slices, they taste just as gloriously processed as Kraft's ubiquitous singles. And whatever differences there were completely evaporated on a sandwich." Oh, and did we mention each slice will only cost you 10 cents? That makes for a much cheaper grilled cheese.

Eaters all over the world have fallen for Kerrygold's butter. The golden dairy product touts its wholesome origins right on its glittering golden packaging: This is "pure Irish butter." This isn't just empty talk; Kerrygold butter is indeed uniquely delicious, versatile, and rich. Their brand identity is also incredibly strong.

But, as Aldi also demonstrates with their Nordpak butter, this supermarket chain is more than up for a challenge. Their Countryside Creamery Irish Butter packaging is emblazoned with the Irish flag, a pastoral landscape, more green than you could find in an emerald shop, and a few shamrocks for good measure. Finally, it claims to be "made with milk from grass-fed cows." Does it measure up? According to blogger Lynda Makara, the answer is yes. As she notes, they both boast a rich yellow color, identical texture, and the same ingredients. But what about taste? "They tasted exactly the same to me," Makara wrote. "There's no way I could tell one from the other in a blind taste test. It made me wonder if they come from the same supplier." We don't know the answer to that question, but given Countryside Creamery is significantly less spendy than Kerrygold, we'll bet a lot of shoppers are considering swapping the latter brand with the former.

Olive Garden's endless profusion of breadsticks might be what they're best known for, but their signature salad isn't far behind. It just isn't a visit to the classic chain without a heaping bowl of greens, onions, olives, and tomatoes, glossy with their Italian dressing. That dressing is a marvel of the modern restaurant; it's creamy, salty, savory, faintly sweet, and altogether delicious. Knowing they have a good thing going, the chain sells bottles of it at a variety of outlets.

For a long time, this was the best way to enjoy the dressing at home — trying to approximate it yourself somehow never manages to turn out quite right. Then Aldi came along with their Tuscan Garden Restaurant Style Italian Dressing. Reddit users raved about the stuff on the Aldi subreddit: "This dressing is amaze balls ... seriously just like olive garden and 1/4 the price!," wrote u/Amyliabedylia. "I refuse to get roped into name brand any longer!!" Other users concurred, and discussed its versatility; apparently, this stuff is good on salads, pasta, chicken, and a whole lot more. Olive Garden better hope Aldi doesn't come for the breadstick crown — if their dressing is any indication, they have the restaurant's number.