9 Spicy Aldi Snacks, Ranked Worst To Best

Everyone has their favorite snacks. Maybe you're a big fan of treating yourself to the sweetness of any one of the ever-growing line of Hostess Donettes flavors, or perhaps you prefer the jiggly, low-calorie appeal of Jell-O flavors. You might even have a strong preference towards the sweet and smoky crisp bites of BBQ potato chips. Unless you're anything like me, in which case you probably prefer the heat and bite of spicy snacks when you're feeling a bit peckish. In my home, we keep an assortment of spicy snacks available, which I personally tend to pair with complementary non-spicy flavored snacks to keep things balanced. And my favorite place to shop for these hot goodies is Aldi.

Aldi is a discount grocer known best for offering private-label products almost exclusively. Since it focuses its offerings on private labels, it's able to keep the costs of its products down. This ends up saving me money, which is always greatly appreciated. Of course, not every Aldi spicy snack is amazing. In fact, some are barely palatable. So how do you know which is which without sampling every one of them and potentially wasting your hard-earned money on things you don't enjoy? That's where I come in. You can skip the trial and error because I've taken care of that for you. Using my food industry experience and other relevant qualifications, I taste-tested nine spicy Aldi snacks before ranking them from worst to best.

I chose Aldi spicy snacks for inclusion in this ranking based on their availability to me at my preferred location, in Vineland, New Jersey. Of those spicy snacks available to me, I aimed to include as diverse an assortment of products as possible, to give a comprehensive selection of these types of Aldi snacks. This ranking is based mainly on taste, with aesthetics, aromas, and balance playing smaller roles when these qualities were particularly noticeable. I tasted all of these spicy snacks exactly as-is, without substitution, for the fairest assessment.

To make my determinations, I relied on more than 15 years of experience in the food industry, as well as extensive prior Aldi shopping experience. Also helping was my previous work creating ranking articles for the Daily Meal, including this similar one ranking 19 Lunch Buddies snacks at Aldi. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased about product quality as possible.

I'm a fan of the Simms beef sticks, which I believe to be a knock-off of your standard Slim Jims. So when it came time for me to taste test this Simms Zero Sugar Black Pepper Beef Jerky, I had really high hopes. Since it came in dead last in this ranking, you can guess that it didn't go as well as I'd hoped it would.

The smell of this when I opened the bag wasn't so bad. There was a dominating dried meat smell, paired with a light peppery bite that tickled at my nose. Unfortunately, over the top of this, there was an artificial scent that reminded me of low-quality meats like bologna or mixed-meat hot dogs — which doesn't quite make sense, because the bag says these are 100% premium beef. Regardless, I moved to the taste test despite not enjoying the scent (which is a pretty big deal for me). Texturally, this was much harder and drier than I'd anticipated, even for being jerky. The slight artificial smell transferred to the taste, where it lay over a deep savoriness, moderate amounts of peppery overtones, and an undesirable mild chalkiness.

I won't purchase this Simms Zero Sugar Black Pepper Beef Jerky again, and can't recommend it in any good faith. If you want a better jerky option, choose the Simms beef sticks instead.

I'm a huge fan of Aldi's Emporium Selection cheeses, and frequently call this brand my favorite cheese option. Plus, I adore spicy snacks. Adding these two things together made me believe that this spicy snack cheese would be fantastic, but I ended up quite disappointed instead.

There was no definitive smell to this cheese when I opened it, other than a hallmark spiciness. This made me wary, because I don't enjoy spicy foods that are all heat and no flavor, significantly preferring a robust flavor paired with a mild to moderate heat. Much to my disappointment, that's exactly what this spicy gouda turned out to be. It offered a lot of heat with very little taste, even forgoing the innate milkiness or tang of good cheese. The only positive thing I can say about this cheese is that it had a really nice texture to it.

I won't purchase this Emporium Selection Smoked Spicy Gouda again, and highly recommend you avoid it. If you're looking for a better Emporium Selection cheese, I suggest their Sliced Mozzarella Cheese Log, Asiago Cheese Wedge, or Cranberry Cinnamon Goat's Cheese Log.

Chester's Flamin' Hot Fries is an obvious dupe of the popular Flamin' Hot Cheetos, and I've found that people around my daughter's age (Gen Z) are especially fond of them. However, I should offer a disclosure here and say I've never been a huge fan and only rarely seek out the name-brand option. That said, since I often find that Aldi dupes are better than name-brand options, I held out every hope that this would be a hit.

I'll admit that these didn't end up being terrible, but I don't enjoy them any more than I do the originals they seek to duplicate, although I may be the outlier here. The dominant flavor profile is pure heat, although there are moderate notes of cheese and mild smoky tones to somewhat balance this. The fact that there were any other flavor notes at all is why this easily outranked the Emporium Selection Smoked Spicy Gouda. Texturally, these felt a little stale, and the only scent I could pick up was pure spice.

I probably won't buy these again, but you might enjoy them if you're a big fan of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Personally, I'd recommend sticking with a higher-ranking Aldi snack if you're looking to fulfill your spicy craving.

Growing up, I have vivid memories of my mother heading down to the convenience store solely for the purpose of picking up pork rinds. They were one of her absolute favorite snacks, and she imparted a great love for them to me during my childhood. Admittedly, despite a lifelong love affair with pork rinds, I've never tried the hot and spicy version — until, of course, this taste test.

This product embodied one of my favorite aspects of pork rinds perfectly. When I bit into one, there was a hard, crunchy texture paired with a beautiful airiness I adore. The savory, smoky, and salty flavor was there, too, but I wasn't a huge fan of whatever they used to make it spicy. The spice had a slight artificial aftertaste I didn't enjoy, although it wasn't so bad that it completely ruined my experience. Besides the hallmark spicy scent, there wasn't any defining smell to these pork rinds.

I might purchase Clancy's Hot and Spicy Pork Rinds again, and I would definitely eat them if offered to me. However, I have a strong preference for the standard, non-spicy options.

Here we get to the part of the list where I really enjoyed the spicy Aldi snacks, so you can feel free to grab a pen and paper to take notes now. Trust me when I say you won't want to forget to add the rest of the items in this ranking to your Aldi shopping list.

From the very beginning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the scent of these Spicy Guacamole Singles was more fresh guacamole than pure spice. Instead of one scent overpowering the other, they balanced nicely when I opened the package. Texturally, this looked great, too, being predominantly smooth, with a few thicker pieces of avocado strewn inside. The taste was very earthy and creamy, with a bit of zest and a moderate heat level. My only complaint (and why these didn't rank higher) is that there were very faint artificial undertones, albeit much less than the lower-ranking snacks on this list.

Although I don't think these Park Street Deli Spicy Guacamole Singles have earned a permanent, recurring spot in my refrigerator, I can definitely see myself buying these again. If you enjoy guacamole and spicy snacks, you'll likely enjoy this. I recommend pairing it with your favorite tortilla chips or spreading it on toast with some freshly cut tomatoes.

I had never seen this nor any similar product at Aldi before this. I was intrigued by the idea of a non-fried and breaded version of jalapeño poppers, albeit with a slightly different pepper. Also, I always aim to eat gluten-free whenever possible, simply due to personal preference, so that was an added bonus here.

As I opened the packaging, I immediately noticed that the smell here was only mildly hot and was more sweet. After so many items that were almost nothing but pure heat, I found this scent quite refreshing. I was pleased when the scent turned out to reflect the taste, which had a delicious combination of sweet and spicy, with savory undertones. There was also a nice textural complexity offered by the soft, juicy peppers and thick, creamy cream cheese that elevated the eating experience here.

I will definitely be purchasing the Park Street Deli Stuffed Red Peppers again, although probably not every week. If you enjoy a sweet and spicy flavor combination, you'll probably enjoy this snack.

I've had several Park Street Deli snack pack options, with my favorite being the Spinach and Parmesan Tzatziki with Pretzels. I've also really enjoyed the cheese and meat options, along with the Original Hummus with Pretzels variety. In fact, I haven't met a Park Street Deli snack pack I didn't like, and thankfully, that still holds true after this taste test.

The salty, starchy scent of the pretzels dominated when I opened the package, which was fine because it was an appetizing smell. I started off by eating one pretzel on its own, and found that it had a wonderful crisp texture and a satisfying crunch when I bit into it. The taste was as salty and starchy as the smell promised, offering a flavor just as good as any name-brand option I've tried. I next tried a little bit of the dip on its own, which was sweet and creamy, with what I'd consider a mild amount of spice. With the two together, the flavors perfectly complemented each other in taste while nicely contrasting each other in texture.

I will definitely be buying the Park Street Deli Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip with Pretzels Snack Pack again. In fact, it's earned a spot in my weekly snack pack rotation. If you enjoy snacks you can dip, or those offering a sweet, creamy, and spicy flavor combination, you'll enjoy this.

I'm a huge fan of salsa, and have all too often found myself terribly disappointed with off-brand varieties. With many of them, they have a strange flat taste that feels as though I'm simply eating watered-down tomato paste. Despite my initial hesitations, though, this Casa Mamita Mild Chunky Salsa turned out to offer an experience embodying everything I love about a good salsa.

The scent when I opened the jar (with only a little difficulty) was richly tomato with faint hints of seasoning and heat. For the purposes of this taste test, I first tried a spoonful of this salsa by itself to really get a feel for its flavor. I found that a dominant tomato flavor was heavily accented by the sweet and spicy notes of jalapeño and the slight tang of onion. Texturally, this salsa was as chunky as the label promised and held on really well to tortilla chips.

I will definitely be purchasing this again, and it's even earned a regular spot on my grocery shopping list. I highly recommend trying it for yourself, so you can see why it earned the top spot on our ranking of spicy Aldi snacks. In addition to eating it with tortilla chips, this would go really well with cheese quesadillas or beef tacos.