9 Aldi Condiments That Can Upgrade Any Meal

Frugal shoppers have long considered Aldi their special secret – a place to get everything from European chocolates to imported Italian pasta at bargain prices. Devoted shoppers even have Facebook pages dedicated to Aldi's infamous Aisle of Shame – the ever-changing collection of random (but often surprisingly useful) household goods and clothing in the store's center aisle. 

There is, of course, a catch: Store ambiance is nearly non-existent, and you're responsible for bagging your own groceries and returning your cart to the corral. In addition, you won't find as many food options as in bigger supermarkets — but what you will find is food for enjoyment, not for mere survival.

Aldi's rotating assortment of condiments is a case in point. You won't find dozens of varieties of mustard or pickles as you would at bigger stores, and most will be Aldi's house brands, rather than national brands. The store's modest condiment inventory, however, is thoughtfully curated. Some offerings are unique alternatives to more common condiments, while others are affordable dupes of brand-name favorites. Here are some customer favorites and fan secrets for incorporating them into your meals.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

Hot honey seems to be everywhere right now, making conspicuous appearances in spicy cocktails, grilling sauces, and even potato chip flavoring. Aldi has its own version, sold under the store's Berryhill brand, and it's not only refreshingly affordable — $4.79 for a 12-ounce squeeze bottle as of this writing – but tasty enough to buy on repeat. If you're a fan of heat and sweetness, there's no meal that it can't improve — it's not only fun to drizzle onto fried chicken or pizza for lunch or dinner; it adds an eye-opening hit of heat to buttered biscuits and toast for your breakfast. And for an easy and memorable cocktail nibble, squirt some onto a log of creamy goat cheese to serve with crackers.

Aldi's hot honey, however, is a bit polarizing: While it has devoted fans, it also has haters (though mysteriously, the haters in online discussions can never articulate exactly what they hate about it, except that it doesn't taste like their favorite brand). So if you already have a go-to brand of hot honey, don't expect the Aldi version to be a perfect dupe — or you're likely to be disappointed.

Purchase Berryhill Hot Honey Infused with Chilies for $4.79.

If you love a fast and easy pasta meal but find jarred marinara boring and predictable, check out the Priano rosso pesto (red pesto) the next time you're in Aldi's pasta section. Unlike the more-familiar green pesto, rosso pesto is built on a base of ground sun-dried tomatoes, which gives it its bright red hue and tangy flavor, along with grated cheese, cashews, basil, and oil, which make it richer and heartier than marinara sauce.

What makes this a fun pick is that red pesto is not frequently served in North American Italian restaurants, and it's even rarer as a jarred condiment — especially at an Aldi price point. This makes it feel fancier than a typical weeknight dinner option. Toss it with tortellini for an easy meal or use it to liven up a panini or homemade pizza. To make it into a heartier entrée, some fans use it as a sauce for chicken, and one recommended making it into an even richer sauce by folding it into goat cheese.

Purchase Priano Rosso Pesto Sauce for $2.45.

This sauce in a white squeeze bottle with a suspiciously generic name hides a secret: According to some fans, it's a near-perfect dupe for Chick-fil-A's honey barbecue sauce, which is why shoppers can't stop buying it and went into a panic when rumors emerged that it was being discontinued. (It wasn't, though it was in short supply for a while.)

Creamy and sweet with a touch of smokiness and mustard heat, it's not only good to have around if you find yourself craving that familiar Chick-fil-A sauce on Sunday, but it also makes a great binder for chicken salad as well as a dipping sauce for nuggets or even pretzels. Other fans report enjoying it on grilled chicken and as a dipper for fries. But like any copycat product, how much you like it will depend on how devoted you are to the original. While some shoppers called it a nearly perfect dupe, others found it both looked and tasted different. But a few even said they liked it better than the Chick-Fil-A version — so it may be worth trying on its own merits.

Purchase Burman's Chicken Dipping Sauce for $2.89.

Aldi stores are smaller than those of many supermarkets, which means they must use their space strategically. One way Aldi does this is by rotating its offerings by season. Loyal shoppers know fall is when the cider doughnuts and pumpkin-spiced treats appear, and the Christmas season brings an even bigger assortment of German cookies and candies. Condiments also rotate in and out, so some fan favorites may not always be in stock.

Among the seasonal offerings to watch for is Burman's Spicy Garlic Sauce. Typically a summer offering, fans describe it as thick, rather like sriracha, and gently hot — and a great addition to eggs, sandwiches, and pizza, as well as a good base for homemade Buffalo wing sauce. And many who've tasted it are seriously crazy about it. 

"All you ppl stay stay away! It's ALL MINE," a Redditor wrote. "Seriously, one of my favorite sauces. It's delicious." And because of its limited availability, fans take care to stock up when they see it. "I bought three bottles yesterday. It's so good and get so sad when I run out," another Redditor said.

Purchase Burman's Spicy Garlic Sauce (seasonal availability) for about $3.33.

Among the rotating condiment offerings at Aldi is its fan-favorite Avocado Serrano Sauce. Another summer offering, it's a creamy, pale green sauce featuring lime, tomatillos, and garlic along with avocados and serrano chiles. This makes it a bit of a cross between a thin guacamole and a green hot sauce, and thus a natural accompaniment to Mexican dishes such as tacos and breakfast burritos.

But some fans can't get enough of it and share that they use it on everything from steaks to potatoes to chicken nuggets, and even as a base for salad dressings. And they emphasize it's not just a condiment for Mexican dishes. "I love the avocado serrano on everything," a Redditor said. "I put it on sandwiches, on triscuits, with cheap steak, and even tried it with corn on the cob. It's amazing!" 

The only complaint is it can be tough getting the sauce out of the bottle. "These bottles have the most idiotic 'spout' ever," another Redditor griped.

Purchase Burman's Avocado Serrano Hot Sauce (seasonal availability) for $2.61.

At Aldi, you're not going to find an all-encompassing assortment of herbs and spices. You will, however, find staples such as black pepper and garlic powder, along with a small assortment of spice mixes, some of which have devoted fans. One of these is its steak seasoning, which some fans believe to be a copycat version of McCormick Grill Mates Montreal steak seasoning, or alternatively a dupe of Weber's steak seasoning. "The steak spice is just like the Weber. Buy, buy," a Redditor said. According to fans, the seasoning is not only great on steaks, but on burgers, French fries, and in mashed potatoes and eggs.

Some shoppers, however, note that it's been hard to find as of late, and rumors have been circulating that it's being discontinued — so if you're lucky enough to spot some, now's the time to scoop it up. Alternatively, you can try the store's Chicago-style steak seasoning, which is still available as a seasoning offering — and, according to shopper comments, also delicious. "They also have a Chicago style steak seasoning I highly recommend; [it] has a slight sweetness too it's super good," a Redditor wrote.

Purchase Stonemill Chicago-style Steak Seasoning for $2.69.

When Aldi's corporate cousin Trader Joe's introduced its Everything but the Bagel seasoning in 2017, it was an immediate hit. A big reason for its success was likely the "why didn't I think of that?" genius of the concept — take all the crunchy, savory nubs that fall off the top of everything bagels and put them in a bottle for bagel lovers to sprinkle onto other foods.

And like all viral foods, it inspired a slew of copycats, including Aldi's own version, in a similar square glass shaker bottle. Like the original, it features all the canonical everything bagel flavors — dried onion and garlic bits, along with sesame and poppy seeds and coarse salt. And according to shoppers, the Aldi version holds its own when compared to both Trader Joe's and those offered by other stores. Fans share that it works not only as a topping for homemade savory baked goods, but as a flavorful accent to cottage cheese, a crust for baked fish, and a topping for roasted vegetables. To make a good thing even better, Aldi also has Everything Bagel seasonings flavored with jalapeño and Asiago cheese — and many online fans find the jalapeño version irresistible.

Purchase Stonemill Everything Bagel Seasoning for $1.80.

Chili lovers know it's possible to have too much of a good thing. While a healthy bit of heat from a good hot sauce can be super satisfying, no one enjoys feeling as if a grenade detonated on their tongue. This could be why condiments that combine heat with sweetness have been attracting so many fans, even among those who don't normally enjoy spicy foods – sweet ingredients such as sugar and honey are known to mitigate the effects of chili heat. And conversely, a bit of heat can give a sweet condiment more depth and keep it from becoming cloying.

Aldi has actively embraced this flavor combo, which shows up in products as varied as its hot honey potato chips and hot honey barbecue sauce. But one of its more creative manifestations is in its Honey Sriracha Hot Sauce, one of multiple varieties of sriracha the store offers. Its combo of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors makes it a lively and novel addition to a ham and cheese sandwich or topping for fried chicken. You can also mix it with mayo to make your own sweet/spicy/creamy sandwich spread. But just as sriracha is among the milder hot sauce variants, this sweet version is among the milder srirachas. So if you're looking for an adrenaline-boosting blast of heat, this won't be for you – but it will be a tasty treat for heat-averse kids and friends.

Purchase Burman's Honey Sriracha Hot Sauce for $3.19.

Both dill pickles and ranch dressing are having a moment now, and since they tend to show up in the same meals, it was almost inevitable that someone would put them together to form a (hopefully) viral condiment. The devil, of course, is in the details. Just mixing two trendy foods together is no guarantee of success. Do it right, and you bring out the best of both ingredients. Do it wrong, and both foods — not to mention those who combined them — come out looking worse.

Judging from online comments, Aldi's Tuscan Garden Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing seems to have succeeded in bringing two trendy tastes together. Introduced as part of a trio of flavored ranch dressings (the other flavors being buffalo sauce and avocado), it's proven to be a hit with both devoted pickle lovers and ranch lovers. "The dill pickle one is AMAZING. Legit some of the best ranch I've ever had. I grab one each time I go and hope they keep them as a staple," a Redditor said. 

And as TikTok creator ThePickledGuy notes with approval, it does indeed contain enough little chunks of dill pickle to give it a satisfyingly puckery flavor. Because it's thicker than most ranch dressings, it's especially well-suited for dipping — so if you like ranch with your pizza, this is one to try.

Purchase Tuscan Garden Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing for $2.59.