16 Discontinued Aldi Products Shoppers Desperately Want Back

When it comes to Aldi-specific grocery items, every now and then, the company simply knocks it out of the park. The team of recipe developers and food scientists over there often find a winning formula, combined with the right form factor and maybe some eye-catching packaging, and you have a banger on your hands. From snacks to frozen entrées, to condiments and spreads, to breads and cheeses, Aldi is known to curate well, all at affordable and competitive prices (even if there are some differences in pricing between stores). For those lucky enough to live in a state with Aldis, you may have come across one of these very items that really hit the spot, having you restock it every grocery run, only to one day find out it's no longer available. Heartbreaking stuff.

Unfortunately, some of the most popular items with cult followings are often removed from the store's inventory and discontinued out of the blue. Or, they may make seasonal appearances, with availability varying from region to region. It can make things frustrating but also fun to daydream about, like the bittersweet feeling of flipping through old vacation pictures, hoping to relive those same dopamine hits. Yet there is something to be said about manifesting and asking the universe — or a sympathetic Aldi marketing exec — for the return of discontinued yet beloved products, as we pine to see them back on store shelves. Here, we bask in nostalgia and revisit 16 discontinued Aldi items that many shoppers would love to see restocked.

Earth Grown is one of Aldi's exclusive brands, which, if you're unfamiliar, caters to plant-based customers. The brand is known for making vegans and vegetarians happily tricked into revisiting the textures and tastes — or, as close as possible — of meat, with many options you could bring to your next barbecue. 

The brand gained lots of love online and in-store with its vegan cream cheese spread, allowing lactose-intolerant folks to enjoy a bagel or toast with a massive schmear. Of course, you don't have to exclusively use cream cheese at the breakfast table, as there are plenty of ways to use up a leftover block of it. And I'm sure we can all agree, it is truly a delicious condiment, plant-based or not. One Reddit user called the Earth Grown spread "baller vegan cream cheese," and many shoppers of all dietary styles would like it to return. Until then, you'll have to keep refreshing your browsers on the Aldi subreddit or bug your local store manager. Here's to hoping!

Simply Nature is another Aldi-exclusive brand that customers love, offering organic and non-GMO verified products at easy-to-swallow prices. The line is free from artificial ingredients and preservatives, hence the name, Simply Nature. So, when it comes to sweet treats and snack foods, at least with this line, you can rest easy knowing it's relatively healthy, like these Coconut Cashew Crisps. 

These came in three flavors: Sea Salt Caramel, Vanilla, and Chocolate, and were only $2.99 for a 3.5-ounce bag, ticking off the boxes of being gluten-free, paleo, vegan, and kosher. One Redditor said that these snacks were "elite" in a thread called "What happened to the coconut cashew crisps?" on the Aldi subreddit. Another user said they hunted for these snacks at every store in a 25-mile radius to no avail — that's dedication. For Reddit user nelito67's sake, and anyone else who loved these snacks, let's hope they come back.

Eggplant Parm is such an incredibly delicious dish that can be heavy, but it actually doesn't always have to be fried for the best results. With this frozen entrée from Season's Choice, called Eggplant Cutlets (which is more or less the same thing as eggplant Parmesan), Aldi found a winner. But as the brand name might suggest, Season's Choice does this frozen Italian favorite seasonally, much to the chagrin of Aldi shoppers seeking serious comfort food. 

One reviewer on Facebook claimed that these cutlets weren't bitter or oily, something that can be hard to pull off with an at times bitter vegetable prepared in hot oil. And on Reddit, upon the meal's return to Aldi's frozen aisle, a thread titled "Ladies The Eggplant Cutlets are BACK" from 2023 totaled 43 comments. This fan favorite comes and goes as the seasons change, so check online when your next craving hits.

Having taco sauce on hand, at the ready in the fridge for when a spontaneous taco night shapes up, is never a bad idea. Many grocery stores make proprietary versions, in addition to taco seasonings, to help you arrive at Flavortown. But they're not all created equal, and Aldi's Casa Mamita taco sauce was renowned for its stellar flavor. 

It came in two options: verde and roja, which are, for those of you who can't Spanish, green and red via tomatillos or regular tomatoes. Either way, they claimed to have been "taqueria-inspired," with the roja variety having a medium spice level and the verde option coming in more of a mild heat. There are multiple threads online with fans looking for answers as to why these sauces have disappeared, with one Redditor even claiming their local Aldi store manager was "flabbergasted that they haven't brought it back yet."

Sure, summer is slowly fading away, and many of us are looking forward to cozy fall vibes, excited about indulging in all things pumpkin-spiced. But in the final days of peak ice cream season, some of us look towards Aldi's freezer aisle, which has some bangers — or, rather, had some bangers. 

Its Belmont Peanut Butter S'mores flavor was one of the more celebrated flavors that has unfortunately now eluded some Aldi shoppers with a sweet tooth. And really, what screams summer more than s'mores combined with ice cream? Pretty genius. What's perplexing here is that the flavor was allegedly axed in the middle of the summer at some locations, leaving many scratching their heads in search of answers from the dairy gods. For those lucky enough to have the space and access to a deep freeze, we might recommend stocking up when it, or if, it returns to the frozen section.

Say what you want to say about the keto diet, but at least it has jolted recipe developers awake to realize that some products can be reimagined. With bread often in the crosshairs of the keto community, retailers like Aldi took notice, creating lines of carb-light bagels. 

L'oven Fresh keto bagels, which have been around for a few years now, tick those boxes, appealing to shoppers of varying dietary preferences. If you're wondering, they're still made out of wheat; it's just been heavily processed with modified wheat starches, as well as the inclusion of a whopping 29 grams of fiber. They seem to come and go, and at $4.49 for a pack of five, they're a good deal, especially for those who adhere to a strict keto diet. This is yet another one you might want to stock up on and throw into your freezer when it reappears on store shelves.

Halloumi, for those who might be unfamiliar, is a special cheese that loves being grilled, though it often plays second fiddle to its cousins, paneer and feta. It's a great way to take a break from meat by giving it the spotlight in your sliders, allowing it to act as the star protein for a seriously satisfying chew and rich, salty flavor. Some Aldi shoppers have cottoned to the fact that it can do all of this, at an exceedingly affordable price, via its Emporium Selection brand. 

While we're all riding the waves of inflation, costly cheeses can be tough, but Aldi kept its grilling halloumi under five bucks. It is specifically called a grilling cheese, coaxing customers into firing up the grill to impart a smoky flavor as it's warmed through. The problem is that it has disappeared, leaving many to have to shell out more for pricier alternatives. Let's all hope someone at Aldi is reading this and makes the case for its return. Fingers crossed.

As we mentioned earlier, Earth Grown is Aldi's celebrated plant-based brand offering many meatless options of popular foods like hot dogs and sausages. Whether you're vegan or not, you may have noticed in recent years a real push in the market for better-tasting meatless versions of burgers and the like, and these Italian sausages fall in that category. 

They allowed Aldi shoppers to either have a meat-free dinner at home or show up to a barbecue without feeling left out, with nearly identical-looking faux sausages. They were denser than a typical Italian sausage, with a meaty chew and mild flavor. Would they go toe-to-toe with your local artisanal butcher's Italian sausages? Maybe not, but that's beside the point. They offered a suitable vegan-friendly alternative that would be at home between a bun or chopped up in a super savory pesto-based pasta. Sadly, it remains to be seen if they will ever return to Aldi.

We seem to be living through a protein-obsessed era of food trends, it seems. And while there's nothing wrong with this, it does make you wonder how far food companies will go to jam extra protein into popular products. Bread isn't necessarily a protein-rich food, so for those who love to hit certain protein requirements while scratching that itch for bread, Aldi's L'oven Fresh brand offered a solid option. 

Each slice gave you 10 grams of protein, so, imaginably, you could have a pretty satiating breakfast with a couple of slices and some eggs. The addition of wheat protein isolate, in addition to soy protein, helped to ramp up the total and allowed marketers to call it protein bread. While its seed-forward texture might not be for everyone, diehard fans have peppered the Aldi subreddit with threads about availability. It seems to come and go, and in 2023, there was even a petition to bring it back.

Newer sparkling water brands like LaCroix and Spindrift, alongside old-school stalwarts Topo Chico and Perrier, are quite popular with diehard fans. But each grocery chain, like Kroger, Trader Joe's, or Aldi's Belle Vie brand, offers alternatives that are usually cheaper. And while there doesn't seem to be any science backing up claims that seltzers and sparkling water are particularly addictive, it almost seems that way, as some consumers feverishly hoard cases of the stuff to slake their thirst. 

This ties into the Belle Vie flavored sparkling waters, as they often go out of stock in stores due to massive popularity. Some shoppers noticed depleted stock or even the complete disappearance of them for months on end, leaving diehard fans to resort to omnipresent brands like LaCroix. Perhaps the fact that they're sugar-free and come in a wide variety of natural flavors helps their appeal. As Belle Vie fizzy water is prone to disappearing, stock up where you can.

Back in 2017, the oat milk wave was just starting, as Swedish brand Oatly landed on American shores with 650 cafes picking it up. Since then, year-on-year, sales have continued to increase, with many competitors jumping onto the bandwagon, allowing for coffee fans to have creamy, milk-free cappuccinos that actually taste good. 

As with many products in this realm, grocery stores might be late to the game, but they always try to offer cheaper alternatives. The Aldi-exclusive brand Friendly Farms threw its hat into the oat milk ring, offering customers cartons of what some said was the creamiest oat milk on the market. But it wasn't just for coffee, making for a great smoothie base or for cereal, with a milk-like consistency. Its formulation, unfortunately, went through some changes that irked diehard fans, going from being branded as "extra creamy" to now simply "original." Let's pray that Aldi brings the superior extra creamy version back soon.

Dupes are so much fun. They allow customers to experience flavors (or even handbags and sunglasses) that mimic cost-prohibitive originals. And while the original Pinwheels might not break the bank, these Benton's Fudge Marshmallow Cookies, like the majority of Aldi's offerings, are budget-friendly. 

Sadly, they have been removed from regular store stocks for some years now, sparking the usual cycle of Aldi shopper mourning. For many, it's simply the nostalgia of an older cookie style that appealed to them, with pillowy marshmallows slathered in chocolate that can be addictive. Or, others liked to play with the cookie temperatures, as some fans claimed a quick microwave blitz transformed them in the best way, or that freezing them made them "next level," to quote one Reddit user. As ever, grocery store brands constantly seek to make alternatives, but sometimes they really outdo themselves. Hopefully, these cookies return from the dead.

In the pizza world, like most foods, you will have your purists and your inclusive, experimentally-inclined individuals or restaurants. Some think pineapple on pizza is a sin, while others throw the kitchen sink at a stretched dough, treating it as a blank canvas to become one's own Jackson Pollock with the ingredients. 

For those who love pizza and Mexican cuisine, Aldi's Mama Cozzi Mexican-style frozen pie is a no-brainer. But, regrettably, this once-loved pizza is no longer available, leaving many fans to ponder when it might ever reappear in stores. This phenomenon is known online as an Aldi Find, which means that once the item's stock is fully depleted and sold out, it goes off the radar for some time, with the potential to return. This, in turn, leads many fans to play Aldi detective, cruising message boards like Reddit or bugging their local store manager for some intel. We really hope Aldi pays attention to the masses, as the people have spoken: Bring back this pizza!

Takis are fire. The Mexican brand of flavored and rolled tortilla chips makes for a pretty epic snack when you need a hit of carbs, salt, and spice all at once. Here, Aldi makes a pitch for your hard-earned greenbacks by stocking a Taki dupe under the Pueblo Lindo imprint at almost half the price of the originals — pretty good deal. These are called taquitos, and they play in the same space as Takis, flavor-wise, in addition to being texturally similar. 

Aldi's Taki dupes were part of the larger Pueblo Lindo line, which aims to offer traditional Hispanic food with staples like tortillas, queso fresco cheeses, dried black beans, and even instant corn masa flour for when you want to whip up some tamales. With older threads online that are collecting digital dust, diehard fans of these taquitos may never get the answers they're looking for about a possible restock date. Keep your orange, chip-dusted fingers crossed!

Peach and mango salsas, while perhaps not the most traditional, are incredibly tasty and refreshing. In this wheelhouse, there are also pineapple salsas, showcasing similar bombastic, tropical flavors. The sweetness of the fruit is counteracted by the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar or lime juice, providing a floral and sweeter alternative to basic salsas. 

They might not be for everyone, but they definitely have their fans. And this offering from Aldi, billed under its exclusive Specially Selected brand, is no different. For this offshoot, Aldi looks to fill a gap with a more premium line that it refers to as gourmet, with some items within it even winning awards. Gourmet distinction aside, the disappearance of this fruit-forward salsa dates back to around coronavirus times, and unlike some of the other products on our list, it hasn't been able to make even the briefest of returns. This one might actually be done and dusted. R.I.P.

Whether you're 7 years old or 77, ice cream sandwiches transcend age and demographics. They are a truly delicious and satisfying hand-held dessert. They're also pretty easy to make at home, but the convenience of being able to grab one out of your freezer in 10 seconds trumps a messy and sticky kitchen counter situation. 

Aldi came to bat here with its Sundae Shoppe brand's Jumbo Premium Ice Cream Sandwiches and has stocked them for a while now. But like many of the items on this list, their scarcity and occasional disappearance have frustrated Aldi's sweet tooth-afflicted shoppers. These treats are probably gone for good, as Sundae Shoppe has pivoted to offering different styles of other ice cream sandwich flavors, some of which, like the Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches from the brand, actually appear to be dupes of Trader Joe's version. For fans of a no-frills, classic ice cream sandwich with two chocolate wafers and plain vanilla ice cream in between, you might need to shop elsewhere for your fix, as these babies are MIA.