Aldi's Bake Shop Cinnamon Rolls Have One Problem You Can't Ignore

Discount grocery chain Aldi has a huge amount of baked goods available; Chowhound ranked 15 of them from worst to best, and we didn't even come close to covering everything. Among the items that didn't make it onto our list are the Bake Shop cinnamon rolls, which have quite the fan base, especially since you can get eight pieces for just $3.55. According to reviews online, however, there's one deal-breaking catch to these cinnamon rolls: their quality can be wildly inconsistent.

While some customers find them absolutely delightful — especially among store-bought cinnamon rolls — others find them fairly average, even while acknowledging their friendly price tag. According to customer reviews on the r/Aldi subreddit, some just can't stand them, saying that there's a distinct lack of cinnamon in the filling, with the overall flavor being just too artificial for their tastes.

The texture of the rolls is where you'll find some of the biggest disagreements between reviewers. The dough is either pillowy and stays soft even a few days after purchase, or it's too chewy, gooey, or dry to be enjoyable. While some find the icing to be deliciously thick and rich, others say it's gross, with a texture comparable to Kraft cheese singles. It's unclear why there would be so many opposing opinions on the quality of Aldi's Bake Shop Cinnamon Rolls, but one thing is clear: if the ones being sold at your nearby Aldi are good, consider yourself among the lucky ones who can get amazing cinnamon rolls at a low price.

It could be argued that Aldi's pre-made cinnamon rolls are inconsistent because they belong to the grocery chain's Bake Shop private label, which means they're sourced from third-party manufacturers. Because these manufacturers' identities aren't typically disclosed to the public, there can be a sense of curiosity over the quality of the products. However, Aldi does frequent quality testing of its private label items to ensure they're up to standard, so it's unlikely that the inconsistency comes from the manufacturing process.

The differences between reviews of the Bake Shop cinnamon rolls could instead be a consequence of Aldi's explosive growth in the United States. There are currently more than 2,600 Aldi locations in the country, with many more stores worldwide. When you have that many branches, there's more opportunity for there to be inconsistency in how they're managed. The differences in texture, for example, could be a result of location-to-location variance in storage methods, store conditions, and inventory management.

Different storage conditions affect the quality of baked goods in numerous ways. If storage humidity is too high, for example, pastries can get soggier over time. If the airtight seal in their containers is broken during shipping, the cinnamon rolls can dry out, leading to stale dough and crusty icing. If the management at your Aldi location isn't regularly cycling out food past its "best before" date, it can actually lose some flavor as the volatile compounds responsible evaporate. There are several ways a single store can get things wrong, so if the Bake Shop cinnamon rolls at your Aldi are bad, there's a chance you might get better ones elsewhere.