Baking On A Budget? You Might Want To Stop At Aldi For These Staple Ingredients

Baking as a hobby can be relaxing and rewarding. But whether you're perfecting your pastries or curating a cookie platter, baking can also be expensive, from basics like all-purpose flour to add-ons like chocolate chips. If you're baking for a crowd or just trying to cut your sweet treat budget, you can pick up most baking staples at Aldi for less than you'd find them anywhere else; on average, it's America's cheapest grocery store.

If you don't have a set event to bake for, step one to spending less is to bake based on what's on sale at your local Aldi — or any grocery store — that week. Check the weekly circular for discounts, follow your local store on social media to stay on top of any pop-up sales, and shop store brands, which are often more cost-effective. Ultimately, it's worth it to buy just about any baking ingredient at Aldi over competitors, cost-wise. When comparing Aldi prices with Target and Stop & Shop, Aldi was the clear winner. Its prices were sometimes a full dollar less than competitors. Although there were some items that were priced the same at Aldi and another store, if you're buying multiple ingredients, it's definitely the better deal to just grab everything at Aldi in order to save money on the total haul.

While you'd have to price compare each individual baking ingredient to fully understand where the better deal is, we did the bulk of the legwork for you. All-purpose flour is the base of many cake, muffin, and cookie recipes, and a 5-pound bag costs $2.45 at Aldi. (Keep in mind that some Aldi stores are cheaper than others, so the true price depends on where you live.) The same 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour costs $2.69 at Target, which is the second-best deal among the three. But at Stop & Shop, a popular grocery chain in the Northeast, its store-brand, 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour costs $3.59 — more than $1 higher than Aldi's price.

The same goes for other staples, such as baking soda and baking powder. Baking soda costs $0.99 at Aldi but $1.19 at Target. You'll actually also find it for 99 cents at Stop & Shop. However, baking powder at Stop & Shop is $2.69 (and $2.29 at Target) yet only $2.05 at Aldi. Meaning, if you buy both of these products together, you'll still save money by purchasing them at Aldi.

Whether you're baking a cake, whipping up some homemade chocolate chip cookies, or adding walnuts to your favorite brownie recipe, the situation remains the same: Aldi is the best spot for these goods. Cocoa prices rose in 2024 and remained high in 2025 due to a few factors from bad weather conditions to tariffs, so you aren't wrong if you feel like chocolate chips are pricier than they once were. A 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips at Aldi costs $4.15, which is a better deal than Target at $4.19 or Stop & Shop at $4.49. Light brown sugar, another popular ingredient in chocolate chip cookies, runs for $2.09 at Aldi and $2.19 at Target for a 2-pound bag, but it's much pricier at Stop & Shop, where it's $2.99. 

While baking staples and standard mix-ins are generally cheaper at Aldi, the same can also be said for some other ingredients. Adding 8 ounces of chopped walnuts to a boxed brownie mix will cost you $3.09 at Aldi. At Stop & Shop, the store-brand walnuts are sold in 6-ounce bags yet cost $3.29, and Target doesn't offer a store-brand version, so you'll pay $4.99 for an 8-ounce bag of Blue Diamond walnuts. All in all, if you're purchasing anything from flour to sugar to chocolate, chances are you'll score a better deal on your baking must-haves and save more money shopping at Aldi.