This Aldi Dessert Is A Mainstay In My Freezer (And It's Way Better Than Name Brand)

I have quite the sweet tooth, so I'm always on the hunt for something that can satisfy my sugar craving in a small package. Enter: mochi. These tiny, Japanese-inspired desserts are the perfect bite-sized end to your meal. Each ice cream ball is encased in a layer of rice dough, resulting in a pillow-soft bite. They're a favorite of celebrity chef Alton Brown's, and I also have a soft spot for this sweet treat, especially when it comes from the Aldi freezer.

Aldi carries several mochi varieties under its Sundae Shoppe label, including cookies and cream, strawberry, and mango. Each box of six is priced around $5 or less, making it cost-competitive with the name-brand My/Mochi, which I have found stocked in Aldi freezers and other area grocery stores, including Walmart and Target (though inconsistently and with very odd flavors).

Even though Aldi and My/Mochi are priced in the same ballpark, I do think the Aldi mochi are much better because they have a better ratio of rice dough to ice cream. Whenever I buy My/Mochi, regardless of flavor, I always feel like I'm eating pencil rubber with ice cream in the middle — and not good ice cream at that. Aldi's Sundae Shoppe mochi have a thinner, less toothsome rice dough layer, making them much more satisfying to eat. As such, I always have a box of one of the three flavors — usually cookies and cream — in my freezer.

The Sundae Shoppe mochi are one of my favorite budget-friendly freezer finds at the grocer, and I'm not the only one who really loves eating them. Folks have taken to Reddit in droves to show their appreciation (read: obsession) with this Aldi find. Other folks, like myself, appreciate the balance between the rice dough layer and the ice cream filling. "My Aldi stocks these regularly. In the summer months it's really a problem... I go through a box a week," a Reddit user said on a thread about them.

One tip for these mochi is to put them in a separate bag once you pop the seal. The plastic coating on top isn't resealable, meaning your mochi are exposed to all the freezer smells if you leave them unsealed. Storing them in a resealable bag in their tray helps keep them fresh — if, of course, you can resist eating the whole tray in a single sitting. You also don't have to let them sit out on the counter before eating them; the dough is pliable enough to perfectly mush between your molars straight from the freezer.