Aldi's $12 Pot Roast Kit Makes A Full Dinner With Almost No Prep

It's hard to beat comfort food with a side of convenience. That's why slow cooker meals are so popular. After a long day (or before the start of one), you simply drop the ingredients into your handy slow cooker, set the time and temperature, and forget about it until you're ready to serve. With the popularity of convenient meals, it's no surprise many grocery stores have taken to creating its own versions of simple slow cooker entrees to ease the pressure of dinner decisions. Aldi is one such chain that has gotten in on the act, and one of its better options is a simple pot roast kit that sells for just $12 to $14, depending on your location. 

The Tyson Beef Pot Roast Kit with Vegetables includes a fresh beef chuck roast (rather than a chuck steak), vegetable medley of baby carrots, red potatoes, celery, and onions, plus a seasoning packet, which, according to the package, includes hints of onion, garlic, sugar, parsley, among other spices. The directions are easy enough — simply place the beef and vegetables in your slow cooker, then mix the seasoning packet with a cup of water and pour it over the meat and vegetables. Optionally, add any custom seasonings you would like at this point, then simply set the pot roast to cook on low for eight to 10 hours or on high for four to six hours.

Convenience is no doubt a benefit of Aldi's pot roast kit, but without flavor, the convenience really doesn't mean much. Most of the reviews are fairly positive. One Redditor loved the flavor and portion size, noting, "I love these as a single gal. I can't make a whole roast for just me, I'd never eat it all! These are so yummy and the perfect size for a few meals." Another commenter responded to criticism that it would be easier to just buy the ingredients separately without the kit, stating, "Some might say that this was expensive and it'd be cheaper to just buy the ingredients separately, but I have to disagree. I have meals for pretty much the whole week now." They went on to give the kit a 10 out of 10 rating.

Not all the reviews were as complimentary. Many commenters said the seasoning packet was lackluster and they preferred to season the meat and veggies without the packet. (What seasonings belong in a pot roast?) Others thought the price was too expensive for what you get. And some reviewers said the meal was flavorless and, in one particular case, the pot roast smelled like burned plastic after cooking, making it inedible, according to the Reddit reviewer.

So, results may vary, obviously. Your opinion might hinge on how much you value convenience. In our opinion, though, the convenience of this pot roast kit — along with the reasonable price — makes it, at the very least, worth a try.