I'll Never Buy This Aldi Takeout-Inspired Frozen Meal Again

If there is one thing that you should know about me, it's that I'm thrifty. Despite having a somewhat refined taste in food (I mean, look at what I do for work), I will always try to cut corners where I can. This is exactly why I was excited to see the Aldi-branded Bremer's Beef and Broccoli, which I assumed would be a shortcut version of the Chinese-American beef and broccoli I'd come to know and love. Or at least, I figured, it would be a thriftier option than the P.F. Chang's Frozen Beef and Broccoli that I had already been cutting my takeout budget with.

I suppose I was setting my standards too high, as I had been burned by Aldi's Asian-inspired selections in the past (namely, the Teriyaki Udon with Chicken Meal Kit, which you'll never see me buy again). The frozen beef and broccoli meal was somehow more disappointing than it. For one, I didn't realize that rice was included in this beef and broccoli bag. What's worse, the rice made up about 80 percent of the entire bag, leaving me with six or seven measly pieces of broccoli and even less beef. I don't expect the beef of any frozen meal to be high-quality, but the meat that was in this bag resembled tire rubber. Compound that with a sauce that tasted generically Asian-adjacent instead of the thick, MSG-rich, and oyster sauce-laden concoction I was used to getting at my local Chinese takeout spot, and you've got a recipe for disappointment. Heed my warning and leave this bag in the freezer section.

I wasn't surprised to see that other folks had the exact same experience as I did with this product. "I should have known better or at least looked at the ingredients I suppose — I wasn't expecting rice," said one Redditor, who showed a photo of their prepared meal. "I wouldn't recommend or repurchase — not much meat or broccoli." Other folks in the comments cheekily shared "Where's the beef?" responses, and one commenter was especially put off by the serving size — which is one cup of the five cup bag. "I would be very surprised if this equals five cups — it looks so pathetic," the original poster replied on Reddit. I would say "pathetic" also sums up my feelings about this product.

It's not that I'm against having rice included in a meal, especially because it can make the dish more filling or substantial. However, while you can freeze cooked rice, this is one instance where you really shouldn't. The rice in this meal gets horribly grainy — arguably worse than instant rice — and lacks the soft freshness you'd get from stovetop steamed rice. In this case, the rice was likely added to bulk up the portions (beef isn't cheap in 2026, as we all know), but all you're paying for is a bag of frozen rice — and bad frozen rice at that. My suggestion? Pick up broccoli and flank steak and make your own beef and broccoli recipe at home.