12 Aldi Dupes That Don't Live Up To The Originals, According To Shoppers

When it comes to finding affordable, eerily similar dupes of your favorite name-brand snacks and meals, few shops are a better fit for the job than Aldi. At this decades-old German grocery store chain that has quickly become a United States phenomenon, you can find nearly exact replicas of everything from Oreos to Kraft Mac & Cheese — all available for a fraction of the price.

Sadly, not every dupe from Aldi can compete with the name-brand items, though. In fact, some of the products have received numerous negative reviews, especially from those familiar with the original items that inspired the dupe.

Luckily for you, we have compiled a sizable list of the Aldi knock-offs that are not worth buying. Here's our guide to 12 of the Aldi dupes that don't live up to the originals, according to shoppers' reviews.

It is a tall order to find a dupe that's as good as the original Bagel Bites product, which became an iconic '90s food trend. According to shoppers, the Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen Mini Bagels, available in Three Cheese and Pepperoni flavors, do not even come close.

Although customer feedback tends to be minimal when it comes to sauce, cheese, and toppings, reviewers have one main qualm with this dupe: the mini bagels themselves. Some argue they are soggy, especially when cooked in the microwave. Other reviewers echo this texture issue, saying the bagels can be hard, chewy, and flavorless.

"I'm used to Ore-Ida when you just pop a tray in the microwave with 9 on them and they come out not soggy," one Facebook post reads. "The taste just isn't it for me!"

It appears that shoppers agree that this dupe misses the mark. For a better texture experience, it might be worth springing for the real deal.

Everyone is on a protein kick right now, and it appears that Aldi hopes to take advantage of it with its Elevation Maxx Bars. These bars are similar in packaging, macros, and ingredient composition to the name-brand RXBAR. However, many say that the taste of the Elevation Maxx Bars, available in Blueberry, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, and Peanut Butter Chocolate flavors, is inferior to that of its competitors. 

Reviewers knock the bar's texture, saying the bars are difficult to chew and packed with hard fragments of nuts. "The dense block is as sticky as can be, immediately suctioning to every single one of your teeth," reads a Tasting Table review about the Elevation Maxx Bar's Blueberry flavor, in which the bar landed last place in a ranking of Aldi Protein-Packed Drinks and Snacks. It appears that with this Aldi dupe, the texture is so poor that it's not worth buying.

Frozen taquitos are a classic, easy-to-prepare appetizer for entertaining guests (or for satisfying your own late-night cravings). Unfortunately, shoppers say that Aldi's Casa Mamita Taquitos, which come filled with Chicken & Cheese or Beef and appear comparable to the El Monterey Taquitos and Kraft Heinz Delimex Taquitos, do not get the job done.

Reviewers say that these taquitos are immensely difficult to crisp up, even when following the box's instructions. The filling, especially in the Chicken & Cheese variety, is also a major disappointment to shoppers — despite the box boasting photos of shredded chicken, the actual contents of the rolled tortillas are sparse, mushy, and flavorless."Found my 1st absolute fail," wrote one Facebook user. "The filling texture can only be best described as 'beaten to a squishy mess'." Although some shoppers say that dressing them up with shredded cheese, salsa, and sour cream was marginally helpful in improving their flavor, this frozen appetizer is still not worth buying.

The Clancy's Puffed Corn at Aldi comes in flavors of Butter and Cheese. This is similar to CHESTER'S Flavored Puffcorn Snacks, which the Aldi product appears to be imitating. Unlike other Aldi items on this list, Clancy's Puffed Corn used to be a fan favorite for Aldi shoppers. However, recent reviews say that this snack is no longer as tasty as it once was.

Aldi has not stated that this product has changed its formula officially, but fans speculate that it now has a new, inferior recipe. Shoppers say that the snack packs significantly less flavor, is too salty, and often has a chemical smell and flavor.

"They recently changed recipes and this one is a DEFINITE thumbs down. It's uniquely bad," a Reddit user wrote. "I used to buy this stuff all the time but I'm out of this race until it gets back to me that they've changed back to a decent supplier."

If you're looking for a dupe of Chips Ahoy! Crunchy Candy Blasts Fudgy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Aldi shoppers say that unfortunately, Benton's Soft Baked Monster Cookies do not deliver. Reviewers have several complaints about these cookies. 

One issue shoppers have is that the components of the cookie — a peanut butter oatmeal base, chocolate chips, and candy-coated chocolate pieces — are not harmonious. They say this causes the cookies to lack a balance of sweet and salty flavors. Other shoppers also say that the cookie's texture is crumbly and dry. Some people even state that the cookies could be bigger, especially for products with "Monster" in their name. "This is the first time I've ever considered returning an ALDI product. Are they serious with these wrinkled, cardboard-y, foul-tasting monstrosities?" reads one Reddit post about the cookies.

When you are longing for a quick, easy, and comforting meal, frozen lasagna can be one of your best bets. According to Aldi shoppers, though, you might be better off sticking with the iconic Stouffer's Lasagna with Meat & Sauce rather than the store's Bremer brand of lasagna.

The chief complaint about this frozen entrée is its meat sauce, which multiple customers say is unusually thick, overly sweet, and lacking in meat. The noodles also receive flak for being gummy and thin, while, in perhaps the biggest lasagna offense of all, the dish's only layer of cheese is on top. That's right — not a layer of ricotta or béchamel in sight.

"It's mostly a box of sauce (and really thick, awful sauce at that)," one Facebook post reads. "My husband said it's one of the worst things he's ever eaten. You've been warned."

Aldi tried hard to carry a dupe that adequately stacks up to Cheez-It crackers. The store created its Savoritz Cheese Crackers, which are available in Original, White Cheddar, and Extra Toasty varieties. But according to reviewers, this Aldi version just doesn't stack up.

Customers say that they lack that cheesy flavor, are too salty, and taste significantly different from the cracker on which they are based. "I love most things Aldi," one Facebook user wrote in a comment. "Those imitation cheese its [sic] ain't it."

Some shoppers do state that the Extra Toasty variety is a superior product. But there are many others that disagree, saying they've opened up boxes to find untoasted crackers inside. So this item is still a miss.

Dubai's FIX Dessert Chocolatier's inventive Can't Get Knafeh of It – Hero bar — featuring a luscious filling of crispy Kadaif pastry, pistachio cream, and nutty tahini — has been a sensation in the U.S. since 2023. Today, you can get your hands on countless Dubai chocolate bars sold by confectioners and big-box stores alike, but, according to reviews, you might be better off skipping the version from Aldi.

This disappointment starts right out of the package, as customers say the PICCA Dubai Style Milk Chocolate with Kadaif & Pistachio bar's cross-section hardly looks the way it does in the picture. While the image on the box features intact strands of Kadaif pastry tinged green from pistachio cream, shoppers' pictures of the bars reveal a jarringly smooth interior, as if the filling was only made with pistachio cream. 

"How is this not false advertising lol," one Reddit user asked after cracking open their bar. "Did not taste good either. Especially for $4." Also notable is the scant amount of filling compared to what is shown on the bar's packaging. Complaints abound about the unbalanced ratio of filling to chocolate, with many buyers arguing that PICCA could have cut back on the chocolate for a larger quantity of filling.

If you are looking for a quick and easy snack or side dish, there are few items that provide more comfort than one of the best bags of store-bought frozen french fries. Unfortunately, the ones at Aldi are a far cry from Kraft Heinz Ore-Ida Fries.

While the store's Season's Choice french fries, which are available as seasoned, crinkle cut, and seasoned spiral, were once more popular, shoppers say they have declined in quality and report a lack of breading, seasoning, and crispiness. They also say the fries tend to be greasy once cooked. In addition to lackluster fries, customers have noticed a similar decline in the quality of the Season's Choice Potato Puffs — the brand's take on a tater tot. One unhappy customer on Reddit comments: "That's Aldi/generic for ya. If you want consistency, you gotta pay up for [the] name brand."

"Aldi usually hits, but sadly, we were disappointed by these," reads a review of the Season's Choice Crinkle Cut fries in Parade, in which the fries were given last place in a ranking. "These were supposed to be seasoned fries, but they were very bland and the texture was limp, even after frying." It looks like it might be better to stick with the Ore-Ida fries these days.

Instant coffee is a quick alternative to a traditional brew (plus, you can also try baking with it), but if your only choice is the Aldi dupe of Nescafé Clásico, shoppers say you might be better off skipping that cup. "I've been using it for years, it's not as good as Nescafe," wrote one Reddit user of the Aldi product.

In yet another case of an Aldi product that seems to have gotten worse over time, customers say that Beaumont Instant Coffee, available in classic roast and classic decaf, has a flavor now lacking and is no longer as strong as it used to be. One Reddit user compared the taste to "bad truck stop coffee." Although fans sing the praises of Aldi's whole-bean coffee products, the instant coffee dupe, they say, has become a full-blown miss. 

"I've been drinking the instant coffee from Aldi for years now," another user wrote in a Reddit post. "It is MUCH weaker than it was previously when using the same ratios to make coffee, and the taste just isn't there anymore."

It seems that there is no shortage of Aldi dupes that have gone downhill over time — and Clancy's Wavy Potato Chips (a clear dupe for Ruffles) is also one of them. According to reviews, what was once a bag full of perfectly salted and flavorful potato chips has now become low-quality, bland, and salty. Either way, there is consensus that these chips do not measure up to their name-brand inspiration.

"Every bag has been a huge disappointment," one Reddit user wrote in a post about the original Wavy chips. "The chips lack salt and also have no strong potato taste plus they now reek of a bad tasting oil." These days, you should skip this Ruffles knock-off at Aldi.

Twin Peaks Ingredients has long dominated the game when it comes to its protein puffs, and the Elevation protein puffs from Aldi do not hold a candle to their name-brand counterpart, according to reviews. Several shoppers have dubbed these the worst protein snack ever (an especially impressive title given the laundry list of options out there), and specifically knock the snack for its potent smell, bland flavor, and strong aftertaste. Customers consistently prefer the jalapeño cheddar flavor to the nacho cheese, but still maintain that the spicier flavor is simply the lesser of two evils.

In a ranking of protein-packed drinks and snacks on Tasting Table, Elevation's protein puffs fell near the bottom of the list. "Formed using a combination of milk protein isolate, sunflower oil, skim milk, and whey protein concentrate, it's no wonder they come out tasting just like cardboard covered with a dusting of cheese and flavorings," the review reads. "The crunch is satisfying, I'll give them that, but the puffs themselves are mostly air."

To create a list of Aldi items that don't live up to what inspired them, we first defined the term Aldi dupe. We decided it would be anything that was abundantly similar to a name-brand packaged product (in style, descriptions, and ingredients).

To establish an overwhelming consensus that an item was inferior to the original product, reviews from the past year on multiple social media platforms, as well as in blogs and food-focused publications, were consulted and cross-referenced. The final list consists of products with an overwhelming number of negative reviews, although, as taste is subjective, the vast majority of the items on this list have received at least one positive review as well.

Static Media owns and operates Chowhound and Tasting Table.