Today is going to be a first in the 8 plus year history of Eat Like No One Else. I am going to talk about ALDI. It’s probably about time, the store has been super trendy lately. The company continues to add more stores all the time. So I thought it was time to give ALDI the Eat Like No One Else treatment. What a perfect time to do it for Thanksgiving!

In this post I am going to show you how to shop for your entire Thanksgiving meal at ALDI.

Before we get into individual prices, let me list some of the classic Thanksgiving dishes. I will then show you have to you can get what you need for these dishes at ALDI.

Turkey

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Squash

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Gravy

Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie

Cranberry Sauce

Stuffing/Dressing

That is your basic Thanksgiving menu without being ultra fancy.

I am going to list what I would buy for my family of 5. I would definitely have leftovers with this meal. I include ingredients you need to buy, like milk for mashed potatoes. Keep in mind I would have leftovers of the milk as well as the other ingredients.

You can pick up an already cooked smoked turkey for your Thanksgiving feast.

What is the Price of a Turkey at ALDI?

Here is what a turkey will cost you at ALDI:

Turkey Price Butterball Frozen Turkey 87 cents/lb Never Any Antibiotic Free Whole Frozen Turkey $1.19/lb Honeysuckle Frozen Bone-In Turkey Breast $1.39/lb Butterball Smoked Turkey $1.99/lb Kirkwood Boneless Turkey Breast $8.99 for 48oz

Clearly you can get the star of the show at ALDI. The price of their Butterball turkey is pretty standard. Nothing special. The fresh Butterball turkey is going for that same price (99 cents/lb) at Costco. It is nice that they have a smoked turkey as an option.

ALDI did not have any fresh or organic turkeys at all.

Cost for my family: 14 pound turkey for $12.18

In case your wondering this is how I like to cook my turkeys.

Mashed Potatoes

Here is a list of prices on potatoes to buy for mashed potates

Type of Potato Price Red potatoes $2.29 for 5 lbs Yellow potatoes $2.59 for 5 lbs Russet potatoes $2.39 for 5 lbs Medley potatoes $2.99 for 24oz bag

The Russet potatoes are the perfect choice for my No Peeling Necessary Baked Mashed Potatoes. For those potatoes you will need some butter ($2.29 for 4 sticks) and milk ($1.98 for gallon of whole milk).

Cost for my family: $6.66 (will have milk and butter leftover)

Sweet Potatoes

Your basic sweet potatoes are going for $1.89 for a 3 pound bag.

Cost for my family: $1.89

Squash

Acorn or butternut squash were going for 39 cents a pound and 59 cents a pound respectively. Curious which to get? Check out my post on the differences between acorn and butternut squash.

As for how I would cook the squash, I like to combine them with sweet potatoes and do a sautee, like I did with this recipe. I prefer butternut squash over acorn, so that’s what I am picking for my family. I am figuring on a 2 pound butternut squash

Cost for my family: $1.18

Brussels Sprouts

You have to have at least one green veggie to add to the meal, right? While a lot of people do green bean casserole, we opt an easier, lighter option. This time of year is when Brussels sprouts are at their peak of flavor. You can slice them in half and throw them in the oven when the turkey comes out.

Cost for my family: $2.59 for 1 lb bag

Gravy

I like to make gravy using a roux. I combine turkey stock, flour, and butter. The butter we already picked up and used for the mashed potatoes. You will need a stick here for 4 cups of gravy.

ALDI has turkey stock as a seasonal item. Since I am cooking a turkey why not use that instead chicken stock? The price is $1.49 for 32ounces. The all-purpose flour I will use to thicken the gravy as well as to make the crust of my pie is $1.15 for a 5 pound bag.

Cost for my family: $2.64 for the stock and the flour

Stuffing/Dressing

I never stuff my bird. It slows down the cooking for the turkey, which can lead to dry meat. That doesn’t mean I don’t serve stuffing (or as it is called outside the bird, dressing).

I believe dressing should be a kind of a kitchen sink deal, where you throw whatever you have on hand. Dried cranberries, apples, carrots, celery, etc. Anything I need to use up in the fridge could be fair game.

Also add dried herbs you might have in your pantry. I usually clip some fresh sage from my herb garden to add to my stuffing (and the gravy as well). Let’s say you don’t have any, so I will add sage to the shopping list (it costs $1.69 for a container)

I am thinking a sausage stuffing (see the recipe) sounds pretty good. I could pick up ground Italian sausage from ALDI for $1.99. In case you don’t have any leftover veggies to toss in, let’s get a bag of celery for $.89.

For the bread, the best thing I found was a loaf of Italian bread. You can just cut it into cubes the night before and let it dry out. The bread costs $1.69.

I would also add the rest of the turkey stock that you need for the gravy.

Cost for my family: $6.26 for the sausage, celery, bread, and sage

[irp posts=”28590″ name=”ALDI Inspired Sausage Stuffing Recipe”]

Cranberry Sauce

One of my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the cranberries. There is a reason why I have 3 different cranberry sauce recipes on the blog (my favorite being the mulled spice cranberry sauce)

Just for the basic sauce, you will need a bag of cranberries ($1.39), sugar, and water from your faucet. The sugar I recommend is Morena Pure Cane Sugar. It is less processed than normal table sugar. I feel it’s worth the cost. ALDI sells it for $1.95 for a 4 pound bag, which is a great deal. I will use the sugar for my pie as well.

Cost for my family: $3.34 for all the ingredients

Pumpkin Pie

The final piece of the meal has to be the pumpkin pie. I am someone who opts for fresh pumpkin everytime. But if you are doing all your shopping at ALDI that isn’t an option. The second best choice would be to get organic canned pumpkin which costs $1.39 for a 15oz can.

I like to make a homemade crust. It’s not too difficult and cheaper than buying a pre-made crust, much tastier too. You already have the flour and the butter.

You’ve gotta add some spice to that pie. Cinnamon is going for $1.69 for 1.7oz container. ALDI does not have a big selection of spices. I would also get some ginger and/or nutmeg to go with the pie, but if you just had cinnamon or just ginger you would still be fine.

Cost for my family: $3.08 for canned pumpkin and spices

The Final Cost – $39.82

So when you add up all the items I mentioned above your total comes to $38.82. Yep for under $40 you got yourself a full Thanksgiving meal that would feed a family of 5 and have full leftovers for the next day and some leftovers for the following day. Not too bad at all.

Here are a few extra items you could add to the meal if you like.

Peppercorn/Salt grinders

Nice addition to have on the table for your guests would be a some fresh pepper and salt ( $1.79 for a grinder). Freshly cracked pepper is a thing of beauty. It’s always nice to have a little extra salt. Pick from either sea salt or the beautiful pink Himalayan salt.

Peanut Oil for Frying a Turkey

In case you want to deep fry your turkey you can get peanut oil at ALDI for $9.89 for 128 fl oz.. It’s a special seasonal item. That is a pretty good price too for that much peanut oil.

Other Pie Options

If your not in the mood or like pumpkin pie, here are some other options to make pie fillings with:

Filling Price Frozen peaches $2.09 for 16oz Frozen medley berries $1.85 for 12oz Granny smith apples $2.99 for 3 lbs Honeycrisp apples $1.99/lb

Pumpkin Pie Soda

If you do like pumpkin pie, why not try a pumpkin pie soda? Maine Root makes really delicious, high quality sodas. Their pumpkin pie soda is super tasty and not overly sweet for my tastes. It would be kind of a fun thing to have on the table, especially for the kids. A 4 pack goes for $4.99.

Do you plan to do your Thanksgiving shopping at ALDI? What did you or will you buy? Leave a comment below.