The 11 Best Aldi Foods To Cook In Your Air Fryer - Mashed (2024)

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ByJennifer Geer/July 20, 2024 9:30 am EST

There's a lot more to air fryers than cooking french fries. Although it's a great kitchen tool for crisping up just about anything that could be fried, you shouldn't be afraid to get creative with it. Your air fryer can heat up leftovers or you can use it on a hot summer day rather than turning on your oven. If you're making a big meal, consider using your air fryer to roast vegetables, freeing up your oven for the main course. Air fryers don't actually fry, but use a fan to circulate hot air. Like a mini convection oven, food heats up quickly and will get crispy and brown.

Aldi, the grocery store known for its reasonable prices and cult following, has plenty of options for the air fryer. I've compiled my list of favorite Aldi foods to cook in your air fryer by scouring fan sites found on Facebook and Reddit where enthusiasts rave over their food finds. Aldi offers a mix of store-brand staples and seasonal items that are available for a limited time. Using a mix of reviewers' suggestions and browsing the aisles myself, I chose the 11 best Aldi foods I could find to cook in your air fryer. Using packaging instructions or my best judgment if there were no air fryer instructions, I cooked up the items in my countertop air fryer. For details on how the products were selected and reviewed, please read the methodology section at the end.

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Aldi's fan-favorite breaded chicken breasts are known as Red Bag Chicken (RBC) among frequent shoppers. This frozen bag of seasoned, breaded chicken breast fillets gets rave reviews online and has inspired several copycat Chick-fil-A sandwich recipes. There is even a Facebook group devoted to the product. However, recent reviews on Reddit are sometimes less glowing with some people saying the bag of chicken has gotten too expensive and occasionally has rubbery textured pieces. Yet others disagree and Aldi's RBCstill has plenty of fans.

The chicken comes in a 24-ounce, bright red package for $8.79. My bag contained five fillets, meaning each chicken breast cost $1.76. I cooked the fillets in my countertop air fryer at 400 F for 15 minutes, flipping once about halfway through. The chicken came out sizzling and crispy. I decided the best way to taste test the fillet was to make a chicken sandwich using Aldi's brioche bun and topping it with lettuce, onions, tomato, and a few of Aldi's Atomic Spicy Pickle slices. The result was fantastic. While I can't say I'd have mistaken it for a Chick-fil-A sandwich, it was delicious and could have come from a bar and grill or a fast-casual restaurant. The breading stayed on the chicken, the seasoning was perfect, and it all tasted superb with the bun and toppings. And finally, the chicken's texture was tender without any hint of rubbery bites.

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Aldi's Nashville Crispy Hot Stuffed Shrimp came eight to a package for $5.99. The shrimp are coated with a spicy breading and stuffed with a sauce. According to the package the shrimp are "bread-crumb crusted butterfly shrimp loaded with Nashville hot sauce." The Nashville shrimp, inspired by Nashville hot chicken, have positive reviews online with one Redditor posting that the shrimp were "plump, tasted fresh and light. Batter was a bit crunchy, with good noticeable heat." While another person said, "the Nashville one is bomb!"

I cooked the shrimp at 380 F in my air fryer for about nine minutes. They crisped up nicely and didn't need any dip because the sauce is baked inside the shrimp. The crispy breading paired nicely with the saucy interior and I found it somewhat spicy, but not overly so. My family jumped in on this one and gave it a thumbs up, although they didn't think it was spicy enough for them. However, some people on Reddit disagree about the heat level, with one Facebook reviewer saying, "The Nashville Hot Shrimp were so good and super spicy!" Overall, the air fryer gave these shrimp a nice crispy texture and saucy interior.

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The Potato Puffs are another Aldi product perfectly suited for the air fryer. A fan favorite, these tots get rave reviews from Aldi shoppers with one person on Reddit saying, "These are by far the best tots." While another person commented, "The Aldi tots are better than other brands that I've tried including Trader Joe's and OreIda."

Aldi sells the Potato Puffs in a 32-ounce bag for $3.75. Following package directions, I popped them in the air fryer at 400 F for a little over 10 minutes. The air fryer crisped the tots up nicely while the seasoning was tasty, although my family opted to add extra salt to our batch. These were the hit of the day among my family with their crispy outer coating and tender interior. They are destined to become a staple to keep around the house. Although we ate them as a side dish with hamburgers for dinner, Aldi suggests serving them as a side for breakfast along with scrambled eggs or pancakes.

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One package of Aldi's Hash Browns Patties sells for $6.05 and contains 20 patties. The package offers three suggestions for cooking; in the oven, deep frying, or using the air fryer. Cooking in the air fryer takes about half the time as the conventional oven, but also gives the hash browns a crispy texture without the unhealthy oil used in deep frying. One Aldi shopper in a Facebook group suggested cooking the patties in the air fryer with some extra seasonings saying, "Air fryer is a game changer!!" While another commented, "Try spraying them with cooking oil spray to crisp up in the air fryer." These hash browns are said to be the closest to McDonald's hash browns that you can buy in grocery stores.

Using the online suggestions, I sprayed several hash browns patties with cooking oil and air-fried them at 400 F for about 10 minutes until they browned. I sprinkled a little sea salt over them when they were done. These hash browns were crispy and browned nicely, making them a great side dish to go with breakfast. However, it was my family's consensus that they lacked seasoning. Next time, I may try another Facebook poster's suggestion of sprinkling a blend of garlic powder, parsley, paprika, and crushed red pepper after a few minutes of cooking.

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French toast is an easy breakfast to begin with, but popping premade French toast sticks in your air fryer for a few minutes is even more convenient. A 16-ounce package of Aldi's French Toast Sticks Double Cinnamon sells for $3.29 and contains about 20 sticks. They come in original or double cinnamon, Ichose double cinnamon for this taste test. While the package directions suggest cooking in the microwave for 80 seconds, some reviewers feel this makes the sticks come out soggy. The general consensus was the air fryer was a game-changer for the French toast sticks.

I placed several French toast sticks in the air fryer and cooked them at 380 F for eight minutes, flipping halfway through. They came out crispy without a hint of sogginess. These sticks with their strong cinnamon flavor gave some Redditors a trip down nostalgia lane with this poster saying, "Double cinnamon!! These taste just like the French toast sticks from school lunches growing up. Made in the air fryer 10/10."

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Aldi's Bremer Meatballs come in two flavors, Italian or original. I picked up a 32-ounce bag of frozen meatballs in the Italian style for $6.85. Although the package instructions do not include air frying, it's a perfect method for cooking a frozen meatball quickly. The ingredients of these meatballs are simple without a lot of artificial flavoring. They are made with beef, pork, breadcrumbs, and seasoning.

I cooked the meatballs in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 400 F. The air fryer left them crispy and browned on the outside, yet tender on the inside. These meatballs could be served as an appetizer, but I added them to spaghetti and homemade marinara. They were surprisingly good for a store-bought frozen meatball. Thanks to the air fryer method, they were cooked to a perfect texture without becoming greasy. The Italian seasoning paired well with the marinara sauce and I doubt I could have made a better homemade meatball myself. This poster on an Aldi Facebook group agreed saying, "I'm not big on prepared foods, but I can't make better meatballs."

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You can't go wrong with thick, buttery Texas toast topped with melted cheese. Aldi's store brand, Mama Cozzi makes a garlic version of Texas Toast or one topped with cheese. While the Mama Cozzi brand is mainly known for pizzas, they offer a variety of Italian fare including pizza dough, pepperoni, and calzones. The Aldi I was shopping at only had the Five Cheese version of the toast on the shelves, so I bought the 14-ounce box for $2.55. The box contained eight frozen pieces of toast topped with a buttery garlic spread and cheese. According to the package, the five kinds of cheese include mozzarella, cheddar, provolone, Parmesan, and Asiago.

I laid the pieces of toast out flat in the air fryer and cooked at 360 F for seven minutes until the cheese was golden brown and bubbly. When they were done, the toast was a crispy texture topped with the bubbly melted cheese. The air fryer was the way to go in preparing this product. Within minutes I had a tasty, cheesy snack. My family did wonder if the garlic version would taste more strongly of garlic. The cheese version we ate had only a mild hint of garlic.

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Although Aldi's Seafood Boil Kit is meant to be boiled, I wanted to see how it would turn out in the air fryer. The Seafood Boil Kit is priced at $10.99 for a 35-ounce bag. It contained easy-peel raw shrimp, slices of andouille sausage, mussels, red-skin potato wedges, corn on the cob, and a seasoning packet.

To prepare the kit, I emptied the bag into the air fryer, sprinkled half the bag of seasoning, and tossed it all together. Next, I cooked it at 400 F for 12 minutes, stirring it about halfway in between. I would recommend lining your air fryer with foil for an easier cleanup, a step that I later regretted not taking. Admittedly, cooking this seafood boil in the air fryer didn't save actual cooking time, but you do get to skip the step of waiting for a large pot of water to come to a boil.

Every ingredient, with the exception of the corn which ended up a little mushy, did well with the air fryer cooking method. The shrimp had a perfect texture and the potatoes were tender. A great thing about this meal is that you can customize it to your liking by throwing in extra ingredients, such as frozen scallops, crab legs, or a package of mussels. If you have more than two people who enjoy corn, you may want to buy a few more ears, as this bag only came with two small pieces.

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Aldi's Mussels in Garlic Butter Sauce can be eaten as an appetizer or as a meal on their own with a big green salad and crusty bread for soaking up the juices. I picked up the 16-ounce frozen package for $3.65. Online reviewers rave over Aldi's mussels with one poster on Reddit saying, "I'm terribly picky there's so many places I won't eat certain things from. We love these mussels I promise you will love them."

The package instructions recommend sautéeing the mussels in their sauce on the stovetop. However, I added the entire contents of the bag to a small baking pan that fit in the air fryer, and air-fried them at 400 F for 10 minutes, stirring them once about halfway through cooking. Unfortunately, four of the mussels were broken and another four didn't open, so I discarded those. However, it still left me with a generous portion of plump, juicy mussels cooked in the garlic, butter sauce. To serve, I melted butter with garlic and parsley for an extra dipping sauce and had a delicious meal that I would be happy to get at a seafood restaurant, for a much higher price.

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This was the only item on our list that didn't come in the frozen section. I found Aldi's Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms in the prepared food section near the produce. Aldi sells six of these in a package for $4.75. The ingredients include baby bella mushrooms stuffed with artichokes, spinach, and a cheese blend.

Aldi recommends grilling, baking, or sautéeing the mushrooms. The consensus on Reddit was to be sure to not undercook these, and that the air fryer was the way to go. I don't know how they would turn out with the other methods, but air frying them brought out a meaty mushroom texture on the outside and the soft, cheesy filling on the inside. I placed them in a single layer in the air fryer and cooked them at 380 F for 12 minutes until the cheese was browned and bubbly. The mushroom stayed firm, while the filling was soft and cheesy. These stuffed mushrooms make a great appetizer or side dish with steak.

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Nobody wants a soggy, greasy onion ring, which is why the air fryer is a great alternative to cooking frozen onion rings in the oven. Because hot air circulates around the food, as long as you place your onion rings in one layer with no overcrowding, they should cook evenly and come out crispy. Aldi sells Season's Choice Whole Onion Rings in a bag of 16 ounces for $3.85 in the freezer section.

When opening the bag I was happy to see the onion rings hadn't fallen apart but were in nice, big pieces. Reviewers on the Aldi Facebook page that raved the most over the onion rings had cooked them in the air fryer. I sprayed my air fryer with cooking oil, then laid out a single layer of onion rings. After cooking at 400 F for 10 minutes, they were perfectly done. The onion rings were crispy and firm, and cooked evenly on all sides. With a side of ranch dressing for dipping, these made a great snack.

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In choosing items for this list, I read over social media sites looking for other shoppers who had tried out Aldi products in their air fryers. In addition to those suggestions, I browsed the store myself, looking for products Ithought would turn out fabulous with the air fryer cooking method. I cooked each product in my countertop air fryer, either following package ingredients, suggestions online, or using my own best judgment. My family helped out with this taste test and some of my reviews incorporated their opinions. My criteria for selection was convenience and ease of cooking of each product combined with the finished result. I paid careful attention to the texture and taste of each finished food and found the items on this list were well suited to the air fryer method of cooking. Fast cooking times and circulation of hot air around the food made for crispy outer textures cooked perfectly on the inside.