21 Aldi Bakery Items Ranked Worst To Best

Fans of Aldi know that this German grocery chain offers quality food for incredibly low prices. They love the selection of house brands — you won't see many national brands at Aldi. Instead, it's cornered the market on customer loyalty with dozens of private labels you can't find anywhere else. These private labels are a way Aldi can offer customers such great deals. Rather than stocking a dozen brands of a product, they offer their own, which gives them control over their stock, lets them run small, efficient stores, and streamlines the shopping experience.

The bakery section is a perfect example. Aldi has three prominent private bakery labels: L'oven Fresh, Specially Selected, and Bake Shop. Those labels encompass a dizzying array of treats, including breads, wraps, cookies, cakes, breakfast items, and pastries of all kinds. We tested 21 items from the bakery at our local Aldi and ranked them so you can find the best products for your family. Our Aldi doesn't have the fabled in-store bakery that some lucky shoppers can access, yet it offers far more products than we could review here. While every location doesn't carry the same products, most of those we reviewed are widely available.

Very few people will mistake packaged grocery store bagels for the real thing. They're smaller, the crust is entirely different, and the insides lack the exquisite doughy softness you get from a bagel shop. While finding better bagels than those sold in New York delis is nearly impossible, any bakery bagel beats any packaged bagel. Still, grabbing a bag of bagels while getting groceries is convenient and cheap, so almost everyone has settled for the lesser bagged bagel at some point.

Although most Aldi locations don't carry them all, there are many kinds of bagels to choose from. Whether you like plain or everything, cinnamon raisin or blueberry, seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice, or diet-friendly skinnies or keto bagels, L'oven Fresh has a taste for everyone. We decided that everything bagels might resemble our favorite New York bagel shop. Spoiler alert: it was unlike any bagel sold in a New York bagel shop.

These bagels have plenty of toppings, the way an everything bagel should. Real New York bagels use more salt and garlic in their topping, but the dough gives it away as a grocery store bagel. They lack the oomph of authentic bagels, with no chewiness. They're heartier than toast, but that's about all. If you don't live somewhere selling bona fide bagels or looking for convenience, this bagel-adjacent product is fine.

Whether you love Entenmann's Rich Frosted Donuts or frequent donut shops, vanilla cake donuts dipped in chocolate are a time-honored favorite. The combination is one that practically everyone loves. With no messy fillings or powdered sugar dusting your clothes, they're easy to eat on the go. (Yes, we know chocolatey fingers can be considered chaotic, but it's a small price to pay for this treat.)

We knew we were taking them home when we saw Chocolate Frosted Mini Donuts at Aldi. Not only did they appeal to our appetites, but they're so cute and tiny. Besides, everyone knows that calories from petite versions of our favorites don't count as much. What could go wrong?

While the cake was light and tasty, the chocolate was disappointing. It had a greasy mouthfeel instead of the creamy richness we expect from chocolate. Are these donuts the worst thing you could ever eat? Hardly; kids would probably love them, and the price is so low that we wouldn't take them off the table completely. If this kind of donut is one of your favorite sweets, you might want to hold out for another brand.

Chocolate chip cookies are one of life's simple pleasures, and using chunks of chocolate instead of chips only makes them better. We knew we had to try these Bake Shop Chocolate Chunk Cookies and could hardly wait for the chunky chocolate sweetness. Unfortunately, although these cookies feature hearty pieces of chocolate, they aren't well distributed throughout the cookie. If you routinely share cookies with someone that hates chocolate, you could break them and find parts that please both of you, but we would have preferred more chunks.

If you love soft, chewy cookies, these are terrific. We found them almost underbaked, but different strokes and all that. Unlike many bakery cookies, they weren't sickeningly sweet; we thought the balance of sweetness was perfect. Redditors point out that canola oil in the cookies can make some people perceive a fishy smell, so if you're sensitive to that, you should keep it in mind.

While we probably won't repurchase these cookies, everyone's preferences differ. Try them out to see if they're the cookie of your dreams.

Aldi sells several small cakes; depending on your store's availability, you can try lemon, 7 Up, or the one we sampled: Triple Chocolate Crème Cake. These are not cakes meant for a crowd; according to the nutritional information, the cake has only 7 servings (and yes, we were stumped at the thought of cutting a Bundt cake into 7 equal pieces, too). Since the entire cake weighs just 26 ounces, that means small slices.

Regardless, we enjoyed the soft, delicate crumb of the Triple Chocolate Crème cake. Unlike many store-made cakes, it wasn't overly sweet. It had just the right amount of chocolate glaze studded with mini chocolate chips, adding to each bite's texture. Those who adore decadent dark chocolate cake will be disappointed: this cake could use more depth, but if you're craving cake and don't want to make your own, this is a solid choice.

We were so excited to grab these Kitchen Sink cookies; peanut butter cookies with chunks of chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter chips, pretzels, and coconut sounds like the mélange of sweet and salty everyone needs in their life. Redditors sing their praises, noting they are impossible to resist, but we were pretty disappointed.

The disappointment stemmed from needing help distinguishing the flavors listed on the label and missing the promised sweet and salty bite that satisfies our brain's desires. Don't misunderstand: these cookies taste good. The peanut butter cookie flavor and the white and dark chocolate flavors come through. Past that, however, things went downhill. The coconut flavor was absent, and we mistook the pretzels for nuts until we reread the label. The crunch was evident, but the texture wasn't pretzel-like. The salty afterbite never materialized, which was surprising because we attributed the cookie texture to the number of nuts only to realize that it must have been pretzels.

You'll love these cookies if you want a sweet, soft peanut butter cookie full of chocolate. Still, you could be disappointed if you're expecting sweet and salty.

Nobody can argue with cake for breakfast, and blueberry muffins top our list of favorites. These blueberry babies by Bake Shop, one of Aldi's house brands, are hefty with lovely round domes. Blueberries peek out through an oddly sparse streusel topping, advertising what's to come. One bite hooks you; these muffins aren't overbearingly sweet, and the cake is so soft and delicate that you want to eat all four muffins in the box.

We had one minor complaint: we had to examine the tops of the muffins to see if we'd been mistaken about the streusel tops. It was so unobtrusive that we thought maybe what had registered as streusel was how the pastry was baked. Still, a quick check revealed the crumbs had a different taste and texture from the cake. Each muffin didn't have enough crumbs to create the sweet, buttery brown sugar topping that adds texture and interest to baked goods.

If you aren't a rabid streusel fan, these muffins will make your breakfast cake dreams come true. Those that demand crunchy sweetness atop their muffins should inspect every package; you might get lucky and find ones with perfect streusel tops.

Notoriously difficult to make, many of us turn to bakery croissants to satisfy our inner Parisian. Croissants are the ultimate French pastry, a yeasted dough laminated with tons of butter that produces a flaky, rich pastry that's sublime with a cup of coffee. These Specially Selected All-Butter Croissants are petite, a boon for anyone watching their diet. While they can't be considered good for you, at 210 calories and 9 grams of fat, they only have a third of the calories of traditional croissants.

If you sample these croissants right from the package, you're likely to be disappointed by their bland breadiness. At first bite, we were unimpressed. However, our opinion changed dramatically once we warmed them in the toaster. Heating them changed their texture enormously and made them taste authentically French. Redditors declare these croissants a winner whether you heat them in the toaster oven, microwave, or air fryer, and we're sold. Whether you want to make a sandwich, toast them for luxurious croutons, or enjoy them as the French do, with café au lait, these little beauties will soon be a favorite.

Cake donuts coated with powdered sugar are an iconic favorite, even though they can be messy, dropping sugar all over your clothes and sticking to your lips. They're very sweet and decadent even by donut standards, but we can't resist them occasionally. Aldi's bakery sells mini sugar donuts, which most of us can justify as a healthier option, assuming you can stick to the serving size of four donuts for 260 calories and 16 grams of fat.

After we were disappointed with the Chocolate Frosted Mini Donuts, we were pleasantly surprised at the Bake Shop Powdered Mini Donuts. The rich vanilla cake tasted like a powdered donut you'd buy at a bakery, the sugar dusting was thick but not overbearing, and one serving was satisfying. If you're craving donuts, pick up a box of these little cuties at your Aldi bakery. The box is family-sized, and $3.69 was a great deal compared to buying donuts elsewhere. Look for the red sale stickers, stock up, and freeze extra donuts for another day.

Aldi's house brand, Specially Selected, is known for quality and convenience. There's nothing like a warm, crusty loaf of Italian bread. Whether you want to make a sub, garlic bread, or enjoy bread and butter with your meal, you can't go wrong with Specially Selected Take and Bake Italian Bread. As the name implies, you can pop it into the oven for just ten minutes and enjoy bread that tastes like it's freshly baked.

No worries if you don't want to bake it; this bread is fully cooked from the package. Feel free to slice it for toast or a sandwich, but be aware that the crust will be softer without heating it. Some testers enjoyed that softness, while others preferred the crunch, so baking is your preference. While this won't replace bread from a panetteria or a homemade loaf, Specially Selected Take and Bake Italian Bread is a suitable choice if you're at Aldi and want to serve fresh, hot bread with a family meal.

We get it; oatmeal cookies often fall way down on the list when people talk about their favorite cookies. Maybe it's because oatmeal seems like a sneaky way of making cookies healthy or the variations in texture. Some are very dry and crumbly, while others might be too chewy. Still, there's no denying that some of us love oatmeal cookies, especially with add-ins like chocolate, nuts, or fruit.

We love oatmeal cookies but often find store-bought oatmeal cookies lacking. So before we tried these Bake Shop Oatmeal Cranberry cookies, we weren't expecting much. Right off the top, these could be the best oatmeal cookies we've ever found at a grocery store. They are soft and chewy; if you love a snappy oatmeal cookie, this isn't the one for you, but if you like meltingly soft cookies, you'll be in heaven.

There are lots of dried cranberries in these, letting the tart fruit flavor shine through, but the texture of the oatmeal is unmistakable. Cinnamon is a common addition to oatmeal cookies, but it was somehow unexpected in these cranberry goodies. We appreciated the combination of cinnamon and cranberry, making these cookies taste like Grandma's house. These are definitely a keeper.

Garlic knots are always yummy, whether you like them for mopping up extra pasta sauce, as a side with soup, or as late-night snacks. While the origin of the garlic knot is hotly debated, these little twists of pizza dough brushed with olive oil, garlic, and herbs are beloved by all. As New Yorkers with easy access to authentic pizzeria knots, we were skeptical of these garlic knots by one of Aldi's house brands, L'oven Fresh. The ingredient label is long and complex for a humble dough snack, listing margarine made from soybean oil, soy lecithin, palm oil, and a vegetable oil blend of canola and cottonseed oil.

We steeled ourselves for the school cafeteria version of garlic knots as the timer on the toaster oven counted 6 minutes. Taking them out of the bag was an experience of sliminess – all those oils make an unattractive white coating on the knots. Much to our delight, though, these knots are actually fabulous. They brown to a crisp exterior, but the inside stays meltingly soft, making it a fight to the finish with your dining companions.

We must admit that food chemistry comes through for the win: the combination of oils tastes rich and buttery, and the blend of salt, dehydrated garlic, and parsley gives all the flavor of the neighborhood pizza joint. These are a terrific, convenient option with any meal, but pro-tip: buy two bags. You'll eat them.

Danish pastry comes in many forms but always involves pastry enriched with butter and eggs and alluring fruit and cheese fillings. Oddly, these pastries were invented accidentally in France when a baker tried to fold forgotten butter into dough right before baking. It took over two centuries for this flaky pastry recipe to reach Denmark, yet somehow we know it as danish. Many of us grew up eating Entenmann's Raspberry Danish Twist, and Aldi's version looks almost identical to the iconic raspberry breakfast treat.

We tried the Bake Shop Raspberry Danish right from the package. Similarly to Entenmann's danish, it tasted a bit dry, with the sweetness overpowering the raspberry. A few minutes in the toaster oven transformed this pastry into a showstopper. The pastry seemed flakier and far more delicate, like something you'd buy at a chic city bakery rather than a mass-produced grocery danish. Once warmed, the raspberry flavor shone above the sweet frosting, so we could appreciate how the fruit harmonized with the pastry's slight crunch.

This danish would elevate any breakfast or brunch table beautifully and is quite a bargain at under four dollars. We'll pick this treat up again and again.

The distinctive Reese's label on these cookies made us grab them, thinking they had peanut butter cups. Still, instead, these cookies are dotted with the other Reese's candy, Reese's Pieces. Yes, E.T.'s favorite candy makes a great cookie, and if you aren't sold yet, Aldi lets you choose between a chocolate or a peanut butter cookie base for your Reese's Pieces. We tried both kinds, and they are solid cookie choices.

The chocolate cookie edged out the peanut butter in our book, tasting somehow peanut butterier. While we aren't sure how that could be, the peanut butter candy and the chocolate cookie are a match made in heaven. The texture of both cookies is soft and chewy, and the chocolate cookies tasted homemade. These cookies are very sweet, which might please those that watch their desserts, since one cookie can quickly satisfy a craving. Plenty of candy is in every cookie, and the slight crunch of Reese's Pieces contrasts nicely with the cookie's softness.

These might not be your favorite if you prefer a crispy cookie, but soft cookie lovers will repeatedly turn to these.

Aldi's Lemon Loaf Cake has a bright lemony flavor with a spectacularly delicate crumb. Fans of Starbucks lemon loaf will love this, especially since the entire package of 8 slices costs less than one slice at the coffee giant. This cake is so delicious and light that we were tempted to eat several portions (we're not saying we could have gobbled down all eight pieces, but someone might, just saying.)

There are two things to remember if you want to try this lemony cake. While its light, spongy texture is divine, the pieces are small, and you're looking at an empty plate in no time. Try making it more satisfying by topping it with ice cream, berries, and whipped cream, or use it to make a show-stopping trifle. Secondly, as with many Aldi products, this tiny cake has too much packaging: the slices are arrayed in a giant plastic clamshell. Packaging this lemony treat in a wrapped tin loaf pan would save space and resources and assure customers they were getting an entire loaf cake, rather than wondering if Aldi sells less cake than they're advertising.

Naan is a mouthwatering flatbread from India that's beloved worldwide for its savory versatility. Whether you use it to scoop up curries, as a pizza base, for sandwich wraps, or to dip in hummus, naan makes everything better. Aldi fans on Reddit can't get enough and top it with everything, including pesto and goat cheese.

The mini naan makes a perfect snack or lunchbox addition. For this review, we tried the large size and made a Mexican pizza with salsa, chunks of chicken breast, spinach, peppers, and cheddar. It was soft and pillowy inside but hearty enough to hold all those toppings and eat with our hands. We loved this naan, and there are endless possibilities for meal planning.

While this naan tastes amazing, we missed the extra flavor from the slightly charred spots you'll see on authentic naan, whether fried in a skillet or baked in a tandoor. This is a minor complaint, though, and it won't stop us from making this naan a regular item on our Aldi shopping list.

If you're a fan of classic vanilla cake donuts (leavened with baking soda rather than a yeast dough) lightly glazed, don't hesitate to try Bake Shop's Sour Crème Donuts. These were, by far, the best donuts we sampled from Aldi's bakery section. While not every old-fashioned donut uses sour cream in the batter, sour cream donuts are irresistibly decadent, so we were excited to try them. Unfortunately, Aldi's Sour Crème Donuts imply there's sour cream in the batter, but reading the label tells another story.

While the word crème means cream in French, it also satisfies labeling laws in the United States that require companies to list ingredients truthfully. At first glance, the customer would assume these donuts contain sour cream, but the word crème should be a tipoff. Regardless, these donuts are delicious, with a superb texture that rivals sour cream donuts.

They are, like most donuts, quite sweet but go beautifully with a fresh cup of coffee. While the slightly tricky name was off-putting, the donuts were so fabulous that we have to admit that the next time donut cravings hit, Aldi's bakery aisle will be our first stop.

If you're like us, toast studded with raisins with a swirl of cinnamon in the middle instantly takes you back to childhood. Warm and sweet, with the inviting smell of cinnamon filling the kitchen, it's quick comfort food that takes less than five minutes to prepare. While making your own cinnamon bread isn't incredibly complicated, Aldi's house brand, L'oven Fresh, makes cinnamon swirl bread with or without raisins (we see you, raisin haters!) that brings your favorite toast to your plate even faster.

We love this bread. It's excellent toasted with butter and makes gorgeous French toast. If you're a sweet and savory connoisseur, try it as a bacon and egg sandwich. Depending on our mood, it needs more cinnamon flavor, but a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar does the job without a fuss. The slices are on the small side, so please be sure to use caution to avoid blackened toast. You can't go wrong with this cinnamon-raisin treat, whether you eat it with your morning coffee, as a snowy day snack with hot chocolate, or when late-night munchies hit.

Brioche is a classic bread from France, enriched with butter and eggs. Its shiny, domed crust makes it instantly recognizable. Although almost everyone loves it, many bakers avoid this complicated baking project. That's where Aldi's bakery aisle comes in handy; they have brioche for any occasion, including brioche bagels and burger buns (why didn't we try those?)

The Sliced Brioche Loaf is outstanding for an all-purpose bread. The slices are thick with a buttery softness that's a pleasure to eat. Aldi's bakery sells fancy braided brioche loaves perfect for brunch, dessert, or afternoon tea, but this sliced bread has many uses. It lends itself to toast, sandwiches, or homemade stuffing and croutons. Reddit users love it for French toast, and it holds up well to hearty preserves.

Of course, since a healthy diet requires plenty of whole grains, this loaf probably shouldn't become your everyday staple bread. Still, suppose you're planning a celebratory meal or want to impress your family. In that case, the Sliced Brioche Loaf will make any meal memorable.

This breakfast pastry is irresistible, whether you call them cinnamon rolls or cinnamon buns. The distinctive cinnamon-sugar ribbon swirling through the rich pastry with a gooey sugar glaze turns us into kids again, craving that sugar high. Cinnamon rolls can be made in your kitchen, but they're high maintenance. Even those willing to do the work probably would only make them for extraordinary occasions.

Aldi's house brand Bake Shop comes through with their Cinnamon Rolls. These treats look less than impressive in the package; they lack the gorgeous round shape we expect and are completely coated in white frosting. We were prepared to be underwhelmed, but after a few minutes in the toaster oven, we didn't care that their shape was more parallelogram than neatly circular, and the amount of frosting was suddenly just right.

They are soft with an exquisite cinnamon sweetness, and the frosting makes them gooey but, surprisingly, not overly sweet. These seem reasonable for those watching their diets, with only 240 calories and 6 fat grams per roll. We would keep these on our shopping list because they taste homemade without hours in the kitchen.

Brioche is a rich, flaky bread whose shiny golden exterior elevates any table. Since the dough is enriched with butter and eggs, brioche has a pastry-like texture that even experienced bread bakers may find intimidating. Aldi offers brioche rolls, bread, and sliced loaves, but the chocolate chip brioche feels special.

Specially Selected is one of Aldi's house brands. Customers know the elegant black label is saved for some of their best products. We were prepared for the chocolate chip brioche to be excellent, but the softness and light, airy texture went above and beyond expectations. This bread is studded with chocolate chips for a decadent chocolate experience. While making French toast with this brioche was our first thought (after simply devouring it straight from the package), one Reddit user shared that it makes the perfect substitute for a warm chocolate chip cookie when toasted and topped with butter and cinnamon sugar. We are definitely trying that!

Picking up a loaf of chocolate chip brioche that tastes as good as one you'd make in your own kitchen (without all the work) for a couple of bucks is just one reason to shop at Aldi. We'll be trolling the bakery every single shopping trip for this bread.

Many of us consciously choose foods that improve our health and well-being, and Aldi has our back. You don't need to count macros or stick to a keto diet to know that certain carbs can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and your waistline, but sometimes it can be tough to find swaps for products we love that are packed with white flour. L'oven Fresh Low Carb Tortillas taste exactly like flour tortillas but deliver a punch of health benefits: with only 60 calories, 15 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of protein, these tortillas are phenomenal for wraps, quesadillas, burritos, and even pizzas.

In case you buy whole wheat tortillas to avoid the white flour trap, rest assured that the L'oven Fresh Whole Wheat Tortillas are just as tasty as the original variety, though oddly, they contain one less gram of fiber. We recommend warming these tortillas no matter how you use them; it makes them pliable and gives them a truly authentic flavor. They heat up beautifully in the oven, microwave, or charred directly over the flame if you have a gas stove.