5 Aldi dinners for $61! Recipes and grocery list

Name: Shells and sausage
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 lb mild Italian sausage; 8 oz pasta shells; 2 cups beef stock; 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream; 7 oz cheddar Gruyère cheese, shredded (or mix of cheddar and a few ounces of mozzarella); 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes; 2 tsp Italian seasoning

5 Recipes

Hi! Here's a week of 5 dinners from Aldi! A mix of some easy pasta recipes as well as one of my favorite Swedish recipes! I love shopping at Aldi because they have almost everything and it's so affordable. Check your fridge, freezer and pantry for what you have at home, and then bring this grocery list with you.

Produce

5 yellow onions
2 cloves garlic
1 pint cherry tomatoes
4–5 mushrooms
2.5 cups broccoli florets (about half a head)
4 large russet potatoes
1 cup riced cauliflower

Meat

13 oz kielbasa
½ package bacon
1 lb mild Italian sausage
2 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork

Dairy & Eggs

½ cup parmesan, grated
1¾ cups heavy cream (or half and half/heavy whipping cream, combined)
7 oz shredded gruyère (or just cheddar — or some mozzarella, if that's what you have)
6 oz shredded Mexican cheese
¼–⅓ cup sour cream
⅓–½ cup butter
milk (a few tbsp plus ½ cup)
1 egg

Pantry

2 cups farfalle
⅔ lb spaghetti
8 oz pasta shells
3 and ⅔ cups beef broth
4–5 cups chicken broth
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
8 burrito-size tortillas
2 handfuls tortilla chips
⅓ cup breadcrumbs (or 2 slices bread)
1 packet taco seasoning
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt, black pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
4–6 tbsp mild salsa

Note: Meal prices reflect the portion used in each recipe. Buying the full grocery list may cost more.

1. Shells and sausage

$11.95 - 4 servings

There’s something about shells and Italian sausage that just makes sense. I didn’t grow up eating Italian sausage, I don’t think I had it until a couple of years ago, but it was love at first sight. Shells go with pretty much any ground meat though, and this one came together on a whim the other night. It was so good! These creamy sauce based pasta dishes will thicken up as they cool, so when you reheat leftovers, add a splash of broth on the stove to loosen it back up.

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2. Bacon Tomato Pasta

$9.73 - 4 servings

This is a recipe that works great as a fridge raid pasta! You can add whatever you have in your fridge and all of a sudden you have a very delicious pasta dish! I love the combination of cherry tomatoes, bacon and mushrooms! But swapping in other vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, or asparagus works just as well.

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3. Crunchy Quesadilla

$12.39 -4 to 5 servings

If you’re stuck on what to make for dinner tonight, make this! It’s a crunchy sheet pan quesadilla with taco beef and some hidden cauliflower! no one’s gonna notice.

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4. Pannbiff with Caramelized Onions (Swedish meatball burgers)

$17.68 - 4 to 5 servings

Pannbiff was dinner in my house growing up, and it still a dinner I absolutely love. It’s basically a smashed Swedish meatball served with creamy mashed potatoes, everything you want on a cold night. These days I make more of an adult version, with a big pan of sweet caramelized onions cooked down in broth and poured over the top. A dinner that definitely will make your house smell amazing. I’ve made this more times than I can count, and it’s about time I wrote it down.

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5. One Pan Kielbasa Broccoli Pasta

$10.19 - 4 servings

I love having Kielbasa in my fridge, because it works in almost anything. It's already cooked, so all you're really doing is browning it and gets so good once it's browned up in a hot pan! Works great with pasta or rice.

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