waitrose vs aldi

Waitrose came out ahead in most of my taste test with Aldi. The surprise was the cheese. I thought both mature cheddars were delicious, and I couldn’t tell much difference between them. Paying more didn’t automatically get me something I preferred.

For this April 2024 comparison, I bought supermarket own-brand versions of things I like eating, from Bakewell tarts to sausage rolls. This was my shopping and my opinion, rather than a ranking of every product either shop sells. I was also ill and had taken cold medicine that morning, so bear that in mind alongside my enthusiastic food reviews.

The cheaper cheese held its own

The Waitrose Essential mature British cheddar cost £2.60, while Aldi’s Emporium mature British cheddar cost £2.49. Both were labelled strength four, and the Aldi pack had 50g more cheese. These are the prices and packs I bought for the video, rather than prices to rely on for your shopping now.

The Waitrose cheese was creamy and lovely. So was the Aldi. I eat a lot of cheese, and these tasted very similar to me. They both got a perfect score in my thoroughly unserious scoring system. Of all the things I tried, this was the clearest case where spending more hadn’t improved the taste for me.

Salt and vinegar crisps were another close comparison. Waitrose’s sea salt and balsamic vinegar bag cost £1.65; Aldi’s sea salt and Chardonnay vinegar bag was £1.15. The vinegars differed because I couldn’t find matching versions, so this wasn’t an identical-flavour contest. I enjoyed both, with the Aldi flavour a little stronger. I would happily have eaten both bags.

Where the treat tasted better

The Waitrose cherry Bakewells were a different story. They were deep, moist and full of almond and cherry flavour. The Aldi ones were perfectly fine, but tasted more of pastry and didn’t have the same richness. The Waitrose pack cost £2.75 for four, while the cheaper Aldi pack contained six. There was a difference in what I paid and in what I enjoyed.

I don’t eat Bakewells often. If I wanted an occasional treat, the Waitrose version was the one I’d choose. For something more frequent, I could understand buying the Aldi ones. They weren’t bad. It depended on whether that extra flavour mattered enough to pay for it.

Scotch eggs made the difference much harder to ignore. I hadn’t come across them growing up in Canada, and discovering them in England had made me a fan. The Waitrose pair weighed 280g and cost £3.50. They were big, with plenty of filling, a good egg and a coating that tasted nice too.

Alanna holding a cut Waitrose Scotch egg close to the camera, with the egg and meat filling visible
Inside the Waitrose Scotch egg I tried, with the egg and surrounding filling visible.

The Aldi pair was lighter at 226g and substantially cheaper. Inside, the meat looked more like a uniform paste to me, and the egg looked greyer. It wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever eaten, but I didn’t want more of it. I’d rather have a nicer occasional treat, although £3.50 for two was still enough to make me pause.

Better didn’t always mean exciting

The pork pies disappointed me. I tried both cold and preferred the Waitrose pastry and filling, but even that one wasn’t hugely seasoned. The Aldi pie tasted mushy and didn’t have much flavour. I’d been enjoying the cheaper versions up to that point; this was the first one I really didn’t want to keep eating.

Waitrose’s sausage rolls were a happier finish: flaky pastry, a generous amount of filling and nicely seasoned meat. The pair cost £2.64. Aldi’s four smaller hog roast rolls cost £2.19, so again the packs weren’t equivalent. Those tasted dry, with an outside herb flavour that overwhelmed the meat. I would have eaten one as part of a picnic, but the Waitrose roll was the one that made me excited.

The strawberries offered less reason to pay more. Both packs were 400g, but they were different varieties, and my Waitrose delivery arrived a few days before my Aldi shopping trip. I noticed a small taste difference, perhaps a little more tartness from Aldi, but liked both. Aldi’s pack was also on sale when I bought it. Those details mattered to the comparison.

My verdict was to judge the food, rather than assume the more expensive shop always won. Waitrose gave me some lovely treats, particularly the Bakewells and sausage rolls. Aldi’s cheddar was just as enjoyable to me. The answer changed with what I was putting in my basket.

Watch my Waitrose and Aldi taste test.