If you needed to stock your fridge and pantry with only $100, what would you get? Here are all the grocery essentials I stocked up on recently at Aldi for less than $100.
If you had exactly $100 to spend and zero food at home… what would you buy?
That was the challenge I gave myself: a real-life, 15-minute grocery haul at Aldi with $100 to spend and an (imaginary) empty pantry.
No well-planned out grocery list.
No meal plan.
Just quick thinking and a goal: to grab as many versatile, affordable grocery essentials as I could.
🛒 The Rules
- Store: Aldi
- Budget: $100
- Time Limit: ~15 minutes
- Goal: Restock the basics — pantry, fridge, and freezer
To keep within my $100 budget I totaled everything on my phone while shopping and ended up spending $96.45. If I had realized I was under, I definitely would’ve grabbed onions (a huge staple in my cooking). But overall, I’m super happy with everything I got!
Here’s everything I got for just under $100 at Aldi!
🍎 Fruits & Veggies
- Apples (3 lb) – $3.19 (Great for snacking, baking, and they last a while on the counter or in the fridge.)
- Potatoes (10 lb) – $3.99 (Potatoes are one of the best budget foods—filling, versatile, and long-lasting. )
- Frozen Broccoli – $1.15
- Frozen Corn & Peas – $0.97 each
- Frozen Extra Fine Green Beans – $2.59 (Frozen vegetables are a great, budget-friendly way to eat healthy without worrying about spoilage.)
🥛 Dairy & Fridge Staples
- Sour Cream (16 oz) – $1.85
- Butter (1 lb) – $3.75
- Eggs (12 count) – $3.98 (Hopefully eggs will go down in price soon!)
- Whole Milk (1 gallon) – $2.71
- Shredded Cheese (16 oz. each of Cheddar & Mozzarella) – $3.59 each
🧁 Baking & Cooking Basics
- All-Purpose Flour (5 lb) – $2.35
- Brown Sugar – $2.09
- Salt – $0.67
- Baking Soda – $0.89
- Baking Powder – $1.95
- Yeast – $0.99 (An important pantry staple to have if you like to bake bread!)
- Vegetable Oil – $2.99
🍚 Pantry Staples
- White Rice (2 lb) – $2.65
- Black Beans (2 lb) – $2.69
- Old-Fashioned Oats – $3.95
- Peanut Butter – $2.95
- Grape Preserves – $2.19
- Saltine Crackers – $1.69
- Tortillas (20 count) – $1.99
- White Bread (1 loaf) – $1.39
- Pasta (1 box) – $0.98
- Pasta Sauce – $1.65
- Diced Tomatoes (2 cans) – $0.89 each
🍗 Meat & Protein
- Chicken Breasts (4.5 lb) – $11.43
- Chicken Drumsticks (4.2 lb) – $5.41
- Ground Beef (1 lb, 85/15) – $4.59
- Ground Turkey (1 lb) – $1.89 (I like mixing ground beef and turkey to stretch it further without losing flavor.)
🧂 Spices
All for $0.99 each:
- Chili Powder
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Cinnamon
Obviously I use other spices and seasonings regularly as well, but the four above are absolute essentials!
Final Thoughts 💭
If your kitchen was totally empty, this $100 Aldi haul would give you a solid reset—complete with breakfast options, proteins, pantry staples, and even some flavor builders.
There’s a lot of variety here, and it’s enough to make soups, pasta, stir-fries, breakfast bakes, sandwiches, and more.
What would you add to this list?
If I missed a must-have item, drop it in the comments. I’d love to hear what you think are essential budget buys!
If this kind of grocery haul content is helpful, let me know—I’d love to share more ideas for smart, affordable meal planning.
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