Aldi vs Walmart for Thanksgiving Groceries: I Priced Out the Whole Dinner

Aldi comes out cheaper for most Thanksgiving staples, especially turkey, butter, and canned goods, while Walmart’s curated meal bundle prices out almost dead even with Aldi’s own bundle deal.

I built the exact same Thanksgiving dinner shopping list at both stores last November, sixteen items, nothing fancy, just what actually ends up on a normal table. Aldi’s total came in noticeably lower once I added everything up, but the gap wasn’t as even as you’d think from category to category. Some things at Walmart were basically the same price, and a couple were actually cheaper.

I’ve done the regular Aldi vs Walmart price comparison on this site before, and Thanksgiving is where the two stores really show their differences. Aldi runs lean on brand selection but wins hard on private label pricing. Walmart carries more name brands and a bigger stuffing and pie aisle, but you pay for that variety.

This isn’t the “feed 10 people for $40” marketing bundle math you’ll see plastered everywhere in October. I priced out a real list, the stuff you’d actually put in your cart if you were cooking Thanksgiving dinner from scratch for a family, and I’m giving you the receipt.

Key takeaways

• Aldi’s frozen turkey ran about 20 cents a pound cheaper than Walmart’s on my trip, which adds up fast on a 14-pound bird.
• Building your own Thanksgiving list item by item, Aldi came out around 18% cheaper than Walmart overall.
• The two stores’ promotional meal bundles ($40 for 10 people, roughly) price out almost identically, so the bundle deal isn’t where Aldi’s advantage shows up.
• Walmart’s canned goods and boxed stuffing cost more per unit, but the store had more brand options if you have a picky eater in the family.
• Aldi doesn’t stock everything a big Thanksgiving spread needs. I still had to make a second stop for a few items.

What I actually bought, and what it cost

I went in with a list that covers a standard mid-size Thanksgiving dinner, the kind that feeds ten to twelve people with leftovers. Turkey, sides, canned goods for casseroles, and the basics for a pumpkin pie. I skipped specialty items like fresh cranberries or a name-brand precooked ham, since that’s a different shopping trip entirely.

Below is the full breakdown, item by item, from that trip.

Item	Aldi	Walmart
Whole turkey, frozen (14 lb, $/lb)	$0.77/lb → $10.78	$0.97/lb → $13.58
Butter, salted (1 lb)	$2.89	$3.24
Dinner rolls, Hawaiian sweet (12-ct)	$2.29	$2.98
Stuffing mix (14 oz box)	$1.99	$1.98 (two 6 oz boxes)
Cranberry sauce, canned (14 oz)	$1.09	$1.66
Green beans, canned, for casserole (two 14.5 oz cans)	$1.30	$1.56
Cream of mushroom soup, condensed (10.5 oz)	$0.85	$1.00
French fried onions (6 oz)	$1.79	$2.28
Russet potatoes (5 lb bag)	$2.99	$3.47
Turkey or brown gravy (jar or packet)	$0.95	$1.28
Pie crust, refrigerated (2-ct box)	$2.49	$2.97
Pumpkin, canned (15 oz)	$1.79	$1.98
Evaporated milk (12 oz can)	$1.09	$1.28
Sweet potatoes (3 lb bag)	$2.99	$3.68
Marshmallows, mini (10 oz)	$1.09	$1.48
Whipped topping (8 oz)	$1.19	$1.68
Total	$37.56	$46.10

That’s a difference of about $8.54, or right around 18% cheaper at Aldi for the exact same list. Most of that gap comes from three places: the turkey, the butter, and the canned goods aisle.

Aldi’s private label soup, beans, and cranberry sauce are consistently cheaper than Walmart’s Great Value versions of the same items, which surprised me since I expected Great Value to be the budget option.

Where the turkey math actually shakes out

Turkey is the line item that moves the whole comparison, so it’s worth breaking out on its own. Aldi’s Jennie-O whole frozen turkey ran $0.77 a pound last season. Walmart’s Butterball was $0.97 a pound, which the store itself called its lowest turkey price since 2019.

On a 14-pound bird, that 20-cent gap works out to $2.80. Go bigger, say an 18 or 20-pound turkey for a larger crowd, and the difference climbs toward $4. I also saw Walmart carrying a Shady Brook Farms bird at $0.84 a pound in some stores, which closes the gap if Butterball isn’t the one you grab.

One thing I ran into at Aldi: the deal comes with a limit of one turkey per cart. If you’re hosting a big group and want a backup bird or a second one for the freezer, you either need a second trip or a second person in line with you. I ended up bringing my sister along just to grab two.

The bundle deals are basically a tie

If you’ve seen the “feed 10 people for $40” headlines both stores run every fall, one detail rarely gets pointed out. Aldi’s curated bundle and Walmart’s curated bundle price out almost identically, both landing around $40 for roughly 20 items serving 10 people, or about $4 a person.

The bundles aren’t the same list, though, and that’s where the real difference lives. Aldi’s version includes fresh onions, celery, and carrots, meaning you’re expected to actually make stuffing and a real vegetable side from scratch. Walmart’s bundle swaps those out for a boxed stuffing mix and skips the fresh aromatics entirely, which keeps their total down but means less of a home-cooked feel if you’re going for a scratch dinner.

I tried both bundles as written one year, and honestly, the Aldi version felt more like an actual Thanksgiving dinner. The Walmart one felt more like a shortcut, which isn’t a knock, it’s just a different meal.

What Aldi does better, item by item

• Dairy. Butter, milk, and cheese ran noticeably cheaper at Aldi on my trip, somewhere in the range of 10 to 20% less than the Walmart store brand equivalent.
• Canned goods. Cream of mushroom soup, cranberry sauce, green beans, and canned pumpkin were all cheaper at Aldi, and the quality difference was not something I could tell in the finished dish.
• Poultry. Beyond the turkey itself, I’ve found whole chickens and chicken thighs at Aldi run cheaper too, which matters if you’re feeding people who skip turkey.
• Produce. The potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions I bought at Aldi held up better in my fridge for the week leading into the holiday than the same items I’d grabbed at Walmart in past years.

What Walmart does better

• Selection. If someone at your table only eats a specific stuffing brand or a name-brand cranberry sauce, Walmart is far more likely to have it. Aldi’s aisle is short on purpose.
• One-stop shopping. Walmart carries fresh cranberries, a wider range of pie fillings, specialty flours, and holiday-specific items that Aldi just doesn’t stock every year.
• Layout for big trips. A full Thanksgiving cart is a lot to push around, and Walmart’s wider aisles and larger carts made the whole trip less of a squeeze than Aldi’s tighter store format.
• Gluten-free and diet-specific options. Walmart’s bundle deal this year included a gluten-free version and a lower-sodium swap list, something Aldi didn’t offer as a packaged option.

Why I still make two stops

Aldi wins on price almost every time I run this comparison, but I don’t do all my Thanksgiving shopping there and I never have. Aldi’s turkey selection is frozen only in most stores, no fresh or heritage options, and the brand lineup for stuffing and pie filling is thin if you’re picky.

My actual routine is Aldi first for the turkey, butter, dairy, and canned goods, then a second stop at Walmart for anything specific that didn’t turn up. That second trip usually only takes fifteen minutes because I already know exactly what I still need. It’s not a perfect one-store answer, but it saves real money without giving up the parts of the meal my family actually cares about.

The one thing that changed my mind

I used to assume Walmart’s Great Value line would beat Aldi on canned goods, since Great Value has a reputation as the budget brand. It didn’t, not on a single item on my list. Aldi’s private label pricing on soup, beans, and cranberry sauce beat Great Value every single time, sometimes by 30 or 40 cents a can.

That’s the kind of thing you only catch by actually putting both receipts side by side, which is exactly why I stopped trusting the marketing bundles and started pricing my own list every year instead.

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