Around 15 years or so go, my mum would drag me around Aldi and I would remember being mortified, praying no-one from school would see me in there. How things have changed eh? I have my ear close to the ground and Aldi is quickly becoming the UK’s favourite supermarket.

And it’s easy to see why. It’s cheap and I love the cheek they have ‘imitating’ other brands yet slashing the price. My home is filled with Aldi dupes.

Recently, Aldi has launched a range of ready to cook meals called Ready, Set, Cook. They all cost around the £3 mark and are available all year. They are taking on Waitrose’s range which cost twice as much and people are raving about them.

Some shoppers buy up to a week’s worth of food and compare it to kits such as Hello Fresh which cost £52 a week (rather than £15ish).

So thought I’d give them a try for the week and give you my honest feedback.

Korean BBQ Pork

I’ve never had Korean pork before so didn’t really know what to expect. I was surprised about the amount of pork in the pack, there was a lot more in the pan than how it looked in the packet.

I cooked it up with an uncle bens wild rice (you NEED something bland-ish to go with it). The sauce is thick, sweet and tasty, and is totally different to other stir-frys I’ve had before.

I think next time, I’d use half the amount of bbq sauce that comes with it (the pork is already marinated) because it was a little sweet for me. I also wish there were a few more veggies in there. I felt like there was more meat than cabbage/carrots etc, so to be honest, you could always add some carrots for a few pennies extra if you think like me.

That said, I’d definitely buy this again. Sometimes you get stuck in a bit of a rut with the food you cook, and this is totally different to the standard for me.

Oh, and it literally took seven minutes to cook.

Score: 7/10

Yellow Bean Stir Fry Pork

I never cook pork. Not sure why, I think it’s because past experiences have meant it was super dry and untasty. However, this was SO good. You get a lot of meat in these packs (which is brill), but fewer noodles and veg.

This was one of my favourite packs, but wasn’t very full after it. Basically, I think you need to add extra carbs to these meals if you have a big appetite like me.

Again, 7 minutes to cook and was delicious.

Score 8/10

Beef Stroganoff

I LOVE stroganoff. I’ve tried to cook it a few times and it’s never been good. I can’t get over the value for this meal. You get a lot of steak (not chewy at all), mushrooms and a delicious sauce for about £1.50 a head. I think next time I personally would add a few more mushrooms – because I like to eat a lot of veg.

This is the one I’ll be picking up a lot for dinner. In fact, might pop out now and sort out tea! ha.

Score 10/10

Chinese Chicken Stir Fry

This was the one I was looking forward to most. I posted that I was trying out these meals in my Luxury on a Budget Facebook group and so many people messaged back saying that they loved this one, and that it tastes the same as a Chinese takeaway.

But I don’t get it. Again, a load of chicken and peppers (which I left out, because – yeah, I hate peppers). Really good value for money, but it didn’t have that chilli/garlic/ginger/soy taste *I* associate with Chinese food.

I didn’t love it, but others did (like, really did) – so think its worth a shot.

Score 6/10

So yeah, will continue to pick these up. They are cheap and really easy to cook – although I’ll be adding some extra veggies.

Have you tried them yet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments.