Walmart and ALDI have both released Thanksgiving meal deals for around $40 each that can feed up to 10 people. Each includes a turkey, sides, and dessert ingredients for a complete holiday dinner.
Walmart sells its meal kit online as a single, prefilled basket available for pickup or delivery. Shoppers can also buy the basket at stores nationwide. ALDI offers similar items in stores and through grocery delivery services at roughly the same price.
Both offers are very similar, and to better understand each deal, we made the following comparison.
Price and weight
Walmart’s basket includes a 13.5-pound Butterball turkey. It’s priced at $0.97 a pound, the lowest it has offered since 2019. ALDI’s “Feast for 10” includes a 14.5-pound Jennie-O turkey, slightly larger and sold for about $0.77 a pound.
Both turkeys are close in weight and value. Walmart offers the Butterball brand, which many shoppers trust, while ALDI provides a slightly larger bird for a lower price. Either way, both offer enough food for a large dinner table without breaking the bank.
Sides and ingredients
Walmart’s list includes about 20 items. Most of them are prepackaged foods such as stuffing, soup, mac and cheese, and canned vegetables. The basket also includes dinner rolls, gravy packets, potatoes, carrots, cranberries, pie crusts, and pumpkin puree. These items are practical for people who want to prepare Thanksgiving dishes quickly without having to do any additional shopping.
ALDI’s list has around 21 items and includes russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, onions, carrots, herbs, and other fresh produce, as well as canned goods and baking staples. ALDI also includes chicken broth, whipped topping, and marshmallows. This adds variety and allows for more cooking options. Compared to Walmart, ALDI’s basket contains more raw vegetables and baking ingredients.
What brands are offered?
Walmart uses both national brands and store brands in its meal basket. The turkey is by Butterball, the soup is Campbell’s, and the stuffing is by Stove Top. Everything else, such as the rolls, mac and cheese, and pie crusts, is by Walmart’s Great Value brand. This deal offers customers both branded and private-label products at a reasonable price.
ALDI uses private-label products primarily. The only national brand in its meal is Jennie-O, which supplies the turkey. All other items are ALDI’s own products. The store maintains a smaller range of labels to keep prices uniform across locations.
Are there any precooked meals?
Neither Walmart nor ALDI includes ready-to-eat meals in their $40 deals. These are complete DIY cooking kits meant to be prepared at home.
Walmart lists all items in a one-click online basket that can be ordered for pickup or delivery. Customers can review the basket before checkout and remove any ingredient they don’t need. New users also receive free express delivery with the code THANKFUL.
ALDI sells each item separately, but all products needed for a Thanksgiving meal can be added to the cart together. Customers can buy them in stores or through delivery services such as Instacart, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. The items are marked individually rather than grouped into a single basket.
Are there any alternative meal options?
While ALDI is offering traditional Thanksgiving meal options, Walmart is offering a few other holiday meal baskets. All of these options can be ordered online in the same way as Walmart’s $40 basket, with pickup or delivery available through its grocery service.
- Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Meal: A complete Thanksgiving spread made without wheat-based ingredients. It includes a main dish, side items, and a dessert, all gluten-free.
- Balanced Thanksgiving Swaps: Includes higher-protein foods such as cauliflower, mashed potatoes and Goodles Mac & Cheese. It also comes with ingredients for a high-protein pumpkin dessert.
- Prime Rib Meal Basket: A full dinner centered around Choice Angus beef instead of turkey. It also includes salad, potatoes, and wine.
What families can cook with these baskets
Both meal kits include everything needed to make a complete Thanksgiving dinner. With Walmart’s basket, families can prepare a traditional spread, including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, and pumpkin pie, using mostly ready-to-cook ingredients. It’s ideal for anyone who wants a no-fuss meal that still feels homemade.
ALDI’s kit offers more customization options. Its fresh vegetables and baking staples let families make dishes from scratch, like roasted vegetables, homemade stuffing, and sweet potato casserole. The extra ingredients, such as herbs, chicken broth, and marshmallows, can be used to add flavor or to make soups and sides later in the week.
Walmart vs. ALDI: Which Thanksgiving deal is the better buy?
Both Walmart and ALDI are offering ways to keep Thanksgiving affordable this year. Each store is responding to higher grocery prices by making it easier to buy everything at a single fixed cost. But which deal is better?
Walmart’s basket offers more variety, including gluten-free and high-protein options, while ALDI’s list focuses on basic holiday staples. However, ALDI’s Thanksgiving deal is more traditional, with more raw ingredients and room to experiment.
Walmart is a good option for anyone who wants a simple, familiar dinner or is looking for gluten-free or alternative options. ALDI’s deal is suitable for those who prefer cooking from raw ingredients, given the amount of vegetables and spices the deal offers.
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