This $6 Aldi Snack Is a Total Dupe for a Discontinued Trader Joe’s Favorite

As the days get shorter and colder, I start dreaming about tropical destinations. With work, school, and my son’s gymnastics season starting (hello, road trips in the snow!), an actual vacation isn’t in my near future. Strolling through the snack aisle at Aldi, though, I recently discovered something delicious to help tide me over.

I’m a sucker for lightly sweetened nuts, and these were no exception. Packaged in a bright turquoise-colored bag with a photograph of a freshly cracked coconut, Southern Grove Coconut Cashews beckoned me. The roasted cashews are encased in a dusting of crispy coconut shreds. With a subtle sweetness that wasn’t overpowering on the palate, these nuts tasted of island sunshine, and I could imagine eating them from an Art Deco bowl in some fancy hotel by the beach.

They also taste pretty much identical to the coconut cashews Trader Joe’s used to sell. On a recent trip to TJ’s, I spotted bags of both the Thai chile and sesame honey cashews, but NO coconut. After chatting with a crew member, I learned the coconut cashews were discontinued last November. It’s fiiiiiiiiine. We’re all fine. At $5.99 for a 10-ounce bag, the ones from Aldi are a couple of dollars cheaper anyway. Anywhere I can save money, I’m on it.

While Southern Grove Coconut Cashews can easily elevate your snack time — especially if mixed with some dried fruits like apricots (which Southern Grove also makes) — they can transform desserts. I sprinkled a few handfuls of the crushed cashews onto my ice cream sundaes, and both my son and husband loved the flavor and crunch they added. I’ve also added them to fruit salads; they go particularly well with kiwis and mangoes. 

Crushed and mixed with butter, these coconut-covered nuts would work wonders as a pie crust, and pair perfectly with coconut cream or key lime or even chocolate fillings. I think they’d also be a good addition to chocolate chip cookies and anything that already calls for coconut, like a coconut frosting for an angel food cake. 

But mostly, they’re just a great snack to have on hand, and I think they’ll be perfect in the middle of winter when I’m yearning to be somewhere (anywhere!) it’s warm and sunny. 

Find it in stores: Southern Grove Coconut Cashews, $5.99 for 10 ounces

Have you seen these at your Aldi before? Tell us in the comments below.