Why Aldi's Bon Italia Spaghetti And Meatballs Isn't Worth Buying

Despite being perhaps one of the most beloved Italian American meals of all time, it's not every day that you have the opportunity to make a beloved childhood spaghetti recipe, tomato sauce, and meatballs from scratch. Particularly for busy parents who have s'ghetti-loving little ones or just those of us who crave an easy noodle fix in a flash, having a go-to can of ready-made pasta and sauce is a gift on a hectic weeknight.

That said, just because you need to opt for convenience shouldn't mean sacrificing flavor. Despite the fact that plenty of Aldi products are more than worth picking up — like some of these award-winning juice blends — the popular retail chain's Bon Italia brand of canned noodles sadly didn't cut it for us. And given the breadth of other options in this category, we just don't feel like this one should have a spot on your red-and-white checkered tablecloth.

Bon Italia sounds like it should be pretty delicious and at a glance, you might imagine that this could be a tasty product. The label boasts strands of spaghetti wrapped around a fork with a small meatball speared at the tip, all coated in a rich-looking red tomato sauce. But a close look at the ingredients doesn't inspire much confidence. After tomato puree and pork and beef meatballs, the list devolves into some nearly impossible-to-decipher elements including sulfates and nitrates, with any apparent flavorings (like nondescript spices) derived from extracts and dehydrated forms.

Perhaps that's why, when we tasted and ranked seven canned pasta brands and tried Bon Italia for ourselves, we had a hard time detecting much flavor at all. Instead, we were treated to some pretty bland noodles in a sauce that had a just barely detectable savory note but lacked salt or any other perceivable taste.

The price point can vary based on location, but at around $1 to $2 for a 15-ounce can, this product may seem like a steal and you can even find variants like pasta rings rather than spaghetti. And while there are also other options that scored lower on our list (the Aldi pasta itself wasn't quite as soggy and terrible as some others), we'd still steer toward alternate iterations in the canned pasta section. 

Perhaps the most iconic and nostalgic in this category is the one we found to be the best and that's the classic Campbell's Spaghetti-O's. With a more nuanced sweet-savory balance, this can actually delivers some flavor by comparison to the bland Aldi competitor and manages to be lower in sodium too.

Of course, if you aren't sold on store-bought cans, you can try your hand at homemade spaghetti and meatballs and freeze or refrigerate your sauce so that you can still capitalize on the convenience and satisfaction of a quick pasta dinner. But when the mood strikes for a can of nostalgic and quick noodles, look elsewhere.