Aldi says a classic Thanksgiving dinner for 10 can cost under $39 at its stores this year, and the basket includes a 16-pound turkey. The discount grocer says the price needs no coupons, loyalty cards, minimum purchases or memberships, and it holds through Nov. 25.
That works out to less than $4 per person, according to the company. Aldi announced the meal on Oct. 14, and as of Nov. 12 every item on the list has reached shelves, with the turkey price live since Nov. 4 and the pumpkin pie mix since Nov. 11.
What the Under-$39 Basket Includes
The Aldi announcement spells out the list. The centerpiece is a 16-pound Farmer’s Choice whole turkey. The sides are one 12-ounce package of Hawaiian sweet rolls, three boxes of assorted stuffing, fresh cranberries, 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, steamable frozen peas and a veggie tray of baby carrots and celery. Dessert is a pumpkin pie built from pumpkin pie mix, pie crusts, heavy whipping cream and whole milk. Stuffing, peas and sweet potatoes are long-standing low-cost staples, and this list of budget foods that even the wealthy eat shows how far a few basics can go.
“Thanksgiving shouldn’t require a calculator or a coupon strategy,” Aldi CEO Atty McGrath said in the release. The company said the meal is meant to be easy to compare with other stores on price, and it credits its smaller-format stores and its habit of stocking shelves in the boxes products arrive in for keeping costs down.
The list covers the basics and leaves out extras such as gravy, butter and drinks, which households will need to budget for separately. Hosts tallying the full cost can look at these costly Thanksgiving hosting mistakes, from overstretching the guest list to cooking an unfamiliar menu. With the turkey taking up the oven, this comparison of air fryers and a toaster oven for Thanksgiving sides looks at ways to cook rolls and vegetables at the same time.
The Dates Behind the Price
Aldi says the items are marked with a turkey logo on store shelves from Oct. 14 through Nov. 25. The fine print staggers the start dates: cranberries became available on Oct. 26, the Farmer’s Choice turkey on Nov. 4 and the pumpkin pie mix on Nov. 11. Prices for every item are effective until Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
The company notes that the actual price will vary based on available product, selections and location. New this year, shoppers can add the entire list to an online cart in one click for curbside pickup or delivery. Aldi says the under-$39 price also applies through its delivery partners DoorDash, Instacart and Uber Eats, though delivery and service fees may still apply.
Families heading out of town for the holiday have their own budget to watch, and these carry-on suitcases that skip the checked-bag fee are one way to trim travel costs. Holiday spending is weighing on households beyond the grocery bill, as this look at why Americans are dreading the holiday bills this year explains.
How It Stacks Up Against the Farm Bureau Benchmark
Aldi built its list around the same core items tracked in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey. The company says its shoppers have saved an average of 26% on a classic Thanksgiving meal over the last five years compared with the national average reported by the Farm Bureau.
The Farm Bureau’s 2026 figure has not been released yet. Its 2025 survey, published Nov. 19, 2025, put the national average for a classic dinner for 10 at $55.18, or about $5.52 per person. That was down 5% from 2024 and the third straight yearly decline after a record $64.05 in 2022. A 16-pound turkey averaged $21.50 in that survey, or $1.34 per pound, down 16.3%. Volunteer shoppers checked prices during the first week of November, and the national average drew on surveys from all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
By that yardstick, Aldi’s 2026 basket comes in about $16 below the Farm Bureau’s most recent national average, though the two figures cover different years. Several holiday staples have climbed in price since then. In the 52 weeks ending Sept. 5, cranberry sauce prices rose 15% and turkey breast rose 12% compared with a year earlier, according to NIQ data reported by The Shelby Report.
Planning Around a 16-Pound Turkey
A frozen 16-pound bird needs a head start. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says refrigerator thawing takes about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds, which works out to 3 to 4 days for a 12- to 16-pound turkey. For a Thursday, Nov. 26 dinner, that means moving it to the refrigerator by the weekend before.
Cold-water thawing is faster, at about 30 minutes per pound, or 6 to 8 hours for a 12- to 16-pound turkey, with the water changed every 30 minutes. FSIS lists roasting time at 325°F for an unstuffed 14- to 18-pound turkey at 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours. The bird is done when a food thermometer reads 165°F in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast, and FSIS recommends letting it stand for 20 minutes before carving.
The deal comes from a chain with deep roots in discount grocery. Aldi is the brand name of two German family-owned discount supermarket chains that together operate over 13,600 stores in 18 countries, and the business traces back to 1946, when brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht took over their mother’s store in Essen.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: FLGALine1999 – CC0/Wikimedia Commons
