Aldi Announces New Line Of Affordable Vegan Options

Vegan offerings are growing in big chain food companies, from fast food chains to businesses that specialize in protein production on large scales. Now, German grocery store Aldi is joining the trend with their own line of vegan and vegetarian products. The Daily Meal reports that the new line is called Earth Grown, and will follow some success Aldi has already had with vegan items they tested in stores.

It began with Aldi's dairy-free ice cream, but the new line will include meatless hot dogs, meatless meatballs, "chicken tenders," some more traditional veggie burgers, and dairy-free cheeses.

Of course, any grocery store offers items that are vegan. Buy a can of beans, some grains, fresh fruit, and vegetables and you can make a very respectable vegan meal on a budget.

But that doesn't mean folks aren't excited that they'll be able to walk into a regular grocery store, rather than a specialty market, and pick up something prepackaged and ready to go, or some vegan cheese for sprinkling on their meat-free chili:

It's also a big deal when a chain offers its own brand, as they're generally much cheaper than name brand items of the same quality. With Aldi backing its own product, certain types of treats are now much more affordable.

On their website, Aldi promises that everything in the Earth Grown line is "free from animal products, including meat, poultry and seafood, and our vegan items are also free from substances produced by animals - such as eggs, dairy, honey, gelatin and lanolin." That vegan cheese everyone is so excited about is $3.29 for 8 ounces, and package of vegan jumbo sausages are only $2.99. That's a good value to plan your next meatless BBQ around.