I’m a food editor – 13 things I always buy at Lidl

I’m not a superfan of Lidl, but I do always have a significant amount of fun when I make a trip there. You never quite know what you’ll find, or what tremendously low price your find might cost. You also never quite know whether you’ll come home with gourmet treats to boast about or total duds.

The place is a bit like your most entertaining and irreverent but unreliable friend. If that friend also considers you to be a petty thief and checks your pockets when you leave their company – Lidl asks shoppers to scan a receipt before they can leave the premises. It’s not so much the security that I mind, more the fact that it stops me from spending more. If I need to keep a hand free to hold and scan that receipt, I can’t carry many bags.

That said, I’m not surprised to learn that Lidl has just become the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket. Last week, it overtook Morrisons, taking 8.6 per cent of grocery sales in the 12 weeks to 17 May 2026, with Morrisons taking 8.3 per cent.

But I’m sure it would have flown past much sooner if it helped consumers to spend more there, and gave them the confidence they can do a full or almost-full shop. Aldi has leaned into this in various ways, including making space for customers to buy – and pack! – big shops without the next person’s products being flung at them as they go. It has also spent money on brilliant PR and marketing campaigns, which Lidl is yet to see the value in.

For now, I consider it a supermarket for occasional sprees and brilliant but often eccentric finds. Here are some of my favorite Lidl products.

Italiamo tarallini, £2.79/500g

Tarallini or taralli are a deceptively simple southern Italian snack that taste far better than their looks suggest. Little more than a curl of a breadstick, they are rich from the 14 per cent olive oil and deliciously salty, too – the ideal foil to a cold evening drink. Supermarket-baked items are usually full of ultra-processed ingredients, but these are made from only wheat, olive oil, white wine, salt and a sourdough starter.

Seasonal citrus

I always remember to check out the citrus in Lidl in January and February. This year didn’t disappoint, with brilliant blood oranges at £1.79 for four as well as beautiful, leafy clementines and huge Italian lemons.

Fresh herbs

At just 50p for 30g, these are great value for a small bags of herbs.

Cherries and berries

I saw what I think was a supermarket first in Lidl last week – cherries on sale in paper bags. No plastic packaging whatsoever. The berries in Lidl, though not plastic-free, tend to be good value and great quality.

Deluxe Parmigiano Reggiano, £2.49/200g

I don’t think anywhere betters this price for genuine Parmigiano Reggiano but the real surprise is that it tops taste tests, too. Italian food writer Giulia Crouch gave it 5/5 in her tasting for this newspaper, writing: “It’s aged for a minimum of 30 months and has that characteristic sharp, fruity and savoury flavour, plus the intense hits of umami from the crystals. Texture-wise, it’s firm and a little crumbly and slightly melts on the tongue to unleash its deep flavour.”

Pastel de Nata, 75p each

We continue our European tour with a trip to Portugal, whose cute custard tarts, with their sweet and wobbly middles and flaky pastry, are a world away from the cold, grey blubber of their English cousins. At just 75p, these still taste like the real thing, with a note of vanilla and lovely soft and rich custard.

The bakery section in general

It is worth popping into Lidl for the smell alone. I could dine out on the decadent scent of baking croissants for days. As well as decent croissants (65p) and almond croissants (75p), the seeded and sourdough loaves are fine for £1.99.

Wine

I don’t often buy wine from Lidl. Not for lack of desire, but it’s so hard to buy much there because of the tiny checkouts that I tend to leave anything big or bulky behind. I spotted a Ventoux Blanc for £6.99 recently after I’d been drinking something similar on holiday in France and it was delicious, with lots of creamy roundedness and summery stone fruit flavour. It comes recommended by wine expert Helen McGinn in her new book The Supermarket Wine Guide.

Summer veg

I picked up a 900g crate of British tomatoes for £4.99 last week. It’s a mix of cherry, orange, baby plum and larger toms, and looks as pretty as a bunch of flowers on the kitchen worktop.

Lacasitos

I have never seen these iconic Spanish sweets in the UK before. An Iberian version of Smarties but somehow more exciting.

Bronze die pasta, £1.29/500g

This type of premium pasta is made by extruding the dough through traditional bronze moulds. I recently got a bag of cute “radiatori” shapes, which literally resemble radiators with lots of grooves for clinging onto sauce.

Nappies

We’re years past the nappy stage but my husband decided that Lidl disposable nappies were the best of the bunch and didn’t buy from anywhere else when we were using them.

Deluxe Puglian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, £5.39/500ml

A great price for an Italian oil that’s been praised for its grassy bitterness and is ideal for cooking, sauces and dressings. Another Italian product, but despite its German ownership, Lidl really does excel here and again came top in our taste test by Giulia Crouch.