Aldi's Budget-Friendly Alternative To Pyrex Dishes

If you're trying to find high-quality glass mixing bowls that double as food storage, classic brands like Pyrex may come to mind first due to their reputation for longevity, but some of their pieces can get pricey. In a search to find quality pieces for better prices, many people believe Pyrex is the vintage dishware brand you should always snag from thrift stores and estate sales. However, it is not always easy to find. For a more affordable alternative, Crofton, a brand at Aldi, makes a surprisingly affordable and adorable set of four glass mixing bowls with lids.

The Crofton blue-green mixing bowl set costs $14.99 at Aldi, and it consists of four bowls in a variety of sizes, each with a matching lid in shades of blue, green, and pink. The bowls are made of glass and are safe for the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher, and they are heat resistant up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes the bowls ideal for both food preparation and food storage, much like Pyrex brand dishes.

It may seem like a strange place to shop for kitchenware, but Aldi is one of the grocery stores with the best home decor departments, and people shop there for all sorts of kitchen and home products. They carry all kinds of home items, many of which have lower prices than comparable brands. When shopping, though, it's reasonable to worry that quality drops as prices do, so it's important to read reviews of the brand and compare the product directly to the alternative.

Finding reviews for Aldi products can be difficult, but on social media, owners of the mixing bowls from the set rave about them, often saying that they love them. Some people who have compared other Crofton and Pyrex glass dishes with lids have found that the two are very similar. In fact, for some products, the lids are interchangeable. This is especially helpful since the durability of the Crofton lids is the main point of criticism for the Aldi find. 

One person noted that their Crofton lids deteriorated after a couple of years, while their Pyrex lids did not. Another commenter shared that Crofton lids seem to crack easily. It is also worth noting that the Crofton lids are not microwave-safe, while Pyrex lids often are. If you anticipate the lids being an issue and want to buy sturdier replacements, you may need to buy them individually to get the right sizes.

Pyrex mixing bowl sets with lids similar to the Crofton set start at about $25, so you can save significantly by purchasing the Aldi version. However, if you plan to replace the lids so you have a microwave-safe version, it may be worth splurging outright for the Pyrex bowls. Otherwise, the Crofton set is a great deal that should last a few years, especially if you hand-wash the lids. No matter which you choose, you may be interested in finding even more Aldi finds worth buying to organize your fridge.