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Calamari means “squid” in Italian, and it’s a popular food in the Mediterranean. It’s a good source of protein and also has some healthy omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, calamari is a versatile seafood. You can saute it, grill it, or bread and fry it. I most often see it served battered and fried at restaurants, usually with some kind of dipping sauce.
From time to time, I see frozen breaded calamari being sold as a limited-time special at Aldi.
Phillips Salt & Pepper Calamari is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, it’s gone until whenever Aldi may decide to bring it back. Aldi does not offer online ordering for this if it’s sold out at your local store.
This cost $6.99 for a 10-ounce package at the time of writing. That’s about 70 cents per ounce. With 2.5 servings per package, that comes out to about $2.80 per serving.
This is a product of Indonesia.
This is distributed by Phillips Foods, Inc., based out of Baltimore, Maryland. The Phillips brand is not exclusive to Aldi, and you can find their products in other retailers including Target and Walmart. Phillips operates a handful of seafood restaurants and produces grocery products such as crab cakes, crab rangoon, seafood seasonings, canned crab meat, and seafood dips, to name a few.
So, if you can’t find this salt and pepper calamari at Aldi, you might be able to get it at a grocer such as Target. However, it cost $8.99 for a 10-ounce package at Target at the time of writing, which is $2 more than what I paid for the same package at Aldi.
Ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
If you’re looking out for allergens, the calamari contains wheat and soy.
One 3-ounce serving of the calamari has 200 calories, 9 grams of total fat (12% DV), 1.5 grams of saturated fat (8% DV), 460 mg of sodium (20% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 1 gram of total sugars, no added sugars, and 10 grams of protein.
A 2-tablespoon serving of the sweet pineapple chili sauce has 50 calories, no fat, 360 mg of sodium (16% DV), 14 grams of total carbohydrates (5% DV), and 13 grams of added sugars (26% DV).
Nutrition information. (Click to enlarge.)
The package has directions for cooking this from frozen in a conventional oven or in an air fryer.
To bake, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the calamari on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes, then flip and bake an additional 3-4 minutes or until calamari is golden brown.
To air fry, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees. Cook the calamari for 5-6 minutes or until it’s golden brown.
To serve the sauce, place the unopened packets in a bowl of warm water until thawed and warmed. Squeeze the sauce from the packets into a serving dish.
Ready to serve after air frying.
I air fried this for 5 minutes, and it turned out good. You want to be careful not to overcook calamari, as that can make it tough and rubbery.
This calamari tastes as expected, mild-flavored and slightly chewy. This has a generous amount of breading but not too much, and it crisps up nicely in the air fryer. It doesn’t have a strong salt and pepper flavor, but it is well seasoned. Sometimes things with salt and pepper seasoning can be spicy, but this is not spicy at all. The pineapple sweet chili sauce is good as well. The calamari is fine on its own, but the sauce takes it up another notch.
The Verdict:
Phillips Salt & Pepper Calamari is not exclusive to Aldi. You may be able to find this calamari, as well as other Phillips seafood products, at your local traditional grocery store. However, we couldn’t find Phillips calamari cheaper than what we paid for it at Aldi. This has a good, flavorful breading that isn’t spicy. The included dipping sauce packets are a nice bonus. If you’re a seafood fan, and especially if you like squid, give this a try.
