My family always hosted Thanksgiving , which meant cooking our entire meal from scratch, from stuffing to gravy to pie crust. One year, we even made our own rolls.

But everyone is busier these days, and buying specialty ingredients adds up. So when I heard about Aldi's Thanksgiving grocery plan that, according to the retailer, includes everything you need for a complete, no-fuss, home-cooked feast for 10 for under $39, I knew I had to try it.

A few weeks before the holiday, I visited Aldi, bought the ingredients, and attempted to make its Turkey Day spread.

Here's how the shopping, cooking, and tasting experiences stacked up — and whether the budget-friendly menu felt worth it.

The 12-item list was available on the Aldi app and website.

I kept the list pulled up on my phone as I shopped. Savannah Born

To make things easy, I took a screenshot of the list before shopping.…