In the melt route of aluminum foam production, melts thickened by alloying additions, such as Ca or Mg, can be foamed by creating gas bubbles inside it. In the present work, Al–2Mg foams are produced by melt route with and without thickening of aluminum melt. Macrostructural and microstructural characterization of the foams were performed by using X-ray tomography and SEM, respectively. The mechanical behavior of the foams was analyzed by conducting quasi-static compression tests. A good cellular structure was obtained in both (with and without thickening) the cases. Foams produced with a thickening step showed higher expansion than those produced without a thickening step. Foams produced without thickening step showed higher plateau strength compared to the foams produced with thickening step. © 2019, The Indian Institute of Metals - IIM.