Christmas costs a fortune so it’s good to find ways to save money in the new year. That’s when tinned food comes into its own. A fraction of the cost of fresh produce, but still brimming with nutritional value, utilising your store cupboard is a great way to save the pennies.
Beans, according to NHS guidelines, are one of your five a day as they provide a good source of protein, are high in fibre and low in fat. They also contain iron, zinc and B vitamins, making them ideal as a healthy meal during the coldest months.
But can any supermarket own brand be as good as original Heinz? To try to find out I bought beans from Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons to see how they compared with original Heinz both in terms of flavour and price. Enlisting the kids to help me taste them, here’s what we found.
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Heinz Baked Beans
Heinz Baked Beans are considerably more expensive than most other cans of beans. They cost £1.40 from Tesco for a 415g tin, which works out to 35p per 100g. Made from 50 percent beans and 36 percent tomatoes, they also contain 8.9g of sugar, 1.3g of salt, 8g of fibre and 10g of protein per half can.
We rarely (never) splurge on labelled brands in our house so we were all quite surprised by how the original beans tasted. The tomato sauce was quite watery and lacking in flavour. We decided these weren’t our faves at all and gave them 3 out of 5 stars.
Essential baked beans from Aldi, Heinz, Morrisons and Lidl
Bramwells Baked Beans
Bramwells Baked Beans cost 41p for a 410g tin from Aldi, which works out at just 10p per 100g. In a recent baked bean taste test study by consumer group Which? these beans beat Heinz to the top spot so I wanted to include them in our round-up review. Researchers also found that Aldi’s Bramwells Baked Beans beat the likes of Waitrose, Branstons, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Co-op.
They have an easy-open pull cap, just like the original Heinz brand. Made with 50 percent haricot beans and 25 percent tomatoes, they contain 9.8g of sugar, 1.09g of salt, 9.6g of fibre and 9.7g of protein per half can.
We could all see why they scored so highly in the Which? trial. The sauce is thick and comforting and the beans have a great flavour. I gave them 5 out of 5 stars.
Morrisons Savers Baked Beans
Savers Baked Beans cost just 27p for 410g from Morrisons, which works out to around 7p per 100g. Bargain. Unlike the Heinz beans, there was no pull cap so you had to use a tin opener and a bit of paper fell into the beans as a result but this was no big deal.
Made with 44 percent haricot beans and 27 percent tomato puree, these beans contain 9.4g of sugar, 0.94g of salt, 7.6g of fibre and 8.8g of protein per half can. Whilst the beans tasted nice, the tomato sauce seemed watery and lacking in flavour. I gave them 2 out of 5 stars.
Lidl Baked Beans
Newgate Baked Beans cost 42p for 420g from Lidl, which works out to just over 10p per 100g. These beans did have a pull cap which made them easier to open.
Made with 51 percent haricot and just 5.5 percent triple concentrated tomato puree, they contain 9.8g of sugar, 1g of salt, 14.2g of fibre and 9.6g of protein per half can.
Some of the beans popped whilst they were cooking in the microwave but they still tasted great. They had a lovely texture and the sauce was yummy being just the right consistency. I gave them 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Aldi Essentials Baked Beans
Aldi also sells Essentials Baked Beans, which cost 28p for 420g, which works to just 7p per 100g, the same price as the Morrisons own brand. And just like the Morrisons, there was no pull cap here so we had to use a tin opener.
Made with 45 percent haricot beans and 27 percent tomatoes, they contain 9.9g of sugar, 1.2g of salt, 6.4g of fibre and 7.8g of protein per half can.
The beans were great but the sauce had a slightly smoky aftertaste. It wasn’t unpleasant, just different to any baked beans I’d tasted before. I gave them 3 out of 5 stars.
Overall verdict
We could see why the Which? consumer experts voted for Aldi’s Bramwells Baked Beans. I think it’s worth spending the extra 13p per can to buy these rather than the Aldi Essentials brand, especially as they still work out to be 99p cheaper than Heinz. Result