7 Canned Fish Brands To Buy And 7 To Leave On The Shelf

In my opinion, countries that are devoted to the world of canned sardines, mackerel, tuna, and trout are on to something big and beautiful. Like a portable picnic from the sea, canned fish is often nutritious and hearty, tiding over appetites in the most gourmet way. And once you begin trying different brands of fish, you'll be introduced to a whole kaleidoscope of exotic flavors. But fish fanatics be warned: There are still plenty of duds hiding amongst the cans. 

With this article, I'm hoping to introduce your to some of the best canned fish brands from Portugal, Spain, and even Costa Rica, where a reverent culture surrounding conservas has lead to some of the finest fish around. On the flip side, I'll name some purveyors of canned seafood that are more concerned with providing cheap eats rather than first-class flavor. So pull out your crackers and grab your forks, because it's time to wade into the choppy waters of canned fish. 

I have long worshiped at the admittedly fragrant altar of Trader Joe's canned smoked trout. My mother trained me at a young age to be a trout mule, lugging cans of the stuff in my roller bag when returning from visits to my grandparents in California, as my home state of Alabama had only one Trader Joe's. And this stuff was worth its weight in gold, offering the platonic ideal of smoked fish in mild oil. Naturally, my bias is so intense that I chose to review another one of Trader Joe's canned fish products just to be fair. 

Enter the Trader Joe's Sardines in Olive Oil with Smoke Flavor, an affordable option (only $1.99 for a 4.25-ounce serving) that came packaged in a jaunty magenta can. The sardines themselves are tender without being too oily on the tongue, while the flavor of smoke is perfectly balanced. It receives top marks for offering such quality flavor at a bargain price.  

I find this can of sardines to be a perfect reflection of all other Trader Joe's fish products. Admittedly, I haven't tried the water-packed varieties of its seafood, but the best canned sardine or fish is one packed in oil, and I'll brook no argument. Thus the mackerel, lightly smoked salmon, and tuna have all been winners for me in the past, and I can't wait to try the latest addition, grilled sardines. Oh, and have I mentioned how divine the smoked trout is?

When you think of the Goya brand you probably don't immediately associate it with the realm of canned fish, but it does offer several affordable options for those looking for a deal. That includes the jumbo 15.5-ounce can of Sardines in Tomato Sauce ($2.86) that I decided to give a try. 

Cracking into this can, I was immediately overwhelmed by both the amount of tomato sauce and the size of the sardines. To say these sardines were large is an understatement — these were like the megaladon of sardines. Unfortunately, bigger does not mean better in this case. The texture was mushy and the flavor was an unappetizing mix of overly oily fish mixed with watered down tomato sauce. With this dismal performance, I can't imagine things improve with its mackerel, tuna, or plain sardine offerings. Keep in mind that this review is really only directed to Goya's canned seafood line, as I've enjoyed the many other Goya outputs — beans, chickpeas, spices — that I've tried.

I've singled out Spanish brand Ortiz White Tuna in Olive Oil before as one of the top canned tuna brands out there, but it's worth highlighting again. I find this can of tuna so satisfying that I often mix it into a plain batch of rice and call that dinner — and it's a mighty fine dinner at that. My only qualm is that it can be a little pricey ($6.99 for a 3.95-ounce can) but it's still worth every penny in my book. 

And that's just Ortiz's plain Jane tuna. The brand also offers a superior collection of sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and even hake roe, delicate fish eggs that Ortiz recommends you enjoy as a tapa. Though not strictly a canned product, I also have to recommend Ortiz's boquerones, marinated white anchovy filets which have a delightfully clean, pickled flavor that is completely contrary to the traditional salt saturated version. It's the kind of gourmet snack that can send you straight to the sun-soaked beaches of San Sebastian, the unofficial conservas capital of the world. 

StarKist is a well recognized brand for canned tuna, existing as one of the most popular options in stores today. With that top tuna ranking in mind, I decided try one of the many versions it currently offers. I landed on the Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Dill and Lemon ($1.98 for a 4.5-ounce can), flavors I think complement the meaty tuna taste well.  

The tuna was firm and slightly pink, while the oil itself was a brilliant green from the dill present. Indeed, the aroma of lemon and dill was nice and strong when I first opened this can, and this proved a harbinger for what was to come. When trying the flakes of tuna, the herbal taste completely overwhelmed the tuna, causing it lose its identity. Was it chicken in dill lemon oil or fish? I could no longer tell. 

StarKist has numerous other tuna options, from plain to flavored, but this isn't the first time I've been disappointed by its quality. Each time I've tried StarKist tuna, it either seems to be masked by heavy ingredients or mind-numbingly bland. There's much better tuna to be found on the market, so skip this for the sake of flavor. 

Canned sardines are the OG of conservas for a reason. Sardines offer an oily, tiny, and tasty fish filet with bones that are hardly noticeable when snacking. While there are many ways to turn canned sardines into a gourmet snack, I often enjoy them plainly on a salted cracker. Minerva, a Portuguese canning mainstay since 1942, offers a plethora of sardine options, including my main testing target, Sardines in Spiced Olive Oil with Pickles ($3.99 for a 4.25-ounce can). 

The main source of the heat in this product was a red hot piri-piri chili packed in with the sardines, imparting the oil with a latent spice that kicks you at the end. There was also a slice or two of pickles and carrots to help round out the overall flavor. The sardines themselves were tender and flavorful, nicely complemented by that subtle element of heat and brine. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg for Minerva products. The brand also has excellent options for tuna, mackerel, and fish paté, as well as sardines packed in lemon-infused oil, tomato sauce, and spiced olive oil. If you want a delicious entry into the realm of Portuguese conservas, Minerva is a great brand to start with. 

Walmart's store brand, Great Value, is one of the most affordable options in the realm of canned seafood. For 98 cents, I purchased a 3.75-ounce can of sardines packed in Louisiana hot sauce, a spicy condiment that should call to mind Tabasco or Crystal's. There are plenty of other brands out there that combine heat with rich sardines, and I was intrigued to try some that used the vinegar-based Louisiana-style hot sauce. 

Upon first peeling back the lid, I was pleasantly surprised at how the sardines looked neatly packed and meaty, but alas, the taste proved this tin severely wanting. The sardines were bizarrely flavorless, making this the blandest sardine on the list. Even the hot sauce tasted off, with a metallic undercurrent running through its acidic spiciness. On the plus side, the heat of the hot sauce numbed my tongue quite a bit, which made the tasting experience less offensive, but I can't imagine other Great Value fish packed in more neutral liquids like water or oil could promise the same. 

Tuna is one of my favorite canned fish for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that tuna can be upgraded into a delicious dinner with little to no effort. Because of that, I wanted to evaluate another brand famed for its tuna. Enter Tonnino, a brand based in Costa Rica and well known for its fancy yet affordable tuna. I grabbed the standard Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil to see how it stacked up. 

Open first look, the can looks packed with a healthy amount pink yellowfin tuna  chunks, complete with a hint of salt to make it all the tastier. The oil was tasty on its own — always a nice touch — and helped make the tuna flesh moist. It was delicious served on rice, a cracker, and I bet even in an avocado-forward tuna salad. It's a perfectly flexible, quality can of tuna. 

What I particularly love about Tonnino is its more affordable price point ($3.99 for 4.9-ounce can). I can't always splurge on a can of tuna from Ortiz, but Tonnino gives me a cheaper alternative with equal high-end flavor. The brand also offers a number of tuna variations in glass jars that are also highly recommended to make tonnato, a gourmet tuna pasta sauce, not to mention a new line of canned tuna party dip, including Yellowfin Tuna in Chipotle Sauce. Sign me up. 

Here's a brand of canned fish that seems to check all the boxes on offering a quality bite of food. Wild Planet is famed for it's sustainable fishing practices, using only pole-and-line and trolling harvesting methods to get its tuna and sardines. With this eco-friendly commitment, Wild Planet Albacore Tuna in Olive Oil is a bit pricier than the average can of tuna ($3.98 for a 5-ounce can).

Even with all of these positive features going for it, my can of Albacore was dry, bland, and — horror of horrors — sported a slightly metallic flavor. For that high price point, I expect much more from a can of tuna. As a side note, the olive oil present was sufficiently high quality, and the one bright point in an otherwise disappointing can of tuna. It wasn't enough to save the brand from a ban from my household though. Here's hoping that the flavor can one day match its high sustainability rating. 

The Portuguese brand Porthos' sardines are immediately recognizable, with a smarmy conquistador grinning from vibrantly hued cans. Leering soldiers aside, this brand has many delectable options for sardines, including my eventual choice: Porthos Spiced Sardines in Olive Oil ($5.49 for a 4.4-ounce can). 

Upon opening, this can revealed perfectly packed sardine filets primed for photographing. The best part is that these sardines were just as tasty as they were beautiful. Super tender without going mushy, they tasted like a rich sardine with a sneaky bit of heat arriving at the end. I was also pleasantly surprised by the presence of carrots and cucumber in the can, which I believe contributed to its sophisticated flavor. 

With this promising start, I'm eager to try some of Porthos' other sardine varieties, like Sardines in Teriyaki Sauce and Sardines in Brine. The brand also has tinned versions of tuna, smoked salmon, mackerel, and fish paté that seem worthy of a try. 

Though I'm devoted to Trader Joe's smoked trout, I'm always looking to find other options to satiate me, particularly when I want to avoid having to park at Trader Joe's (aka the world's worst parking lot). I decided that Bumble Bee, a brand more commonly known for its tuna, would be worth a shot. Bumble Bee Smoked Trout in Canola Oil ($4.12 for a 3.8-ounce can) was even a little bit cheaper than my standard Trader Joe's buy. 

Though I desperately wanted to like this can of trout, it couldn't come close to replacing my usual favorite, and wouldn't even suffice as an alternative. It just couldn't hack it. Even bathed in canola oil, the trout had a dryer texture that made flakes stick in my throat. I also think Bumble Bee leaned way too heavily on the smoke flavor, as it borders on the aroma of a roaring campfire as opposed to a smoke house. I've had problems with Bumble Bee tuna as well, mostly suffering from sins of flavorlessness, so I can't say that I'll be returning to this brand again. 

A venerated Spanish brand, Matiz prides itself on serving up Eastern Atlantic-caught and Galicia-packaged sardines and seafood with local Spanish olive oil. While I could have used any one of its sardine offerings as a prime example of its quality, I have a particular soft spot for Matiz's Wild Sardines with Natural Lemon Essence ($4.99 for 4.2-ounce can) as I find lemon to be a lovely complement to the earthy richness of the sardines. 

Matiz's version is very delicately perfumed with lemon oil, imparting a floral aroma rather than an acidic bite. The sardines themselves are rich and soft, and with a pleasant flavor that isn't over powered by the lemon presence. The wonderful thing about Matiz is that it has so many other delicious fish and flavors to choose from, too. From plain to lightly smoked, each sardine flavor on offer is a treat on its own, and the tuna and mackerel are solid selections as well. Branching out of the strictly fish realm, the brand also has a tin of octopus (or pulpo as they call it in Spain) that is an excellent alternative to fresh. 

There is a time and a place for canned salmon — specifically, salmon cakes or croquettes — even if it doesn't have as delicious of a reputation as fresh salmon. With that in mind, I decided to try out Chicken of the Sea's Alaskan Pink Salmon in Water ($2.19 for a 5-ounce can) and see if it could give me the quality I was searching for. 

Reader, it did not. Call me daffy, but I feel like this fish should have looked a lot pinker than it did considering "pink" was in the title. It looked more like cooked chicken flecks drowning in a pool of sodium water. And after tasting it, I still can't confirm whether this can does in fact contain any salmon. It tasted like ... maybe tuna? Maybe chicken? Maybe imitation crab spritzed with eau de salmon? Needless to say, this was barely edible. I've had equally dismal results from other Chicken of the Sea products (spoiler alert: the tuna is also flavorless), so I can't even say this is a one time mistake. If you can, avoid this brand in the aisles. 

Another Portuguese brand of sardines has entered the chat. This time it's Nuri, a seafood label that often comes equipped with a yellow and green colored wrapper. Though the brand offers numerous sardine flavors, I landed on one that promised both spice and acidity: Nuri Spiced Sardines in Tomato Sauce ($5.99 for a 4.4-ounce can). 

This can contained much larger sardines than I was used to, with two thick filets replacing the average four skinny ones. There was plenty of rich oil and tomato sauce infused into the filets, offering a forkful that was both bright and hot at the same time. In fact, I would say that this was one of the spicier sardines I tested. 

If you're spice-lover, I think you would be perfectly satisfied by this or the company's similarly flavored Sardines in Spiced Oil. It even offers a spiced mackerel tin as well. Of course, if high heat isn't your thing, you would also be pleased by it Sardines in Tomato Sauce or Sardines in Olive Oil. Whatever you chose, Nuri will deliver a good filet of fish. 

As a canned seafood brand, Iberia should have been a solid choice. Founded in 1930, Iberia was created to cater to clients looking for Caribbean, Hispanic, and Latin American cuisine. With this illustrious history as an endorsement, I was excited to try its Sardines in Vegetable Oil ($1.42 for a 4.2-ounce can). 

Yes, canned sardines should taste like fish, but they should never taste "fishy." These sardines are a perfect example of that dreaded fishy sardine flavor. Another unfortunate quality of these sardines is that they're packed in a vat of vegetable oil, which contributes nothing to the flavor and makes these sardines appear and taste extra slick and oily. I even checked the expiration date to ensure I hadn't bought a bad batch. Alas, it should have been just fine. Though the brand name invokes conservas royalty like Portugal and Spain, its canned seafood has little in common with one's from those countries. 

During purchasing, I considered brands that have a variety of fish on offer and that were easy to buy online or in the store. I kept a $10 cap per tin, as I wanted these cans to represent an every day snack rather than a rare treat. All tins contained fish, meaning no shellfish or crustaceans were considered. I also made sure that there was plenty of representation of foreign brands, as good tinned fish can come from all over the world. 

When sampling the fish, I evaluated taste, texture, price point, and sustainability. The canned fish was eaten either plain or with a simple salted cracker so as to not dilute or significantly alter any flavor.