Supermarket own-brand baked beans crowned UK’s best — and better than Heinz

Us Brits are a nation of legume lovers, getting through more than 2 million tins of baked beans every day.

But if you’re one of the millions who automatically reach for tins of Heinz at the supermarket – either out of brand loyalty or the notion that pricier equals better – it may be time to reconsider.

A recent study by consumer watchdog Which? crowned the UK’s best beans, with two own-label options beating the UK market leader on both flavour and price.

In a blind taste test, the consumer champion asked a panel of 60 people to rate 12 different varieties, including Heinz, Branston, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Aldi, and Tesco.

Each earning an overall rating of 77%, Aldi and Lidl were tied to top spot, narrowly edging out the big-brand favourite despite being more than three times cheaper.

Aldi’s Bramwells beans were praised for texture and taste by the majority of testers, who agreed that they were pleasantly sweet.

Metro reader Gwen agrees, writing in to say that after switching to the German supermarket’s offering a few years back she’s ‘never looked back’ and adding: ‘For the price, they are an extremely good product.’

At 39p a can, they were hailed as an ‘excellent all-rounder’ by Which?, winning Best Buy and Great Value awards.

Lidl also scooped these titles for its budget Newgate beans, which scored similarly well across the board at an equally purse-friendly 40p.

In at second place was Heinz, with a score of 76%. Over half of the panel said the sweetness levels were right, and most enjoyed their tomatoey flavour, yet more than a third said they’d prefer this to be stronger.  

While they landed a Best Buy from Which? though, the only accolade Heinz Beanz picked up in terms of value was ‘most expensive’. Costing £1.40, a 415g tin from the brand is over 200% the price of its Aldi and Lidl counterparts — although Which? noted you can pick them up ‘more cheaply in multipacks or via offers, such as two for £2.’

Beans from Branston, Asda and Sainsbury’s placed third, fourth and fifthrespectively, while those from Ocado, Morrison’s and Waitrose were joint sixth with a score of 71%, followed by Tesco.

Perhaps surprisingly, M&S’s own-brand option failed to impress, being described as ‘dull-looking’ and lacking in flavour.

Prefer us to the others? Then tell Google!

As a loyal Metro reader, we want to make sure you never miss our stories when searching for your news. Whether it is the latest politics news explained, live football coverage or a showbiz scoop.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Our journalists work hard to deliver the most important stories from around the world

But it was Co-Op that fared worst in the trial; two-thirds of the panel said their flavour was too weak, and most wanted them to be sweeter, making them the least enjoyed out of all the beans tested.

Commenting on the results, Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: ‘Our taste test shows that you don’t have to compromise on flavour by ditching the pricier brands and choosing supermarket own-label beans – a switch that could save over £100 a year.”

This article was originally published in Janurary 2026 and has since been updated with July 2026 prices.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]