Fish Size & Quality: How big are the cuts of fish? Are the sardines intact or do they fall apart easily?
Texture: Firm and meaty? Are they prone to disintegrating?
Tomato Sauce: How thick or watery is the sauce? Is it balanced, tangy, or too sweet? Does it complement the fish?
Overall Flavor: How harmonious is the combination of fish and sauce?
Standout Factor: Is it good enough to make you grab the same can every grocery trip?
Fine Print
The Lineup: We tested 17 canned sardines in tomato sauce from major supermarkets. We did not include fried variants, hot and spicy versions, or bottled sardines, which belong to a different category in terms of price and quality.
Why We’re Doing This: As a category that can fill up an entire grocery aisle,canned sardines can be daunting to shop for. We wanted to see which brands hold up best—both on their own and with rice.
How We Tasted: Each sardine was sampled straight from the can, then again with rice, because that’s how most people actually eat it.
Blind Test: All products were removed from their packaging, labeled, and tasted blind to keep bias out of the way.
How We Scored: Each bread was evaluated across five criteria. Final placements reflect the Pepper team’s averaged impressions.
Multiple Tests: This taste test has been updated over time. Current placements reflect both recent tastings and results from previous tests to keep comparisons consistent.
