For pie and mash, consider a no-added-sugar tin if its listed sugars per 100g are your main consideration, or a larger reduced-sugar-and-salt tin if you are serving several people. Compare salt, ingredients and can size too: “no added sugar” does not mean sugar-free or salt-free.
If baked beans are part of your pie and mash, compare the sugars and salt per 100g rather than relying on the wording on the front of the tin. A no-added-sugar recipe can still list sugars in its nutrition panel.
A 400g–420g tin or a multipack may suit a shared meal better than a 200g tin. Check the quantity you will use and the storage instructions for any opened tin.
Heinz No Added Sugar, Sainsbury’s Reduced Sugar & Salt, M&S No Added Sugar and Branston Reduced Sugar and Salt recipes are described as containing steviol glycosides or E960a. Read the current ingredients list if the type of sweetener matters to you.
Start with the nutrition panel and ingredients, then choose a tin size for the number of people eating.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Sugars and salt | Compare both figures per 100g on the same measurement basis. If a traffic-light label is displayed, use it alongside the figures rather than treating a recipe name as a nutrition summary. | I want to see the sugar and salt figures before choosing a tin. In a Food Standards Agency and Ipsos survey of 611 people interviewed in Northern Ireland from September to November 2024, 49% said they actively used traffic-light labelling when shopping for food; that figure concerns food shopping generally, not baked beans specifically. |
| Recipe wording | Distinguish “no added sugar” from a stated reduction against a brand’s standard recipe. Check the sugars figure and ingredients for sugar or sweeteners. | If I prefer one recipe approach or avoid a particular sweetener, I need the ingredients list as well as the claim on the front. |
| Comparison basis | Check whether values are given per 100g as sold or per 100g drained. Branston’s manufacturer panel gives its figures per 100g drained, unlike the as-sold retailer panels described for the other beans here. | I do not want a difference in how the figures are measured to look like a difference between recipes. |
| Tin size and leftovers | Match the can or multipack quantity to the diners. Read the opened-tin storage instructions if you expect to keep some beans. | For a shared pie and mash meal, I want enough beans without opening more tins than I will use. |
The claims describe different recipes. Heinz No Added Sugar lists 1.9g sugars per 100g, while Tesco Reduced Sugar and Salt lists 3.0g per 100g and includes sugar in its ingredients.
Read the sugars figure, salt figure and ingredients list together before choosing.
Branston’s manufacturer gives nutrition per 100g drained. Comparing that figure directly with another tin’s per-100g as-sold figure would not be like for like.
Check the basis printed beside each nutrition panel before making a numerical comparison.
Ingredients and allergen information can change, which matters if you avoid a particular ingredient or sweetener.
Read the label on the tin you are buying, particularly when an allergy or intolerance affects your choice.
These examples show how particular baked-bean recipes differ; a brand name alone does not establish the contents of every tin in its range.
Heinz No Added Sugar baked beans are offered in several can and multipack sizes.
Tesco Reduced Sugar and Salt Baked Beans come in a 420g tin.
Sainsbury’s Reduced Sugar & Salt Baked Beans are described in 400g tins and a 4 × 400g format.
Essential Reduced Salt & Sugar Baked Beans come in a 420g tin.
M&S No Added Sugar Baked Beans come in a 390g can.
Branston Reduced Sugar and Salt is a tomato-sauce baked-bean recipe.
This Branston multipack is a reduced-sugar-and-salt option to consider when serving baked beans with pie and mash.
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Four 410g tins give you multiple cans for a shared pie and mash meal. The recipe is described as containing 30% less sugar and 30% less salt than standard Branston baked beans; its ingredients include sugar and steviol glycosides. Before comparing its nutrition figures with another brand’s, check whether the tin gives values as sold or drained. For leftovers, the product description instructs you to transfer opened beans to a suitable container, cover, refrigerate and use within two days.
No. Tesco Groceries lists 1.9g sugars per 100g for Heinz No Added Sugar beans, and Marks & Spencer lists 1.2g per 100g for its No Added Sugar beans. Check the nutrition panel if the total listed sugars matter to your choice.
Not necessarily. Check salt separately on each tin: Tesco Groceries lists 0.29g salt per 100g for Tesco Reduced Sugar and Salt beans, while its Heinz No Added Sugar 200g listing gives 0.4g per 100g. A sugar claim does not tell you the salt figure.
Some do. The Heinz, Sainsbury’s, M&S and Branston recipes described here list steviol glycosides or E960a. Check the ingredients on the particular tin you buy rather than assuming every reduced-sugar recipe uses the same ingredients.
For the Branston multipack described above, the product instructions say to transfer beans from an opened tin to a suitable container, cover and refrigerate them, then use them within two days. Follow the storage directions on your own tin if you choose a different product.
When present, traffic-light labels indicate whether the labelled amounts of fat, saturates, sugars and salt are high, medium or low, as GOV.UK’s “Check the label” guidance explains. Use the per-100g nutrition figures for a more detailed comparison, checking that both tins use the same measurement basis.