Compare the declared salt per 100g first, then calculate how much the beans add to each portion of your batch-cooked dish. Tesco Groceries and Sainsbury's each list 0.29g salt per 100g for their reduced-salt products, while Waitrose & Partners lists 0.30g per 100g for Essential Waitrose; a reduced-salt claim alone does not tell you which tin has the lower declared figure.
The useful comparison changes with the amount of beans you cook, the other ingredients in the dish and when you plan to eat leftovers.
If several tins go into a chilli, bean bake or jacket-potato filling, compare their salt per 100g before working out how much goes into each portion. A half-can serving printed on a label may not match your recipe.
Reduced-sugar and no-added-sugar wording can help narrow your choices, but it answers a different question from how much salt the beans contain. Read both nutrition rows when both matter to you.
If a recipe leaves part of a tin unused, its storage instructions matter to your cooking schedule. Check how to refrigerate the leftovers and when the particular product says to use them.
Start with a like-for-like salt comparison, adjust it to your recipe portions, then check whether the pack and storage instructions fit your cooking plan.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Declared salt | Compare salt per 100g on the current labels. Check which standard recipe a percentage reduction refers to; that comparison does not rank products from different brands. | I want to compare tins fairly when my recipe could use more than one. Tesco Groceries and Sainsbury's each list 0.29g salt per 100g for the reduced products described here; Waitrose & Partners lists 0.30g per 100g for Essential Waitrose. |
| Recipe portions | Use the grams of beans going into the dish and the number of portions it makes. Multiply the per-100g salt figure by the grams in one portion, then divide by 100. | A label's half-can serving may not be my meal-prep serving. I need the amount in the portion I will eat, especially if the dish also contains salted stock, cheese or sauce. |
| Sugar wording | Read the sugar and salt rows separately. If the ingredients matter to you, check the recipe rather than treating reduced sugar and no added sugar as the same description. | I may prefer a reduced-sugar or no-added-sugar tin, but I still want to compare its declared salt with other beans. No-added-sugar wording does not settle that choice. |
| Pack and leftovers | Check the can size, the number of cans and the instructions for opened contents. Plan portions around the use-within period printed on the product you buy. | A multipack can supply several cooking sessions; a smaller can may leave less unused after one recipe. If I open a tin early, I need its refrigerated leftovers to fit my meal plan. |
A reduced-salt claim compares a recipe with a specified reference product; no-added-sugar wording describes a different characteristic. Neither gives a like-for-like salt comparison across brands.
Read salt per 100g on each tin, then use the amount of beans in your recipe to compare portions.
A pack's listed serving and the portion you make can be different. Using the wrong amount changes the salt calculation for the finished meal.
Work from the bean quantity in each portion, not just the serving size on the tin.
Tesco Groceries, Waitrose & Partners and the checked Heinz listing instruct shoppers to refrigerate transferred leftovers and use them within 2 days; ASDA Groceries gives 4 days for its checked product.
Transfer unused beans to a covered, suitable non-metallic container, refrigerate them and follow the instructions on the tin you opened.
If the planned next meal falls outside that product's use-within period, leftover beans may have to be discarded.
Beans are not the only source of salt in a batch-cooked dish. NHS guidance notes that salt already present in food and salt added during cooking both count towards intake.
Check ingredients such as stock and sauces, and taste the finished dish before adding salt or salty condiments.
These figures describe the named recipes, not every baked bean product from each brand; check the current tin when choosing.
Tesco Reduced Sugar and Salt Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce come in a 420g can.
Sainsbury's Reduced Sugar & Salt Baked Beans are listed in a 4 x 400g pack.
Asda Reduced Salt & No Added Sugar Baked Beans combine those two descriptions in a 410g can.
Essential Waitrose Reduced Salt & Sugar Baked Beans are described in a 220g can format.
Heinz No Added Sugar Baked Beans have a stated salt reduction alongside their no-added-sugar description.
M&S No Added Sugar Baked Beans are a no-added-sugar example rather than a product presented here as reduced salt.
This Branston reduced-sugar-and-salt multipack is an option for batch cooking with several tins. Check the current pack's salt per 100g before comparing it with the recipes discussed above.
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Four 410g cans can be opened across separate batch-cooking sessions. Check the salt per 100g on the current pack before comparing it with other reduced-salt beans. After opening a can, transfer unused beans to a suitable container, refrigerate and use within 2 days.
No. A reduction compares the product with its stated reference recipe, so compare salt per 100g across the tins you are considering. Tesco Groceries and Sainsbury's each list 0.29g per 100g for their checked reduced products, while Sainsbury's lists 0.50g per 100g for its checked Branston Reduced Sugar & Salt product. Check the current pack before relying on either figure.
Multiply the label's salt per 100g by the grams of beans in your portion, then divide by 100. Calculate from the portions your recipe actually makes rather than assuming its servings match a half-can figure on the label; consider salt from the other ingredients separately.
Follow the storage instructions on the product you buy. The checked Tesco, Essential Waitrose, Asda and Heinz listings instruct shoppers to transfer unused contents to a suitable covered container and refrigerate them. Their stated use-within periods differ: 2 days for the checked Tesco, Waitrose and Heinz products, and 4 days for the checked Asda product.
Not necessarily: the two descriptions concern different things. ASDA Groceries lists 0.34g salt per 100g for its checked reduced-salt, no-added-sugar beans; Waitrose & Partners lists 0.40g per 100g for the checked Heinz No Added Sugar product, and Marks & Spencer lists 0.43g per 100g for its checked No Added Sugar beans. Compare the current labels if salt is the deciding factor.