For tomato-led pasta, start with tuna chunks in spring water or brine if you plan to drain the tin and season the sauce yourself; choose oil-packed tuna when its oil is wanted in the dish. Match the drained quantity to your recipe, then compare salt and fat on the exact pack. A steak-style tin is worth considering when the pieces will be served distinctly rather than mixed through a larger batch.
If you are feeding several people or planning more than one pasta dish, the useful figure is how much tuna remains after draining. Tesco Recipes’ four-serving tuna-and-spinach puttanesca provides a concrete recipe quantity to compare with a pack.
If the choice between water, brine and oil affects your recipe, compare the ingredients and nutrition values on the exact variant. The listed products differ in packing medium, salt and fat; a brand name alone does not tell you those values.
If you want pieces of tuna to remain distinct in a pasta salad or plated dish, a steak-style tin is another format to consider. Check its drained weight before substituting one tin for a chunks multipack.
Start with the recipe’s tuna quantity and serving count, then decide what role the packing liquid should play in the finished dish.
| Concern | What to check | Who this matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Enough tuna for the meal | Compare tin count, net weight and drained weight with the amount specified by your recipe. | When cooking for several people, enough tuna after draining matters more than tin count alone; about 42% of consumers would make portion planning their primary concern. |
| Water, brine or oil | Read the ingredients and the exact pack’s per-100g nutrition panel; decide whether you intend to use or drain the packing liquid. | For a tomato sauce, choosing how much oil or salt to add yourself may shape the tin you pick. About 33% of consumers would put the packing medium and label values first. |
| Pieces and presentation | Check whether the tin contains chunks or steak-style tuna, its drained weight and its packing oil. | In a pasta salad where the tuna remains visible, the style of the pieces may matter more than buying a larger pack; about 25% of consumers would prioritise texture and presentation. |
Four tins do not necessarily supply the same amount of usable tuna as four larger tins. Ocado lists 102g drained tuna per can for the John West 4 × 125g spring-water multipack, while Princes lists brine-chunks formats including 4 × 145g and 6 × 145g; those stated sizes should not be treated as identical drained quantities.
Work from your recipe’s quantity, then check both the pack size and drained weight on the tin you intend to buy.
Ocado’s listings for the compared John West multipacks give 0.7g fat and 106kcal per 100g drained for spring-water chunks, against 15g fat and 235kcal for sunflower-oil chunks. Those figures describe these variants, not every water- or oil-packed tuna.
Choose the liquid for the dish, then compare the exact variants’ labels before committing to a multipack.
Princes lists 0.9g salt per 100g drained for its Tuna Chunks in Brine. That is worth considering when the sauce also contains salty ingredients.
Drain the tuna and taste the sauce before adding more salt; use the exact tin’s salt figure if you are comparing alternatives.
Storage directions matter when a recipe uses only part of a tin. The listed John West and M&S products instruct shoppers to refrigerate opened tuna and consume it within two days; the M&S listing also specifies a non-metallic container for unused contents.
Follow the directions on your pack and plan when you will use any leftovers.
Its listed 4 × 125g chunks multipacks offer spring-water and sunflower-oil choices for meals where the packing medium matters.
Princes lists Tuna Chunks in Brine in several sizes, including 4 × 145g and 6 × 145g, for shoppers comparing larger multipacks.
Tesco Groceries lists own-label tuna chunks in 3 × 80g packs alongside branded multipacks, giving shoppers another pack format to compare.
The listed M&S Tuna Steak in Olive Oil is a single-tin alternative when steak-style pieces and olive-oil packing suit the dish.
These multipacks cover brine-packed chunks for pasta and spring-water or sunflower-oil chunks for dishes where you want to choose the packing medium. Check each pack’s drained quantity against your meal plan.
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This multi-pack format suits a plan involving several pasta meals or a larger shared shop. It contains 12 packs of four 145g tins of brine-packed chunks; the listed salt value is 0.9g per 100g drained. Check the drained quantity required by each recipe, particularly if you will open only some of the tins.
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Four tins provide a brine-packed chunks option for planned pasta dishes without choosing the larger 12-pack bundle. The listed salt value is 0.90g per 100g drained; account for it when seasoning a sauce with other salty ingredients.
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This spring-water format suits tomato-led pasta when you intend to drain the tuna and decide separately how much oil to add. The pack contains four 125g tins; check its drained weight when matching it to a recipe’s tuna quantity.
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Consider this four-tin format if sunflower-oil packing suits the pasta or salad you are making. It contains four 125g tins; the listed nutrition is 15g fat and 235kcal per 100g drained. Check the drained weight before using tin count to plan portions.
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These four 145g tins offer oil-packed chunks for a pasta or salad dish where sunflower oil suits the recipe. When comparing nutrition values with drained-tuna figures from other packs, check the basis stated on this tin’s label.
Start with the dish you intend to make. Tesco Recipes’ four-serving tuna-and-spinach puttanesca specifies two 160g tins of tuna chunks in spring water, drained; compare your chosen pack with that recipe quantity rather than assuming any two tins will be equivalent.
Choose spring water if you want to drain the tuna and control the oil you add; choose oil-packed tuna if that oil suits the finished dish. For the compared John West chunks multipacks, Ocado lists 0.7g fat and 106kcal per 100g drained for spring water, against 15g fat and 235kcal for sunflower oil. Check your chosen variant’s label rather than applying those values to other products.
Follow the storage directions on the exact pack. The listed John West products say to refrigerate opened tuna and consume it within two days; the listed M&S olive-oil steak also directs you to move unused contents to a non-metallic container.
Yes. The listed John West spring-water chunks and M&S olive-oil steak both identify fish on their product information. If fish allergens affect your purchase, check the current label of the exact tin you will use.