For a tuna filling or savoury bake where the recipe calls for drained fish, start with tuna in spring water so you can control the liquid you add. Choose tuna in oil when that oil suits the recipe, or a no-drain tin for a quick topping or toastie; whichever format you choose, check the drained weight and storage instructions against your plans.
If you make filled rolls, tuna melts or other savoury bakes, the packing liquid matters to your mixture. Spring-water tuna can be drained to suit the recipe; oil-packed tuna needs a different decision about the oil it brings.
For a topping, sandwich or toastie, avoiding a draining step may matter more than controlling every addition to a bake. ASDA Groceries lists the John West No Drain chunks as ready to eat.
If you buy tins for several planned meals, match the can size to what you will use after opening. The checked Asda and M&S labels specify use within two days after refrigeration; the checked Sainsbury's label specifies one day.
For bread fillings and savoury bakes, decide how much control the recipe needs over liquid and oil, then choose a tin size that fits your planned use.
| Concern | What to check | Who this matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid and oil in the mixture | Check the packing medium and whether the recipe specifies drained tuna. Compare nutrition figures on the same per 100 g basis. | If I am making a filled roll or savoury bake, I want to decide how much liquid and oil goes into the mixture. About 44% of consumers put that recipe control first. |
| Preparation time and mess | Look for an explicit no-drain claim and check the size of each tin. | For a quick toastie or topping, I would rather assemble the meal without draining a conventional tin; avoiding that step is the main concern for about 33% of consumers. |
| Pack size and leftovers | Check can size, labelled drained weight where relevant, and the instructions for storage after opening. | When I plan several tuna meals, I need tins I can use within the label's stated period after opening. Matching the pack to planned portions comes first for about 23% of consumers. |
The packing medium changes what enters a filling. Sainsbury's lists 9.5 g fat per 100 g drained for the checked Princes sunflower-oil chunks, while ASDA Groceries lists 1.0 g per 100 g drained for the checked Asda spring-water chunks.
Use the format specified by your recipe, or decide explicitly how the oil will fit before substituting.
Storage instructions differ: the checked Sainsbury's tuna says to use refrigerated leftovers within one day, while the checked Asda and M&S products say two days.
Choose a can size that fits the meals you have planned, and follow the instructions on the tin you buy.
An opened can that exceeds its stated storage period can mean wasted food.
A tin's stated size does not, by itself, tell you how much drained tuna a recipe will receive. This matters when a filling specifies a drained weight.
Check the labelled drained weight before deciding how many tins the recipe needs.
A reference point for quick bread meals: ASDA Groceries lists John West No Drain tuna chunks with a little spring water in a 3 x 100 g pack.
Princes lists several spring-water pack sizes, while a separate sunflower-oil multipack offers a different packing medium.
Tesco Groceries lists own-label spring-water chunks in single-tin, multipack and larger-can formats.
A spring-water own-label option represented by the checked 4 x 145 g tuna-chunks pack.
ASDA Groceries lists an own-label 4 x 145 g spring-water multipack for planned use.
Marks & Spencer lists spring-water tuna chunks in a 160 g format.
These tins cover spring-water chunks for recipe-controlled fillings, a no-drain option for quick bread meals and sunflower-oil chunks for recipes that suit added oil.
Image unavailableFor fillings where you intend to drain the tuna and manage the liquid yourself, this spring-water six-pack offers separate 145 g tins. Check the labelled drained weight if your recipe specifies an exact amount.
Image unavailableFor planned fillings or bread-based meals using spring-water tuna, this pack contains four 125 g tins. If the recipe gives a drained weight, check the amount on the can rather than using the tin size as the drained yield.
Image unavailableFor a recipe or bread meal where a single tin is more useful than a multipack, this is a 145 g spring-water option. Check its drained weight if you need a measured amount for the filling.
Image unavailableFor a quick toastie or topping, the no-drain format avoids a draining step; the pack contains three 100 g tins. Check the recipe before using it where a measured drained amount or tightly controlled moisture is required.
Image unavailableFor a filling or savoury bake whose recipe suits tuna packed in oil, this pack contains four 145 g tins. Sainsbury's lists 9.5 g fat per 100 g drained for the matching Princes product; account for the oil rather than substituting it directly for spring-water tuna.
Use spring-water tuna when the recipe calls for drained fish and you want to control additions to the filling. Choose oil-packed tuna when the recipe suits that oil; Sainsbury's lists 9.5 g fat per 100 g drained for the checked Princes sunflower-oil chunks, compared with the 1.0 g per 100 g drained listed by ASDA Groceries for the checked Asda spring-water chunks.
Follow the recipe's instructions for the intended texture and any specified drained weight. A topping may have different needs from a baked filling, while the John West No Drain product listed by ASDA Groceries is explicitly labelled ready to eat without a draining step.
Follow the particular can's label: the checked Asda and M&S products instruct you to transfer unused tuna to a non-metallic container, refrigerate and use it within two days; the checked Sainsbury's product specifies one day. Food Standards Scotland also advises checking food labels for the correct storage instructions.
Yes. The NHS advises people who are pregnant or trying for a baby to have no more than four cans of tuna a week or two tuna steaks a week because tuna contains more mercury than other fish. This guidance does not identify one of these brands as safer than another.
Tuna is fish, and the checked tuna labels declare fish as an allergen. Read the label on the product you are buying, as ingredient and allergen information can change.