Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services said: "Yet again, our taste tests have shown that supermarket own branded products can more than hold their own against pricier brands. Aldi Corale Baked beans - 76%. One of the cheapest tins we tested. Our panel were fans of the appearance and smell of the beans, but a quarter thought they weren't sweet enough. 30p for 420g tin (7p per 100g). Available from Aldi. This is best made with dried beans. Haricot, also known as white beans, are usual in commercial versions, but you can, in fact, use whatever you happen to have to hand, from kidney to cannellini. If, however, you are really pushed for time, you can use drained tinned beans (three 400g tins should do it), though they tend to go a bit mushy if cooked again. 2 Soak and salt (yes, really) the beans After narrowly missing out on a Best Buy in last year's test, Morrisons beans have pulled ahead and earned a joint-first spot this year. Personally, I prefer my beans to have a stronger tomato flavour, but they were still quite tasty. They didn't blow my mind and make me realise what I've been missing all these years, but the flavour was decent and the small tin would make for handy lunch.

Reena Sewraz of Which? said: “Our latest taste tests reveal that supermarket own-label baked beans have beaten the established brands including Heinz, and the great news for shoppers is that the winning products cost less than half the price compared to the offerings from some rivals. Many households are looking for ways to cut their spending due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. Opting for supermarket own-label groceries is not only a great way to save money, but you often get tastier products as well.” Waitrose Essential Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (55p/400g) – 71% Which? said: "The texture of the sauce was just right according to most, but they were thought to be too weakly flavoured by nearly half our panel. Around a third also found the beans too firm and not sweet enough. The panel of tasters put Asda Baked Beans (50p/410g) in overall top place, with a score of 77%. Which? declared them "a cut above all the rest for flavour," saying: ”Three-quarters of our tasters thought they had the perfect tomatoey taste. They were also some of the best rated beans for colour and sweetness.” Place on a baking tray, dust with flour and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the loaf is golden-brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Competition for the top spots was very tight, with several other budget-friendly supermarket beans coming in just behind our Best Buys.Lidl Newgate Baked Beans (45p/420g) – 72% Which? said:"These split our panel. Half loved the flavour, but the rest found it either too weak or too strong. Most agreed that the texture of both beans and sauce was about right, though." The texture was one of the best of the bunch, with good solid beans which were not at all mushy. Overall, the Aldi beans had a tasty, non artificial flavour, and were well-priced. Our consumer panel blind-tasted baked beans from Branston, Heinz and HP, plus eight supermarket options from Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and more.

HP is perhaps one of the lesser-known brands when it comes to baked beans, so I didn't have any expectations when it came to trying them. A bit of research afterwards revealed HP is owned by Heinz, but I wasn't able to tell this based on the flavour. You’re not alone, this is a not an uncommon problem. From Fine Cooking: “Some beans refuse to soften. You can soak them overnight and then simmer them all day long, and they’re still hard as pebbles. The main causes of this are age and improper storage.” Sainsbury's Baked Beans - 71%. Average marks for most categories, and cheaper than most. 42% of tasters found the beans too hard. 35p for 400g tin. Available from Sainsbury's.Which? asked a panel of consumers to blind-taste and rate 12 different brands of baked beans, from Heinz, Branston and KP to Aldi, Tesco, Lidl and more. Beans no longer has to mean Heinz for cost-conscious shoppers, who preferred supermarket brands - some costing much less than half the price - to the market leader. In a large pot or Dutch oven fry the bacon until crispy then add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Tesco Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (50p/420g) – 71% Which? said: "Which said: "The beans themselves were a good texture, but some thought the sauce too runny and most found the flavour too weak." Formerly the Midlands Vinegar Company [1] and Smedley HP Foods Limited, it was acquired by Imperial Foods, a division of Imperial Group. Edward Eastwood and his nephew Edwin Samson Moore established the Midland Vinegar Company at Aston, Birmingham in 1875. [2]

Cancer study finds a 'significant' link to everyday processed foods like crisps, biscuits and ready meals With food prices rising and many households looking for ways to save cash, Asda's affordable Just Essentials range has proven a hit with customers in recent months. It was the cheapest of all the options I tried, and sadly the taste reflected that. Sainsbury's was one of the cheapest options but sadly had everything I dislike in a baked bean. I found the sauce was watery and sweet, with no detectable tomato flavour. I feel strongly that baked beans and spaghetti hoops are very different, and so their sauces should be formulated accordingly. For me, this was the worst flavour of the lot. The brands were assessed by 82 people each, with the panellists rating the taste, texture, aroma, and appearance of each product. The overall score is based on: 50% taste, 20% texture, 20% aroma. 10% appearance.Most baked bean brands have low-sugar/low-salt versions, so you may want to give them a try if you're watching your intake. We only included standard versions in our taste test to ensure products were comparable.

Unfortunately, Co-op's beans didn't quite hit the mark for me. Once again, I found the texture a little soft and the sauce quite runny - a theme which appeared among many of the cheaper supermarket own-brand versions.The sauce tasted of tomato, which is always a good start. It was yet again a little watery for me, but not the thinnest sauce I'd seen during the course of the taste test.