As tinned food enjoys the spotlight, try these tasty – and budget-friendly – recipes

As cost of living pressures increase and more and more shoppers are looking for ways to save some money but still put tasty dishes on the table, there’s been a renewed interest in tinned foods.

Not only are they cost-effective and easy to store, they’re also arguably pretty good for you – depending entirely on how you cook with them.

The tinned beans trend, hanging its hat on being fibre- and protein-rich and delicious, along with the huge interest in tinned fish like sardines, for their omega 3s and proteins, are leading the charge.

But there are some others joining in for budget-friendly ways to feed the family and add some tasty joy to the table. Try these recipes on for size:

Creamy peanut butter beans

This one has been going crazy on social media, with versions ranging from creamy and cheesy beans to the satay peanut version.

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It’s easy, super gentle on the budget and so delicious you’ll add it to the rotation regularly. 

Ingredients

• 1 x 400g tin of butter beans + 2 tbsp reserved bean brine
• 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 
• ½ Tbsp chilli crisp oil
• ½ tsp tamari 
• 2 spring onions, white and green parts, finely sliced
• pinch of brown sugar (optional)
• 2 tbsp coconut cream, divided
• Juice of 1 lime

Toppings

• ½ a small red chilli, finely sliced (remove the seeds for a milder result)
• ½ Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• sprigs of fresh coriander

Find the full recipe and method here.

Cheesy and creamy tinned corn

This is a comfort meal in a pan. It’s so easy you’ll never look back and is great as a side dish or a main.

I like to add chilli and call it ‘fire corn’, but just leave the chilli out if it’s not for you. You can also make little hollows and poach eggs in the corn if you like. 

Ingredients

• 50g butter
• 1 x spring onion, white and green parts separated and sliced
• 2 x tins sweet corn kernels, drained (use more corn if you have a big pan or more people - and you can also use frozen corn)
• 2 tablespoons whole egg mayonnaise
• spices of your choice – I use chilli flakes and smoked paprika
• 1 cup of your favourite melting cheese

Method

1. Preheat your oven grill. Heat a small ovenproof frypan and melt the butter. Fry off the white part of the spring onion until soft. Add in the drained tinned corn and stir through to warm. Add your spices, toss through, then stir in the mayonnaise and turn off the heat.
2. Cover the top of the corn with big handfuls of cheese to completely cover the top. Place the pan under the hot grill to melt and brown the cheese (a couple of minutes should do it) until the cheese is molten, bubbling and beginning to brown. Remove the pan from the oven and scatter the reserved green tops of the spring onion. Serve in the pan and fight over every mouthful.

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Tinned fruit sorbet

Driven by the need for cost-effective treats, tinned fruit has been the base of the biscuit and tinned fruit trend, as well as the ‘dump cake’ trend with just a packet of cake mix and tinned fruit.

But people are also making sorbets, which are cost-effective and tasty. 

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g can cherries, drained
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 40ml maple syrup
• 60ml coconut cream
• Squeeze of lime juice
• ¼ cup vodka (or other alcohol), to stop it freezing solid
• Optional: chocolate sauce, to serve

Method

• Blitz all the ingredients – except the chocolate sauce – together until smooth. 
• Pour into a freezer-friendly container, cover with a lid and freeze until solid (overnight). 
• Sit on the bench for 15 minutes before serving to soften slightly and then scoop and serve with chocolate sauce.

‘Cuppa Cuppa’ cake

In memory of the late, great Dolly Parton, the internet has been awash with versions of her ‘Cuppa Cuppa cake’ from the 1989 Steel Magnolias movie, in which her character Truvy Jones gives the recipe for a three-ingredient cake made with tinned fruit cocktail.

“It’s a cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar, a cuppa fruit cocktail, with the juice, and you just mix and bake at 350 ’til gold and bubbly,” she says. And yes, it’s that easy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of tinned fruit cocktail, with the juice 
• 1 cup of self-raising flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• Optional: dash of vanilla

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a pie dish with some butter.
• Mix all the ingredients together, pour into the prepared pan and bake at 180C for about 40 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
• Serve hot, with ice cream.  

Jane de Graaff is Today’s kitchen expert as well as a food writer, recipe developer and content creator for fun family recipes of all kinds.

Find all Jane’s food adventures, tricks and tips on Instagramand TikTok.