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I’ll be honest — I used to walk right past the canned fish aisle. Something about it felt like survivalist food or a college-dorm situation I’d already lived through. Then someone put a tin of Ortiz anchovies on a charcuterie board at a dinner party and I ate half the jar standing at the kitchen island. That was it. The tin fish cult had claimed me.
The tinned fish trend has exploded over the last couple of years, and for once, something popular on the internet actually delivers. Good canned fish — real good stuff, packed in olive oil, caught sustainably — is one of the best pantry investments you can make. It’s protein you can throw on a salad, fold into pasta, spread on toast, or eat straight from the can with a fork while standing at your counter feeling extremely European about yourself.
I’ve been working through a lot of tins over the past year — some worth every penny, some that tasted like a fishing dock — and I pulled together the five I’d actually buy again. These are all on Amazon, all come with Prime shipping, and all have genuine reasons to exist on your shelf.
Wild Planet Wild Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil — The Best Everyday Tin
Sustainably caught, packed in real olive oil, and consistently good across every can — this is the sardine you stock up on when it goes on sale and never regret having 12 of.
Quick Comparison: All 5 at a Glance
| Product | Price | Best For | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Wild Planet Sardines in EVOO | ~$30/12pk | Everyday pantry staple | Amazon → |
| Fishwife Sardines with Hot Pepper | ~$9/tin | Premium tin, eating on toast | Amazon → |
| Ortiz Anchovies in EVOO (Glass Jar) | ~$12/jar | Cooking, pasta, Caesar dressing | Amazon → |
| Matiz España Sardines with Lemon | ~$25/5pk | European-style, lighter flavor | Amazon → |
| Fishwife Starter 7-Pack | ~$70/set | Gift, first-timer variety box | Amazon → |
Wild Planet Wild Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Workhorse (~$2.50/can)
Wild Planet is the brand I actually keep stocked. A 12-pack runs about $30 — which sounds like a lot until you do the math and realize it’s $2.50 a can for wild-caught Pacific sardines packed in genuine extra virgin olive oil. These are lightly smoked, firm enough to hold their shape, and taste like actual fish instead of the mushy, aggressively briny situation you get with bargain brands.
The olive oil they’re packed in is worth noting — it’s not some mystery oil, it’s real EVOO, and once the sardines are gone, that leftover oil is excellent for salad dressing or drizzling on vegetables. Nothing goes to waste. Wild Planet is also non-GMO, certified sustainable, and kosher, which matters if those things matter to you.
The one weakness: these are lightly smoked, which most people love, but if you want completely neutral sardines for cooking (like folding into pasta sauce where you don’t want a smoky note), their water-packed version exists. But for eating straight, or on toast with some whole grain mustard, this is what you want in your pantry.
Usually $28–$32 for 12-pack · Subscribe & Save available for additional discount
Fishwife Sardines with Hot Pepper: The Fancy One (~$9/tin)
Yes, nine dollars for one can of sardines. I know. But hear me out: Fishwife is the brand that convinced people who claimed to hate tinned fish to actually eat tinned fish. These sardines are wild-caught off Cornwall, hand-packed in Galicia in Spanish extra virgin olive oil, and the heat from the hot pepper is exactly where it needs to be — present enough to notice, not enough to ruin the fish.
The texture on these is noticeably different from mass-market sardines. They’re meatier, with a cleaner, more oceanic flavor and no muddy aftertaste. Fishwife positions themselves as premium, and honestly, they earn it. The packaging is also gorgeous, which matters not at all for taste but a lot for gifting or putting on your counter like you’re a very sophisticated person.
The obvious downside is price. At $9 a tin, you’re not stocking your pantry with a 12-pack of these — that’s $108 and a conversation with your accountant. This is a treat tin. Buy it for a dinner party appetizer, eat it on good sourdough with crème fraîche, or pick up a few for a gift. Worth every penny in that context.
Usually $8–$10/tin · Also available in 3-pack for slight savings
Ortiz Anchovies in Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Umami Bomb (~$12/jar)
If you’ve ever wondered why your homemade Caesar dressing doesn’t taste like a restaurant’s, or why your pasta aglio e olio is good but not transcendent, Ortiz anchovies are the answer. These are Cantabrian anchovies — caught in the Bay of Biscay off northern Spain, cured in salt, and packed in olive oil. They’re buttery, deeply savory, and pack more umami per gram than almost anything you can keep in a pantry.
The glass jar format is the way to go over the tins. You get more anchovies, better visibility to pick individual fillets, and the oil stays fresh longer once opened. A jar lasts me about a month of regular cooking — Caesar dressings, tossed into pasta sauce at the beginning so the fillets melt and disappear into the oil, layered onto flatbread with burrata and arugula. They dissolve into heat and leave nothing but flavor.
One thing: these are assertive. If someone tells you they don’t like anchovies, they’ve probably had cheap, over-salted ones from a pizza parlor situation. Ortiz converts people. But you should still know going in that this is a powerful ingredient, not something you eat a whole fillet of straight unless you’re really into that.
Usually $10–$14/jar · Multipack of 3 jars available for better per-jar pricing
Matiz España Wild Sardines with Lemon Essence: The Gentle Introduction (~$5/tin)
Not everyone wants to go full umami blast on their first tin fish experience. Matiz España offers something lighter — wild-caught sardines packed with natural lemon essence that softens the fishiness and makes these genuinely approachable. The flavor is clean and bright rather than deep and briny, which is exactly what you want if you’re still figuring out whether you actually like sardines.
These come in a 5-pack for around $25, putting them at about $5 per tin — a nice middle ground between bulk Wild Planet and premium Fishwife. The texture is softer than Wild Planet, which some people prefer. The lemon isn’t artificial-tasting at all; it reads more like someone squeezed a wedge over the fish before sealing the can, which is essentially what the effect is.
Where they fall short: the olive oil quality isn’t as notable as Wild Planet or Fishwife, and they don’t hold up quite as well in hot applications. I’d use these for eating as-is — on crackers, in a simple salad, or as a quick protein boost — rather than cooking with them. They’re not the most versatile tin on the list, but they’re a consistently good light option.
Usually $22–$27/5-pack · Also available in Olive Oil and Spicy varieties
Fishwife Starter 7-Pack: The “I Need to Try Everything” Box (~$70)
If you’re new to this whole tinned fish thing and you want to figure out what you actually like without committing to a 12-pack of anything, the Fishwife Starter 7-Pack is the move. You get a curated variety — typically including smoked salmon, rainbow trout, sardines, tuna, and mackerel across seven tins — which covers basically every type of tinned fish you might encounter at a dinner party or see trending on food Instagram.
At $70, it’s not cheap, but the per-tin math works out to $10 each, which is in line with Fishwife’s single-tin pricing anyway. You’re essentially getting a tasting flight that tells you your preferences: Are you a sardines person? Do you prefer the mildness of trout? Is smoked salmon the only thing you’d actually eat regularly? This box answers those questions without you having to buy separate 3-packs of everything.
It’s also one of the better food gifts I’ve given — the packaging is nice, the variety is interesting, and it’s the kind of thing people receive with genuine curiosity rather than polite obligation. Just don’t give it to someone who’s already a tinned fish enthusiast with opinions; they’ll want to tell you about their specific sourcing preferences and you’ll be there for a while.
Usually $65–$75 · Contents may vary slightly by season
Which One Should You Actually Buy?
If you just want a solid everyday sardine to keep in rotation and you’re not trying to spend a lot, Wild Planet is the obvious answer — stock up when they’re on sale and you’ll always have quality protein in the pantry. If you’re new to tinned fish and mildly skeptical, start with the Matiz España lemon sardines; they’re approachable enough to convert someone who thinks they don’t like fish. For serious cooking — pasta, Caesar, braises, anything where you want to add depth — Ortiz anchovies are the most useful purchase on this list. And if you’re ready to commit to the premium tier or you want something to impress people, Fishwife is the brand that earns its price.
👋 The Practical Move
Grab a 12-pack of Wild Planet sardines as your pantry baseline — it’s the best value on the list — then pick up one jar of Ortiz anchovies while you’re at it, because you’ll use them in everything once you start.
The tin fish aisle looked the same as it always did. I just finally knew what to grab.
