And while, like many foods, the cost of a can of beans has risen over the past year, our supermarket winners remain modestly priced. The cheapest Best Buy cost just 50p a tin.

Beans are vegan-friendly and a good source of protein and fibre, with negligible fat content. Protein and fibre levels are similar across the brands, though Lidl's tin states there's more than 7g of fibre per 100g in their beans, which is considerably higher than the others. At 45p per tin, Aldi is certainly maintaining its reputation for affordability when it comes to beans. Another tin, another promise of "rich tomato sauce", this time, I felt this was partly true. Baked beans is a versatile dish that can be served with any number of mains and sides. Here are some popular options: I was surprised that the beans themselves were quite soft, even before cooking. Personally, I prefer a more solid bean to avoid the catastrophic bean mush when cooking, so these were a little on the soft side for me.The perfect make-ahead dish, these baked beans are even better the next day after the flavors have had more time to develop! What to Serve With Baked Beans Cancer study finds a 'significant' link to everyday processed foods like crisps, biscuits and ready meals

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

Heinz, Branston and KP vs supermarket baked beans

Baked beans are an affordable and delicious staple in many UK households, with millions of tins sold each year. Recent years have seen baked bean pizzas, baked bean crisps, and the (albeit more niche) baked bean tequila shot - proving we'll incorporate beans into our diets by any means possible. The HP beans had a distinctive tangy flavour which I quite enjoyed, thanks to the vinegar in the recipe. The flavour wasn't overwhelming and to me tasted much more like my idea of a classic baked bean, rather than the sweeter versions I had tried.