9 Trader Joe's Tinned Seafood Items, Ranked

While the concept of tinned seafood has been around for over 200 years, it hasn't necessarily been a popular food item for current-day Americans. I wasn't introduced to tinned seafood until I visited Portugal in my late twenties, and I tried tinned sardines and tinned octopus for the first time. Recently, however, it's become somewhat of a trend to eat tinned seafood. TikTok videos of people tasting different brands have been popping up all over my phone, and I've immediately become curious.

As a Trader Joe's super fan, I like to taste any and everything from the store. Many of these TikTok videos I mentioned featuring tinned seafood included ones from Trader Joe's, and I soon discovered that it actually has quite the offering when it comes to tinned seafood. I went to the store and bought every single option, leaving me with nine tins to try.

For the official taste test, I recruited a tinned fish expert — my brother-in-law, Michalis. He grew up in Cyprus, right on the Mediterranean sea, and tinned fish has always been a staple in his diet. I, on the other hand, am a lover of seafood, but I've never been entirely keen on the idea of eating the tinned version. Together, we tasted each tin and discussed what we liked and didn't like. We paid attention to the texture, flavor profile, and freshness. Continue reading to see what we thought of the tinned seafood from Trader Joe's.

I was very surprised that this tin ranked last in the roundup. When I first opened the tin, I noticed that the fish looked different from the other tinned sardines. These were a bit more flat, smushed, and already breaking up a bit. This was most likely due to the fact that they were grilled as opposed to steamed or smoked. At first taste, my brother-in-law Michalis immediately said that these tasted off, almost like they weren't sardines at all. The tin did say that they had a light smoke flavor, however, it seemed to us like the fish was unintentionally flavored. In fact, it was so unpleasant that we were both wondering if the sardines had gone bad. After cross-referencing with other online reviews, I realized many people felt this way, so it couldn't have just been this singular tin that was bad.

The texture wasn't great. The fish immediately fell apart as I tried to get a piece out of the tin. As I chewed it, I didn't feel like the olive oil and grilled sardine complemented each other taste-wise. For me, as someone relatively new to the tinned fish world, I was immediately turned off by these. Nothing about the taste or texture was enjoyable. Luckily, Michalis agreed as well, saying that these did not do tinned sardines justice in the slightest.

I am a huge fan of fresh oysters, so I thought that this tin would be a great way to enjoy oysters at home. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan. While they were large, they were incredibly mushy, and I had a feeling I was biting into a piece of a floppy, over-used kitchen sponge. It was hard to focus on the flavor when the texture was so unappealing. If I compared these directly to fresh oysters from a restaurant, I'd think that they were completely different types of seafood.

Once I got past the texture, I noticed that the oysters actually had a very neutral flavor, which made them a bit more bearable. There was a buttery aspect to them as well, partly due to olive oil they were bathed in, and partly to do with the oysters themselves. The slight enjoyment ended quickly, however. Once I finished the first bite, I noticed there was an oddly fishy aftertaste, almost like I had just eaten a bite of tuna fish. My brother-in-law agreed with all of my sentiments here as well. We eventually decided that if these oysters were offered to us, we would probably still eat them, however, we wouldn't spend our own money on them again. Overall, the flavor profile is fine, but the texture and after-taste just didn't work here.

These sardines didn't taste nearly as poorly as the grilled sardines, however, they weren't absolutely fabulous, either. When I opened the tin, I was relieved to see two clean pieces of fish sitting there. They still had the skin on top, which deterred me at first, but you can't feel or taste it as you chew. I enjoyed how meaty and full each bite of these sardines felt. They had a good amount of toughness where I could pick up a nice bite with a fork, but they were soft enough to melt in the mouth as I chewed.

Since these were described to have a smoke flavor, I was definitely expecting a bit more pizazz. Instead, they tasted fairly similar to the sardines in spring water. The main difference here was that these were covered in olive oil. I thought that the olive oil did complement the fish well, creating a hearty and pleasant flavor profile. The sardines weren't very fishy tasting, and they had a fairly neutral taste, leaning towards the earthy side. When compared to the sardines in spring water, however, these simply didn't compare. They weren't as fresh tasting, and I think the attempt to introduce smoke flavor took away from the experience with this type of fish. My brother-in-law and I agreed that while these sardines still weren't the best, we'd probably eat a tin of these again.

If you're really set on getting some sort of tinned shellfish from Trader Joe's, I'd recommend you try the lightly smoked mussels. Ultimately, compared to the oysters, the mussels had a much better texture. They weren't as large, and they were slightly meatier, which means that didn't have that unpleasant mushy texture. They were still soft and fell apart quite easily in the mouth, however, the texture didn't turn me off. I would compare the texture of these mussels to the texture of sauteed mushrooms.

As for the taste, the lightly smoked mussels have a very enjoyable, simple flavor. They were very buttery, had a touch of brininess, and seemed very fresh and earthy. The aftertaste was also very enjoyable, as opposed to the oysters which had an unpleasant fishy finish. The mussels left behind a soft buttery taste on the tongue, and it definitely made me want to get another bite. Compared to other tinned seafood that I tasted, these weren't my absolute favorite (nor my brother-in-law's,) but they were definitely enjoyable, and if offered to us, it's something we would eat again.

I buy frozen salmon and cook it every single week, so the idea of buying a cheaper, tinned version seemed very appealing to me. When opening the tin, the salmon looked a little bit lumpy, and the olive oil had pooled on top of the fish. Admittedly, the look of the tinned salmon was not appealing in the slightest — and my brother-in-law agreed.

Luckily, things got much better once we got past the looks. Sometimes, salmon can taste a bit too fishy or a bit off. With this tinned version, that wasn't the case. It had a very neutral flavor to it with a good amount of saltiness. Since this was doused in olive oil, I think the general salmon flavor was subdued a little bit, which isn't necessarily good or bad. The texture of the salmon was great, nice and firm, similar to how you'd experience it when cooking it fresh.

Overall, I thought that the tinned salmon fell somewhere in the middle. It wasn't anything that excited me in any way, but I also didn't dislike anything, either. Overall, I'd rather cook my own salmon and stick to buying other tinned seafood to have on hand. My brother-in-law agreed, sharing that tinned salmon isn't a very commonly seen tinned fish, at least in Cyprus. Canned salmon, on the other hand, is a bit more popular and can be useful for many types of recipes.

I've only had anchovies a handful of times in my life, and I haven't necessarily loved the experience. Fortunately, these Trader Joe's tinned anchovies completely changed my opinion. The tin is small and adorably decorated, and when I opened it, I saw that the tiny anchovies fit perfectly in the tin. It's easy to take a fork and pick individual pieces that you can consume in one bite.

These tinned anchovy fillets are definitely the most flavorful tin on this list. At first, it was like a salt explosion in my mouth. I enjoy salty foods, so I was pleasantly surprised. While anchovies do have a bit of a stronger, fishy flavor, the olive oil that they're doused in helps to perfectly balance it out. It leaves you with a salty fish that has a neutral, almost chicken-like flavor. As for the texture, my brother-in-law and I agreed that it was perfect. It was like a mix between the textures of canned tuna and chicken. Not mushy in the slightest, but not too tough to chew, either.

I could definitely see myself keeping this tin on hand for a high protein snack. In one full package, it easily gets you about 8 grams of protein, and when they're so tasty and satisfying, it's the perfect snack.

This tin of calamari pieces in olive oil seems to be the star of the show all over TikTok. People are obsessed with the design, which is similar to the designs I'd see on tinned seafood around Portugal. Beyond the aesthetic appeal of the product, people have also been sharing many different ways to use the calamari pieces in various recipes. After tasting this tin, I'm happy to share that I'll be hopping on the tinned calamari recipe train.

My favorite aspect to these calamari pieces was the texture. They were very tough, making them feel like a more substantial piece of food. When it came to flavor, there actually wasn't very much taste to these at all. They were covered in olive oil, which added a slightly sweet and even buttery flavor, however, I will say that the calamari pieces didn't really hold any flavor characteristics. My brother-in-law shared that from his experience, that's the sign of a fresh piece of calamari. 

The reason that these are so popular is because the mild flavor profile allows you to create any sort of dish you want. I will definitely be picking up multiple tins on my next Trader Joe's trip, and I plan to use them for various pastas, rice dishes, and homemade dips. At such a good price (under $5) and with such high protein content, it's going to be a life saver during a busy weekday.

Since the other two sardine tins ranked so low on my list, I wasn't feeling too optimistic about the sardines in spring water. I was more than just pleasantly surprised with this tin — I was completely blown away! When I opened the tin, I saw that there were three little sardines perfectly nestled into the tin. They did have the skin on, however, I couldn't feel the texture of the scales in the slightest as I ate them.

First and foremost, the texture of the sardines was fantastic. They don't fall apart easily like the grilled sardines in olive oil. Instead, they stay perfectly intact as you pick them up. If you've ever cooked your own tilapia, the texture of these sardines was almost identical. The flavor was comparable as well, with a light and fresh flavor profile that had a slightly salty note, zero fishiness, and it was also slightly buttery. Knowing that they were set in spring water, I knew the buttery essence was coming from the fish.

My brother-in-law was overjoyed when he tasted these sardines. He shared that they were just as good, if not better, than the more expensive brands of tinned sardines he had been buying from other stores. What's even better is that these tins from Trader Joe's cost less than $2. For an affordable and healthy snack, I will be stocking up on these for sure.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with the smoked trout tin, as someone who hasn't dabbled in eating trout all too often. My brother-in-law, on the other hand, shared that tinned trout is usually his second favorite next to tinned sardines. When we opened the tin, we saw pieces of the red fish organized nicely in the tin, skinless, with olive oil surrounding it. It looked much more appealing than the tinned salmon — most likely because the surface of the fish was smooth and flaky looking.

I was absolutely surprised by the taste of the smoked trout when I had my first bite. I immediately thought that it tasted exactly like ham. It was delicious, almost to an addictive level. There was a high level of saltiness (not as much as the anchovies) and smokiness to it, and the texture was similar to well-cooked ham or chicken. My brother-in-law shared that the smoked trout that he's used to isn't as flavorful, and he actually enjoyed this version much better.

I could see myself buying this tin to eat as a snack or to create meals with. This would taste great in dishes like pasta, on a summer charcuterie board, or with rice and vegetables. There's a lot of room to play with this flavor-filled fish, and the convenience of it makes it even better. This was my clear choice for the first place, as I was most excited to make meals with it and eat it as a snack.

When ranking the tinned seafood items from Trader Joe's, the criteria was quite simple. While I focused on things like texture, flavor profile, balance, and freshness, there was one question that helped seal the deal: do I want to buy this tin on my next Trader Joe's run? By answering this question, I was easily able to organize and rank the tins. The top rated tins were the ones that I was excited to buy again, and the ones I was already making plans to buy for various meals and snacks. The lower ranked tins were the ones that I wouldn't buy again, while the middle ranked were the ones that I'd eat again if offered to me, but I wouldn't necessarily buy them.

Another useful aspect to my ranking was my brother-in-law's opinion. As someone born and raised in the Mediterranean, he is used to the highest quality of seafood. It's incredibly common for people in Mediterranean countries to consume tinned seafood, so I consider him a true professional in the subject. He would let me know when something tasted how it's supposed to taste, and when it didn't. All in all, we agreed on every single tin whether we would eat it again or not. With the mixture of my first-time taste test for many of these tins and his expertise, this ranking will be great for beginners and experts alike.