We have looked at and considered many of the different tinned curries on offer in the UK right now and have put together this guide highlighting what we believe are the top 10 best of the best out there. To give you further food for thought, we’ve provided a handy and insightful buyer’s guide that covers some of the most important things you should be looking for in the tinned curry you plan to use for your fake takeaway.
Table of Contents
Best Tinned Curry 2020
1. Biona Organic Brown Lentil Curry
First, we have this tasty offering from the London-based company Biona Organic. As the name suggests, the company is fully committed to making food that is not just organic, but sustainable and ethically sourced. From humble beginnings to where they are now, the brand has stayed true to its values.
Their tinned brown curry is full of good stuff and does not have anything that shouldn’t be there, and the tin is made from BPA-free materials, so it’s incredibly safe to use. It’s filled with fresh chilli, tomatoes and the star of the show, lentils and a handful of organic ingredients that help to give it the authentic and spicy taste it has. There is added sea salt, but as this is far down the list of ingredients, there is not an excessive amount in the recipe. With 4.7g of protein from the lentils and other ingredients, it’s an excellent addition to your diet.
You could serve this with some basmati or long-grain rice for a quick curry that is sure to hit the spot or use it as a base for a richer sauce with a more in-depth flavour.
2. Hodmedod’s great British Beans
Perhaps you fancy a nice dhal style curry. From Hodmedod’s we have their Great British Beans Vaal Dhal. Even though the contents are produced and packaged right here in the UK, the recipe is inspired by Gujarat cuisine from Northern India, putting the best of the best British, and importantly, organic fava beans to good use.
They are the real star of this particular show. Although it is not super fiery hot, it does have a nice and flavoursome spice with a bit of a kick. What’s more, as it is completely organic, there is nothing included in the recipe that shouldn’t be there. Just simple, whole ingredients and nothing more. It is also a great source of protein and fibre. With just 0.6g of salt per 100g, it is an incredibly healthy addition to any meal. Just be careful to not add any extra salt.
If you don’t fancy a curry, you can also use this can of Vaal Dhal as a base for a sauce or even add it to soup for more complexity. We really like also that for such a low price you get a pack of 6. The perfect addition to your cupboards or larder.
3. Free & Easy Vegetable Curry
If you are looking for a tinned curry from one of the best “free-from” food companies, then look no further than the next product in our guide, this Chickpea and Vegetable Curry from Free & Easy.
A business committed to producing nutritious meals for the whole family that are also lip-smacking delicious and meet your specific dietary requirements, this curry is fully organic and free from meat, gluten and dairy and is therefore suitable for those with gluten and dairy issues and those who choose to eat vegetarian or vegan diets.
If you need any other convincing to add this to your stockpile of tinned goods, then you should know that it is mildly spiced and low in fat too.
Healthy suddenly sounds tasty when Free & Easy tinned meals are involved.
4. Biona Organic Yellow Thai Jackfruit
Back to Biona Organic for another great product, this time a little further east than India with this tin of Yellow Thai Curry that features the intriguing and exotic jackfruit as the main ingredient. Another vegan-friendly and BPA-free option, this blends the moreish and nourishing creaminess of coconut milk with a warm spicy flavour for a truly mouth-watering meal.
For when you fancy a quick and simple Thai yellow curry, just warm up the contents of this tin in a pan and serve with either fluffy jasmine rice or noodles and garnish with coriander.
Jackfruit is very trendy at the moment as it is high in protein and makes for a tasty alternative to meat, whether you are avoiding it for eco reasons or following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. The one word of warning we would issue with this product is not to look too closely when you open it as it does not look very appealing fresh out of the tin. However, once you’ve cooked up some noodles or rice and warmed this through, it makes for a lovely meal tat requires little to no effort at all.
5. Geo Organics Organic Bombay Potatoes
Are you a big fan of the chunky potato dish that features a spellbinding mix of aromatic spices, tomatoes and onions? Rather than ordering a side tray of Bombay Potatoes from your favourite Indian takeaway, why not give this convenient offering from Geo Organics a try?
Not only is it organic, but vegan-friendly and free from gluten and does not contain any genetically modified ingredients. Perfect if you are looking for a healthy and purer curry. We’ve always found it a little sinister when companies were interested in messing around with nature and the genetic structures of vegetables and other ingredients. Call us old fashioned.
Geo Organics are a company that was established back in 1999 in Shropshire. They are passionate about not just the flavour of their products, but the welfare of the people who supply the ingredients and ensuring that each important component of one of their saliva-inducing recipes is truly organic.
We recommend digging into this with some rice and a pile of poppadum. Alternatively, you could use it to make a much more interesting version of a traditional stew or hotpot.
6. Free and Easy Vegetable Balti
Another fine example of what the passionate and clever folk of Free & Easy can produce for anyone looking to save a bit of money and time when they fancy a hot and fiery meal is their Organic Vegetable Balti.
Who doesn’t love a Balti to warm even their toes with? Like the other products from the Free & Easy range, the only thing you need to worry about the recipe is how hot it is. There is nothing likely to cause any allergic reactions nor is there anything toxic like BPA and know GM vegetables or other ingredients have been included.
What you do get is a wide variety of vegetables including green beans, onions, peas, red peppers, carrots and potatoes mixed with cannellini beans, tomato puree and several spices, oils and seasoning for a rich and challenging taste. Similarly, to most of the Free & Easy range of tinned curries, it takes just 3 minutes of gentle heating for this concoction to be ready. It’s definitely quicker than Just Eat and will potentially save you money in the long run.
7. Tesco Beef Curry
In the interest of fairness, we feel it’s important to highlight some products that are not vegan or vegetarian-friendly, starting with this tin of beef curry from Tesco. Tesco is known for producing nice tasting and nutritious food, and this is no exception.
It is full of lots of great, yummy ingredients that you would expect to find in a traditional beef curry, but the real star of this event is the chunks of Irish and British beef. Needless to say, it is not suitable whatsoever for vegetarians or vegans.
From a nutritional point of view, it is very high in fibre, protein and other important parts of your RDA. We did think it has a little too much sugar, but that is to be expected with these kinds of products.
The best thing about The Taste of India line of tinned foods that this is from by Tesco is that it comes with rice already mixed into it. That makes it even easier to prepare. Once you’ve warmed it up, you just need to serve it with your favourite accompaniments for a full-on fake takeaway. However, we also think it would work well on a jacket potato for lunch with a deep flavour and a bit of heat.
8. Tesco Chicken Tikka Masala
We’re sticking with Tesco for the next couple of products, starting with this Chicken Tikka Masala. Definitely one for fans of milder curry dishes, it contains cooked rice, a fragrant and almost sweet mix of aromatic spices, yoghurt and chunks of chicken breast.
Again, we’d no recommend this for you, vegans and vegetarians, out there, but you probably could guess that. However, for fans of meat and poultry, this is a winner, winner chicken dinner. Quite literally actually.
As it contains rice, it is in itself a complete meal. For those with big appetites though, you could mix and match it with some of the other affordable tins in the Taste of India selection for a superb curry banquet or serve it on some toast or with a baked potato for a lunchtime treat. Whenever you tuck into this product, we are sure you will enjoy it.
9. Tesco Chicken Jalfrezi
If the beef curry or tikka masala isn’t really making you excited, why not consider the last offering from Tesco in our guide, the Chicken Jalfrezi. Jalfrezi, as fans of this dish, will know, is a traditionally very hot and spicy dish and Tesco’s take is both hot and spicy. As is the case with the other Taste of India dishes, it comes with basmati rice already mixed into it and includes a heady array of spices and flavourings including fenugreek, ginger puree, garlic puree, sunflower oil, lemon oil, black pepper, curcumin, salt, cumin seeds and very tender chunks of chicken breast.
Very high in protein and fibre, and low in salt, this is also a very nutritious meal. It should be noted that all Tesco Taste of India products does not contain any artificial flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives. They also have the benefit of being gluten-free too.
10. Marks and Spencer Hot Chicken Curry
To round off our list, we have an interesting and hot offering from Marks and Spencer. Sticking with chicken as the main source of protein, this also contains a pleasant, if hot, blend of coconut, mango and spices in the sauce. Although it doesn’t come with rice, we think this is an excellent source of protein and benefits from being both BPA-free and gluten-free.
Sadly, unless you are looking to convert to a full-on meat-eater, this is another that is not for the fervent and passionate vegans or vegetarians. However, if you are not especially fussy and just looking for a quick and easy way to get your fix of something hot and spicy in your belly, we think this will more than do the trick.
Like the others, this also benefits from being a fine source of protein and fibre and is not too high in either sugar or salt.
Best Tinned Curry UK – Buyer’s Guide
It is highly unlikely that anyone is reading this guide who hasn’t had something from a tin at one point in their life. Even if it’s baked beans, peaches or rice pudding. However, we would be less surprised that some of you reading this may not have tried tinned curry before.
We were new to the concept when we started researching. We’d heard of and had tinned curry sauces and tinned meats before, but never a complete curry dish in a tin. While we looked into the subject, we picked up a lot of great tips and advice for what you should look out for when treading into this section of the tinned shelves of supermarkets and retailers, whether online or offline.
To help you make the right choice, therefore, we have put together this buyer’s guide. We would recommend that you check it out before making your decision about the products you are going to try.
BPA-Free
One of the first things you really should look out for when choosing any tinned goods, in this case – tinned curry, is whether or not it consists of any BPA. BPA stands for Bisphenol A and is most often connected to plastic goods. You will, for instance, see labels on plastic water bottles that say “BPA-Free”. This is the kind of label or information you should be looking out for when choosing tinned curry for you and your family.
BPA is a nasty and toxic chemical that is linked to serious conditions such as male impotence, heart disease, fertility problems and many other health issues. Therefore, if you are looking to protect yourself, the members of your household and anyone else you may be feeding, Always look out for BPA-free.
Ingredients and Nutritional Content
While in the past, convenience often meant you had to sacrifice meals being as nutritious as they would be if you cooked them totally from scratch, that is not the case nowadays. As you will have noted if you are reading this buyer’s guide after our reviews, the products we’ve highlighted above are full of fresh and wholesome ingredients, all of which are very often organically sourced.
Obviously, If you or anyone who will be eating your tinned curry has intolerances or allergies or just doesn’t like certain ingredients, you should check out the full recipe list found to the back of the tin.
Fortunately, the rules are very strict in the UK in that food companies need to fully disclose all the ingredients used in their products.
On the subject of the contents of tinned curry, you will also want to pay close attention to the nutritional information. Whether you are trying to manage your weight, lose some weight or have any other strict dietary conditions due to ill health or other reasons, many good quality tinned curry label will include information about the percentage of the contents that are made up of protein, fat, carbohydrates, salt, sugar and fibre.
Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free
Over the years, there has been an increase in the awareness of gluten intolerance. Many people suffer from this condition and have to limit the amount of gluten if they eat any at all. If you suffer from this problem, you will want to be sure that you know exactly what every meal you eat is made from. Fortunately, on the labels for most tinned curry, it will provide guidance on whether a product is gluten-free or not.
Similarly, the rise in people suffering from dairy-related health conditions has been hard to miss. Do you have an allergy to dairy products? This information is also readily available on the labels of most of the best tinned curries.
This is important to be aware of, not because of the products that obviously contain dairy or gluten, but for the ones you don’t expect.
Vegan and Vegetarian-Friendly
It’s very much the same reason why we have suggested you look out for whether products are vegan or vegetarian-friendly if you have an alternative diet and lifestyle. While some products and recipes may be easy to identify as vegan and vegetarian friendly, there are some that seem to find ways of slipping non-vegan and vegetarian-friendly ingredients into their products.
A chickpea and lentil curry may seem like the perfect choice for a vegan’s dinner, but some often have beef stock or other seasonings that contain meat or animal by-products in some shape or form.
Conclusion
So, there you have it curry fans. Our guide to the most convenient and flavoursome tinned curries available on the market right now. We know only too well here at Internet Eyes that there is a wide spectrum of tastes when it comes to curries, which is why we tried to include products to appeal to all. Some are spicier than others, while others are creamier and subtler.
In our opinion, there should be no shame when it comes to eating the curry you love. Admittedly, we were a little sceptical about covering something that at first seemed incredibly heretic, but after researching it more, we realised that there are a lot of wonderful tinned curry offerings out there. Mostly by reputable companies with sterling reputations who are among the best food producers in the country.
If you are just beginning your adventure into the world of tinned curry, we hope we have helped you to take your first steps.
Enjoy the curries!
