Not all tuna is created equal. And after taste testing 10 different tins from Australian shelves, we discovered this is very much a case of you get what you pay for.

There was the good, the bad, and the downright stinky. Some tins were rich, flaky and genuinely deeeeeelicious. Others were one step away from cat food and belonged nowhere near a sandwich.

To keep things fair, we only tested tuna packed in oil, which also allowed us to judge the quality of the oil itself. Each tuna was tasted straight from the tin and judged on flavour, texture, flakeability, oil quality, and overall enjoyability. Some surprised us. Some deeply upset us.

Sirena Tuna in Oil Italian Style

3.5/5

Look, Sirena is popular for a reason. She’s solid and steady - which is more than we could say for your last Hinge date. Great points for texture - the fish itself flaked quite nicely and held its shape well. The oil was middle of the road in terms of flavour - it’s made mostly of sunflower oil with a touch of olive oil, so it was very neutral. She’s dependable, consistent, and there when you need her. The chilli flavour is better though.

INGREDIENTS: Yellowfin Tuna (73.5%), Oil Blend (Sunflower & Olive Oil 25%), Sea Salt.

PRICE: $2.95 for 95g

Coles Tuna Chunks in Olive Oil Blend

1/5 

CAT FOOD ALERT!!! Actually, I wouldn’t even feed this to my cat. He’s too good for whatever this was.

Textural crimes abound - mushy, sloppy, watery and dare I say, gloopy? Despite being labelled as ‘tuna chunks’, chunks there were not! It was so mushy that I suspect no amount of mayonnaise could ever bring it together.

The fish itself was salty and so acidic that I had to check I hadn’t accidentally picked up a lemon flavoured tuna. The oil was dark, cloudy, and....suspicious.

INGREDIENTS: Skipjack Tuna (70%), Vegetable Oil Blend (20%) (Olive, Soy), Water & Salt.

PRICE: $1.10 for 95g

East Coast Tuna Co. Chunk in Olive Oil

5/5

A new bombshell has entered the villa! This was downright SCRUMPTIOUS. It was packed in extra virgin olive oil - no blends here. The oil was ultra bright in colour and flavoursome.

This tuna itself was seriously impressive. It had a light coloured flesh that flaked beautifully - it actually felt like I was eating fish which can be rare for canned tuna.

Fresh, clean, and would be perfect straight from the tin with a squeeze of lemon. The downside? It’s a tad more expensive, but I would say it is definitely worth it if you can sling it. Both for the flavour and to support a small Australian brand.

INGREDIENTS: Albacore Tuna (73.7%), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Water, & Pink Salt.

PRICE: $3.99 for 95g

OceanRise Tuna Italian Style in Oil

1/5

I’m an Aldi middle-aisle tragic like the rest of us. And whilst I usually leave feeling pleasantly surprised by my impulse purchases, I am saddened to report that they have let me down on the tinned tuna front.

Whilst the flavour was just okay - not overly fishy, nothing to write home about - the texture was absolutely ABYSMAL.

Here are some adjectives that came to mind:

pulpy, mealy, bitsy, gritty.

I’ll leave it there. Because if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.

INGREDIENTS: Yellowfin Tuna (74%), Sunflower oil (11%), Water, Extra virgin Olive Oil (4.8%), Sea Salt

PRICE: $1.29 for 95g

Wild Tides Tuna in Olive Oil Blend

2.5/5

This tin looked promising from the outset, neatly packed with care. A good sign...

Flavour-wise, it was quite mild, inoffensive and a bit meaty. It held its shape well when broken apart, which I appreciated - no sad collapse into fishy confetti. The texture was very firm...however, so firm it almost verged on tough?

So based on that, I think this tin would be good for cooking. I imagine it would probably shine in a pasta bake, tuna mornay, casserole-type situation. But I’m too ethnic to confirm that.

INGREDIENTS: Skipjack Tuna (73%) (Fish), Water, Olive Oil (7%), Vegetable Oils (Sunflower or Soybean), Salt

PRICE: $1.70 for 95g

The Stock Merchant Tuna

5/5

Oooooooh this tuna was SOPHISTICATED. The kind you serve with lunch and casually say, “Oh this? Just something I had in the pantry.”

The fillets were picture perfect. You could tell they’d been hand-filleted. There were no shredded mystery bits, no watery flakes. The flesh was gentle but still firm, holding its shape with that clean break and just had a great flavour, as did the olive oil it was packed in. No oil blends or added water.

This would be perfect in a simple salad, it doesn’t need much else. It speaks for itself.

INGREDIENTS: Tuna (Fish) (70.8%), Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (28%), Sea Salt

PRICE: $7.20 for 120g

John West Chunk Style Tuna in Olive Oil Blend

1.5/5

Hmmm. This tuna was… grey, flat, and a bit sad.

The flavour came in strong and aggressively fishy, I did find myself asking “why does this vaguely taste like sardines?” It was confusing. There was also this odd acidic note lingering in the background that made the whole thing feel slightly off balance.

Texturally, though, I’ll give credit where credit’s due. The flakes held together nicely and didn’t collapse into mush the second you touched them with a fork. A respectable structure.

The oil was lifeless. It tasted old, tired, and like it had given up on its dreams. Interesting to note that it also contained the least amount of tuna

INGREDIENTS: Skipjack tuna (65%), Olive Oil Blend (35%) (water, olive oil, vegetable oil, salt).

PRICE: $2.90

Ortiz Tuna in Olive Oil

5/5

Ortiz is the Lamborghini of the tinned fish world. Sleek, expensive, a little bit sexy. And yes,  this luxury can will absolutely cost you, but let me tell you, cute packaging and fancy branding aside, this was genuinely delicious.

The texture was fantastic, meaty, substantial, almost tuna-steak-like. This wasn’t flaky lunchbox tuna. This was adult tuna. 

The flavour was savoury and refined, a little more subdued than some of the brighter, punchier tins. It tasted mature and well-travelled, like it had seen the world. Nothing sharp or aggressively fishy about it. Just depth, richness, and balance.

And the oil? Excellent. Soft and subtle rather than loud and peppery. This is the kind of tuna you build a very simple meal around because it would be borderline disrespectful to drown it in mayonnaise.

INGREDIENTS: Tuna (73%), Olive Oil (26%), Salt.

PRICE: $10.75

Woolworths Yellowfin Tuna

3/5

After the Coles brand cat food tragedy, I had extremely low expectations for the Woolies tin. But against all odds… I was pleasantly surprised.

Now, to be clear, this was not life-changing tuna. But it’s a good budget pick.

The texture was good: it held its shape well, had a pleasant mouthfeel, and the flesh was relatively light in colour rather than that ominous grey-beige some tins were serving up. It also tasted noticeably fresher than the Greenseas tin, which already gave it a head start.

Nothing particularly luxurious or exciting, but entirely passable. A solid weekday sandwich tuna.

INGREDIENTS: Yellowfin Tuna (Fish) (74%), Sunflower Oil (15%), Water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (3.5%), Salt

PRICE: $1.40

Greenseas Tuna in Oil

1/5

I’ll give Greenseas this: the texture was reasonable but unfortunately, that’s where the compliments end.

The flavour was distinctly fishy — and not in a fresh, oceanic way. More in a “this tin has been rolling around the back of the pantry since 2019” kind of way.

The oil was dull and lifeless, adding absolutely nothing to the experience. The flesh itself was quite dark in colour which was a bit off putting and had that slightly old, tired quality to it. A bit mealy, a bit dry, and ultimately lacking the clean flake and freshness you want from a good tin of tuna.

INGREDIENTS: Skipjack Tuna (68%), Extra Virgin Olive Oil (11%), Sunflower Oil (10%), Water, & Salt. 

PRICE: $1.70

WINNERS:

• East Coast Tuna Co
• The Stock Merchant
• Ortiz

LOSERS:

• Coles
• Ocean Rise