8 Canned Pastas, Ranked Worst To Best

Growing up in an Italian-American household, canned pasta was all but a sacrilege in my house. Of course, banning a food item (or any item, really) usually makes it all the more appealing, especially to a curious 9-year-old. However, the shine of the forbidden food eventually wore off as I grew up until I reached college. What better time to try this cheap, quick, and easy-to-prepare food that had developed a lore with me than when I was a busy student?

So, with Chef Boyardee beef ravioli in hand, I decided to see what the fuss was all about. When I pulled out the "can" (in this case, a microwavable plastic container) from the microwave, I was not thrilled by the sugary, slightly beefy aroma. Perhaps I had built up the canned pasta too much in my head, and I was fated to be disappointed. Regardless, it served its purpose at the time (read: quick, easy sustenance), and with the ever-rising cost of a grocery store trip, and because I was in the middle of moving (hence the paper plates) what better time to revisit this canned category to see which offering comes out on top?

In last place, we have SpaghettiOs original canned pasta. This can scores low because although it's called pasta, it is drowning in sauce and definitely more closely resembles a soup. That soupy texture is only furthered along with the mushy SpaghettiOs. Without any protein, it all ends up being a homogenous mess of a dish.

The sauce, aside from it being way too plentiful, is way too sweet. Adding sugar to tomato sauce was also a big no-no in my household and greatly debated even by celebrity chefs, but there are some reasons to add a dash of sugar to your sauce. One is to remove tartness and reduce its acidity. SpaghettiOs take what should be done with restraint and run amuck with adding sugar. A single cannned portion contains 11 grams of sugar. Cereal, which is expected to be at least somewhat sweet, should not exceed 10 grams of sugar per serving in order to be considered healthy. Since pasta definitely doesn't fall into the semi-sweet dessert-ish category, that is a lot of simple carbohydrates in one small can.

The price is the best asset for this version of canned pasta. One 15.8 ounce can cost $1.23 at Walmart.

It should come as no surprise that Campbell's version of canned spaghetti also fell prey to being more soup than substance. However, it edges out the SpaghettiOs simply because the spaghetti here is significantly more toothsome than the plain SpaghettiOs.

The sauce was very similar to the SpaghettiOs but much sweeter. This is also a no-brainer as Campell owns the SpaghettiOs brand and dropped its Franco-American moniker in 2004 after it acquired the brand.

So, points were lost for the too-sweet sauce (14 grams of sugar per can!), and the spaghetti in this version was also pretty lifeless. I think it would be pretty impossible to achieve al dente pasta ala can, but there has to be a way to incorporate a little more bite before it's sealed. If I had my eyes closed, I would've guessed I was eating Campell's tomato soup with some very limp pasta thrown in. The price is comparable to SpaghettiOs, and a 15.8 ounce is currently available for $1.25 on Amazon.

In my humble opinion, Chef Boyardee's sauce is superior to SpaghettiOs. It is less sweet and has a bit of the acidity you would expect in a tomato sauce. The total amount of sugar in this can is 9 grams, keeping it below the cereal sugar factor (though it's still not great). Where the Chef falls short, however, is the meat texture and taste.

Popping a soggy, beef-filled ravioli in my mouth was like taking a giant spoonful of baby food. The combined textures are so unpleasant I felt a little queasy after tasting this iteration. The ravioli sticks to the roof of your mouth and hangs there like an amorphous blob. The beef texture is sharp, adding to the textural confusion and unpleasantness. Since the sauce is the best part of Chef Boyardee, skip this version and choose another pasta shape. The price, however, is right for this can. One 15-ounce can is $1.18 on Amazon.

Good sauce. Check. Better texture of the pasta. Also, check. This classic offering from Chef Boyardee is a bit better than the last, but still a major disappointment. This pasta shape held up the best out of the Chef's cans on this list. There was nary any beef in this Beefaroni, and the minuscule pieces I did get a chance to taste had a bad, sharp texture like the ravioli.

To name a product Beefaroni and barely deliver any beef is the stuff of fodder. I found myself imitating the archaic Wendy's ad, glasses pushed over my nose and looking over my plate, asking, "Where's the beef?".

The sauce alone couldn't save this drowning dish, even with the heartier pasta to sop it up. Like the ravioli, you can taste some acidity in the sauce; the sugar really tampers it down a lot. One 15-ounce can is $1.18 on Amazon.

This Chef Boyardee contender is the best of its bunch. The meatballs really limited the spiky beef texture of the other two offerings, and the spaghetti, while still pretty limp, was much firmer than SpaghettiOs and did not feel like I was eating soup.

These meatballs are made with a combination of pork, chicken, and beef, adding a depth of flavor to the meatballs as well as the sauce and vastly improving the texture. Though not as good as either of SpaghettiOs' meatballs and not as bite-sized as the aforementioned brand, they are a solid choice. If you're particularly concerned with the flavor of the sauce, this should be your pick over the SpaghettiOs choices. One major way to improve not only these spaghetti and meatballs but every item on this list would be to add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to add flavor and texture and cut through the sweetness of the sauce. One 14.5-ounce can is priced at $1.18 on Amazon.

Annie's mac and cheese has been a solid pantry staple for me for years. The night before you leave on a trip or if you're facing a blizzard/hurricane. etc., having a box of white shells can be a lifesaver. So it's safe to say that I have a soft spot for Annie's. Even if it's not healthy food, it feels like a little bit of self-care when you're craving comfort food, and that is an additional comfy benefit. Like a fluffy hug from a childhood pet, like Bernie, perhaps. So, I tried to be as unbiased as possible when reviewing Annie's entree in this contest with its adorably named Bernie O's, but I am only human.

What I liked: It's organic. Is it ultra-processed? Yes, but does it make me feel a little better that no pesticides are hiding in this can? Also, yes. A big win on the pasta front was the Bernie O's, which were the most al dente of the bunch. Not only did that add nice texture, but the overall texture of the bunny shapes really set this dish apart from the others. The sauce was not overly sweet, and you could taste the acidity of the tomatoes in it. The label says it's a tomato and cheese sauce, but I couldn't really taste much cheese. This can is the priciest of the bunch. One 15-ounce can is $2.42 at Walmart.

It seems odd to have the top two best-canned pasta be a variation of the worst on the list, but here we are. Though my complaints of a too-sweet sauce and lifeless o ring-shaped pasta still stand, with the addition of meatballs, the slightly unpleasant soupy texture that was present in the original SpaghettiOs was eliminated. The meatballs in this dish are plentiful and perfectly bite-sized. I found myself needing to use a spoon for every SpaghettiOs variety, but the meatballs took away the soup identifiers and made it feel like a complete dish.

What kept this dish from the top spot is while these meatballs were tasty and had good texture, the chicken meatball recipe added a tanginess that really stood out against the strongly sweet sauce. If you prefer beef, this may be your top contender, but I'd encourage you to try the chicken meatballs to see if you agree. One 15.6-ounce can of SpaghettiOs pasta with meatballs will run you $1.23 on Amazon.

Just like the original meatball version, the meatballs in this SpaghettiOs can are the perfect size. What put this can on top of the rest was how much I liked the tanginess that the chicken provided to the meatballs. I enjoyed it more than the beefy flavor of the SpaghettiOs canned pasta with meatballs and the Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs.

This can is slightly more expensive, coming in at $1.79 for a 15.6-ounce can on Amazon, but the little bit extra is worth it for the flavor payoff. However, the can that has the #2 spot is still a solid choice and a bit more budget-friendly.

The chicken meatballs were surprisingly flavorful and weren't drowned out by the sea of sauce. The meatballs cut through the sugary sauce and add a great texture to each bite. Chicken meatballs in tomato sauce sounds like an odd combination, but the way it's executed here makes it seem perfectly ubiquitous.

For this tasting, I took into account the taste of the sauce and protein (if applicable) as well as the texture of the pasta and meat, the amount and viscosity of the sauce, and the price. I also judged the overall look of the dish and added or subtracted points for its visual appeal (or lack thereof). I didn't go into this review thinking that I would be judging the sugary flavor and content, but that was a big factor for me in both taste and nutritional value.

I was in the depths of moving, so I kept the preparation method simple: I would microwave each can for approximately 3 minutes and serve it on a paper plate with plastic cutlery. I tried to taste as many as I could in a row, but delivery was delayed for some items, so I wound up trying the pasta in two different rounds.