The price of baked beans has rocketed in the last decade - but canny shoppers can still pay as little as 27p for a tin.
The humble British staple has been named the dish with the biggest increase in price, according to new research tracking the cost of popular meals over the past 10 years.
And with food prices continuing to put pressure on household budgets, the research has also revealed where shoppers can pick up the cheapest own-brand baked beans.
Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl came out joint cheapest, with their budget tins costing 27p.
At the other end of the table, a tin of own-brand baked beans at Waitrose costs 55p – more than twice the price.
The figures come from financial firm Updraft, which analysed ingredient-level prices for the UK's 100 most popular dishes.
It found that the cost of a single portion of beans on toast has risen by 33 per cent since 2016, making it the dish with the highest rate of inflation in its analysis.
The cheapest supermarkets for baked beans
Updraft’s September 2026 research compared the price of own-brand baked beans at major UK supermarkets:
- Morrisons Savers – 27p
- Lidl Simply – 27p
- Aldi Everyday Essentials - 27p
- Asda Just Essentials – 28p
- Tesco Stockwell & Co. – 28p
- Sainsbury’s Stamford Street Co. – 30p
- M&S Remarksable Value – 40p
- Co-operative Food – 47p
- Waitrose – 55p
They also compared the cost of weekly food shopping over the past decade. The research estimates that the average cost of a weekly shop based on ingredients used in the UK's top 100 dishes has risen from £23.10 per person to £30.70.
That works out at almost £1,600 a year for one person.
💰 If we paid you £100 a year to buy a different brand of baked beans, would you do it?
This simple replacement for Heinz could save you exactly that amount 🔀 https://t.co/kOOCbFM151— Which? (@WhichUK) September 10, 2025
Small savings can add up
Aseem Munshi, founder of Updraft , said households could overlook the impact of small increases when looking at their overall finances.
“Many Brits don’t realise that it’s not always the big purchases that lead to money troubles, but simple everyday purchases,” he said.
“It’s these small, silent price hikes that quickly add up, forcing households to rely on credit cards and borrowing to cover essential groceries.”
He urged households to treat their grocery spending more like a regular household bill, rather than a series of smaller purchases.
“Many households know exactly what they pay on rent, mortgage, and electricity, but groceries are different,” he said.
“The food shop often comes in multiple small transactions, turning a £30.70 weekly shop into almost £1,600 annually.”
Updraft also highlighted supermarket swaps as one way shoppers could reduce their bills.
For example, its figures put a tin of Heinz beans at £1.40 compared with 27p for Morrisons' own-brand version - a difference of £1.13 per tin.
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Munshi said: “While a single tin of beans may not seem like a huge expense, pennies can quickly become pounds.”
He also warned households against allowing grocery spending to become a source of new credit card debt.
“When money is tight, it can be tempting to pay for the weekly food shop using a credit card,” he said. “But for those who already carry a balance, this can quietly add debt to the menu.”
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