Why You Should Skip Walmart When Buying Canned Tomatoes

If you've ever worried that using canned tomatoes in your recipes is cheating, set that worry aside. Even professional chefs use canned tomatoes; as long as you have a good brand on hand (and are using a recipe that calls for cooked tomatoes, because canned tomatoes are already cooked), you can achieve the results you're looking for without the laborious process of prepping tomatoes. We set you up with a list of 6 canned tomato brands that are worth buying and 6 to avoid, and by our measure, Walmart's Great Value canned tomatoes are one you'll definitely want to swerve. In the world of canned tomatoes, it's mushy, flavorless, and less healthy than other options. We're not the only ones who think so, either.

The product page for Great Value canned tomatoes reveals a solid chunk of people throwing in a 1-star rating. Consumers criticize everything from the mushy texture of the fruit to the fact that many whole tomatoes still have their peels, forcing the buyer to do more work than they may have originally expected. When we opened our can, we did find a lot of peels floating around and clinging to tomatoes. If you want your tomatoes with no peels, that's a big reason to skip on this brand alone. It also has 180 milligrams of sodium per serving, so it's also not a good pick if you're watching your salt intake. Basically: There are more flavorful, less salty, less mushy options out there.

So we've talked about the mushy texture, the high levels of salt, and the obnoxious peels that linger in the can. But what do other canned tomatoes have that Great Value doesn't? Some products, like Pastene's DOP San Marzano tomatoes, knock it out of the park with a delectably meaty and sweet fruit. Others, like San Merican, have a full-bodied flavor and sweetness, though not quite as sweet as San Marzano. But the acidity in these higher quality tomatoes won't hit you as hard as it does with Great Value. 

And while Bianco DiNapoli's tomatoes also have citric acid and 180 milligrams of sodium per serving, it has a great sweetness-acidity balance, and includes flavorful ingredients like basil and sea salt. It stands out in stark comparison to Great Value's canned tomatoes, which are limp, lifeless, and taste slightly metallic and watered down.

Even though you can get Great Value canned tomatoes for around $1.26 per can, the quality you're getting absolutely reflects the price. To us, it's just not worth the money you might save by passing over a better brand with more robust flavor, tastier tomatoes, and fewer peels to remove. But just because Great Value's canned tomatoes fall flat, that doesn't mean you have to give up on canned tomatoes entirely. Just skip out on Walmart's Great Value canned tomatoes and you'll be good to go.