For a taco-style snack made from cupboard staples, start with a tin of kidney beans. A multipack of small tins means you only need to open one at a time. A seasoned recipe needs fewer additions, while a taco kit is a better choice if you have the extra ingredients it calls for.
A tin of beans gives you a cupboard staple to keep unopened, without needing to plan for fresh meat. Check its best-before date and the condition of the tin: France’s food safety agency, Anses, explains that a best-before date and a use-by date do not mean the same thing.
With plain beans, you can add whichever sauce or spices you have to hand when it’s time to make your snack. Auchan’s product listing for tinned kidney beans says they can be drained and rinsed, or heated.
Separate tins mean you don’t have to open a whole multipack for a single snack. The d’aucy multipack featured by Auchan contains two 125 g tins. Once you’ve opened one, its label says to refrigerate the contents in a suitable container and eat them within two days.
First decide how much you plan to open, then choose whether you’d rather season the beans yourself or use a ready-made mixture. A kit includes other items, but it won’t provide a tinned filling on its own.
| What matters | What to check | Who is it for? |
|---|---|---|
| Cupboard storage | The date on the tin, its condition and the drained weight, if shown on the label. | If I sometimes make a late-night snack with what I already have at home, I want a filling I can store in the cupboard until I need it. Around 40% of consumers prioritise having this unopened cupboard staple available. |
| Quick preparation | The ingredients in a seasoned tin, and any extra ingredients needed for a kit. | When time is short, I’d rather keep seasoning and extra ingredients to a minimum. Cutting down on preparation steps comes first for around 30% of consumers. |
| Portions and leftovers | The quantity in each tin and storage instructions once opened. | For a small snack, I want to avoid opening more beans than I can use. Around 30% of consumers therefore prioritise portion sizes and managing leftovers. |
The Old El Paso French Taco kit contains wraps and seasoning mixes, but the recipe featured by Auchan also calls for chicken, Emmental cheese and crème fraîche.
If you’re relying only on products already in your cupboard, check what’s in the kit and keep a separate tinned filling on hand.
The kit recipe assumes you have the extra ingredients to hand.
Once opened, the contents can no longer be stored like an unopened cupboard staple. The Auchan and d’aucy product listings we checked say to transfer the leftovers to a suitable airtight container, refrigerate them and eat them within two days.
Choose separate tins if you only use a small amount of beans at a time, or plan how you’ll use the leftovers within the timeframe on the label.
Auchan’s chilli-style recipe includes ingredients such as sweetcorn, peppers and cayenne pepper. It doesn’t give you the same freedom to choose your own seasoning as plain beans do. Its product listing also mentions possible traces of cereals containing gluten and mustard.
Read the ingredients and allergen information on the tin you choose, especially if you have a preference about spice or a particular ingredient.
A best-before date that has passed does not mean the same thing as a use-by date. You should still check the condition of the tin.
Follow the packaging instructions and don’t eat the contents if the tin is swollen or they have an unusual smell or colour.
The French Taco and Crousti Taco kits include items for putting a meal together, rather than a tinned filling.
The products reviewed include plain kidney beans and a chilli-style recipe.
The kidney bean multipack featured by Auchan contains two separate 125 g tins.
The taco products featured by Carrefour include its own-brand wraps and Old El Paso kits.
ALDI offers Fleurs des Champs kidney beans, which you can use as a base and pair with other ingredients.
These two tins can both be used as a filling for a taco-style snack: one is a seasoned recipe, while the other contains kidney beans you can prepare to suit your taste. They are individual tins, not multipacks or taco kits.
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Worth considering if you’d like a ready-seasoned bean filling rather than plain beans. This individual 430 g tin isn’t a multipack; check the ingredients and storage instructions for once opened so you can plan your portions.
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Worth considering if you’d rather choose the sauce or seasoning for your kidney beans yourself. This individual tin contains 439 g; for a small snack, check the label for storage instructions for any leftovers.
A tin isn’t automatically unsafe to eat after its best-before date: Anses distinguishes this from a use-by date. However, check the manufacturer’s instructions and the condition of the tin. Don’t eat the contents if the packaging is swollen or they have an unusual smell or colour.
Follow the label on the product you’ve bought. For the featured Auchan and d’aucy tins, the product listings say to put any leftovers in a suitable airtight container, refrigerate them and eat them within two days.
Not if you’re following the recipe for the Old El Paso kit featured by Auchan. Its six wraps and two seasoning mixes also need to be served with ingredients such as chicken, Emmental cheese and crème fraîche. Check the list of ingredients you’ll need before relying on this kit for a late-night snack.
Read the label for the product variant you’ve bought. The featured Old El Paso French Taco kit contains wheat; Auchan’s product listing for its chilli-style beans mentions possible traces of cereals containing gluten and mustard. Don’t assume that a seasoned recipe has the same ingredients as plain beans.