Canned vegetables are getting the tinned fish treatment—here are our thoughts after tasting

Normally, you wouldn’t open a can of beets and plunk it down on your fancy charcuterie board. But the latest crop (pun intended) of canned vegetables suggests you could do just that. So do they meet the moment? The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen & Cooking Lab team tasted these new-to-the-scene veggies to find out.

How do tinned vegetables differ from canned vegetables?

Row 7 Seed Company, a seed and vegetable company located in New York’s Hudson Valley, is the first to offer vegetables packaged like tinned fish, in a flat rectangular container with a peel-back top. The concept is that the vegetables inside are more visually appealing and are ready to eat from—and even serve in—the tin. The presentation is more like food on a little plate or in a ramekin than a jumble of vegetables in a cylindrical can. And because the presentation matches that of fancier, conserva-style fish, it brings the expectation of new flavor profiles.

How much do they cost?

Row 7 is currently selling the tins for $7.99 at Whole Foods. You can also purchase all three varieties in a combo pack for $29 at row7.com.

Reddit users have some thoughts on that price. One person mentions antipasto and notes that “people already are willing to pay a similar amount for jarred veggies like artichoke hearts and marinated or pickled mushrooms, peppers, and the like.” But most are saying that the square tin does not justify the price—especially for the volume.

So how do they taste?

The tinned vegetables are currently available in three varieties, and there were mixed results.

✔️ Sweet Prince Tomatoes: These are small tomatoes tinned with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Our verdict: The tomatoes were the strongest performer. They are soft and juicy, with a concentrated tomato flavor that we enjoyed. But they also tasted like many other processed tomatoes.

Row 7 Sweet Prince Tomatoes

✔️ Sweet Garleek: This leek-garlic hybrid (it looks like a slightly thick scallion) comes dressed with Dijon mustard and white balsamic vinegar.

Our verdict: The dressing had a nice flavor. The white portion of the plant is tender and sweet. But there is a larger proportion of the green part per tin (as is reasonable given the nature of the plant), and it felt a bit unwieldy because you can’t bite through it easily. They would benefit from some chopping, so they weren’t as friendly to consume straight out of the package.

Row 7 Sweet Garleek

✔️ Badger Flame Beets: The beets are diced and packed with extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.

Our verdict: Sadly, these were the biggest disappointment. The texture of the beets was pleasant, and they were uniformly diced. But the color was fairly dull, and the oil tasted off and felt greasy. We did find the flavor improved when we mixed them with a little vinegar, salt, and pepper. But they never tasted strongly of beets.

Row 7 Badger Flame Beets

The takeaway

We’d love to see this tinned format continue. There is a time and place for a fancy li’l veg that makes snacking/dinner/grazing boards easier—even if the price pushes it into “occasional” territory. And there is room in this new arena for exciting flavors and varieties of produce.

If you want to try the first to market, our team thinks the tomatoes are the best bet. I did enjoy eating them on a thick slab of sourdough with good butter, and they were the best of the bunch straight out of the tin.