We Asked Chefs Their Favorite Ways to Serve Tinned Fish—These Were Their Top 4

Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Key Points

• Tinned fish is budget-friendly, versatile and rich in omega-3 fats.

• Chefs recommend treating oil-packed fish like a premium ingredient.

• Store leftovers in oil in an airtight container for best quality.

Tinned fish has fully evolved from a convenient, budget-friendly protein to a full-blown star. The category was once dominated by plain water-packed tuna and the occasional small tin of anchovies for pizza, but today tins of various seafood and fish are so popular that they’re on restaurant menus and there’s even a TikTok hashtag for #tinnedfishdatenight.

Once something has a hashtag, it’s finally arrived, right? All jokes aside, tinned fish is still quite budget-friendly and more popular than ever. To get ideas on how to use tinned fish, aside from making a mayo-based salad and slathering it on bread for a quick sandwich, I reached out to chefs and fish experts from across the country to learn their favorite ways to enjoy tinned fish.

At Mar Bella Boqueria in Denver, Colorado, Chef Johnny Curiel highlights the coastal cuisine of Spain, especially seafood, and the restaurant’s chefs actually make their own tinned fish. “We serve a rotating selection of house-made seafood conservas (tinned fish) with pepper relish and pan de cristal (a Spanish-style of bread).” He says he loves opening house-made conservas for guests and talking about how they were prepared and educating them on the preparation’s significance in Spain.

You don’t have to make your own tinned fish, of course, as there is no shortage of options you can choose from at your local grocery store. But the chefs we spoke with all agreed that tinned fish shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be treated like a high-quality ingredient.

“Tinned fish shouldn’t be thought of as a backup pantry item; it’s a premium ingredient when you buy the right products,” says Ming Pu, chef and owner of TANA, a soon-to-open restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. Whether he’s serving tinned fish in a restaurant setting or simply using it at home, he says it is often high quality and perfect for a special meal, especially oil-packed fish. “It’s affordable compared to fresh seafood, extremely versatile and incredibly satisfying when you treat it with the same respect you would a fresh fish dish.”

Types of Tinned Fish

Aaron Rubens, owner of The Fish Guy, a seven-person fishmonger in Chicago, says stocking up on tins of fish for the pantry can make mealtime a breeze. “We carry about 50 different tins at The Fish Guy, and I tell people the same thing every time, which is ‘start with what sounds good to you.’”

Whether through your neighborhood fishmonger or your local grocery store, you are sure to discover tins of fish and seafood, many in colorful eye-catching packages. You’ll find offerings from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Finland, the United States and pretty much any country with a coast. The most popular fish for tins are often “oily” fish, such as tuna, sardines, mackerel and anchovies, which are packed with heart- and brain-healthy omega-3 fats. But you can also find tins of shellfish and other seafood like clams, octopus, scallops, mussels and oysters.

Tinned fish come packed in water or oil or with flavorful sauces or ingredients like preserved lemons, hot peppers, basil pesto or even a spicy chili crisp. You can also find a wide variety of different smoked tinned fish.

“Personally, I gravitate toward olive oil–packed fish, sardines, mackerel and anchovies, because the oil is half the product. It’s the fish lover’s liquid gold,” says Rubens.

Best Ways to Use Tinned Fish

While you can certainly grab a fork and dig into a can of fish for a protein-packed snack, the chefs recommend some more creative ways to enjoy tinned fish, too.

• Make a “sea-cuterie” plate. Joe Nierstedt, chef and owner of Katsubo in Charleston, South Carolina, says his favorite way to use a good-quality tin of fish is inspired by charcuterie. He calls it “sea-cuterie.” “Oil-packed sardines, smoked trout and high-quality tuna are my go-tos. I love laying them out on a platter with good bread, butter, pickled vegetables, mustard, citrus, fresh herbs and a little crunch from crackers or chips. It’s low effort, high impact and a great way to let the fish speak for itself.”

• Fold into pasta. Opening a tin of fish makes for a super-quick and flavorful addition to pasta. Pu likes to fold canned fish, especially oil-packed tuna, into a simple pasta dish with garlic and fresh lemons. “High-quality oil-packed tuna is one of the fastest ways to create something that feels restaurant-level at home with almost no prep,” Pu says. Gently folding the tuna into the pasta helps preserve the size and shape of the fish. Rubens also recommends melting anchovies into olive oil for a simple yet flavorful start to a pasta sauce.

• Top toast. While this is technically an open-faced sandwich, think of it as seriously elevated toast. “At home, my favorite and simplest way to enjoy it is good oil-packed tuna, gently broken into large chunks, on toasted bread, finished with just a little Calabrian chili oil and flaky salt. That’s it. When the tuna and the oil are high quality, you really don’t need to overcomplicate it.”

• Assemble a simple starter. For a more restaurant-quality dish, Pu loves serving oil-packed tinned fish simply with preserved lemons, shaved fresh fennel, soft herbs or a light citrus dressing. These flavors, however, shouldn’t overpower the fish as he says good-quality tinned fish should stay the focus.

Take It to the Next level

Rubens says once people are more comfortable trying tinned fish, they can graduate to higher-end, more expensive fish. “A $9 tin of Spanish sardines with a bag of chips and a glass of cold white wine is one of the best meals on earth, and it takes zero cooking.” You can even jump up in price more, he says, saying there’s “something soul-satisfying about reaching for the $24 sardine loins in Arbequina olive oil smoked in oak, a crispy baguette and a glass of something cold and effervescent.”

Storing Leftovers

Specialty and European markets are more likely to carry a wider variety of tinned fish. You can also find a wide assortment of online retailers selling unique tins of fish, and there are even subscription services if you really want to experiment with the global canned fish industry.

Tinned fish is usually sold in small containers, usually less than 5 ounces, meaning each can is typically just one or two servings, depending on the dish. If you do have leftovers, however, it’s important to store them properly.

“Once opened, I recommend transferring any leftovers to a sealed container and keeping them refrigerated, ideally submerged in their oil, and using them within a day or two,” Nierstedt says. Pu agrees that storing leftovers in their own oil in a small airtight container is important for maintaining quality. “The biggest mistake people make is letting the fish dry out in the fridge,” he says, and covering the fish in oil helps prevent exposure to air.

The Bottom Line

Tinned fish is popular for a reason: it is affordable, packed with healthy fats, convenient and incredibly versatile. Chefs recommend letting the fish shine by lightly dressing with flavors like fennel, citrus or soft herbs. Or you can treat cans of fish like you would charcuterie and make your own sea-cuterie, serving a variety of canned fish or seafood with spreads, crackers, herbs, bread and pickles. Experiment with the many different varieties and species, from smoked mackerel to pesto-packed mussels, in pasta dishes or simply spooned over toast. Store leftovers covered in oil in an airtight container to prevent exposure to oxygen.

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