15 Canned Vegetables I Highly Recommend
Today, I want to discuss the 15 canned vegetables I highly recommend. Lately, I’ve been trying to help my readers not only understand how vital stored food is to survive an emergency, but also how they can get started in their journey to be adequately prepared.
Canned food can be a critical component of food storage, particularly when it comes to having food you can store for an extended period. There are so many reasons that canned food can give you confidence that you are planning and adequately providing for your family’s safety and protection.
Canned foods come in many varieties and choices to keep all of us happy with content, flavor, texture, and health benefits. Let’s talk about canned vegetables and the 15 options I recommend you consider.
Note that when I provide information about ingredients in each product, I typically list only those with the highest concentration, rather than all ingredients. Please stock at least two can openers. Can Opener or #10 Can Opener
In case you missed these posts,
- 11 Canned Meat Ideas I Recommend
- 10 Awesome Facts About Canned Foods
- Canned Foods I Highly Recommend You Store
15 Canned Vegetables I Highly Recommend
1. Del Monte® Sliced New Potatoes
- Ingredients: Potatoes, water, sea salt, calcium chloride, and EDTA
How can I use Del Monte® Sliced New Potatoes?
I grew up with canned potatoes; I’m not sure of the brand, but we had them all the time. Here’s the deal: you can fry these and add them to soups or stews—no washing, peeling, or chopping. Of course, you can slice them to help stretch them in a recipe or two. I love fresh potatoes, but these work in a pinch.
2. Libby’s® Sliced Carrots
- Ingredients: carrots, water, salt, and calcium chloride
How can I use Libby’s® Sliced Carrots?
Canned carrots are a great addition to serve as a side dish or to add to a soup or stew at the last minute. They are already cooked, so they just need to be reheated. At an early age, my mom would tell us that if we wanted good vision, we should eat lots of carrots. Based on recent eye issues, I didn’t eat as much as I should have. LOL
3. DelMonte® Cut Green Beans
- Ingredients: green beans and water
How can I use DelMonte® Cut Green Beans?
I used to pressure can green beans, and my girls were raised on them. A lot of them. These are perfect to serve as a side dish or add to your favorite casserole, soup, or stew. When we lived in Northern Utah in a fun community called River Heights, we had a half-acre lot and the most extensive garden ever. We planted green beans, and the kids had a great time watching them grow and then harvesting them.
4. Green Giant® Steam Crisp White Shoepeg Corn
- Ingredients: white shoepeg corn, water, sugar, and salt
How can I use Green Giant® Steam Crisp White Shoepeg Corn?
I love corn, whether it’s on the cob (my favorite), frozen, or canned. It works in so many recipes or as a side dish. The bonus is that there are so many varieties of corn available in a can. I’m not sure, but I’ve never heard of shoepeg corn. With Green Giant canning them, they must be good!
5. DelMonte® Fire-Roasted Corn Blend
- Ingredients: corn (golden and fire-roasted golden), water, and onion
How can I use DelMonte® Fire-Roasted Corn Blend?
These are the perfect side dish; they have a bit of a smoky flavor, not too strong, just right. They work great in soups or stews as well.
6. DelMonte® Whole Kernel Corn/No Salt Added
- Ingredients: corn and water
How can I use DelMonte® Whole Kernel Corn/No Salt Added?
As I walked down the aisles, I noticed many vegetables in cans with zero salt! Squeal! These are perfect for people who need to watch their salt intake. This variety would make a perfect side dish and can also be added to any soup or stew.
7. Maria Brand® Artichoke Quarters
- Ingredients: quartered artichoke hearts, water, salt, and citric acid
How can I use Maria Brand® Artichoke Quarters?
I’m not an artichoke lover, but my family loves fresh artichokes. Well, these are perfect for my Spinach Artichoke Dip
8. DelMonte® Mixed Vegetables
- Ingredients: carrots, green beans, peas, corn, lima beans, water, sea salt, celery seed extract, and onion extract
How can I use DelMonte® Mixed Vegetables?
Here again, these make a perfect side dish, but I have added them to soups and stews as well. With the mixture, you get a great variety of flavor, texture, and nutrients. All the colors give it a unique presentation, too.
9. Popeye® Chopped Spinach
- Ingredients: spinach, water, and salt (note: manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts, so may contain peanuts)
How can I use Popeye® Chopped Spinach?
I have to be honest here, I have never bought spinach in a can, ever. I have purchased it in freeze-dried, frozen, and fresh forms. My mom used to cook spinach, and I couldn’t gag it down. I tried, but nope, it’s not for me. She put butter and lemon juice on it, and I still didn’t like it. Keep in mind that this precooked canned spinach has a definite difference in texture and flavor from that baby spinach salad you had this week.
10. DelMonte® Sweet Peas
- Ingredients: peas, water, sugar, and sea salt
How can I use DelMonte® Sweet Peas?
I confess, I’m not fond of canned peas except for use in my grandmother’s pea and cheese salad! But I will add these to a soup or a stew. So there you have it.
11. Princella® Sweet Potatoes/Cut Yams in Syrup
- Ingredients: sweet potatoes, water, and sugar (see peanut warning under #9 above)
How can I use Princella® Sweet Potatoes/Cut Yams in Syrup?
When I saw these at the grocery store, all I could think of was sweet potatoes with butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows on top. I had never considered buying them in a can to eat with a meal. I will now.
12. Libby’s® Peas & Carrots
- Ingredients: peas, water, carrots, sugar, and salt
How can I use Libby’s® Peas & Carrots?
I opened a can of these last night to go with some barbecued chicken and instant mashed potatoes. They were a perfect addition to the meal. I would also add these to a soup or stew.
13. Giorgio® Mushroom Pieces & Stems
- Ingredients: mushrooms, water, salt, and Disodium EDTA (to ratin color)
How can I use Giorgio® Mushroom Pieces & Stems?
Years ago, I would buy case lot sales of canned mushrooms. I used them for homemade pizza, soups, and stews. We tend to buy fresh now, but I’m thinking I will go back to buying them in cans. I love having these on my pantry shelves.
14. DelMonte® Crinkle Cut Pickled Beets
- Ingredients: beets, water, sugar, distilled vinegar, and sea salt
How can I use DelMonte® Crinkle Cut Pickled Beets?
One thing I have noticed about pickled beets is that you either love them or hate them. I love them! They are perfect on a fresh garden salad. I’ll eat a small bowl of them as well as a snack.
15. Green Giant® Asparagus Spears
- Ingredients: asparagus, water, and salt
How can I use Green Giant® Asparagus Spears?
This is another product I grew up on, canned asparagus. I love fresh asparagus, but I also enjoy canned asparagus. It has a different texture, but I love asparagus! I would add it to omelets or eat it as a side dish.
15 Canned Vegetables I Highly Recommend
Final Word
I hope you enjoyed my post on the 15 canned vegetables I recommend. Do you have some you like that I missed? It’s all about stocking up and being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda
Hey Linda! Great post! I have to admit that I have trouble eating canned whole kernel corn. I once found a worm floating on the top of the canned corn. I can eat corn on the cob and frozen, but just can’t seem to eat the canned corn. We have tried name brand and store brand canned veggies and can’t tell much difference in the taste. I admit I do season mine, but hubby doesn’t. He just heats and eats. It’s still good, but I like a bit of butter or bacon drippings in mine. It may be all in my head, but I think they taste better with some extra seasoning. I don’t use more than a tablespoon per can.
Hi Deborah, I could never eat canned corn again if I saw a worm in a can!! This is the best comment ever!! Funny, not funny. I love butter and bacon, everything tastes better with those two items!! LOL! Linda
Don’t let Matt or Harry, or even Ray, see Deborah’s post….. they would say she missed the extra protein!!!….LOL
Hi Chris, oh my gosh, you are so right!! LOL! That’s a good one! Linda
This is a good list. I buy most of these except for spinach, which I don’t like (unless it’s fresh from our garden) and the pickled beets. I make them from our garden beets. The potatoes are good drained and lightly dredged in either flour or cornstarch and then pan-fried. We will eat them if we’re short on time and they’re good!
Hi Paula, WHAT? I have never done the potatoes in flour or cornstarch!! Oh my gosh, this is a game-changer! Yummy! Thanks for the tip! Linda
I must have been reading your mind, because we just picked up 8 cans of the DelMonte whole kernel corn. I had ordered 20 cans, but I was limited. I do stock canned mushroom stems and pieces for our pasta sauce and whole button mushrooms for roasts. . When it come to carrots, I prefer frozen baby carrots, even to fresh, because as they thaw, they absorb the juice from the roast, making them twice as good. My next concern is popcorn, because we are hearing about shortages.
Hi Chris, I love reading this! YOU must have read my mind, I heard about the popcorn shortage and have tried for months to buy some from Honeyvillegrain. They are still sold out. So I caved and bought some from Amazon. I like what is called “Mushroom Popcorn”. I learned about it when I taught classes at HoneyvilleGrain. They are larger kernels and make the perfect caramel corn. Now, I want to buy the button mushrooms, great reminder!! Linda
Hi Judy, oh my gosh, this is so interesting, thank you for sharing. I get headaches alot. I love this! Linda
Hi Linda! We used to make quick potato salad with canned
new potatoes, just drain, cut them up and mix in chopped boiled eggs, mayo and dill relish–and maybe celery if we had it.
As to canned beets– Trader Joe’s has glass jars of pickled beets that are seasoned and wonderful! Try sometime, if you can.
Thanks for all you do to help all of us prepare!
Hi Jan, oh my gosh, this is a game-changer! Do you know when you just crave some potato salad???? I could make a small batch! I just went to a Trader Joes’s in Salt Lake City, oh my gosh I love that store. I bought some beef jerky, oh my gosh was it good! I will look for the pickled beets when I go next time! Yum! Thank you for your kind words, my friend! Linda
Hi Judy, I have never had Aunt Nellies anything, I will try if I see them. I do not use a recipe, (my Grandma taught me to cook) but you could use your favorite one and just treat the drained canned potatoes as if they were regular boiled ones.
Great list! We already stock all of these items for short-term use, followed by freeze-dried vegetables in quart bags and #10 cans. While some like spinach is not the greatest, as a retired executive chef, I look at the nutritional values of each item we stock. You can be creative and incorporate many of these into recipes. I use canned corn and black beans and add freeze-dried onions, garlic, and red/green peppers. Add vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dried herbs for a great cold salad. Keep up your great work, Linda!
Good morning,
You have a pretty complete list!.
The Popeye spinach i grew up eating, with anemia one of my issues,Mom fixed it every week or so along with some kind of liver to help me get and stay on the road to health. THe spinach she drained very well, (press out all water possible)and dumped in a skillet with about a tablespoon of bacon grease,, took the steel spatula and chopped it in small bits when the bacon fat was hot she would drop 2 or 3 eggs in with it to scramble/mix with it… and cook it down til almost dry… There are also Allen’s and Margret Holmes greens in several variety, they come already seasoned and are truly out of the can ready, for heat and eat…turnips , Mustard and mixed greens i have seen and used all.. I don’t buy them , now,because i secure my own from my yard, i secure plantain herb, sorell and wild lettuce,, and even poke every couple of years i will secure a dozen pints.. i finish them the way Mom did her spinach… when i open. adding a few bacon bits can help any of them along..
I do like the beets and use the canned ones to make my own pickled beets, .i am going to try to grow them again for my fall garden.. if i can find a place to stick them in. we prefer them and turnips raw.
The ones i did not see mentioned that i use a lot is: mushrooms, i get the ends and pieces . and we use them in spaghetti sauce..or to add to a pizza. ( i also buy fresh and dehydrate and powder them) . Mixed veggies come in several varieties and a common one here is called Veg all. It has celery,carrots and potatoes. and is a basic soup or casserole mix.
There are some mixes that have peppers- and we can not use them.. even fully cooked in spaghetti sauce.. There are some “roasted and peeled” varieties of whole red peppers we can use..( there is something in the peel, that roasting and peeling removes, an enzyme…, we react to , Hubs gets sick for a couple of days.
Some people like Pickled Okra , and pimento peppers,and baby cobb corn, (that is used in Asian specialty dishes)
Succotash, which is a small butter bean and corn mixture… I have a few of these to add variety to our diet.. and we do use them periodically.. I keep those on a totally separate shelf from the ones we use the most.. We have also seen and used the potato in a can in a diced variety, think the brand was Stokleys.. we do not care for Canned or instant varieties of potatoes, IF we wash them in a strainer, drain and dust with flour they are an acceptable alternative to fresh potatoes..in a pinch. ( fry in bacon grease- that makes everything better.)
Yes , if you bulk fry bacon, from 40 oz pack cut it across,in one inch lengths.. the grease when you have finished will be almost a pint.13-15 oz… i store it in sterilized 12 oz pickle jars.. the jar MUST be hot and dry . i sterilize in hot water… then while grease is reheating,i sit in a pan of hot water so the jar remains dry inside/ and pour in hot grease..REPEAT>>.in DRY jar.. lid it tightly and quickly and the jar will ping (seal.) have used some 4 years and counting. I reserve these for seasoning. once opened i put in door of refrigerator so i have in a visual for preparing meals…
Hi Linda , You got the meat covered, and the veggies, Have you also got one on seasonings.? I think i have got it covered but always get ideas ..
Hi Denise, I have the “canned fruits” going out on the 11th. I need to do one on seasonings!!!! That would be fun to add everyone’s ideas!! Great idea!!! Thank you! Linda
Hello all
I love to be on this site! I learn so so much from each of you! Thank you for that. I lurk mostly. I do have an issue with some of the veggie ingredients however. Again just my humble opinion here. There shouldn’t be any sugar in canned veggies. The added sugar adds calories and unnecessary to the canning process of the veggies. I believes it’s being added to make whatever veggie it is palatable for those disliking veggies. I have difficulty finding canned veggies at the store now with no sugar added. Who knew that once you’d look for low or no sodium now you have to look for sugar free veggies?? Off my soapbox now. Nice to meet all of you ( virtually). And thank you for all the amazing info I glean from a great site.
Carol
Hi Carol, I’m glad you like to lurk! It’s interesting that you would bring up the sugar in the cans. It must be for taste, I am guessing. I did learn something in the last Master Canner Preserver class I took. We were told you do not need to can fruit with sugar. It does not “preserve” it, it’s for flavor only. I have been canning for over 50 years and never really questioned the sugar. LOL! You learn something new every day! Like sugar in canned vegetables. Until I wrote this post I did not know that some companies put sugar in their vegetables. Linda
I had to laugh when I read this, because for DECADES I would disagree with the person writing the food column in our local paper. She insisted Strawberries could not be frozen without sugar, although we had been freezing them for years without it. I am amazed how many things people add extra sugar to. Five pounds of sugar in our home last more than 5 years.
Hi Chris, oh my gosh, this is the best comment ever. LOL! Sugar, sugar, sugar, it is not needed to freeze strawberries!! I use more sugar than you do, that’s for sure. But your way is healthier for sure. I’m really not sure how much sugar we use a year. I know how much we have stocked. It’s all good. Linda
Hi Linda: You helped me me fill out my canned items and when I get a chance to go to the store again I will fill it out some more. I don’t know if you like hash but Mary Kitchens has was on sale if you bought 2 cans you got a $1.00 off and my daughter likes that for breakfast. They also have King Oscar Salmon or Mackerel $1.50 off 2 cans. The cans are small but they are in the canned fish area. Since my husband loves Mackerel I pick them up when I make a order when Jack goes to Alb. One thing I like is when you order $75 you get 500 points on your card to use on Gas from Gas Stations that take them. I don’t know how many points he had on our card on Tuesday but he bought gas for our van and filled all his gas cans and it was about $150 and with the card points it was $99. I love Smiths.
Hi Jackie, oh my gosh, that is awesome!! Great buys!! I love Smith’s as well!!!
I too really enjoy this newsletter and your Sage advise!!! The only thing I would add is stewed tomato’s. I seem to use two or three cans every other week. I even like them as a side dish, but I Love with a capital L tomato’s!
Hi Hazel, oh yeah, I have a pantry packed with diced tomatoes! I forgot about the stewed tomatoes, I need to pick some up! Great reminder, Linda
Hi all , hope you are all doing well. We’re still hanging in here, not sure I said anything before but we lost our eldest(46) this past January. His brother, my Hubs and his children and DIL (17,15,5) are taking it day by day.
This is a great article. I use canned spinach, not only in spinach dip and to eat but I also add it to the minestrone soup I make as well as in omelets and frittatas. We use a lot of “shrooms”also so I buy (at Costco), a case of 12 6oz cans of sliced mushrooms pretty reasonably. I also have made a “copycat” recipe from Bob Evans using canned spinach. They used to do a dish that was cooked/boiled chicken, tomatoes and spinach in spaghetti noodles dressed only in a bit of good olive oil. It was so good, very light despite being so much pasta.
I’d like to add to your list, other canned beans IE Pinto, kidney etc. They help in stretching a meal when you need to put together something quick and don’t have time to make dry beans.
Denise I concur, can just hear them about the worm. ROFL. My dad would have said the same thing.
Hi Kathy, oh I’m so sorry you lost your eldest son, that is heartbreaking. His wife and the kids, oh my gosh this is so sad. I will have to look for those mushrooms at Costco. WAIT, I never thought about adding the canned spinach to soups!!! Love this! I need to do a post on beans, great reminder. Your recipe sounds good, I’m going to make that. Love it! Linda
Thank you Linda, It’s been tough but we are taking it day by day.
Yes I use a can, well drained of course in the soup. I’ve also been known to toss it in with the chili and in my spaghetti sauce if there was any left from a previous meal. (LOL). The boys thought it was the parsley I would add .
Hi Kathy, isn’t it wonderful how we can add a few extra vegetables to soups or stews? I love it! Linda
Yup, makes it easier when ya need to make a meal on the fly.
Hi Kathy, oh my gosh, I haven’t heard that awesome phrase in years! “Meal on the fly”, oh how I love that one! So true, thank you! Linda
Hadn’t ever seen the Popeye spinach before, that’s a hoot. I grew up with the Popeye cartoons, so thanks!
Just wanted to share that I’m one of the folks that has issues with too much whole kernel corn, but I’ve found that niblets are just fine. So if folks are prepping for people with corn issues, maybe try a can or two of niblets to see if that works better. Then you know if you can stock that or just have other things on hand.
As always, I appreciate you keeping the articles coming and trying to educate folks on how to keep their family safe if things go sideways….
Hi DMWalsh, thank you for your kind words. I believe things will go sideways, when? No one knows. I thought that Popeye spinach was funny as well! Thank you for the tip o Niblets corn, great idea! I think reminders help al of us, even me. Life is good! Linda
This hit home for me. Because I have diverticulitis I can’t have any corn. Not even popcorn. When you add to that anything with seeds or nuts, it has become very limiting. Five days in the hospital has left me afraid of anything that isn’t mush.
Hi Chris, oh I have heard diverticulitis is very painful! My dad had it a few times. Of course that was 40 years ago or so. But I will never forget how painful it was for him. It’s good that you know what you can and cannot eat to stay away from it if that’s possible. Linda
Linda,
If i ever found a worm in a can of veggies I’d consider it extra protein. Jane, however, would never buy that brand again.
As a rule I prefer Green Giant canned veggies over other brands–and greatly prefer Bruce’s Yams over Princella, and Bush’s beans over any others. Last I knew, Green Giant contracts with farmer’s gave them the rights to first pickings. But those preferences are just a matter of personal taste.
I love the long term stability of canned vegetables, fruits, soups and meats, and consider them a vital part of being prepared for emergencies.
I harvested another cantaloupe and a Hopi Pale Grey Squash yesterday. Picking more beans today. I’m baking a Zappolo de Tronco squash with butter and brown sugar as a side dish for tonights dinner (ham steak and the above mentioned squash). Yum!
HI Ray, oh my gosh, I’m with Jane if I saw a worm in a can I wouldn’t buy that brand again either! LOL! I am fussy about brands as well. I hear people say store brands are the same, I have opened cans of different brands side by side and most are not the same at all! Especially soups, nope I stick to name brands. Your garden, oh my gosh, you are so blessed to have an abundant garden! Dinner every night with food from YOUR garden, life is good! Linda
I read recently that Del Monte foods have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. They are trying to find a buyer. The reason for “poor sales” is that people don’t think canned vegetables and fruits have much nutritional value. Very sad! I do like their corn and green beans and most fruits.
Hi Paula, that is really sad to hear. Not everyone can afford fresh fruits and vegetables. People can afford what their budget allows. Sometimes organic food is not in the budget. I know, I will hear people say you will pay for doctor bills later from eating the pesticide foods. But I have also seen organic food recalls. So life is not perfect, we can only do what we can do. And trust me, I have canned fruits and vegetables on my shelf and we eat them. It makes me sad they need to file a chapter 11 BK. Linda
Thanks, Linda for this post.
The other day, I purchased a store brand of canned corn – small can because it is just me!! Even that was more than one serving for me. BUT, I found, not a worm but 3 pieces of corn husk in my little can!! Not buying store brand again!!
I am with Hazel on the stewed tomatoes!! Actually, all tomato products!! I can take those canned tomato products and make so many things out of them: pasta sauce, chili sauce, etc. This was one of those foods that seemed, during the pandemic, to be well stocked – pasta sauce not so much!!
HI Leanne, it’s good that you know how to cook from scratch. It makes all the difference in preparing meals. That’s a bummer you found corn husk in the store brand of canned corn. I agree on the stewed tomatoes. Any tomato products, paste, diced tomatoes, etc. are critical to our food storage. I could eat spaghetti every night! LOL! Linda
I always stock cans of mixed beans (often labelled bean medley) for bean salad, also good for other dishes. I add canned cut wax beans and green beans along with fresh celery, green onions and whatever, though it can end up being a lot of salad for one person to eat before it goes bad. I also found a few variations on canned corn, one had kidney beans and bell peppers mixed in. Creamed corn is handy for a quick corn chowder with canned potatoes and some bacon. Definitely like to have cans of tomatoes on hand, some of each type (diced, crushed, whole). Some brands of canned vegetables are definitely better than others, sometimes not so much for taste but for texture. Mushy green beans are not nice in bean salad.
HI Alice, oh you are so right mushy green beans are not good!! I never thought about making a corn chowder with creamed corn, great tip! I love that! I love the idea of taking different beans and adding chopped celery, onion or green onions and bell prppers to make a quick salad. YUMMY! Linda
If you are a member of Azure Standard, you can buy cases of their canned green beans and super-sweet corn that are ORGANIC and without dangerous can-liners. We love their canned cut green beans so much, when in a hurry, we just eat them straight out of the can! I have never eaten a canned green bean as tastey as what Azure Standard produces!!
Hi Jess, I know a lot of people who buy from Azure Standard. I will have to try their green beans, thanks for the tip! Linda
GREAT article. Canned vegetables have such a place in our pantry.
From my days of sailboat cruising – It was so easy to open a couple of cans of vegetables (veg-all type was also good), a couple of cans of canned, rinsed beans, cut up an onion, some italian seasoning mix, a drizzle of oil/vinegar..and whatever you want…and you have a quick, nourishing salad or meal.
When there is no refrigeration, this is perfect. Or any time!
Thanks for all you do and making us “think!”
Hi CAddison, thank you for the “quick nourishing salad” idea! I love this! I felt it important to talk about canned goods because not everyone has access to fresh fruits and vegetables and may not be able to garden. Canned fruits and vegetables taste great. We all grew up on them or at least I did. Linda