What is the best brand of tuna?

When it comes to canned and packaged fish, food experts and chefs consistently rank Tonnino, Wild Planet , and Ortiz as the best tuna brands available. Your ideal choice depends on whether you prefer standard water-packed tuna for a casual tuna salad or premium, olive oil-marinated fillets for an elevated dish.[1][2]

Here are the top-rated tuna products based on expert taste tests and sustainability reviews:

• Best Overall : Widely selected by chefs and food critics from platforms like Serious Eats for its exceptionally tender texture and beautifully seasoned olive oil flavor.

• Standout Feature : Premium yellowfin fillets hand-packed in glass jars or cans, ensuring high quality and consistent, clean presentation.

• Best Premium/Gourmet : A staple Spanish brand highly recommended for charcuterie boards, salads, or eating straight out of the tin.

• Standout Feature : Flaky, moist Bonito del Norte (white tuna) that offers a rich, savory, and luxurious mouthfeel.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Are you planning to make something specific, like a classic tuna salad , a tuna melt , or an elevated pasta dish ? I can recommend the best liquid pairing (water vs. oil) and tuna variety for your recipe.

If you mean canned tuna, there isn’t one universal winner—it depends on what you care about:

• Best all-around: Wild Planet — consistently praised for firm, flaky texture and strong flavor, with pole-and-line/troll-caught options.
• Best for low mercury: Safe Catch — particularly notable for testing individual fish for mercury.
• Best premium/gourmet: Ortiz — excellent bonito/albacore packed in olive oil, especially for eating straight from the can.
• Best value in olive oil: Genova — rich, tender texture and generally more affordable than premium European brands.
• Best budget everyday tuna: Wild Planet Skipjack is a particularly good choice if you want a meaty, less fishy tuna without paying premium prices.

If I were buying one can for a tuna sandwich: I'd reach for Wild Planet Skipjack. For eating on crackers, salads, or straight from the can, I'd spend more on Ortiz in olive oil.

• Wild Planet Albacore Tuna - $24.00 (Wild Planet Foods)
• Wild Planet Skipjack Tuna - $50.84 (Martexplore.com)
• Safe Catch Elite Pure Tuna - $29.95 (Walmart - J & J)
• Ortiz White Tuna in Olive Oil - $26.30 (DeMedici)

The best overall tuna brand depends on whether you prefer your fish packed in water or olive oil , and how much you value sustainability and mercury safety . Across major industry taste tests and expert consensus, a few standout brands consistently dominate the market:

🏆 Top Picks by Category

💡 Quick Tips for Buying Tuna

• Albacore vs. Skipjack/Yellowfin: Albacore (often labeled "Solid White") has a mild, meaty, and firm profile. Skipjack and Yellowfin (labeled "Light Tuna") have a softer texture and a slightly richer, more traditional "fish" flavor.
• Oil vs. Water: Choose oil-packed if you plan to eat the tuna straight or use it in dishes where the fish is the star (like a Salad Niçoise). Choose water-packed if you're mixing it with lots of mayonnaise for a traditional tuna salad or melt.

What are you planning to make with the tuna (e.g., tuna salad, pasta, or eating it plain )? I can give you a tailored recommendation based on your recipe!

Wild Planet is my best overall pick for canned tuna—especially its Albacore. It consistently scores well for flavor, texture, and sustainable fishing practices.

• 🥇 Best overall: Wild Planet Albacore
• 🥗 Best in olive oil: Genova Yellowfin
• 💰 Best value: Genova
• 🐟 Best for low mercury: Safe Catch Elite, which tests every tuna for mercury.
• 🇪🇸 Best premium/gourmet: Ortiz Bonito del Norte in olive oil.

If you tell me taste, health/mercury, or value is your priority, I can give you one specific can to buy.

The best overall canned tuna brand is Wild Planet , highly praised by culinary experts and dietitians alike for its firm, meaty texture, mild flavor, and strict commitment to 100% sustainable pole-and-line fishing. [1][2][3]

Because the "best" tuna depends on your budget and how you plan to eat it, major food publications like NYT Wirecutter, Epicurious , and Serious Eats generally break down the top choices into specific categories:

Tips for Picking Your Perfect Tin:

• Oil vs. Water: Choose oil-packed if you want to eat the tuna straight, over a salad, or tossed in pasta, as it retains much more moisture and flavor. Choose water-packed if you are watching calories or plan to heavily mix it with your own mayonnaise or dressings.
• Skipjack vs. Albacore: Skipjack (often labeled "light tuna") has a bolder fish flavor and is significantly lower in mercury. Albacore ("white tuna") is milder, firmer, and chunkier, but contains higher average mercury levels. [1][2]

To help narrow down a recommendation, what are you planning to make with the tuna ? Let me know if you also prefer a specific price point or have any dietary preferences (like oil vs. water-packed).

If you mean canned tuna, the “best” brand depends on whether you care most about flavor, sustainability, price, or everyday use. These are among the top choices:

Best overall (quality + taste)

• Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil — excellent texture, large flakes, and a rich flavor; often rated among the best premium canned tunas.
• Ortiz Bonito del Norte — a classic Spanish premium tuna with very tender flakes; especially good eaten straight from the tin.

Best for sustainability

• Wild Planet — known for pole-and-line caught tuna and strong sourcing transparency; it has performed very well in taste tests too.

Best everyday grocery-store choice

• Genova Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil — a good balance of price, flavor, and texture; great for salads and sandwiches.
• StarKist Solid White Albacore — widely available and mild, making it good for classic tuna salad.

Best budget pick

• Bumble Bee — reliable and easy to find; some premium lines (like Prime Tonno) score well for flavor.

My quick picks:

• For eating straight from the can: Ortiz or Tonnino
• For tuna salad sandwiches: Wild Planet or StarKist Albacore
• For pasta/salads: Genova or Tonnino in olive oil
• For best value: Bumble Bee or Wild Planet depending on availability

A small tip: olive-oil-packed tuna usually tastes better because it stays more tender and flavorful; water-packed is leaner and better if you’re mixing it heavily with mayonnaise or other ingredients.

If you mean fresh tuna steaks rather than canned tuna, the ranking is different.

If you mean canned tuna, my overall pick is Wild Planet.

• Wild Planet Albacore Wild Caught Tuna - $4.47 (Walmart)

• Best overall: Wild Planet — excellent flavor and firm, flaky texture, plus strong sustainability practices. Epicurious rated it its top canned tuna, and current testing/reviews continue to rate several Wild Planet products highly.

• Best for lowest mercury: Safe Catch — every tuna is tested for mercury, making it a particularly good choice if that is your priority.

• Best tasting/premium: Genova Yellowfin in olive oil — rich, flavorful, and especially good straight from the can or in salads. Recent taste tests have put Genova at or near the top.

• Best budget option: Bumble Bee — not as premium, but inexpensive and widely available.

My personal ranking: 1. Wild Planet → 2. Safe Catch → 3. Genova → 4. Bumble Bee → 5. StarKist

One important distinction: skipjack/"light" tuna generally has less mercury than albacore/"white" tuna, so if you're eating tuna frequently, that's worth considering.

If you tell me whether you care most about taste, health/mercury, price, or protein, I can give you the one specific can I'd buy.

The best overall canned tuna brand is Wild Planet . It consistently ranks at the top of culinary taste tests and environmental leaderboards because of its firm, meaty texture and 100% pole-and-line sustainable fishing practices. [1][2][3][4]

Because "the best" depends entirely on your recipe, budget, and health priorities, top-rated brands are organized below by category:

The Best Tuna Brands by Category

💡 Quick Shopping Tips

• Water-packed vs. Oil-packed: Choose water-packed if you are watching calories or making a traditional mayo-heavy tuna salad. Choose olive oil-packed if you want richer flavor to toss into pastas, Mediterranean salads, or to eat on crackers.[1][2]
• Look for Sustainability Labels: To ensure your fish was caught ethically without harmful open-ocean nets, look for a "Pole and Line Caught" label or the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue fish logo.[1]

What kind of dish are you planning to make with the tuna (e.g., tuna salad, pasta , or eating it plain ), and do you prefer oil-packed or water-packed fish? I can point you to the absolute best option for your recipe.

The best canned tuna brands are Wild Planet and Genova , according to recent expert taste tests and sustainability evaluations. Wild Planet takes top honors for its meaty, fresh, and exceptionally sustainable water-packed options, while Genova is widely considered the best choice for rich, high-quality tuna packed in olive oil.

Top Premium & Sustainable Brands

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• Best Overall : Consistently ranked #1 by testers for its firm, meaty texture and clean, fresh-ocean flavor without any added fillers.
• Sustainability : 100% pole-and-line caught, earning the highest environmental marks. [1][2]

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• Best Oil-Packed : A favorite among food editors for its rich, savory Mediterranean flavor and luxurious texture.
• Standout Feature : Hand-filleted wild-caught yellowfin that is perfect right out of the can.

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• Best for Health Focus : Individually tests every single fish to ensure the lowest mercury levels on the market.
• Standout Feature : Slow-cooked in its own natural juices to lock in nutrients and protein. [1][2]

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• Best Gourmet Splurge : Known for thick, tender, hand-packed whole fillets served in premium glass jars.
• Standout Feature : Incredibly rich, non-dry texture highly praised by culinary professionals.

Best Everyday Value Brands

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• Best Store Brand : Costco’s option beats out most commercial brands with massive, solid, marshmallow-white chunks.
• Standout Feature : Extremely clean, mild, and briny flavor ideal for massive batches of tuna salad.

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• Best Budget Pick : Target's house brand delivers surprisingly firm chunks at a fraction of the cost of premium brands.
• Standout Feature : Mild, traditional flavor profile that isn't overly metallic or fishy.

What Real Tasters Think

Expert reviewers and community members frequently highlight the vast difference between commercial brands and premium tins:

“Wild Planet wins with an SR Score of 88 for firm, meaty, sustainably caught tuna that is not overly fishy. Genova (87) is the runner-up for rich tuna packed in olive oil.”

To help narrow down the list, let me know:

• Are you planning to make tuna salad , eat it straight out of the tin , or cook it into a pasta/casserole?
• Do you prefer your tuna packed in water or olive oil?
• Is mercury testing or sustainability your top priority?

If you mean canned tuna, my overall pick is Wild Planet. It consistently scores well for taste, texture, sustainability, and simple ingredients. Recent taste tests have also ranked its skipjack among the best.

• Wild Planet Skipjack Wild Tuna No Salt Added - $17.20 (Wild Planet Foods)

My picks

• 🏆 Best overall: Wild Planet Skipjack — firm, meaty texture and good flavor; pole-and-line caught.
• 🥇 Best for lowest mercury: Safe Catch Elite — Safe Catch says it tests every individual tuna for mercury, with Elite limited to 0.1 ppm.
• 🍝 Best premium/gourmet: Tonnino — especially its yellowfin fillets in olive oil; chefs praise its tender, meaty texture.
• 💰 Best budget option: Genova — particularly its yellowfin in olive oil; recent chefs' testing favored it for tuna salad.

If you're buying tuna for health/protein, tuna salad, or just eating straight from the can, tell me which one and I'll give you the exact can I'd buy.