5 Canned Green Bean Brands Ranked From Worst To Best

From underrated store-bought soups to the best tinned meats, canned foods have a place in nearly every American home’s pantry — I know they certainly do in mine. They offer convenience and affordability that makes my busiest nights a lot easier. Unfortunately, not every canned food is worth the purchase. In my home, we keep canned green beans well stocked because it’s a quick-cooking vegetable that everyone will actually eat. Over the years, I’ve generally stuck to the same two or three brands, but I’ve always wanted to branch out and explore other options.

Luckily, I got the chance to do just that by comparing 12 canned green bean brands. Then, I ranked them from worst to best so you can skip the taste trials and grab the best options available on your local grocery store’s shelves. I relied on my 15 years experience in the food industry, 10 years experience farming (including growing fresh produce), and a lifetime of eating copious amounts of green beans to judge the taste, smell, coloring, and appearance of each brand. I also considered price when making my assessments. You can find a full explanation of my methodology at the end of this article. Let’s get into it.

1.Hanover Cut Green Beans

The Hanover Cut Green Beans were only available in a bulk-sized can, even though I tried the various grocery stores in my area to find a smaller one, including Walmart, Target, Shoprite, and Acme, as well as Amazon. That’s a little inconvenient since my family of four doesn’t require such a large helping of green beans, but if they were good, I’d be willing to look past that. Unfortunately, these were the worst cut green beans from all 12 brands I tried.

Hanover’s green beans had a strange plasticky texture that made a squeaking noise when I tried to eat them, which I found really off-putting. The taste profile was watery and bland, even after adding a little salt, and there were notes of something waxy that definitely didn’t improve things. It’s possible that heavy seasoning and lots of butter (or maybe a marinade) might make these palpable, but overall, I can’t recommend them. Plus, the pricing was comparatively expensive, albeit not bad for the bulk sizing. The one positive thing I can say is that the coloring was a vibrant, healthy green that I found visually appealing

2. Great Value Cut Green Beans

From the moment I opened the can of Great Value Cut Green Beans, I noticed a distinctly tinny smell. This is an issue with some canned foods that really puts me off eating them from the get-go, but I pushed on so I could give them a fair taste test. Unfortunately, the bad start foreshadowed the negative experience I received.

The initial texture of the green beans wasn’t bad, but they began falling apart during cooking and became a little mushy. No fresh, earthy green bean taste came through when I tasted them, which was disappointing. Instead, there was a distinctly chemically artificial taste more reminiscent of plastic than vegetables. This chemical taste is something that permeates much of Great Value’s product offerings, including some of the worst fruit snacks. Skip these cut greens in favor of name brand options if you’re shopping at Walmart — trust me, your taste buds will thank you.

3. Signature Select Cut Green Beans

These cut green beans from Signature Select were easily available to me at one of my local grocery stores. But, my first impression wasn’t a great one because when I opened the can, I was met with an odd, faintly plasticky smell. Thinking it might have been the can, I removed the green beans and smelled them again, but the faint, unpleasant scent still lingered. Visuals and smell are important to me when choosing something to eat, so this put me off.

The taste wasn’t the most awful I’ve ever had, but I can’t really recommend it, either. The green beans were very bland, with no definitive taste on their own. A sprinkle of salt didn’t help bring the flavor forward, either, which was disappointing. The texture was waxy and a little mushy, but not so much that it made me gag. Would I eat them again? If they were served to me. Would I seek them out for purchase purposefully? Absolutely not.

4. Amazon Fresh Canned Cut Green Beans

This is the second Amazon Fresh food item I’ve tried and I’m really just not impressed with the brand overall so far. While I know it’s not exactly the brand’s fault, this can of green beans came pretty banged up — and the instant mashed potatoes I ordered before did, too. This is worth noting because you’d have to have these shipped to your home.

The shipping issue aside, these cut green beans did have a nice dark green coloring, but were kind of soggy with a waxy texture. Admittedly, the first few bites had a nice fresh taste to them, but most of the dish tasted watery with no real flavor to speak of. I added a little extra salt after my initial taste test, which helped mildly but not enough for me to call these “good.”

On a positive note, the price was among the lowest on this list at just under a dollar. However, even at this low price, I can’t recommend these. If you’re on a tight budget, you’d likely be better off purchasing your local retailer’s store brand instead — plus, then there’s no shipping fees or wait times.

5. Green Valley Organics Cut Green Beans

These cut green beans were my first experience with the Green Valley Organics brand, and I’m not totally sure how to feel. These weren’t bad, but they also weren’t necessarily good, either. The green beans were a little waxy and oddly chewy, with a very bland flavor — almost like it was the ghost of a green bean instead of the real deal. That being said, it wasn’t terrible and there was no bad aftertaste. I added a little salt and a pat of butter after my initial taste test, and this did help bring the flavor forward just enough for me to finish my serving.

Overall, I would probably eat these again if they were conveniently available because they weren’t awful, but I wouldn’t purposefully seek them out. Plus, I had to order these online, so I can’t say they were worth the added inconvenience of waiting a few days.