Best cheap supermarket food and drink: the own-labels that beat the big brands

With grocery prices continuing to rise, swapping to cheaper supermarket own-label options can be an effective way to cut your food bill.

Switching from your beloved brand favourites might seem like a wrench, but our taste tests have uncovered plenty of brilliant supermarket own-label alternatives worth trying.

Ditching the brands can add up to some surprisingly big savings. Some of our top own-label picks are a fraction of the price of branded options, and could save you hundreds of pounds a year if you're a regular purchaser.

Discover the best budget picks from a range of supermarkets including Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco below.

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Branded vs own-brand food 

These are the cheaper own-brands to swap in for the big names. 

We've featured the products that matched or beat branded options for taste in our tests, while also being cheaper than average. Percent scores indicate their overall taste test score vs rival products.

Best cheap beef burgers

• Brand score: Gourmet Burger Kitchen, 65% - £4.75 for 2 burgers (£1.39 per 100g)
• Our value pick: Aldi Specially Selected Ultimate Burger, 78%  - £2.89 for 2 burgers (85p per 100g). Available from Aldi.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen may be a household name, but when it comes to home cooking our panel preferred Aldi's premium patties.

Aldi's Ultimate Burger bested GBK in almost every category, including appearance, thickness, and texture.

They're much cheaper too - at around two-thirds of the price of the branded option (per 100g). 

See the full results from our beef burgers taste test.

Best cheap pork sausages

• Brand score: Heck 6 97% Pork Sausages, 54% - £3.09 for 400g (78p per 100g) 
• Our value picks: Lidl Deluxe Pork Sausages, 73% - £2.49 for 400g (62p per 100g). Available from Lidl.
• Aldi Specially Selected Pork Sausages, 73% - £2.49 for 400g. Available from Aldi.

Proving you don't have to pay more for a premium porky punch, Lidl and Aldi's budget bangers came head and shoulders above the branded options in our taste test.

Both excelled in terms of meaty flavour and moist texture, whereas Heck's disappointing sausages came last overall.

See the full results from our pork sausages taste test.

Best cheap baked beans

• Brand score: Heinz baked beans, 71% - £1.40 per 415g tin (34p per 100g)
• Our value pick: Asda Baked Beans, 77% - 50p per 410g tin (12p per 100g). Available from Asda.

Heinz baked beans are a store cupboard staple for many, but our taste test results show that opting for a cheaper own label could get you a tastier tin.

The big brand was beaten by several budget beans, with Asda's tin topping the table. Not only were they the best-rated beans for flavour - they're also some of the cheapest on test. 

At only 50p a tin, savings can quickly stack up - if you buy two tins a week, switching from Heinz to Asda could save you nearly £100 a year. 

See the full results from our baked beans taste test.

Best cheap tomato soup

• Brand score: Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, 69% - £1.70 per 400g tin (43p per 100g)
• Our value pick: Sainsbury’s Cream of Tomato Soup, 81% - 57p per 400g tin (14p per 100g). Available from Sainsbury's.

If you're a Heinz loyalist, swapping your soup could prove worthwhile.

Sainsbury's tomato soup was crowned the winning tin in our taste test, with tasters rating the flavour, texture, appearance and aroma better than Heinz, despite costing a third of the price per 100g. 

It scored an impressive 81% overall, vs Heinz's 69%. If you get through two tins a week, ditching Heinz for Sainsbury's could save you more than £100 a year.

Sainsbury's wasn't the only standout though. We uncovered plenty of other soup-erior tins, so it's worth trying the own-label wherever you shop.

See the full results from our tomato soup taste test.

Check out our cost of living hub for more free money-saving advice including how to save on broadband, mobile and energy bills.

Best cheap pasta sauce

• Brand score: Jamie Oliver Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce, 66% - £2.75 per 400g jar (69p per 100ml)
• Our value pick: Tesco Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce, 70% - 85p per 500g jar (17p per 100g). Available from Tesco.

Ready-made pasta sauce can be handy for quick and easy weeknight dinners, but our taste test showed that paying a premium won't necessarily get you a prime jar. 

Jamie Oliver's tomato and chilli pasta sauce, one of the most expensive we tested, was beaten on flavour by Tesco's cheap 85p jar, which costs a quarter of the price per 100g. 

Tesco's jar is 100g bigger too, so you'll also get more for your money - perfect if you're feeding a crowd.

See the full results from our pasta sauce taste test.

Best cheap frozen pepperoni pizza

• Brand score: Chicago Town Tiger Crust Double Pepperoni Pizza, 71% - £3 per 320g pizza (94p per 100g)
• Our value pick: Aldi Carlos Thin Crust Stonebaked Double Pepperoni Pizza, 71% - £1.25 per 330g pizza (38p per 100g). Available from Aldi.

If you're looking for a way to get your Friday night pizza fix for less, Aldi's £1.25 double pepperoni pizza is our best-value pick.

There's a solid £1.75 saving per pizza compared to Chicago Town (that's more than £90 a year if you buy one a week). It contains less salt, calories and fat and, according to our consumer panel, tastes just as good - so you won't have to compromise on that crispy base or all-important cheesy topping.

While not quite as cheap as Aldi's offering, budget pizzas from Asda and Tesco beat Chicago Town on taste and are also excellent options.

See the full results from our frozen pepperoni pizza taste test.

Best cheap strawberry jam

• Brand score: Bonne Maman Strawberry Conserve, 75% - £2.95 per 370g jar (80p per 100g)
• Our value pick: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Strawberry Conserve, 76% - £2 per 340g jar (59p per 100g). Available from Sainsbury's.

Sainsbury's £2 strawberry conserve was one of the top-rated jams in our taste test, scoring high marks for its delicious fruity flavour and good consistency.

Our tasters thought it was on par with Bonne Maman's pricier jar, showing that upgrading to a brand doesn't necessarily get you a tastier jam. 

Most other supermarket jams scored reasonably well, so if you're looking for ways to cut costs at breakfast time, it's worth trying the own-label version at your local supermarket. 

Watch out for cheaper jam types that contain less fruit though. See our full taste test for the lowdown on how conserves, jellys and preserves differ.

See the full results from our strawberry jam taste test.

Best cheap decaf instant coffee

• Brand score: Nescafé Decaf Instant Coffee, 66% - £4.50 per 200g jar (£2.25 per 100g)
• Our value pick: Sainsbury's Rich Roast Decaffeinated Instant coffee, 69% - £2.25 per 200g jar (£1.13 per 100g)

Big brand Nescafé is more expensive than most supermarket own label decaf coffees, but our results showed tasters couldn't really tell the difference.

Our panel thought Sainsbury's coffee, which is one of the cheapest we tested and costs half the price, tasted just as good, and it scored better overall than Nescafé.

Several other supermarket coffees also scored well, so check the full results for the best options local to you.

See the full results from our decaf coffee taste test.

How to choose the best instant coffee - we explain how to choose between varieties, regions and styles

When it's worth paying more for branded food and drink

There are some cases where the big brand holds its own against cheaper rivals. For example, Quorn was our top-rated vegetarian chicken substitute, while Flora and I Can't Believe it's Not Butter were the overall favourites in our dairy-free spread taste test.

It's always worth checking out our full results though, because there's usually a more affordable own-label not far behind, even if a brand takes the top spot. 

Here are some more great value picks that don't quite match up to the winning brand, but still offer excellent value for money:

• Best cheap tomato ketchup: Aldi Bramwells Tomato Ketchup, 72% - 12p per 100g. Available from Aldi. Decent and cheap. Co-op's version isn't quite as cheap as Aldi, but is still much cheaper than Heinz and ties with it for taste. See our full tomato ketchup taste test results. 
• Best cheap frozen battered fish: Tesco Battered Haddock Fillets, 74% - 90p per 100g. Available from Tesco. See our full frozen battered fish taste test results.
• Best cheap ground coffee: Lidl Italian Ground Coffee, 67% - 79p per 100g. Available from Lidl (in store only). See our full ground coffee taste test results.

For more money-saving swaps, see the full round-up of our best-rated food and drink.

*Based on typical price, excluding special offers. Prices correct as of 10 May 2023.