Heinz Baked Beans No Added Sugar | Chewsday Review
Let's spill the beans on this 'no added sugar' version of a pantry classic.
- Tomato sauce (51%) [tomatoes (28%), water, maize thickener (1422), salt, food acids (260, 330), flavours, sweetener (steviol glycosides)], navy beans (49%).
- No common allergens.
- May contain: soy.
- Sugar is low and well within guidelines at 1.3g per 100g. True to their name, these beans have no added sugar, but instead use steviol glycosides as a sweetener in the sauce. For comparison, the sugar content of regular Heinz Beanz in Tomato Sauce is 4.5g per 100g, which still meets our target of less than 15g of sugar per 100g. Sweeteners and other food additives are tightly regulated in Australia, but we don’t have a lot of evidence for their use in children. While products containing sweeteners aren’t our standard recommendation, the choice comes down to individual preference, so choose what feels right for your family.
- At 330mg per 100g, sodium is within guidelines. This sits mid-range compared to other baked beans in tomato sauce on the market (227mg to 450 mg per 100g). SPC Baked Beans Rich Tomato Salt Reduced were the lowest sodium baked beans we could find (227mg per 100g), closely followed by Heinz Beanz Salt Reduced (245mg per 100g).
- Thanks to almost half the product being made from navy beans (also called haricot beans), these baked beans provide a whopping 6.2g of fibre per serve which is about a third of a young child’s recommended daily fibre target.
- The serving size listed on the tin for these beans is 150g, with other brands ranging from 130g to 220g. This means that if you eat the amount outlined by the manufacturer (which you absolutely don’t have to!), the total amount of salt can add up quickly. This is important to consider for babies and younger toddlers whose bodies can’t process large amounts of sodium, but this can be balanced by trying to avoid offering other high salt foods that day.
- “Naturally high in dietary fibre, low in fat and a source of protein”. Tick, tick, tick – all thanks to the beans, which MVPs here.
- “Made with no added sugar”. True, but the sugar has been swapped for a sweetener to maintain the flavour.
- “Full of beanz…bursting with flavour”. Yep, around half of the product being made from beans is pretty standard for baked beans.
- These baked beans meet our criteria for sugar, sodium and fibre, but they wouldn’t be my first choice due to the use of a sweetener.
- SPC Baked Beans Rich Tomato Salt Reduced or Heinz Salt Reduced Beanz have a lower sodium content. They do have added sugar, but the total sugar content is well within guidelines so doesn’t concern me.
- Baked beans are a convenient and nutritious way to offer legumes, so you can confidently choose the brand and product your family enjoys.
- For more on choosing tinned beans, as well as over 15 other product categories, check out my product guides on Baby and Toddler Mealtimes.
The composition of food products changes regularly. The nutritional values of the products in this Chewsday Review were correct at the time of publishing.
