The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
Now that it's December, it's officially cold in most parts of Canada and what better way to warm up than with a hot bowl of chili?
If you're craving the warm comfort food but don't want to make it yourself from scratch, I recently tried out five different tinned chilis from a grocery store in Canada to see which brand reigns supreme. I've only ever had homemade chili before, and my mom and I both make it quite spicy, so for this test opted to get spicy chilis as I love sriracha, hot sauces and all things pepper-related.
I picked up Tim Hortons Spicy Chili, Campbell's Chunky Chili Hot And Spicy, Heinz Beans Chili Style, Amy's Organic Chili Spicy with Tofu and Stagg's Chili Dynamite Hot from a Metro in the west end of Toronto, and unlike some of the other taste tests I've done, I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty they all turned out to be.
For this comparison, I'll be ranking each chili out of five in terms of how much I enjoyed it and a Canadian brand ended up getting a perfect score as well as a permanent spot in my pantry.
Amy's Organic Chili Spicy with Tofu
Sarah holding a tin of Amy's Organic Chili Spicy with Tofu that costs $7.49 for 398 mL from Metro.
In fifth place for this ranking, I'm giving it to Amy's Organic Chili Spicy with Tofu. I really wanted this chili to rate higher since I'm trying to incorporate more plant-based protein into my meals, but this dish falls solidly into the "if it's there, I'll eat it" territory.
It had a nice smokey flavour but almost no heat in terms of spice which I found surprising given that it claims to be spicy. I checked the ingredients out and it does have jalapeno in it, but perhaps it needs something stronger like a habanero or Thai chili to give it a kick.
This chili is nice and hearty but it lacks the depth of flavour I'm used to, and while I'm not mad at the taste, it's by far the most expensive one I tried and therefore it'd be the one I'm least likely to pick up.
Rating: 3/5
Price: $7.49 for 398 mL
Price per 100 grams: $1.88
Stagg Chili Dynamite Hot
Sarah holding a tin of Stagg Chili Dynamite Hot that costs $3.99 for 425 grams from Metro.
Again, I enjoyed Stagg Chili Dynamite Hot, but it really failed to deliver on the spiciness.
While this tin listed jalapeno, chile de arbol and dehydrated habanero, the heat was almost nonexistent. Instead, it tasted more like a beef stew with warm caramel flavours, which I found to be tasty and I would totally eat it if I had a tin of it in my house — there were just others I tried that I preferred more than this brand.
Rating: 3.3/5
Price: $3.99 for 425 grams
Price per 100 grams: $0.94
Heinz Beans Chili Style
Sarah holding a tin of Heinz Beans Chili Style that costs $2.99 for 398 mL from Metro.
While I was shopping in Metro it was super busy and I was getting hot and anxious, so I accidentally grabbed a tin of Heinz Beans Chili Style instead of a spicy chili like the rest of the options on this list.
That being said, even though it didn't claim to be spicy, this recipe says it has a "southwestern kick" and that it's seasoned with chili spices and peppers. I found it to be spicier than Stagg's and Amy's and to also have a more robust flavour profile. In fact, I'm not a huge fan of just eating beans by themselves, but this tin from Heinz had me reconsidering that as I genuinely enjoyed the eating experience.
It also worked out to be the cheapest product of the day, so that's a definite win given how expensive groceries are.
Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $2.99 for 398 mL
Price per 100 mL: $0.75
Campbell's Chunky Chili Hot and Spicy
Sarah holding a tin of Campbell's Chunky Chili Hot and Spicy that costs $3.99 for 425 grams from Metro.
The Campbell's Chunky Chili Hot and Spicy is thick, rich, beefy, yummy and stick-to-your-ribs hearty.
In the chili itself, you can clearly see parts of vegetables like celery and bell pepper, whereas the others were either just visually legumes or legumes and meat.
It also has better seasoning than the others and I imagine having a bowl of this after coming in from shovelling your driveway would be just the ticket to warming you up.
This tinned chili is delicious and I'll be keeping my eye out for a sale on it because it's a good one to keep on hand as we head properly into the winter months
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $3.99 for 425 grams
Price per 100 grams: $0.94
Tim Hortons Spicy Chili
Sarah holding a tin of Tim Hortons Spicy Chili that costs $4.49 for 425 grams from Metro.
And in first place, we have an iconic Canadian brand: Tim Hortons.
Their Spicy Chili was visually a bit soupier looking in terms of consistency than Campbell's but it had similarly robust flavouring.
What puts it in first place is that this chili had what all the others lacked: some actual spiciness!
It's by no means a kick-you-in-the-teeth scotch bonnet flavour (which, quite frankly, I don't wait) but rather a pleasantly warming heat flavour that elevates everything else in the dish.
It's getting a permanent spot in my pantry!
Rating: 5/5
Price: $4.49 for 425 grams
Price per 100 grams: $1.06
I'd never tried Tims' in-store chili before and now that I know how delicious their tinned version is I'm excited to give it a try and see if it lives up to the grocery store version.
I also recently tested out chicken noodle soups you can buy at grocery stores, and while Tim Hortons' soup scored pretty well, I gave the win to a similarly iconic Canadian brand.
These prices are confirmed at the time of publishing, but they can change at any time. Taxes and fees may not be included.