Let's be honest, canned goods are a staple in our grocery shopping mainly due to their convenience and affordability.

They are typically cheaper than fresh or frozen foods, last longer, and can easily be stored.

But they’re often lacking in the taste department.



While these goods have a number of benefits to them, consuming these ready-to-eat meals can get quite tiresome, especially if you're consuming them ‘straight from the can’ (not literally, hopefully!) without "recycling" them into a different dish.

So, if you are looking for creative ways to consume your canned goods, then we've got you covered!

If you love sardines (or at least have a pile of them stocked in your kitchen), then you'll love this easy sardine pasta recipe.


This hearty dish is perfect for a winter meal, and it's packed with flavour.

Instagram user Myrvynee Estupin shared an easy sardine pasta recipe that looks good enough to be our next go-to meal.



In his video, the foodie starts the cooking process by pouring some water into a pot and seasoning it with a teaspoon of salt before bringing it to a boil.

While the water is heating up, he toasts some bread crumbs into a saucepan on medium heat, explaining: "sardines work well with breadcrumbs".

Once the breadcrumbs get toasted, he sets them aside before chopping some garlic cloves and tomatoes.

He then drizzles some olive oil into a pan before sauteing the garlic.

While the garlic is cooking, he takes out some sardine pieces from a can, crushes them using his hands, and adds them to the pan.

Please note that you need to save up the oil from the can because you will be needing it later.

Myrvynee then adds the tomatoes and cooks them along with the other ingredients.

He suggests: "To make it tastier, chop off some basil then throw them in the pan."

He then adds some chopped olives and sardine oil before seasoning the mixture with salt and pepper and setting it aside to cook.


The home cook then tends to the pot of boiling water, adding in some pasta noodles to cook.

Once the pasta is cooked, Myrvynee pours some pasta water and juice of half a lemon into the "sardine sauce" before adding the cooked pasta.

He also throws in some butter and parsley before mixing the pasta with the sauce.

Finally, he prepares the pasta for plating by garnishing it with toasted bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, leftover bits of sardines, and basil leaves before serving.



Sardine Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

• 250g Uncooked pasta
• 150g Spanish Sardines (add more optional)
• 6 Cloves Garlic
• 8 Leaves Basil
• 2 Large Tomatoes
• Breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Sardine Pasta
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp Olives
• Bunch of Parsley
• Juice of half a lemon
• Chilli flakes (optional)

Method:

1. Boil a pot of water and season it with salt. Once the water starts boiling, add pasta noodles to cook.
2. Toast breadcrumbs in a saucepan and set it aside.
3. Chop garlic cloves and tomatoes. Saute them in olive oil.
4. Take out pieces of sardines from the can and crush them using your hands. Save the sardine oil and set it aside.
5. Add in the crushed sardine pieces. Chop basil leaves and add them to the pan for more flavour.
6. Add some chopped olives and sardine oil into the mixture before seasoning it with salt and pepper.
7. Add some pasta water and juice of half a lemon into the pan before throwing in the cooked pasta noodles.
8. Add 1 tbsp of butter and chopped parsley before mixing the pasta noodles with the sauce.
9. Garnish it with toasted bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, leftover bits of sardines, and basil leaves before serving.

Source: Instagram/@myrvynee

The recipe has gone viral, amassing more than 3,400 likes and comments from users who are excited to try the recipe themselves.

One person wrote: "I will try to recreate this one!"

"I want!" another exclaimed.

A third chimed in: "Looks yummy, chef."

We honestly tried the recipe ourselves and, while it was great, we would like to comment on the amount of salt.

Since the sardines are already salty, you may want to ditch the salt in the recipe to make it a bit healthier.

You may also want to adjust the recipe and use canned tuna instead of sardines if that’s what you’ve got in the pantry. We tried using canned tuna and it tastes just as good.

Will you be trying this recipe? Also, let us know if you want more recipes using canned goods and we’d be happy to do some research and experimentation (all in the name of science, of course)!