Fish & seafood · Preserved fish
Sardines
Small oily fish, here the tinned kind in oil, tomato or brine; eaten on toast, in pasta or salads.
Also called: tinned sardines, pilchards
A kind of fish
Photo: Rl, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
What it is
This record is canned sardines (and pilchards, larger sardines): small oily fish cooked and packed in oil, brine or tomato sauce. The soft bones are edible. Fresh sardines are a separate record. Tinned sardines are richer and more strongly flavoured than tinned tuna.
How it’s used
- On toast with lemon and pepper
- Pasta con le sarde-style dishes
- Mashed into sandwiches and spreads
- Salads with tomatoes and onions
- Curries and rice dishes
Characteristics
- Taste
- Rich, savoury and briny.
- Texture
- Soft, with tender edible bones.
- When cooked
- Already cooked; warm gently or use cold. The packing oil adds flavour to dressings.
- Sold as
- canned
- Cooking uses
- Usually eaten raw, Commonly cooked
- Common in
- Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, British, Moroccan, Filipino, West African
Kinds in our pantry
Storage
Pantry-stable. Unopened tins keep for years; once opened, cover and refrigerate and use within a day or two.
Diet, allergens and safety
Contains Fish.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Contains fish, a common allergen.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 208 kcal
- Protein
- 24.62 g
- Carbohydrate
- 0 g
- Fat
- 11.45 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sugars
- 0 g
USDA FoodData Central: Fish, sardine, Atlantic, canned in oil, drained solids with bone.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Canned tuna — 1:1; milder and drier.
- Mackerel — Tinned mackerel 1:1.
Related ingredients
Recipes with sardines
Pasta con le sarde
Italian · 1 h · 866 kcal
Sardinhas assadas
Portuguese · 57 min · 439 kcal
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