A well-stocked cupboard that includes tasty tinned foods makes life so much easier. Tinned foods have a long shelf life, are generally inexpensive and can save you from making endless trips to the shops – plus, they can be very nutritious, counting towards your five a day. To help you on your way to tasty meals in next to no time, we've compiled the ultimate ranking of the best tinned foods ever.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the tinned foods that deserve a spot in your kitchen cupboard – counting down to the most indispensable of all.

We've based our ranking on the handiness, versatility and cost of each tinned food, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.

The most indispensable tinned foods, ranked