10 Canned Corn Brands To Buy And 10 To Avoid

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We love corn, and we're gonna guess that you do, too. This staple food remains unrelentingly popular, and the United States plows through a wild amount of it every year, with over 12.4 billion bushels of corn eaten in 2021-2022, per Statista. And if you've bought corn recently, there's a good chance that you bought it in canned form. Corn is one of the most widely-available canned vegetables out there, arguably because it's so fiddly to prepare fresh corn, and partly because it remains fresh and tasty, even in canned form. As well as this, corn remains nutritious even when it's been placed in a can, and it is full of B vitamins, fiber, and healthy phytochemicals, compounds that can keep your eye health sharp. So what's not to love?

Well, simply put, there are a lot of canned corn brands out there. This is, of course, driven by its huge popularity, but all that choice can make your head spin. And the huge range of options out there means that while some canned corn brands are on-point with their offerings, others can be a little less rigorous about quality control, or resort to putting additional ingredients in the can to keep things fresh that you may not love. So let's take a deep dive into all the corn brands out there, and separate the good kernels from the bad ones.

How wrong can you go with canned corn? In the case of Sunny Select Whole Kernel Corn, pretty wrong. Sunny Select's corn offering might seem innocuous, but open up the can and you'll find a disappointing product, that's lacking in taste, bulk, and quality.

A large part of the issue with Sunny Select Whole Kernel Corn appears to be the fact that it's just way too overcooked, as a review from Mercury News points out. The problem lies in the fact that corn, like most vegetables, is blanched before its canned, meaning that it can be eaten straight out of its metal container. But if it's being cooked too much before it gets canned, you're left, as in this case, with a product that's far from crisp and fresh-tasting. Save your money, and go for a trusted brand instead.

Some canned corn brands can be surprisingly high in sodium. And given that it's useful to try and cut excessive sodium intake wherever possible, a good place to start might be with the basics, like canned vegetables.

So we can understand why Walmart's own-brand offering, its Great Value No Salt Added Golden Sweet Whole Kernel Corn, might seem like a sensible choice — except for the fact that its quality is just not there. One key issue with this corn is that its kernels tend to be super-hard and brittle, as multiple reviews point out via Walmart. "Corn is hard and the kernels are big. [It] looks like they used cattle corn! The label they have shown is not the can you will receive!" one person said. They went on to conclude that even a one-star rating is too generous. Ouch.

How do you make canned corn more interesting? That's a question that we're sure marketing executives at canned goods companies have tussled with for years. And while we're strong believers that the beauty of canned corn is in its simplicity and its ability to be used in many recipes, marketing executives clearly think differently.

This results in products like Green Giant's Mexicorn, a slightly eyebrow-raising concoction of canned corn and tiny cubed peppers. This simple combination may seem fun, but what you get in the can is not a vibrant fiesta of crunchy textures and bright flavors, but a flat mess. "This corn is very mushy, more so ... than any can of corn I ever recall eating. To call it steam 'crisp' is a joke," complained one buyer via Amazon, who also lamented the lack of flavor from the red peppers. Why mess with the classics? ‌

Buttered corn is a true treat of a side dish. And although it's a breeze to make (butter plus corn equals done), it's nice to have a canned option for when you just can't face any preparation. Margaret Holmes Buttered Corn seems to offer a solution to this — except for the fact that it's far from the best choice.

As disappointed reviewers have noted (per Amazon), this product has a bit of a flat, uninspired taste. This is even though Margaret Holmes Buttered Corn has one of the highest sodium contents we've seen for canned corn products. A single serving of this corn delivers almost a fifth of your recommended daily sodium intake, a surprisingly high amount for what is, after all, a side dish. Additionally, this product also contains two grams of added sugar per serving. All those additives, but no taste? No, thanks.

While there are seemingly dozens of brands offering canned corn kernels, there are fewer options for canned baby corn. Dynasty has stepped into this gap in the market with its Dynasty Baby Corn, offering cut baby corn spears preserved in salted water.

But you might want to be on your guard if you're buying this option, as what might be inside may leave you reeling. A customer who bought the corn via Amazon noted that they found hair inside their can. "I opened a can and found a long black hair inside. For context I do not have black hair. It really grossed me out and I became concerned about the safety of eating these baby corn raw," the reviewer stated. The customer, and others who bought this brand, also noted that their cans were dented, which doesn't inspire confidence in the product.

Going for canned cream corn instead of regular kernels will give you some extra flavor with your corn fix. But where does that flavor come from? In the case of Butter Kernel Cream Style Corn, it's via some additions that you might rather not be eating.

Butter Kernel Cream Style Corn has a surprisingly large amount of added sugars in each serving, with four grams for every half-cup you're eating. This is roughly a sixth of the daily recommended limit for added sugars for women, in what is a relatively small serving. Given that eating too much sugar can contribute to a world of health issues, like tooth decay, inflammation, and organ disease (per the American Heart Association), it's good to try not to eat too much — and avoiding this corn is probably a good place to start.

Libby's is a well-known name in the canned corn world, and so it would make sense that, like other brands, it would offer a creamed corn option too. But while its regular corn is a solid choice, its creamed corn is less appealing.

This isn't because of the quality of the corn inside, though, but of the cans themselves. A massive amount of customers who bought the corn online via Walmart have pointed out that when their cans arrived, they were seriously dented. And a dented can isn't just a cosmetic issue. When a can has large dents, it can become more susceptible to bacteria entering the food and making it hazardous, according to the University of Wyoming. This denting, of course, may not necessarily be Libby's fault, and more of a production line issue. But do you want to take the risk?

Walmart's Great Value range is, well, pretty great value, offering hundreds of low-price products which mostly hit the mark in terms of quality. Sometimes, though, there's one that doesn't quite cut the mustard. Great Value Canned Golden Hominy is proof of this.

This hominy, by all accounts, is one of the worst that you can choose to buy, with multiple scathing reviews of it, per Walmart. Several buyers point to the presence of a strange, almost mucus-like texture on the hominy, which makes it unappetizing. Others state that the hominy kernels are almost rock-solid and a nightmare to try and chew through. Honestly, it's pretty hard to ignore the passion in these reviews, folks. "I will never buy this again. No one in the family would eat this. The dogs wouldn't touch it either," one person states. Kinda sums it up, huh?

Okay, so we know that this one might be controversial. After all, Del Monte is one of the main players in the canned corn game, and its Golden Sweet Whole Kernel Corn is available pretty much everywhere. People seem to love it. It tastes good. So what, we hear you cry, is the problem?

Unfortunately, part of the reason why Del Monte Golden Sweet Whole Kernel Corn tastes so good is that it's full of sodium. Del Monte puts a massive 640 milligrams of the stuff into each cup of corn. For context, that's well over a quarter of the average adult's recommended daily intake. While customers clearly love this corn, we'd recommend going for one of Del Monte's low-sodium options instead, which taste just as good but bring the sodium amount down considerably, for an altogether safer choice. ‌

We're going to say something controversial here: We want food to have flavor. We know, it's shocking! But incredibly, so many store-bought items have a curious ability to be bland and tasteless.

Such is the case with Libby's Naturals Whole Kernel Sweet Corn, no salt or sugar added. We applaud Libby's endeavor to reduce sodium and sugar and to offer a more healthy and nutritious alternative to additive-heavy brands. Unfortunately, though, this comes at the expense of taste, as reviewers via Walmart state.

Interestingly, the main criticism when it comes to this corn is with the corn itself. "I don't know if it's the variety of corn they're using, if they're picking it too soon, both, or something else. Regardless, it is the most bland corn I've ever tasted and everyone else in the family thought likewise," a review says.