Three opened tins on a blue tiled table, two of small whole silver sardines in olive oil and one of striped mackerel fillets, beside toast, lemon, parsley and a dish of salt

Sardines vs Mackerel in a Tin: Which to Buy

Published 15 Oct 20265 min read

Sardines and mackerel are easy to confuse in a tin: both are fished in the Atlantic, both are packed in olive oil by Iberian producers such as José Gourmet and Ati Manel, and sardines, Atlantic mackerel and Pacific chub mackerel all sit in the FDA's lowest-mercury group. A tin of plain sardines holds the fish with its backbone in, rich and firm. José Gourmet and Ati Manel pack their mackerel as fillets, meaty and flaky. Which to open depends on the plate. This comparison covers tinned sardines and tinned mackerel sold in the U.S., with mercury groups from the FDA's fish advice and omega-3 figures from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements as of October 2026.

Sardines or mackerel: the short answer

Open sardines for toast, a board or a plate where a whole fish is the point. Open mackerel when the fish needs to flake into a salad, a pasta, a rillette or a sandwich, or for anyone who would rather not meet a spine. Sardines, Atlantic mackerel and chub mackerel are in the FDA's Best Choices group for mercury, and on the NIH figures both sardines canned in tomato sauce and cooked Atlantic mackerel carry more than a gram of DHA and EPA per 3 ounces.

What a tinned sardine is

In the European Union, the word sardine on a tin is protected. Council Regulation (EEC) No 2136/89 says preserved sardines must be prepared exclusively from fish of the species Sardina pilchardus, the European pilchard. The same rule sets out the presentations a tin may carry. The basic product, labelled sardines, has the head, gills, guts and tail fin removed. The others include sardines without bones, sardines without skin or bones, and sardine fillets.

Those presentation words are the most useful thing on a sardine label. A tin labelled plain sardines is the basic presentation, with the backbone left in; José Gourmet's sardines in extra virgin olive oil are a classic, velvety-firm example (shop José Gourmet sardines in extra virgin olive oil). Ramón Peña's 3/5 Silver Line tin holds large sardines harvested in the waters off Galicia (shop Ramón Peña 3/5 sardines). For a first tin, Ramón Peña's sardines without skin and bones are deboned and filleted before cooking, so they read more like mackerel (shop Ramón Peña skinless, boneless sardines).

What tinned mackerel is

José Gourmet packs its mackerel as fillets in olive oil (shop José Gourmet mackerel fillets). Ati Manel's fillets are hand-sliced off the bone and skinned, and the producer describes the tin as a substitute for tuna (shop Ati Manel mackerel fillets). Small mackerel come in tins too: José Gourmet packs small mackerel in olive oil, a Great Taste award winner, and a smoked version with a wood-fired note (shop José Gourmet small mackerel; shop José Gourmet smoked small mackerel).

The name mackerel covers several species, and the FDA does not treat them alike. Atlantic mackerel and Pacific chub mackerel are in its lowest-mercury group. Spanish mackerel sits in the middle group, and king mackerel is on its list to avoid. José Gourmet names Atlantic mackerel for its mackerel fillets in moqueca sauce (shop José Gourmet mackerel in moqueca sauce). The species name on the label is the thing to check.

Sardines vs mackerel, side by side

Detail	Tinned sardines	Tinned mackerel
Species	Sardina pilchardus (required in the EU)	Varies by tin; check the label for Atlantic or chub mackerel
FDA mercury group	Lowest-mercury group	Lowest-mercury group for Atlantic and chub; king mackerel to avoid
Omega-3, DHA plus EPA, per 3 oz (NIH)	1.19 g (canned in tomato sauce)	1.02 g (Atlantic, cooked)
Basic presentation	Backbone in; also boneless, skinless or fillets	Fillets, with or without skin; also small mackerel
Texture	Velvety-firm, whole fish	Flaky fillets
Flavor	Rich, full-flavored	Meaty, rich
Suits	Toast, boards, grilling-style plates	Salads, pasta, rillettes, sandwiches

Bones and the whole-fish question

Bones can settle the choice before flavor gets a say. In a tin of plain sardines the backbone is left in and is soft from the cooking; anyone who would rather not see a spine can lift it out with a fork, or choose skinless, boneless sardines or mackerel fillets. The guide to serving sardines straight from the tin shows how.

Smoked, spiced and sauced sardines and mackerel

Both fish come in more than plain olive oil, and the packing changes the decision as much as the species does. Smoked mackerel leans toward a board or a rye cracker. Spice works on either fish: Ati Manel packs Atlantic sardines in spiced olive oil, canned by hand in Matosinhos, Portugal (shop Ati Manel sardines in spiced olive oil), and José Gourmet packs small mackerel with piri-piri (shop José Gourmet spiced small mackerel). José Gourmet packs sardines in a mildly sweet tomato sauce, a tin for crusty bread to sop up (shop José Gourmet sardines in tomato sauce).

A practical rule: buy plain olive oil tins of either fish for cooking, since the oil can go into the dish, and buy the smoked, spiced and sauced tins for eating as they are, where the packing is part of the flavor.

Which tin for which dish

Toast and a board. Sardines, whole, with lemon and salt. The sardine toast recipes start here.

A spread for crackers. Mackerel, mashed with butter or cream cheese and lemon. The mackerel rillettes recipe has the method.

A potato salad or a warm plate. Mackerel fillets, which hold together. Tinned mackerel with warm potatoes and mustard is the tinned mackerel recipe to learn first.

Pasta. Sardines for the Sicilian sardine pasta with fennel and raisins recipe; mackerel for a lemony pasta where the fish flakes through.

A first tin for someone new to tinned fish. Mackerel fillets or skinless sardines. The beginner's guide to your first six tins sets out an order.

Sardines and mackerel: short answers

How do they compare on omega-3? Closely: on the NIH figures, sardines canned in tomato sauce and cooked Atlantic mackerel each carry more than a gram of DHA and EPA per 3 ounces. The species-by-species guide to whether tinned fish is healthy has salt and protein too.

How long does an opened tin keep? The guide to how long tinned fish lasts after opening covers storage once the lid is off.

Sardine or mackerel is a choice about the fork more than the fish. A sardine arrives whole, spine and all, and is eaten for itself. A mackerel fillet is there to be broken up and folded into something else.