Tinned sardines and pasta shortage: Supermarket Sleuths: The 90c ‘pantry powerhouses’ selling out as shoppers pivot to budget meals

I have seen many empty shelves where the most affordable pastas used to be found in my local Coles and Woolworths stores in western Sydney.

I’m talking about the super budget brands such as Coles Simply and Woolworths Essentials, which cost 90p for a 500g pack.

Even my local Aldi is low on stock of its Remano paste, which costs even less – just 89 cents for a 500 gram pack.

I’ve noticed this at various times of the day over the past few weeks, and I assume people are stocking up because it’s a cheap and easy base for an affordable meal.

In 2026, the cost of living crisis has alarmingly transitioned into a war-induced gasoline and diesel shortage in Iran, with multiple reports that food prices will rise again.

There are also reports that the lack of petrol and diesel could impact grocery deliveries to major supermarkets.

But Aussies are smart people, and as the hits keep coming, we’re getting more creative in how we stretch our grocery budgets.

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Budget pasta meals seem pretty good to me, and there’s so much you can do to make them delicious.

But it doesn’t seem like we’re pairing our cheap pasta with cheap ground beef – at least not right now.

My partner Shamus found that his usual brands of affordable canned sardines were also suddenly hard to find, especially at Aldi.

I hadn’t noticed it yet, because sardines are definitely not my thing. I’m more of a tuna person. But Shamus throws a can of it on everything from eggs to salads to bags of microwave rice as he tries to increase his protein intake.

He mentioned that he had seen videos on social media with budget meal ideas using dry pasta and canned sardines, so I looked it up and found so many.

Some recipes are quite simple and combine the pasta with canned sardines, canned tomatoes, salt, oil, herbs and spices.

Others go a step further and start by frying the garlic and/or onion in olive oil before adding the sardines and tomatoes or cheese, capers and chives – all kinds of combinations – and then the cooked pasta and some pasta water.

The most affordable version of these meals, using 89-90c canned sardines and packets of dried pasta, as well as a few ingredients already in the fridge or pantry, ends up costing an average of $2 each and easily feeds two people.

I’m thinking of making my own tuna version.

However, dietitian Susie Burrell told me that canned sardines are “packed with nutrition” and that I should definitely consider them.

“Sardines are a real superfood, budget-friendly and versatile,” she says

“If we all ate more sardines, we would be a lot better off nutritionally.

“With significantly higher levels of Omega 3 fat than both tuna and salmon, sardines are one of the most cost-effective, nutrient-dense proteins we can include in the diet, if you like them.

“With over 18-20 grams of protein per serving, along with over 1 gram of EPA/DHA, the natural anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids and almost 300 mg of calcium, sardines are hard to fault nutritionally and make a great addition to crackers or toast.

“Most brands contain roughly 70 percent sardines, along with added water, oil or salt, and generally most are a good option, especially if the oil is olive oil.”

The cheapest canned sardines at Coles are Seacrown brand, at $1 for 125 grams. Woolworths sells Deepcove sardines for the same price, but several types are listed as “out of stock” on their website.

Aldi’s canned sardines are Ocean Rise brand for 89 cents for a 125 gram can.

Aldi Australia has acknowledged the product shortages, telling nine.com.au they are “working closely with suppliers to continue to meet demand”.

They added that Aldi has 10 types of tinned sardines and dried pastas at 89c.

Coles and Woolworths have been contacted for comment

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