At one point or another we've all settled for the easiest meal we could manage, a pot of instant noodles. Whether that was living the life of a student who hasn't quite figured out how to cook yet, or just at the tail end of a long day, these noodles offer perhaps the quickest dinner money can buy.

Instant noodles may not be the glorious snack or meal we all impatiently look forward to or even, at times, particularly want, but they are a safe and reliable option. Whatever the occasion, everyone has their favourites, whether you swear by Pot Noodle's original curry or fancy something a bit more unique like one of their fusion flavours or the doner kebab one.

Now it would be easy to just stick with the top brands when it comes to a low cost product like these, but in what is beginning to feel like an everlasting cost of living crisis, then every penny saved helps. Thankfully most of the major supermarkets have their own-brand noodle pots, or close alternatives, just ready and waiting to go.

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But as it can be hard to pull away from an old reliable that you already know and like, we thought we'd do the hard work and try out these brands to see which is best for you. As such we picked up noodle pots or the closest alternative from Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco and put them up against Pot Noodle, using only each brands curry flavoured pot. Here's how they faired:

Pot Noodle

We'll start will the original Pot Noodle, by which all others will compare. The classic curry flavour Pot Noodle used to line my university halls as me and my cohorts rushed around trying to fit in all our busy study and social lives, only cramming in a meal when we had a moment.

I can only imagine the faces of the poor recycling team who had to collect our rubbish, as we'd stacked up all the empty pots like some kind of budget Leaning Tower of Pisa. They certainly went down well back in the day, but in many years since leaving university and promptly learning to cook, I don't think I've ever been inclined to go back.

When I did though, it was certainly the case of the classic was still the best, the classic curry flavour, not too strong and the sachet of mango chutney to sweeten it up, making for a pleasant mix of flavours. There is also a decent amount of extra bits, vegetable slices and the like within the pot as well, adding just a little something extra - it won't win any awards for taste of the year, but it does taste like old reliable.

Cost: £1.20

Rating: 9/10

Morrisons

Morrisons were the only supermarket on this list not to offer their noodles in the pot variety, meaning they had to be made the old-fashioned way, on the stove. Despite a couple of minutes extra to warm up the water, the process won't add that much time to your rapid meal.

After a couple of minutes cooking I pulled the noodles out ready to eat, and in all honestly I may as well not have bothered putting in the flavour sachet that came with it. The noodles were devoid of taste, with much of flavour still sitting in the broth created alongside it.

I had assumed that the slightly longer process might help the noodles to retain a little more flavour, but it would seem it instead did the complete opposite, leaving one very disappointed tester.

Cost: 55p

Rating: 3/10

Tesco

Tesco's offering comes from the Heaty Food Company, but is sold exclusively through Tesco, so we'll take it as their offering here. Coming in a pot it stuck with the classic just add water formula, but didn't come with any of the extras such as chutney or other flavourings.

After following the steps on the pot I was left, once again, thoroughly disappointed. The mix I could see on top of the noodles seemed to have vanished. It wasn't until a little while later, as I approached the bottom of the pot that I found a solid lump of trapped powder, which apparently my vigorous stirring had not managed to set free.

This lack of flavour mixing very well meant I didn't get a good taste of what was supposed to be on offer here, but does point out that the powder needs to be a little less compressed to the bottom of the pot.

Cost: 54p

Rating: 4/10

Asda

Asda came in with the absolutely best offer when it came to value, with their noodle pot settling at only a mere 46p, meaning you could pick up nearly three for the price of one Pot Noodle. But how does it stack up on flavour? Well the answer is not bad.

This offering had a bit more flavour than Tesco and Morrisons, and was probably the most heavily curry flavoured pot on this list, which was its only real redeeming feature. Unlike most of its competitors, Asda actually deserves the curry flavour label. If it had had the chutney to boot, this might have been able to stand up a little further.

Cost: 46p

Rating: 7/10

Aldi

Aldi seem the most keen to imitate the original, even in terms of style. After a few pints you could very easily pick up an Aldi's Snack Noodle and assume it was a Pot Noodle, and that extends to its taste as well. These Snack Noodles even include the signature mango chutney, meaning you get a mix of sweet and spicy blended together after it is ready to eat.

I can honestly say that Aldi was the only other brand on this list that left me wanting to try another fork full of noodles, it actually tasted good. It doesn't quite match the Pot Noodle, but it is not far off, I could even see a possibility of some people preferring this one - and when it is half the price, it is easy to see why.

Cost: 69p

Rating: 8/10

While I don't think any of the noodle pots on this list are going to reinvigorate my love for the rapid-fire dinner, it is good to know that they are still out there. At the end of the day I don't think any of us are picking up a noodle pot and expecting a royal supper, but if you want cheap and tasty, then it looks like Aldi is the way to go.