Choose by the calories in the portion you will eat, not by the words “rice cake”: Kallo lists 27 kcal per cake for its plain unsalted and lightly salted products, while Snack a Jacks lists 51 kcal for a Caramel Jumbo cake. Flavoured cakes can still be a planned break snack, but check their sugars, salt and ingredients too. The British Dietetic Association says lighter meals or snacks during the night may be useful, without establishing one eating schedule for every shift worker.
The useful starting point is whether you want a small snack on its own or something to eat alongside other food during a break.
Rice cakes are easy to portion for a break. If the break also needs to stand in for a meal, plan what else you will eat rather than judging the whole break by one cake’s calorie figure. The British Dietetic Association discusses lighter meals or snacks during night shifts but does not set a single eating schedule for everyone.
Compare the energy per cake with the sugars, salt and ingredient list for the exact flavour. A plain wholegrain cake and a caramel cake need not have the same recipe or serving size.
Rice cakes can be a base for another food. A British Dietetic Association snack fact sheet gives two rice cakes with hummus or soft cheese as one example; choose an accompaniment that suits your portion, storage arrangements and ingredient needs.
Start with the portion you expect to eat, then compare the nutrition and ingredients of that exact product. For a longer break, decide separately whether the cakes are the whole snack or a base for something else.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Portion energy | Check kcal per cake and the number you intend to eat. If comparing per 100g figures, also check each cake’s weight: different-sized cakes are not the same portion. | I want to plan the calories in my actual break snack. Kallo lists 27 kcal per cake for its Organic Unsalted and Lightly Salted products; Snack a Jacks lists 51 kcal for a Caramel Jumbo cake. |
| Sweet flavours | Read sugars per cake and the ingredient list as well as energy. Snack a Jacks lists 3.6 g sugars per Caramel Jumbo cake; Tesco lists 2.67 g per Caramel Flavour rice cake. | If I choose caramel, I want to know what is in that flavour rather than assuming it matches a plain cake. |
| Salt and allergens | Compare salt on the same serving basis and read the current pack’s ingredients and precautionary allergen statements. Tesco lists 0.18 g salt per Salt & Vinegar cake; Kallo’s Organic Unsalted product lists trace salt per cake. | An unsalted or savoury flavour may suit my preferences, but I need to check the exact recipe and allergen information before buying. |
| The rest of the break | Decide whether to add a topping or another food, and check how it can be stored at work. The British Dietetic Association gives rice cakes with hummus or soft cheese as a snack example. | For a longer break, I may want more than plain cakes alone. Any topping needs to fit the portion I have planned and the facilities available on my shift. |
Published examples differ per piece: Kallo lists 27 kcal for its Organic Unsalted cake, whereas Snack a Jacks lists 51 kcal for a Caramel Jumbo cake. Cake size and recipe matter when planning a portion.
Compare kcal for the serving you will eat, then check sugars, salt and ingredients on that product.
A small rice-cake portion does not describe everything you may need to eat during a long shift. The British Dietetic Association discusses lighter meals or snacks during the night rather than treating one snack as a complete meal plan.
If you plan to eat more, choose an accompaniment in advance and consider how you will store it at work.
Salt, sugars and allergens vary by recipe. Tesco lists 0.18 g salt per Salt & Vinegar cake, while its Caramel product includes soya lecithins.
Read the current pack for the exact flavour, particularly when an ingredient or allergen matters to you.
M&S lists 24.8 g protein and 451 kcal per 100g for its Barbecue High Protein Rice Cakes. Protein content alone does not establish the calories in the portion you will eat.
Check the pack’s serving size, energy and salt before comparing it with a plain cake.
These published examples illustrate why it helps to compare specific products and flavours, rather than treating a brand as having one nutrition profile.
Its Organic Unsalted and Lightly Salted wholegrain rice cakes offer plain options with a published per-cake figure.
Caramel Jumbo is a sweet, individually portionable rice-cake option.
Its caramel and salt-and-vinegar rice cakes show why flavour-specific labels matter.
Its Lightly Salted and Barbecue High Protein products provide different per 100g nutrition figures.
These options cover a caramel rice cake and a lentil-cake alternative for a planned break snack. The lentil cakes are not rice cakes, so compare their own pack information rather than treating the two products as equivalent.
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For a planned sweet break snack, compare the number of cakes you will eat with the labelled serving. Joybuy lists 51 kcal per 13 g serving for this 159g product; Snack a Jacks lists 3.6 g sugars per Caramel Jumbo cake. Check the current pack’s ingredients and allergens.
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For a break snack when you are considering lentil cakes instead of rice cakes, check the energy and ingredients for the portion you intend to eat. This is a 100g pack of lentil cakes, not rice cakes; read the current pack for allergen information.
Yes, if the portion suits your planned break and you do not treat a plain cake as an entire meal. The British Dietetic Association says lighter meals or snacks during the night may be useful, but the evidence does not establish one optimal eating schedule for every shift worker.
Compare the calories in the number of cakes you will eat. Kallo lists 27 kcal per cake for its Organic Unsalted and Lightly Salted products, Tesco lists 40.84 kcal for a Caramel Flavour cake, and Snack a Jacks lists 51 kcal for a Caramel Jumbo cake. Check sugars and ingredients too, because the recipes differ.
A topping or another food can make them part of a larger snack. A British Dietetic Association fact sheet gives two rice cakes with hummus or soft cheese as an example; check the resulting portion, ingredients and any storage needs for your shift.
Read the ingredients and precautionary allergen information on the current pack for the exact product. The Food Standards Agency says food businesses must provide allergen information, and the details can differ between flavours and brands.