For a ploughman’s lunch, choose a plain or lightly salted rice cake with no more than 3 g fat per 100 g if low fat is your priority; NHS food-label guidance uses that cut-off for solid foods. Compare salt as well as fat when adding cheese or pickle, and check the current pack’s allergen statement before relying on gluten-free or vegan-recipe wording.
If you want a rice cake instead of a cracker or bread base, compare total fat per 100 g. NHS food-label guidance uses 3 g or less per 100 g as the low-fat cut-off for solid foods; calories per cake answer a different question.
Cheese, pickle or cured meat may make the salt in the base worth checking too. Compare the rice cakes’ salt declarations rather than assuming a flavoured snack and a plain cake are interchangeable.
Gluten-free or vegan-recipe wording does not replace an allergen check. Kallo’s cited lightly salted products warn that they may contain milk, sesame and soya; Sainsbury’s says its vegan-recipe rice cakes are unsuitable for customers with a milk allergy because of manufacturing methods.
Start with fat per 100 g, then compare salt on a consistent basis. Ingredients, allergen warnings and storage instructions can settle the choice between otherwise suitable packs.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Fat | Read total fat per 100 g, not just calories or fat per cake. NHS guidance sets the low-fat cut-off for solid foods at 3 g per 100 g. | I want a rice-cake base that meets the low-fat cut-off, even if pack sizes and cake portions differ. |
| Salt | Compare salt per 100 g where shown, then check the amount per cake for the portion you plan to eat. Sainsbury’s lists less than 0.01 g salt per cake; Tesco Lightly Salted lists 0.23 g per 100 g. | With cheese or pickle on top, I’d rather check how much salt the base contributes than choose by flavour name alone. |
| Dietary suitability | Read the exact pack’s ingredients and allergen statement alongside any gluten-free, organic or vegan-recipe wording. Check may-contain warnings where an allergy is relevant. | A dietary label matters to me, but I also need to know whether the product’s allergen warning fits my requirements. |
| Storage | Check the opened-pack instructions if you plan to use one pack across several lunches. Tesco’s listing for Kallo Organic Lightly Salted says to keep it airtight after opening and enjoy it within 14 days. | I’ll use the cakes over more than one lunch, so the pack’s storage instructions affect which size I choose. |
An airy cake or a lightly salted name does not tell you its total fat content. NHS guidance uses no more than 3 g fat per 100 g as the low-fat cut-off for solid foods.
Check the per-100-g nutrition panel first, then look at salt and the number of cakes you expect to use.
Snack a Jacks lists 0.63 g salt per 23 g Salt & Vinegar pack, while Sainsbury’s lists less than 0.01 g per plain rice cake. Those are different portions, so the figures should not be treated as a like-for-like salt ranking.
For a lunch with salty toppings, compare the salt declarations on the actual plain and flavoured products you are considering.
Sainsbury’s describes its rice cakes as prepared to a vegan recipe but unsuitable for customers with a milk allergy because of manufacturing methods. Kallo’s cited products carry may-contain warnings for milk, sesame and soya.
If an allergy is relevant, make the current pack’s allergen statement your final check.
Plainly flavoured wholegrain options include an organic lightly salted variant.
Its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes offer a brown-rice and sea-salt base.
Its plain 135 g rice cakes are an option when you want little salt from each cake.
Its Slightly Salted Rice Cakes use brown rice and sea salt.
Its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes are made from puffed wholegrain brown rice.
Its flavoured singles are a different choice from a plain rice-cake base for cheese and pickle.
This organic, lightly salted rice cake is an option for a ploughman’s-lunch base when you are checking both fat and salt.
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For a plain base alongside cheese and pickle, this organic lightly salted variant lists 2.7 g fat and 0.3 g salt per 100 g. Its allergen information warns that it may contain milk, sesame and soya. Once opened, keep the pack airtight and enjoy it within 14 days, according to the product listing.
Read total fat per 100 g: NHS food-label guidance uses 3 g or less per 100 g as the low-fat cut-off for solid foods. Calories per cake do not replace that comparison.
Use per 100 g to compare rice cakes on the same basis, then use the per-cake figure, where given, to consider the portion you plan to eat. NHS guidance notes that nutrition labels give per-100-g information and sometimes per-portion information.
No. Check the current pack’s ingredients and allergen statement for the exact product. Kallo’s cited lightly salted products may contain milk, sesame and soya, while Sainsbury’s says its vegan-recipe rice cakes are unsuitable for customers with a milk allergy because of manufacturing methods.
Follow the instructions on the pack you buy. Tesco’s listing for Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Wholegrain Rice Cakes says to keep the opened pack in an airtight container and enjoy it within 14 days; instructions for other products may differ.