For a Bonfire Night snack table where total fat is the priority, plain or lightly salted rice cakes give you a straightforward starting point: M&S lists 2.5g fat per 100g and Kallo lists 2.8g per 100g for their lightly salted products, both within the NHS guideline of 3g or less per 100g for a low-fat food. Flavoured varieties need checking individually; compare fat, saturates and salt per 100g, then consider the portion and any toppings before deciding what to serve.
The useful comparison depends on whether you need a topping base, a ready-seasoned snack or a product that meets a guest’s dietary requirements.
If you are putting out rice cakes with dips or other toppings, compare the base’s total fat and saturates per 100g, then check the toppings separately. The rice cake’s nutrition figures do not describe the finished snack.
Flavoured cakes and multipacks offer a ready-to-eat option, but check both fat and salt on the exact flavour and format. A per-pack figure and a per-100g figure answer different questions.
Read the current pack before serving guests with allergies. Kallo describes its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes as gluten-free and vegan-friendly, but its product information also carries a may-contain warning for milk, sesame and soya.
Start with per-100g figures to compare products, then use the per-cake or per-pack figures for the amount you plan to serve. Packaging information can help you find those figures, but a claim on its own does not describe the whole snack.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Total fat | Compare total fat per 100g with the NHS low-fat guideline of 3g or less per 100g. Kallo lists 2.8g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes; M&S lists 2.5g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes. | I want a base whose fat figure I can compare before putting out toppings. I will check the current pack rather than judge it by its light texture or calories per cake. |
| Label information | Read the nutrition panel for fat, saturates, sugars and salt; use per-100g values for product comparisons and serving values for portions. Check the figures behind any nutrition claim. | I use packaging to narrow down the options, but still want the numbers. In a 2024 Food Standards Agency and Ipsos Northern Ireland survey of 611 Northern Ireland adults, 35% named nutrition claims as their primary source of nutritional information, while 49% actively used traffic-light labels when shopping for food; these are measures of label use, not rice-cake preferences. |
| Flavour and salt | Check the exact flavour and format. Snack a Jacks lists 0.63g salt per 23g Salt & Vinegar multipack and 1.3g salt per 100g for its 117g Salt & Vinegar product; those serving bases are not interchangeable. | If I put out seasoned packs, I want to know how much salt is in a pack and how many packs each person might take. |
| Toppings | Read the topping’s nutrition label as well as the rice cake’s, including fat, saturates, sugars and salt. Consider the amount of each served together. | A low-fat rice cake may be only the base of the snack I am offering, so I need to account for what goes on it. |
| Allergens | Check ingredients and precautionary allergen statements on the current, individual pack. Dietary labels and may-contain warnings answer different questions. | When serving guests with allergies, I cannot assume that a gluten-free or vegan-friendly description covers their other allergens. |
The NHS low-fat guideline is based on total fat per 100g, not how airy a cake feels or its calories per cake. Cake sizes and the number eaten can also differ.
Compare fat, saturates, sugars and salt per 100g first, then read the figures for the portion you expect to serve.
Snack a Jacks lists salt per 23g pack for its Salt & Vinegar multipack and per 100g for its 117g Salt & Vinegar product. Comparing those numbers directly would confuse two different serving bases.
Check the nutrition panel for the exact flavour and format, and offer a plain or lightly salted option if guests want a less seasoned choice.
The fat figure for a plain or lightly salted rice cake applies to the cake before any spread, cheese, chocolate or dip is added.
Keep toppings separate and check their labels if you are comparing the fat in the combined snack.
Kallo describes its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes as gluten-free and vegan-friendly, while also warning that they may contain milk, sesame and soya.
Check the current pack’s ingredients and precautionary allergen statement against each guest’s requirements before serving.
These product-line examples show why the exact flavour and pack matter; a brand name alone does not establish a rice cake’s nutrition or allergen information.
Kallo’s Lightly Salted Rice Cakes are a plain-tasting wholegrain brown-rice option for use as a base.
Its seasoned rice-cake products include both multipacks and larger packs, so choose by exact flavour and format.
M&S Lightly Salted Rice Cakes are another wholegrain brown-rice option to compare as a topping base.
These options include a lightly salted base and sweet or savoury flavoured rice cakes for a Bonfire Night snack table. Compare each current pack’s nutrition and allergen information for the choice you plan to serve.
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A lightly salted option if you want a base for toppings. Check this Organic product’s own fat and salt figures and allergen wording on the current pack; figures for Kallo’s other lightly salted product should not be assumed to apply to it.
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An apple-and-cinnamon-flavoured option for guests who prefer a sweet rice cake. Compare fat and sugars per 100g on this pack rather than assuming that all sweet flavours have the same figures.
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A blueberry-and-vanilla rice-and-corn cake for a sweet snack option. Read its own fat, sugars and allergen information before serving it alongside other varieties.
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A caramel-flavoured jumbo option if you want to put out a sweet variety. Check both fat and sugars on its current nutrition panel rather than judging it by fat per cake alone.
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A Marmite-flavoured choice for a savoury snack table. Check fat and salt per 100g on the current pack, along with its ingredients and allergen statement, before serving.
Compare total fat per 100g: the NHS guideline for a low-fat food is 3g or less per 100g. Kallo lists 2.8g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes and Marks & Spencer lists 2.5g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes. Check the exact pack rather than relying on an airy texture or a calories-per-cake figure.
Yes, but compare each flavour and format rather than assuming it matches a plain rice cake. Joybuy lists 5.8g fat and 1.3g salt per 100g for Snack a Jacks Salt & Vinegar Rice Cakes 117g, above the NHS low-fat guideline of 3g fat or less per 100g. Snack a Jacks gives figures for its Salt & Vinegar multipack per 23g pack, so check the serving basis before comparing them.
Yes. A rice cake’s nutrition panel describes the cake, not any topping added to it. Check the topping’s label and the amount served if you want to compare fat, saturates, sugars or salt in the finished snack.
No. Suitability depends on the individual product and the guest’s allergens. Kallo describes its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes as gluten-free and vegan-friendly but also gives a may-contain warning for milk, sesame and soya; read the current pack before serving.