Who is this choice for?

Desk-break snackers counting portions

If you plan to eat one cake or one sealed pack with tea, look for a calorie figure that matches that amount rather than relying on the front of the packet.

Shoppers adding toppings

A plain rice cake can be a base for a topping. Count the topping as part of the snack when comparing calories, fat, sugars and salt.

Gluten-free or allergy-aware shoppers

Check the ingredients and precautionary statement on the exact pack. Kallo says its Organic Lightly Salted cakes are gluten free but may contain milk, sesame and soya.

What should you compare?

Start with the amount you intend to eat, then compare nutrition figures on the same basis. As the NHS explains, food labels give information per 100 g and sometimes per portion.

Priority What to check Your needs
Calories and portion Find kcal per cake, pack or stated portion. Use kcal per 100 g when cake and pack sizes differ, then consider how much you will eat. I want to know the calories in my actual tea-break portion, whether that is one plain cake or a sealed multipack.
Flavour and coating Compare salt for savoury varieties and sugars and fat for coated ones, using the same per-100-g basis where possible. M&S lists 386 kcal per 100 g for Lightly Salted Rice Cakes and 492 kcal per 100 g for its Milk Chocolate Mini Rice Cakes. A sweet or savoury flavour matters to me, but I do not want to assume every product labelled a rice cake has the same nutrition figures.
Toppings and pack size Include any spread or topping in the portion you plan. If eating from an open pack, decide how many cakes to use rather than treating the pack as one serving. I might add a topping to plain cakes, so I need to compare the finished snack rather than the cakes alone.
Ingredients and allergens Read the current pack’s ingredients and precautionary allergen statement. Kallo says its Organic Lightly Salted product may contain milk, sesame and soya. For an allergy or other ingredient restriction, I need to check the particular product I am buying, not just the rice-cake category.

What is easy to overlook?

  • Treating per-cake, per-pack and per-100-g figures as interchangeable

    Kallo states 27 kcal per Organic Lightly Salted cake; Snack a Jacks lists its flavoured multipacks per 23 g pack, and M&S lists Lightly Salted Rice Cakes per 100 g. Those numbers describe different amounts of food.

    Compare the portion you will eat first. Use the per-100-g figures to compare products with different cake or pack sizes.

  • Assuming a coating makes no difference

    M&S lists 492 kcal, 29.3 g sugars and 22.7 g fat per 100 g for its Milk Chocolate Mini Rice Cakes, compared with 386 kcal, 0.6 g sugars and 2.5 g fat per 100 g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes.

    If choosing a coated cake as a sweet snack, check its portion and nutrition panel rather than using figures from a plain product.

  • Checking calories but overlooking salt

    Snack a Jacks lists 0.63 g salt per 23 g pack for both its Salt & Vinegar and Sour Cream & Chive multipacks.

    Compare the salt figures for the flavours and portions you are considering alongside their calorie figures.

  • Assuming dietary labels cover every allergy

    Kallo describes its Organic Lightly Salted rice cakes as gluten free and vegan-friendly, but also states that they may contain milk, sesame and soya.

    If you need to avoid an allergen, read the ingredients and precautionary statement on the current physical pack before eating.

Relevant brand references

Kallo

Its Organic Lightly Salted wholegrain rice cakes provide a per-cake figure for planning a plain tea-break portion.

  • Kallo states 27 kcal per cake for this product.
  • The product’s precautionary statement says it may contain milk, sesame and soya.

Snack a Jacks

Its flavoured multipacks give a defined 23 g pack portion for shoppers who prefer a savoury snack.

  • Snack a Jacks lists 93 kcal per Salt & Vinegar pack and 96 kcal per Sour Cream & Chive pack.
  • Both of those flavours list 0.63 g salt per 23 g pack; check the particular flavour’s label.

M&S

Its plain and coated rice cakes illustrate why the type of cake and the stated serving basis matter.

  • M&S lists 386 kcal and 0.33 g salt per 100 g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes.
  • That per-100-g calorie figure cannot be compared directly with another product’s per-cake figure without accounting for portion size.

Tesco

Tesco lists its own Lightly Salted Rice Cakes 130 g alongside other plain, flavoured and coated rice-cake products.

  • The range gives shoppers different formats to compare for a tea break.
  • Check the nutrition panel of the specific Tesco product before comparing it with another brand.

Joybuy product options

These options include a plain rice cake and a lightly salted rice-cracker alternative for a tea break. Rice crackers are a different product, so compare the pack labels rather than treating them as identical to rice cakes.

Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Rice Cakes 130g

Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Rice Cakes 130g

For a plain tea-break portion, Kallo states 27 kcal per cake for its Organic Lightly Salted product. Count any toppings separately, and check the current pack if you need to avoid milk, sesame or soya: Kallo gives a may-contain warning for all three.

View on Joybuy
The Snack Organisation Presents Lightly Salted Rice Crackers 100g

The Snack Organisation Presents Lightly Salted Rice Crackers 100g

These lightly salted rice crackers are a savoury alternative, not a rice cake. Use the pack’s nutrition panel for the portion you intend to eat; the product information identifies soya as an ingredient, so check the current pack if you need to avoid it.

View on Joybuy

Questions about rice cakes

How do I compare rice cakes for a morning tea break?

Compare calories for the amount you will eat—one cake, a sealed pack or a measured portion—then use per-100-g figures when products have different serving sizes. The NHS notes that food labels give nutrition information per 100 g and sometimes per portion.

Are plain rice cakes always lower in calories?

Not necessarily for the portion you eat. Kallo states 27 kcal per Organic Lightly Salted cake, but the total changes with the number of cakes and any toppings; compare your finished portion with the stated portion of another product.

Why check salt on flavoured rice cakes?

Salt figures can matter even when you are comparing calories. Snack a Jacks lists 0.63 g salt per 23 g pack for both its Salt & Vinegar and Sour Cream & Chive multipacks, so check the flavour and portion you intend to eat.

Are rice cakes suitable if I have a food allergy?

Check the exact product’s current ingredients and precautionary statement before eating. For example, Kallo says its Organic Lightly Salted rice cakes are gluten free but may contain milk, sesame and soya.

How should I store an opened pack?

Follow the instructions on the product you buy. M&S advises keeping its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes in an airtight container once opened.