Choose a fresh croissant if you want to serve it without any preparation at home. Bake-at-home and frozen croissants are better when you want to choose when they’re served warm. Croissant dough lets you customise the shape and filling, but takes more preparation. Choose the quantity and preparation method to suit your lunch, and check the ingredients and allergens for each option.
If lunch doesn’t start at the same time for everyone, bake-at-home or frozen croissants let you plan when to bake them. Just bear in mind the capacity of your oven or air fryer, and follow the instructions for the product you choose.
A fresh croissant per person needs no preparation at home. For reference, Albert Heijn lists its AH Luxe roomboter croissant as weighing 90 g and containing 25% butter; these details apply to that product, not to fresh croissants in general.
If you’re buying for people with different dietary requirements or allergies, assess each product individually. Check the current packaging and ask for allergen information for unpackaged croissants. A label such as ‘plant-based’ doesn’t tell you which other allergens may be present.
First decide whether you want to serve them straight away, bake them until warm or shape croissants together. Then compare portion sizes and check the ingredients of the product you’re actually buying.
Choose these when: you want to serve the croissants without preparing them at home.
Bear in mind: you’ll need to find the quantity you want when you buy them, and you’ll have less control over when they’re served warm.
Choose these when: you want to serve the croissants warm just before lunch.
Bear in mind: preparation time and the space available in your oven or air fryer; follow the instructions on the individual product packaging.
Choose this when: shaping or filling the croissants can be part of your school-holiday lunch.
Bear in mind: you’ll need time to shape and bake the dough, and to follow its storage and preparation instructions.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Serving warm | Check the baking time, temperature and number of croissants. See how many will fit in your oven or air fryer at once. | If I want to serve warm croissants, baking them needs to fit in around the rest of the lunch preparations. For about 45% of consumers, that moment of serving is the top priority. |
| Ready-to-serve portions | Compare the weight per croissant, the number in the pack and whether they’re ready to serve. | If I’m serving lunch without a baking session, I want to know in advance whether I’ll have a suitable individual croissant for each guest. This is the top priority for about 33% of consumers. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current ingredients and allergen information; for plant-based options, check which allergens are listed too. | If I’m buying for guests with dietary requirements or allergies, being able to check the ingredients matters more than how the croissants are served. About 22% of consumers put this check first. |
A larger portion or a mention of butter doesn’t, by itself, tell you anything about the product’s overall nutritional value. So the name won’t help you compare croissants for fibre, sugars or fat.
Use portion size, ingredients and the nutritional information for the products you’ve chosen when putting together your lunch.
A butter, fresh or plant-based croissant isn’t suitable for everyone just because of its name. Albert Heijn lists wheat, milk and egg among the ingredients of its AH Luxe roomboter croissant, with a warning that it may contain traces of almond and hazelnut.
Check the label of the option you’ve chosen, and ask for allergen information if the croissants are unpackaged.
A short baking time for each batch can add up if not all the croissants fit in the appliance at once. PLUS gives baking instructions for its butter croissants of 4–6 minutes at 200 °C in the oven, or 4 minutes at 180 °C in the air fryer.
Work out how many batches you’ll need before choosing a bake-at-home option, and follow the instructions on the packaging you buy.
If you need several batches, the first croissants may have to wait while the rest bake.
Salt information varies by product: PLUS lists iodised salt for the bake-at-home croissants it checked, while Albert Heijn lists salt for its AH Luxe roomboter croissant. You can’t tell what a product contains from its category alone.
If the type of salt matters to your choice, look for iodised salt or baker’s salt in the current ingredients list.
These examples show the different product types you could compare; check the latest information for the specific product before you buy.
For a fresh individual butter croissant or a separate choice of frozen croissants.
For comparing butter, frozen, filled and plant-based croissants from one shop’s range.
For bake-at-home croissants or chilled croissant dough that you can shape yourself.
For a fresh individual butter croissant or a bake-at-home option.
For a fresh individual butter croissant from the in-store bakery.
For mini butter croissants when you want to serve smaller individual croissants.
These products offer different portion options for a school-holiday lunch: a bake-at-home pack, packs of butter croissants and an individual croissant. For each option, check whether any preparation is needed and read the current packaging for ingredients and allergens.
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A bake-at-home option if you want to prepare four croissants close to serving time. This product isn’t confirmed as a butter croissant: the description lists margarine. Check the packaging for baking time, temperature and allergen information.
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A pack of four butter croissants for anyone who wants to count out individual portions in advance. Check the packaging to see whether they’re ready to serve or need baking first, and read the allergen information.
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An 85 g croissant which, according to the product description, is individually wrapped and ready to serve. The description also includes a warning about the colourings E102 and E110 and their possible effect on children’s activity and attention. Read the current packaging before serving this croissant to children.
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A 200 g pack of mini butter croissants for anyone who wants to add smaller croissants to their lunch spread. Before planning your lunch, check whether they’re ready to serve or need baking; also check the allergen information on the packaging.
Choose fresh croissants if you want to serve them without preparing them at home; choose bake-at-home croissants if you want to plan when they’re served warm. If you’re baking them, check how many will fit in your oven or air fryer at once and follow the product instructions.
Don’t assume it’s suitable: according to Albert Heijn, the AH Luxe roomboter croissant lists wheat, milk and egg, and carries a warning that it may contain traces of almond and hazelnut. Check the allergen information for the exact product you’re serving, and ask for it if the croissants are unpackaged.
No. The plant-based label doesn’t tell you which other allergens a croissant contains or may contain. Always read the latest ingredients and allergen information for the option you’ve chosen.
You can’t tell from the name ‘croissant’ alone. PLUS lists iodised salt for the bake-at-home croissants it checked, while the ingredients list for the AH Luxe roomboter croissant lists salt. If the type of salt matters to your choice, check the current ingredients list.
No. The word ‘premium’ doesn’t give you an overview of nutritional value. Compare the portion size and nutritional information for the products you’re considering, such as the fat, sugars and fibre listed per 100 g or per portion.
