If you’re serving digestives alongside other snacks at a drinks party, start with a plain variety; choose wholemeal if the ingredients matter more to you. A no added sugar option, a chocolate variety or one labelled gluten-free each caters to a different preference. Compare the nutritional information per 100 g, and check the ingredients and allergen information on the packaging if you have dietary requirements.
You’re looking for a crunchy biscuit to serve alongside other snacks, without making a strong chocolate or speculoos flavour the main attraction. Plain and wholemeal digestives are available in 400 g packs, including from Albert Heijn and Jumbo.
If fibre, sugars, saturated fat or salt are important to your choice, compare similar biscuits per 100 g. This means the serving size chosen by the manufacturer won’t skew the comparison, as the Netherlands Nutrition Centre also recommends.
For a gluten-free option, check the label on the packaging as well as the other allergens. For example, the Schär Digestive Landtaler listed by Jumbo contains soya and may contain lupin and egg.
First decide whether you’re looking for a simple biscuit to share or one that meets a specific requirement around ingredients or allergens. Then compare the packaging and nutritional information of the options that fit the bill.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour and sharing | Choose between a plain digestive and one with a more distinctive flavour; also check the pack size and portions. | I want to serve biscuits alongside a range of drinks-party snacks without making chocolate or speculoos the standard flavour. Around 36% of consumers prioritise a neutral option that’s easy to share. |
| A classic option | Compare the pack weight and ingredients of plain digestives before choosing a familiar wheat biscuit. | For a casual get-together, I mainly want to offer a familiar, plain digestive. For around 29% of consumers, this classic option is the top priority. |
| Nutritional information | Check the fibre, sugars, saturated fat and salt per 100 g; for a no added sugar variety, check the sweeteners too. | I want to weigh up whether fibre or avoiding added sugar matters more to me than a standard recipe. Around 21% of consumers prioritise this comparison. |
| Gluten and allergens | Check the gluten-free label and read the full ingredients and allergen information on the current pack. | If a guest needs to eat gluten-free, I don’t want to assume that a standard wheat biscuit is suitable or that gluten-free means allergen-free. Around 14% of consumers put this check first. |
The wholemeal digestives listed by Albert Heijn and Jumbo contain 6 g and 5.8 g of fibre per 100 g respectively. Their product information also lists sugars and salt, so the word ‘wholemeal’ doesn’t tell you everything about their nutritional value.
Compare similar products per 100 g and decide which values matter for your choice.
The gluten-free Schär Digestive Landtaler listed by Jumbo contains soya and may contain lupin and egg. A gluten-free label doesn’t replace the need to check for other allergens.
If you’re buying for a guest, check both the gluten-free label and the full allergen information on the packaging.
Albert Heijn lists sweeteners in AH Digestive 0% sugar and includes a warning that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect.
If you choose this variety to avoid added sugar, read the ingredients and the information on the packaging.
A chocolate digestive tastes different from an uncoated variety. Lotus describes Biscoff as a caramelised speculoos biscuit, so it isn’t a classic digestive.
Choose these biscuits for their distinctive flavours, and include a plain digestive if you’d also like to offer a milder option.
This own-brand range lets you compare a plain digestive, a wholemeal variety and AH Digestive 0% sugar.
Jumbo lists both a plain crunchy digestive and a wholemeal digestive in 400 g packs.
McVitie's offers an Original digestive and chocolate varieties if you’d like to serve a range of flavours at your drinks party.
Digestive Landtaler is an option to consider if a guest needs a gluten-free biscuit.
Lotus Biscoff is a speculoos biscuit for anyone who’d like to serve a caramelised flavour alongside digestives.
These Joybuy products include a plain McVitie's digestive and two chocolate varieties. Choose the plain biscuit if you’re after a milder flavour, or consider the chocolate option if you’re looking to serve something sweeter; check the current ingredients and allergen information for all three.
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A plain digestive for anyone who’d rather avoid a chocolate variety with their drinks. The pack contains 400 g; if you’re buying for guests, check the current label for allergen information.
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A digestive with milk chocolate if you’d like to serve a chocolate variety rather than just a plain biscuit. The pack contains 266 g; if you have allergies, check the current ingredients and allergen information.
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A digestive with dark chocolate if you’d like to serve a chocolate flavour alongside a plain biscuit. The pack contains 266 g. Joybuy lists 26.6 g of sugars and 12.9 g of saturated fat per 100 g for this variety; check the current allergen information too.
Compare similar digestives per 100 g, then check the ingredients and pack size. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends comparing products per 100 g because manufacturers choose their own serving sizes.
No. The wholemeal label alone doesn’t tell you how much sugar a biscuit contains. For the wholemeal digestives they reviewed, Albert Heijn and Jumbo list around 19 to 20 g of sugars and 1.15 g of salt per 100 g; compare the figures on the pack you’re planning to buy.
Not necessarily: ‘no added sugar’ and ‘sugar-free’ are different claims. For AH Digestive 0% sugar, Albert Heijn lists 0.3 g of sugars and 14 g of polyols per 100 g, as well as a warning that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect.
Check the gluten-free label or Crossed Grain symbol on the current packaging, then read the allergen information too. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre lists these labels as things to look out for; a gluten-free biscuit may still contain other allergens.
Seal the pack tightly after opening and keep the biscuits somewhere cool, dry and dark. The product pages from Albert Heijn, Jumbo and McVitie's give this storage advice; follow the current instructions on your own pack.
