For Christmas baking, choose a plain oat base with oats as the only ingredient if you want to decide which sweeteners to use in your recipe. Sachets are handy for a quick breakfast, while loose oats are easier to measure out in whatever quantity you need. Please note: ‘no added sugars’ does not mean the same as ‘sugar-free’.
If you want to decide for yourself how to sweeten your Christmas bake, a product with oats as its only ingredient gives you a good starting point for your recipe. Check the other ingredients too: the sugar content of the finished bake depends on more than just the oats.
Sachets can be handy for a quick breakfast. Loose oats may be more practical for baking recipes where you measure out the amount yourself. For flavoured varieties, check the ingredients list again, as it may differ from the plain version.
A product with no added sugars is not automatically gluten-free. Voedingscentrum warns that regular oats can be contaminated with gluten and, for coeliac disease, recommends looking for the official Crossed Grain symbol on the packaging.
First, decide whether you want to avoid added sugars or set a limit for all sugars. Then compare the packaging and ingredients with the amount of oats and other ingredients your recipe calls for.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters most to |
|---|---|---|
| Added and total sugars | Read the ingredients list and compare the ‘of which sugars’ figure per 100 g with any claims on the packaging. | If I want to choose how to sweeten my Christmas bake, I don’t want to use sweetened oats as the base. Around 40% of consumers prioritise keeping control over added sugars. |
| Preparation and portions | Check the preparation instructions and serving size; work out how many packs you’ll need for the recipe. | On a busy Christmas morning, I want to be able to make a portion of porridge quickly, even if I’m baking later. For around 30% of consumers, ease of preparation and portioning matters most. |
| Plain base for baking | Check whether the product contains only oats and choose an amount to suit your recipe. | For my Christmas bake, I want to add the spices and other ingredients myself, without the oats already being flavoured. That flexibility is the top priority for around 20% of consumers. |
| Allergens | Read the allergen information; if you need a gluten-free product, look for the official Crossed Grain symbol and check for soya in protein varieties. | If I need to avoid certain ingredients, the packaging determines whether I can use an oat product. Allergens and gluten-free suitability come first for around 10% of consumers. |
A product with no added sugars may still contain sugars. According to Voedingscentrum, ‘sugar-free’ means no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g or 100 ml.
Decide which of the two you’re looking for and check both the ingredients list and the nutritional information per 100 g.
Quaker Oats Express Naturel lists wholegrain oats as its only ingredient, while Quaker says Quaker Oats Express Banaan en Kaneel contains sugar. So the exact variety matters if you want to avoid added sugars.
Check the name and ingredients of the flavour you’re buying, even if you know another variety from the same product range.
Voedingscentrum points out that oats can become contaminated with gluten during processing. An ingredients list showing oats as the only ingredient is therefore no guarantee that the product is suitable for a gluten-free diet.
If you have coeliac disease, check for the official Crossed Grain symbol on the packaging and read the allergen information.
Milk, fruit, honey, chocolate and other additions all affect the sugar content of the finished dish. An oat base with no added sugars says nothing about the finished Christmas bake as a whole.
Check each recipe ingredient individually if the sugar content of the finished product matters to your choice.
The ingredient information listed by Albert Heijn shows Quaker Oats Express Naturel as containing only wholegrain oats. This particular plain variety may suit you if you want to choose the other ingredients in your recipe yourself.
According to the ingredient information listed by Albert Heijn, Brinta Havermout contains 100% oat flakes. It’s a plain base for recipes where you want to choose the other ingredients yourself.
Albert Heijn lists AH Biologisch Havermout as containing 0 g of added sugars per 100 g. Check which variety you’re choosing for your recipe.
Lidl lists Crownfield Biologisch Havermout in a 500 g pack. It’s one option to consider when comparing oat bases for your own recipe.
ALDI lists Golden Bridge Fijne volkoren havermout in a 500 g pack as an oat option to consider for a baking recipe.
This Joybuy option may suit you if you want to prepare a portion of oats quickly and are also considering using oats as the base for your own recipe. Before buying, compare the ingredients and allergen information for this exact pack with your requirements.
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An option for anyone who wants to prepare a portion of oats quickly and use oats in their own Christmas baking recipe.
Pack size: 324 g. For this variety, check the ingredients list, sugars per 100 g and allergen information. If you need a gluten-free product, also look for the official Crossed Grain symbol.
No. According to Voedingscentrum, ‘sugar-free’ means no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g or 100 ml. A product with ‘no added sugars’ may still contain naturally occurring sugars. If the total amount of sugars matters to you, check the nutritional information per 100 g.
According to the ingredient information listed by Albert Heijn, Quaker Oats Express Naturel contains only wholegrain oats. Quaker, however, lists sugar in Oats Express Banaan en Kaneel, so choose based on the exact variety, not just the product range.
Not without checking the packaging. Voedingscentrum says oats can be contaminated with gluten and recommends choosing oats with the official Crossed Grain symbol if you have coeliac disease.
That also depends on the other ingredients in your recipe. Check milk, fruit, honey, chocolate and toppings individually, for example. The information on the oat packaging doesn’t describe the ingredients in the finished bake.
