Muesli reviews

If you’re not concerned about any one nutritional criteria but just want a good nutritious all-rounder, the 20 mueslis in this table hit the spot. They’re all high in fibre, low in sodium, and for mueslis, contain less than average sugar and fat, and less than 5% saturated fat.

Adults should be eating about 30g of fibre a day, and a high-fibre breakfast cereal is a good starting point. The fibre content of the mueslis we reviewed ranges from 3.5% to 18%, with an average just shy of 10%.

The eight in this table contain at least 15% — that’s 7.5g of fibre in an average 50g serve of muesli — which would provide a good kickstart to your day’s fibre intake.

Tips for choosing higher fibre

• Check the NIP for muesli with 10% (10g per 100g) or more fibre.
• Don’t rely solely on claims like ‘good source of fibre’ or ‘high in fibre’ — many mueslis with above average fibre are claim free.

Out of the 159 mueslis we tested, 11 meet the definition for low sugar (no more than 5% sugar), and the six in this table contain the least (2% sugar or less) — far less than the average of 18%. This is because they contain no added sugars and minimal or no dried fruit.

While providing many valuable nutrients, dried fruit is also a concentrated form of sugar, so muesli can be full of sugar without it being listed as an ingredient. For example The Muesli Company Premium Toasted Muesli Full of Fruit carries a “no added sugar” claim, but it’s still 25% sugar, thanks to its dried fruit content. Morpeth Sourdough Morpeth Muesli Deluxe may live up to its “no added cane sugar” claim but its dried fruit content along with its honey (sugar, just in another form) result in a product that’s almost 28% sugar. And Sunsol Gluten Free Muesli and Nu-Vit Low Fat Fruity Muesli Gluten Free, both with 43.3% sugars, are more sugary than Kellogg’s Coco Pops - although their sugars are (for the most part) from dried fruit and not just added sugars. 

Tips for choosing lower sugar

• Check the ingredients list for added sugar. It can be disguised as honey, maple syrup, golden syrup or glucose, for example.
• Watch out for dried fruit in the top three ingredients.

Mueslis are intrinsically higher in fat than other cereals, but the fat is often from oats, seeds or nuts, so it’s the “good” unsaturated type (and you get the valuable nutrients that are found naturally in these ingredients). Boutique muesli brand The Muesli is an extreme example — both of its products are over 37% fat and yet its only ingredients are oats, nuts, seeds and coconut. Limiting your serving size of the mueslis that are high in these "good" fats can help reduce the amount of fat (and therefore kilojoules) you consume.

If you’re trying to avoid fat of any kind, some mueslis contain next to none. Out of the 159 we tested, only 10 mueslis meet Australian food regulator FSANZ’s definition of low fat (no more than 3% fat), and the four mueslis in this table contain the least (2.5% or less).

However, what low-fat mueslis lack in fat they tend to make up for in sugar. Three of these also contain more than 24% sugar, higher than the average sugar content for muesli (12%) and Morning Sun Fruit Muesli is the only muesli in our list not to contain added sugar.

Tips for choosing lower fat

• Check the nutrition information panel (NIP). Less than 12% fat (12g fat per 100g) is better than average for muesli. For really low fat muesli look for ones with 3% fat or less.
• The type of fat is also important. Again, check the NIP — the lower the ratio of saturated fat to total fat the better. The ingredients list tells you whether the fat comes mainly from nuts and seeds (unsaturated fat) or added fat, depending on which is listed higher up. Where added fat is listed as ‘vegetable oil’, it could be from coconut oil, which is a saturated fat, or ‘hardened’ vegetable oil, which can contain trans fat — as bad for us as saturated fat.

The most common nuts we found in the mueslis we reviewed are almonds (in 57% of mueslis) and hazelnuts (10%). Sunflower seeds (you'll be eating them in 72% of the mueslis in our test), pumpkin seeds (42%), linseed (28%) and sesame seeds (26%) are the most prevalent seeds.

With at least six different nuts and seeds listed as ingredients, the five mueslis in the table come top for variety. The more rare — and for some people more desirable — nuts were cashews and pistachios.

Nuts and seeds

The fruits of choice for muesli manufacturers are sultanas (found in 72% of mueslis), apricots (52%), pawpaw (36%), coconut and currants (both 33%), apple (31%), pineapple (29%) and raisins (27%).

With nine or more different fruits appearing on the ingredients list, the seven mueslis in the table come top for variety.