Best low carb keto sausages in UK stores

The humble sausage comes in many forms and varieties but many contain “hidden” carbs due to extra filler ingredients. These can include grains, rusk and breadcrumbs which can make sausages unsuitable for keto. Let’s take a look at some of the lowest carb sausages you can buy in UK supermarkets.

Types of sausages

There are quite a few different types of sausages available for sale in the UK and some are unique to our little country. For the purpose of this article, we’re just going to focus on UK varieties.

Cumberland

Probably the most popular type sold in the UK and for good reason! They have a distinctive long coiled shape and typically contain around 85-98% pork. This makes it ideal for a keto diet as they are less likely to contain fillers (grain/breadcrumbs).

Chipolata

Much thinner & longer than a traditional Cumberland sausage and they come in a variety of flavours. Very popular around Christmas time, wrapped in bacon and aptly named pigs in blankets. Depending on the flavour (and brand), the carb content can vary wildly so always check the label.

Lincolnshire

The sausage with a whole load of herbs. It has a distinctive flavour made possible by the inclusion of sage (and sometimes thyme). Compared to a high meat content Cumberland, the carb content will be a little higher due to the herbs but you can still find many under 3g of carbs per 100g.

Black & White Pudding

You might not think of black pudding when recalling different sausage types but technically it is one. It has a rich, deep red colour and usually contains a mixture of pork blood, fat (suet), oatmeal and seasonings. White pudding is the same mixture minus the blood.

However, because of the oatmeal and other fillers like wheat flour, most black pudding is not suitable for keto as it contains around 11-16g of carbs per 100g.

Saveloy

Oi Oi saveloy! Might be the first thing that enters your head when thinking about this brightly coloured sausage. Commonly found in the local chippy they were originally made with pork brains but nowadays they usually contain a combination of beef, pork, spices and rusk.

Rusk is just a dry biscuit ground into particles and used as a food additive and binding agent in many sausages. Traditionally made from stale bread, there is now a more common yeast-free variety that contains wheat flour, salt, bicarbonate and water.

As you can imagine Rusk makes the humble Saveloy not suitable for keto with around 10g of carbs per 100g.

Lorne

Don’t like the traditional sausage shape? Then why not try the Lorne variety with its unusual square shape, commonly referred to as just square or flat sausage. It contains ground pork (or beef), rusk and seasonings. Originally from Scotland but can be found all over the UK.

As with the Saveloy, the inclusion of rusk makes the sausage not suitable for keto at around 15-18g of carbs per 100g.

Other UK varieties

Oxford, Newmarket, Suffolk, Tomato, Yorkshire, Gloucester, Manchester and many more. There’s practically a sausage named after every town/city in the UK! Listing them all would make this article a bit long!

If you’re not sure if your favourite sausages are keto friendly then check the nutritional information on the packet and try to aim for less than 3g of carbs per 100g (preferably less than 1.5g).

Related – Looking for some low carb keto-friendly Frankfurters? Check out our new guide here!

What to look for in a keto sausage

Now that we’ve taken a look at some of the most popular classic British sausages, lets define what we should look for in a perfect keto sausage:

• High meat content – the higher the percentage of meat, the less room for filler ingredients! Aim for >85% meat content where possible.
• As few ingredients as possible – Put simply, the more ingredients the higher the likely hood of extra carbs. Even herbs can affect the total carb count.
• Less than 3g of carbs per 100g – As a rule of thumb, try and aim for this when picking out your sausage.

Recommended keto sausages

To make life easier, we’ve collated a collection of the best low carb sausages sold in some of the biggest UK supermarkets.

Heck – Available in most stores

A small independent vendor based in the UK that has some of the lowest carb sausages available! Most sausages are high in meat content (>85%) and they keep the filler ingredients to a minimum.

You can find them in most food stores including:

Amazon Fresh, Asda, Booths, Coop, Morrisons, Iceland, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Tesco and Waitrose.

Heck 6 97% Pork Sausages

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 1.2g

Average price: £2.75

Heck 10 Spring Chicken Sausages

Weight: 340g

Carbs per 100g: 1.2g

Average price: £2.75

Heck 10 Smoky Paprika Chicken Chipolatas

Weight: 340g

Carbs per 100g: 2.4g

Average price: £2.75

Asda

Extra Special 6 Pork Welsh Cheddar & Smoked Bacon Sausages

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 1.2g

Average price: £2.50

Price per 100g: £0.63

Extra Special 10 Classic Pork Sausages

Weight: 667g

Carbs per 100g: 2.2g

Average price: £3.89

Price per 100g: £0.58

Extra Special 20 Classic Pork Chipolata Sausages

Weight: 625g

Carbs per 100g: 2.2g

Average price: £3.89

Price per 100g: £0.62

Tesco

Update June 2021 – Tesco has changed the recipe for their finest range, increasing carb counts by 2-4g per 100g! Make sure to check the packages before purchase. For reference, I’ve left the original carb count in brackets below and removed Finest Chipolatas as they are now >5.0g carbs per 100g.

Finest British Lincolnshire Pork Sausages

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 2.7g (was 0.6g)

Average price: £2.75

Price per 100g: £0.69

Finest 6 Cumberland Pork Sausages

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 4.9g (was 1.7g)

Average price: £2.75

Price per 100g: £0.69

Finest British Pork Sausages

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 3.4g

Average price: £2.50

Price per 100g: £0.63

Sainsbury’s

Pork Sausages, Taste the Difference

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 1.0g

Average price: £2.25

Price per 100g: £0.56

Pork Chipolata, Taste the Difference

Weight: 375g

Carbs per 100g: 1.3g

Average price: £2.25

Price per 100g: £0.60

Pork Cumberland Sausages, Taste the Difference

Weight: 400g

Carbs per 100g: 1.4g

Average price: £2.75

Price per 100g: £0.68

Also, check out their Taste the Difference Lincolnshire Pork Sausages that contain only 2.2g of carbs per 100g. In addition, their Toulouse inspired sausages are also only 0.9g per 100g!

Brands to avoid

Some of the big sausage brands use a lot of filler ingredients and should be avoided on keto. These include:

• Walls – Only 60% pork with rusk and other fillers.
  • Carbs per 100g – 15g
• Richmond – Only 42% pork with added fat, rusk and what starch.
  • Carbs per 100g – 14g

As always check the nutrition label before purchase!