The best keto sugar free jelly in the UK
If you’re looking for a quick snack or a sweet dessert, then look no further than keto sugar free jelly. It’s available in many forms in most UK supermarkets and is perfect for a keto diet.
Is sugar free jelly keto friendly?
Short answer, yes! Just make sure you always check the nutrition label and ingredients. There are a few things you need to look out for:
Ingredients
Look for packets that state “Sugar free” or “No added sugar” jelly. However, just because it says that, it doesn’t mean it’s automatically good for keto. It’s a good indicator but always take a thorough look at the ingredients list and make sure it doesn’t include Maltodextrin.
Maltodextrin – this is a sweetener, and is commonly used as a bulking agent. It contains the same amount of calories and carbs as sugar but it also has a higher glycaemic index. In a lot of people it spikes their blood sugar level and can cause digestive issues (you may need to be close to a toilet).
Nutrition (per serving vs per 100g)
In the UK, a lot of brands list the nutritional information for jelly in different ways. For us people on keto, we tend to look at nutrition per 100g. That allows us, at a glance to see what the carb count is. However, because jelly crystals are light weight and you only use a small amount to make up a serving, most brands list nutrition per prepared serving. This was done (reportedly) to avoid confusion and also allows them to make use of the sneaky UK food label rule, where if a serving contains <0.5g of a nutrient then they can round it down to zero.
For example: If a product contains 0.35g of carbs per serving, and the packet contains 18 servings, the label would report 0g of carbs, even though the packet actually contains a total of 6.3g of carbs.
With that in mind, you need to be careful when trying to figure out how many carbs are in a packet of jelly. Whether that is in a snack pot or in it’s crystal powdered form. To make it easier, I’ve listed some of the best sugar free jellies that you can buy below, along with their nutrition per 100g (where possible).
Jelly types
Jelly at it’s core, is just gelatine (usually from pork), flavourings, colouring, sweetener and some stabilisers / regulators. It comes in a wide variety of flavours, some of which can be higher in carbs. You can also get it in ready made snack pots, which is great for something on the go.
For jelly that you can make up at home, it is commonly sold in two forms:
Powdered crystals – packaged in sachets, the most common form sold in the UK. You just mix it with hot water and let it set in the fridge for a few hours. This type tends to be the lowest in carbs and usually the cheapest!
Jelly cubes – concentrated form of jelly that is partially mixed and usually contains some kind of syrup. To make it, you just mix it with hot water. This form is usually not keto friendly, as the syrup used is normally sugar based (like Glucose-Fructose). Best to avoid it where you can.
Ideas and users
While you could just eat jelly by itself, you can kick it up a notch with some of these ideas:
- With cream – add a splash of double cream for a filling dessert. Or add clotted cream if you’re feeling extra indulgent.
- Add nuts and cacao nibs – for that extra crunch
- Add Greek yoghurt – for that extra tartness and creamy texture
- Use half water and half diet lemonade – adds a refreshing bubbly texture to jelly
- Make a cheesecake – use the jelly to provide flavour and help set a cheesecake
- Make jelly babies – recipe coming soon
Nutrition
Sugar free jelly is not very nutrient dense. On average, a serving contains:
- Energy: 13 kcal
- Fat: <0.5g
- Carbohydrate: <0.5g
- Fibre: <0.5g
- Protein: <0.5g
- Salt: 0.05g
In summary, you can eat quite a lot of jelly without it eating into your daily carb limit. Just be careful to not over do it. Sucralose and Aspartame are the two most common sweeteners used, and they can affect people differently. Some report being kicked out of ketosis, while others start to crave non keto foods (as there blood sugar is spiked). Experiment and see what works for you.
What keto sugar free jelly to buy
Most sugar free jelly is fine on keto. I’ve tried quite a few brands and I’ve put a few of my recommendations down below for you to try. If you have any suggestions, please do comment!
Snack pots
If I’m out and need a quick snack, I sometimes pick up a jelly snack pot. You tend to find these in the baking aisle of the supermarket.
Asda Low Cal Orange Flavour Jelly Pot
Available at: Asda
Size: 175g
Price: £0.54
Carbs per serving: <0.5g
Nutrition per serving:
- Energy: <5 kcal
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrate: <0.5g
- Protein: 0g
- Fibre: 0g
- Salt: 0.13g
Additional flavours:
Hartley’s 10 Cal Lemon Cheesecake Flavour Jelly
Available at: Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s
Size: 175g
Price: £0.50
Carbs per serving: 0.2g
Nutrition per serving:
- Energy: 8 kcal
- Fat: <0.1g
- Carbohydrate: 0.2g
- Protein: <0.1g
- Fibre: <0.1 g
- Salt: 0.06g
Additional flavours:
Hartley’s No Added Sugar Tropical Flavour Jelly
Available at: Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s
Size: 115g
Price: £0.50 (commonly 5 for £2)
Carbs per serving: 0.6g to 1.5g (depending on flavour)
Nutrition per serving:
- Energy: 2 kcal
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrate: 0.6g
- Protein: 0.05g
- Fibre: 0g
- Salt: 0.06g
Additional flavours:
Note: the carb count varies between flavours. Not all available flavours may be keto friendly, always check the nutrition label before purchase.
Sachets
Sachets are relatively cheap and are great to make up the night before. Most take around 6-8 hours to fully set. Serve by itself or with cream. I like to sprinkle some cacao nibs on top to give it a bit crunch!
Asda No Added Sugar Strawberry Flavour Jelly
Available at: Asda
Size: 11.5g
Price: £0.37
Price per 100g: £3.22
Carbs per 100g: 18.0g*
Nutrition per serving:
- Energy: <5 kcal
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrate: <0.5g
- Protein: 0g
- Fibre: 0g
- Salt: 0.13g
Additional flavours:
Hartley’s Sugar Free Lemon & Lime Flavour Jelly
Available at: Asda, Tesco, Amazon, Ocado and Sainsbury’s
Size: 23g
Price: £1.00
Price per 100g: £4.35
Carbs per 100g: 8.1g
Nutrition per serving:
- Energy: 9 kcal
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrate: <0.5g
- Protein: 1.9g
- Fibre: 0g
- Salt: 0.22g
Additional flavours:
Simply Delish Sugar-Free Jelly Strawberry
Available at: Amazon
Size: 48g (8g x 6 packets)
Carbs per 100g: 0.35g
Nutrition per serving:
- Energy: 2.39 kcal
- Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrate: 0.35g
- Protein: 0g
- Fibre: 0g
- Salt: 0g
Additional flavours:
Notes:
Use to be available in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, but now only seen online.
It’s ridiculously expensive but is suitable for vegans, as it uses Carrageenan instead of pork gelatin.
* estimate of carbs per 100g. Nutrition information is only given as prepared not per 100g.
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