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It’s peak season for hot cross buns… But which supermarket’s version won out in our taste test?
Hot cross buns are a Good Friday tradition, but with every supermarket offering its own version, which one is the best?
We’ve put the main supermarket buns to the taste test to find out which brand really is one a penny, two a penny…
Hot cross buns are a Good Friday tradition, but with every supermarket offering its own version, which one is the best?
We’ve put the main supermarket buns to the taste test to find out which brand really is one a penny, two a penny…
Price: £1.70
Average weight: 77g
Calories per bun (average): 206 kcal
Fruity and sweet with a good texture. The cinnamon spice really comes through. Our testers’ favourite. This brand also won our taste test in 2023.
Rating: 5/5
Price: £1.85
Average weight: 68.2g
Calories per bun (average): 174 kcal
These sounded nice: made with soaked dried fruit, including Chilean flame raisins, and real butter. We couldn’t spot the Chilean flame raisins, but still a good bun. Less fruity than some, but good bread texture.
Solid rather than light, but overall a well-balanced bun with a good range of flavours.
Rating: 4/5
Price: £1.25
Average weight: 85.3g
Calories per bun (average): 223 kcal
These divided our testers. There was a good balance between fruit and bread texture, sweet with nice spice notes. But some testers found them dry.
Rating: 3/5
Price: £1.90
Average Weight: 73.3g
Calories per bun (average): 220 kcal
On first inspection these looked delicious and full of fruit. However, when we tasted them, we were disappointed with the overall flavour.
The buns were fruity but not tangy and lacked spice. For the price we would expect more.
Rating: 3/5
Price: £1
Average weight: 104.5g
Calories per bun (average): 274 kcal
These were a surprise as we weren’t expecting much, seeing as they were the cheapest on offer and the largest in size. They weren’t the best we tested, but not bad at all, with noticeable cranberries along with other dried fruit.
Rating: 3/5
Price: £1.60
Average weight – 75.2g
Calories per bun (average) – 184 kcal
Not as fruity as some of the others (such as the Tesco, Waitrose and Morrisons buns we tested) but still tasty. The spicing was quite subtle.
Rating: 3/5
Price: £ 1.19
Average weight – 72.3g
Calories per bun (average) – 206 kcal
Despite being good looking buns, they did not deliver on taste. The dough was rather dry and there was little evidence of either fruitiness or spiciness.
Rating: 3/5
Price: £1.25
Average weight: 75.8g
Calories per bun (average): 189 kcal
Soft, thick buns with nice fruit flavours and a pleasant hint of spice. Good value and perfectly palatable but did not have the wow factor.
Rating: 3/5
Price: £1.39
Average weight: 76.3g
Calories per bun (average): 214 kcal
These didn’t have a lot of fruit or spice, and the buns seemed doughy and dense. The word “luxury” seems like a bit of a stretch in this case.
Rating: 2/5
Written by Sarah Brealey
Published: Updated:
Sarah Brealey has more than 20 years of journalism experience, including being Editor at the British Heart Foundation, where she ran its award-winning patient magazine and other editorial content. She finds it incredibly rewarding to inform and inspire people with great content that gives them the information they need, and she does this by focusing on what readers want, combined with commitment to quality and attention to detail.