Shreddies Vs. Shredded Wheat (Which is the Best?)

When you think of healthier breakfast cereals, both Shreddies and Shredded Wheat would probably be high up on the list as a better option than some other cereal choices – but is one better than the other?

In this article, I’ll be comparing Nestlé Shreddies and Shredded Wheat head-to-head to find out which is best in various categories, including nutrition and cost.

Also, you can take part in our voting poll to tell us which you like best and help us find out which is the best cereal for flavor.

Ingredients Comparision

The table below shows the ingredients of Nestlé Shreddies and Shredded Wheat so you can compare the two.

Both types of cereal are made from Whole Grain Wheat and is, in fact, Shredded Wheat’s only ingredient. Shreddies have more ingredients, including sugar and added vitamins and minerals.

Nestlé Original Shreddies Ingredients	Nestlé Shredded Wheat Ingredients
Whole Grain Wheat (96%), Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Barley Malt Extract, Salt, Molasses, Vitamins, and Minerals (Niacin, Iron, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin)	Whole Grain Wheat (100%)

Shreddies Vs. Shredded Wheat Nutritional Comparison

Starting with the nutritional comparison, from calories to vitamins and minerals. For information, the cereals will be compared on a weight-for-weight basis (per 100g) to keep the comparison accurate and fair.

Please note, a recommended serving of Shreddies is 40g, whereas a recommended serving of Shredded Wheat is 45g; although the weights are different, I’ve also included data per serving for information.

Best for Calorie Content

Moving onto the calorie comparison, both kinds of cereal contain a similar amount of calories per weight, but the cereal with the least calories is Shredded Wheat which contains 360kcal per 100g, compared to Shreddies, which contain 364kcal.

It might appear that Shredded Wheat contain more calories than Shreddies per serving, but this is because a serving of Shredded Wheat weighs more.

Cereal Type	Calories Per 100g	Calories Per Serving
Nestlé Original Shreddies	364kcal	145kcal (per 40g serving)
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	360kcal	162kcal (per 45g serving)

Best for Carbohydrate Content

Neither Shreddies nor Shredded Wheat can be classed as low-carbohydrate breakfast cereals, but if this is something you’re tracking, Shredded Wheat are the lower-carb option with 3.1g less carbs per 100g.

Cereal Type	Carbohydrates Per 100g	Carbohydrates Per Serving
Nestlé Original Shreddies	70.1g	28g (per 40g serving)
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	67g	30g (per 45g serving)

Best for Sugar Content

When it comes to sugar content between Shreddies and Shredded Wheat, Shredded Wheat is the best option and hardly contains any sugar with only 0.3g per serving, compared to Shreddies which contain 5g of sugar per serving.

This is because Shreddies have added sugar, whereas Shedded Wheat only contains one ingredient (whole-grain wheat), which means any sugars are natural.

Cereal Type	Sugars Per 100g	Sugars Per Serving
Nestlé Original Shreddies	12.5g	5g (per 40g serving)
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	0.7g	0.3g (per 45g serving)

Best for Protein Content

If protein content is important to you when choosing a breakfast cereal, then Shredded Wheat is the best option for you with 1.4g more protein per 100g of cereal when compared to Shreddies.

Cereal Type	Protein Per 100g	Protein Per Serving
Nestlé Original Shreddies	10.8g	4.3g (per 40g serving)
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	12.2g	5.5g (per 45g serving)

• Shreddies: The daily value percentage of protein is approximately 21.6%.
• Shredded Wheat: The daily value percentage of protein is approximately 24.4%.

The recommended daily intake of protein for an average adult on a 2,000 calorie diet is about 50 grams. This graph shows how each cereal contributes to this daily requirement.

Best for Fat Content

Shreddies and Shredded Wheat are both very low in fat breakfast options and the fat there is will be natural fat from the whole-grain and not a bad fat.

Between the two, Shreddies are slightly lower in fat than Shredded Wheat, however the values are nominal.

Cereal Type	Fat Per 100g	Saturated Fat per 100g
Nestlé Original Shreddies	1.8g	0.3g
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	2.2g	1g

• Shreddies: The daily value percentage of fat is approximately 2.3%.
• Shredded Wheat: The daily value percentage of fat is approximately 2.8%.

The recommended daily intake of fat for an average adult on a 2,000 calorie diet is about 78 grams. This graph shows how each cereal contributes to this daily requirement in terms of fat content.

Best for Fiber Content

Most people choose a whole-grain based cereal like Shreddies or Shredded Wheat because they’re higher fiber options when compared to other breakfast cereals.

Shreddies and Shredded Wheat are both very similar when it comes to fiber content, but Shreddied contain slightly more (0.1g) more fiber per 100g than Shredded Wheat. It’s worth noting that this is a nominal amount and both kinds of cereal are high-fiber options.

Cereal Type	Dietary Fibre Per 100g	Dietary Fibre per Serving
Nestlé Original Shreddies	12.3g	4.9g (per 40g serving)
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	12.2g	5.5g (per 45g serving)

Best for Sodium/Salt Content

When it comes to salt content, Shredded Wheat is lowest in salt with only 0.05g per 100g of cereal.

Shredded Wheat has no added salt, whereas Shreddies have salt added to the ingredients, although they’re not high in salt either.

Cereal Type	Salt/Sodium Per 100g	Salt per Serving
Nestlé Original Shreddies	0.72g	0.29g (per 40g serving)
Nestlé Shredded Wheat	0.05g	0.02g (per 45g serving)

Best for Vitamins/Minerals

Shreddies are a fortified cereal which means certain vitamins and minerals are added to the ingredients, whereas Shredded Wheat only has one simple ingredient.

I’ve been unable to compare the cereals in this category due to a lack of vitamin & mineral data for Nestlé Shredded Wheat.

For information, the table below shows the vitamins and minerals which are added to Shreddies:

Vitamin/Mineral Type	Nestlé Original Shreddies	Nestlé Shredded Wheat
Riboflavin	0.36mg / 26%	No data
Niacin	4.3mg / 27%	No data
Vitamin B6	0.40mg / 28%	No data
Folic Acid	44mcg / 22%	No data
Iron	3mg / 22%	No data

*mcg = microgram (1000th of a milligram) / mg = milligram (1000th of a gram)

Best for Flavor/Texture

Because the taste of food is subjective and varies from person to person, this is not something I can judge without a poll across a range of voters.

You can help to decide the winner of this category by voting for your favorite in the poll below and once you vote you’ll be able to see the public favorite so far.

Best for Price

Because Shredded Wheat and Shreddies are sold in different pack sizes, I’ll be comparing the cost per 100g of cereal to keep things fair.

At the time of writing this article, the average cost of Nestlé Shreddies in the UK are £0.42 per 100g and the cost of Shredded Wheat are £0.40.

Based on this information, Shredded Wheat are slightly cheaper than Shreddies, although there isn’t much difference in price between the two.

Overall Winner

All categories have now been compared and the winner of most categories for nutrition and cost is Shredded Wheat which won in best for calories, carbs, sugar, protein, salt content, and price.

It’s important to note that Shreddies are still a great option and were only slightly behind in most categories and surprisingly they’re slightly higher in fiber too.

Which is best for you, depends on what is most important to you and your diet, but hopefully, you can use the information in this article to make an informed breakfast cereal choice.

Comparison Category	Winner (Shreddies or Shredded Wheat)
Best for Calorie Content	Shredded Wheat
Best for Carbohydrate Content	Shredded Wheat
Best for Sugar Content	Shredded Wheat
Best for Protein Content	Shredded Wheat
Best for Fat Content	Shreddies
Best for Fiber Content	Shreddies
Best for Salt Content	Shredded Wheat
Best for Vitamins/Minerals	Unable to compare
Best for Price	Shredded Wheat
Overall Winner	Shredded Wheat