Britain’s healthiest high-street sandwiches revealed
Pre-packaged sandwiches are one of life’s great conveniences. They are the answer to what to eat on the go, are usually located right by shop entrances and are available in an endless range of fillings that cater to all tastes, from nostalgic egg and cress to trendy pulled pork.
There’s no denying that they can be unappealing – overly cold from being kept in a fridge, with long use-by dates hinting at the preservatives they’re packed with, and often plastered with red traffic-light labels as a reminder that they’re full of calories, fat and salt.
Yet our sandwich habit, which sees us buy hundreds of thousands every day from the likes of Tesco, M&S and Pret, may not be as disastrous for our health as presumed. “Sandwiches offer a great vehicle for a healthy and balanced meal,” says Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a registered dietitian and author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed.
“They can have great macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals)” if you pick wholemeal bread and a filling that includes a healthy protein, such as meat or eggs, as well as lots of salad, she says. Ludlam-Raine analysed more than 60 sandwiches across 10 of the most popular fillings from least to most healthy, based on their nutritional value, to help with your next sandwich purchase.
Jump to:
BLT
The inclusion of bacon makes the BLT high in salt but they also offer a decent hit of fibre.
1. Healthiest
Waitrose Classic BLT
This sandwich is the lowest-calorie BLT of those included in the analysis (at 385kcal), while also containing the least fat (13.3g) and saturated fat (3.4g). It also has a decent fibre (3.9g) and protein (18.1g) content.
2. Middle of the road
Sainsbury’s Maple Cured Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato
This option is among the least calorific (388kcal) and contains the lowest amount of salt compared with other BLTs (1.41g) but has slightly less fibre (3.8g).
3. Least healthy
Pret BLT
Pret’s offering is the highest-calorie BLT (506kcal) and has the most fat (28.3g) and salt (2.71g). It is also one of the highest in saturated fat (7.1g).
Chicken salad
Chicken salad is one of the healthiest filling choices – though watch out for options with a high salt content.
1. Healthiest
Waitrose Roast Chicken Salad
This sandwich is a nutritious lunchtime option. It is low in calories (331kcal), fat (5.2g) and saturated fat (1g). It is also packed with protein (24.8g) and fibre (4.8g).
2. Middle of the road
Tesco Chicken Salad
It has an average amount of calories (360kcal) for these sandwiches and is at the lower end of saturated fat (0.9g) and salt (0.99g).
3. Least healthy
Pret Chicken Salad
Pret’s option is the highest calorie chicken salad sandwich by quite a lot (520kcal) and has up to six times more fat than other same-flavoured sandwiches, while also being the lowest in protein (21.7g). It is also highest in salt (2.14g).
Tuna
Tuna sandwiches are a good all-rounder and tend to be low in calories and sugar but try not to get caught on saturated fat.
1. Healthiest
Sainsbury’s Tuna Mayo
Tuna sandwiches are a great healthy choice, as the fish is full of protein, vitamins and minerals. Sainsbury’s tops the rest as it is very low in calories (288kcal), saturated fat (0.7g) and sugar (3.2g) while containing plenty of protein (16.7g).
2. Middle of the road
Tesco Tuna & Cucumber
This is still a healthy option, though it has slightly more calories (323kcal), saturated fat (0.9g) and sugar (3.9g) than Sainsbury’s.
3. Least healthy
Pret Tuna & Cucumber
This option has a few more calories (370kcal in total), fat (13.9g) and saturated fat (1.6g) than other tuna sandwiches, though it does have a good amount of fibre due to the addition of cucumber (4.9g).
Ploughman’s
The combination of cheese and pickle makes the ploughman’s sandwiches higher in calories and sugar but they also offer up a fair amount of fibre.
1. Healthiest
Tesco Cheese & Pickle
This sandwich is at the lower end for calories (409kcal), fat (15g), saturated fat (8.4g) and sugar (9.1g). It also has plenty of protein (17.7g) and a small amount of fibre (2.9g).
2. Middle of the road
Sainsbury’s Red Leicester Ploughman’s
This sandwich is at the lower end for calories (457kcal) and sugar (9.8g). It also has plenty of protein (19.3g) and a decent amount of fibre (4.7g).
3. Least healthy
Waitrose No 1 The Perfect Ploughman’s
This sandwich is very high in calories (574kcal), has one of the highest saturated fat contents (13.1g) and is also packed with 11g of sugar – more than a KitKat.
Egg
Packing plenty of protein, egg sandwiches are a healthy choice, though some are high in salt.
1. Healthiest
Waitrose Essential Egg Mayo
This sandwich, made with oatmeal bread, is very low-calorie (295kcal). It also has the lowest fat (7.6g), saturated fat (1.8g) and salt (1g) of all the egg sandwiches looked at, while also providing a good protein hit (15.7g).
2. Middle of the road
Sainsbury’s Egg & Cress
Another good option, this time on malted bread, it is also low in calories (325kcal) and saturated fat (2.4g). While it has a bit more protein (17.8g) it also has more salt (1.59g).
3. Least healthy
M&S Egg & Watercress
Its relatively high calorie content (438kcal), up to three times more saturated fat (6.2g) and twice as much salt (2.03g) as other egg sandwiches means this is one of the least healthy options.
Coronation chicken
Coronation chicken sandwiches are on the higher end for sugar but still provide a protein hit.
1. Healthiest
Tesco Coronation Chicken
This option is the lowest in calories (404kcal) and sugar (6.4g) while being the highest in protein (22.3g).
2. Middle of the road
Waitrose Coronation Chicken
This option is made on malted bread, while the other two are made with white bread, meaning it has the most fibre (4.6g), but it is also the highest in calories (447kcal) and fat (15.8g).
3. Least healthy
Sainsbury’s Coronation Chicken with Apricots and Sultanas
It has the highest saturated fat content (3.1g), sugar (11.4g) and salt (1.49g) out of these three coronation chicken sandwiches.
Ham and cheese
It’s a simple favourite but ham and cheese sandwiches tend to be higher in calories and don’t offer much fibre.
1. Healthiest
Boots Ploughman’s Ham & Cheese
The Boots option is the lowest in calories (345kcal), saturates (4g) and salt (1.61g) of the ham and cheese sandwiches included in the analysis, making it a decent choice for lunch.
2. Middle of the road
Waitrose Smoked Ham & Cheese
This sandwich has one of the lowest calories (425kcal), fat (15g) and saturated fat (6.8g) counts. It also has a decent amount of fibre (4.3g) and protein (24.8g).
3. Least healthy
Pret Ham & Cheese
Again, Pret ranked poorly. It had the highest fat (26.2g), saturated fat (15.2g) and salt (3.49g) levels. However, it does have a decent amount of protein (31.4g) and fibre (5.6g).
Prawn
Prawn sandwiches can be low in calories but may pack a lot of saturated fat.
1. Healthiest
Tesco Prawn Mayonnaise
This sandwich, made with malted bread, has just 325 calories and is low in sugar (3.1g) and saturated fat (1g), while containing a good amount of fibre (3.4g) and protein (17.6g) and not too much fat (6.7g).
2. Middle of the road
Asda Prawn Mayo on Oatmeal Bread
Asda’s take has slightly more calories than Tesco’s (369kcal) and almost twice as much fat (12g) but has a bit more fibre (4g) and protein (20g).
3. Least healthy
Waitrose No 1 The King of Prawn Cocktails
While it may be delicious and packed with king prawns, it isn’t the best from a health point of view. It is the most calorific option (488), has up to five times more fat (21.5g) than other prawn sandwiches and is the saltiest (2.37g). It does also contain the most protein (22.8g).
Chicken mayo
A simple chicken mayo sandwich can pack plenty of protein but try to dodge those with too much salt.
1. Healthiest
Waitrose Essential Roast Chicken & Mayo
For chicken mayo sandwiches, Waitrose is one of the lowest options you can get for calories (314kcal), fat (8.6g) and salt (0.95g).
2. Middle of the road
Asda Chicken Mayo on Malted Bread
A middle of the road option, the sandwich at Asda is equally low in calories (314kcal) as Waitrose’s version but has slightly more fat (9.2g) and salt (1g).
3. Least healthy
Sainsbury’s Gluten Free Chicken Mayo
Sainsbury’s take on this sandwich has slightly more calories (345kcal), saturated fat (1.6g) and salt (1.17g) compared with the other options.
Salmon
Salmon sandwiches offer up plenty of nutrients but full-fat cream cheese options can push up the saturated fat content
1. Healthiest
Waitrose Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese
It’s made with oatmeal bread and reduced fat soft cheese, making it the lowest in calories (361kcal), fat (11.2g), saturated fat (3.5g), and sugar (2.8g). It also provides a protein hit (19.6g).
2. Middle of the road
Pret Scottish Smoked Salmon
This sandwich doesn’t have cream cheese but does have butter. It’s slightly higher in calories (407kcal), fat (17.5g), saturated fat (5.3g) and sugar (3g) than Waitrose’s but also offers more protein (22.2g) and fibre (4.8g).
3. Least healthy
M&S No Mayo Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese
This option contains the most fat (23.8g) and saturated fat (11.3g) compared with other salmon sandwiches by far, as it’s made with full-fat cream cheese. It also has a bit more salt than the other offerings (2.48g) but does contain a good amount of protein (22g) and fibre (7.6g).
Overall healthiest sandwich
Waitrose Roast Chicken Salad Sandwich is the overall healthiest option on the high street, due to the salad it contains as well as its high fibre (4.8g) and protein (24.8g) content, says Ludlam-Raine. “Plus, it’s pretty decent for calories (331kcal), fat (5.2g), sugar (4.4g) and salt (1.21g) too,” she notes.
It’s packed with roast chicken breast, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber, with a slathering of seasoned mayonnaise, and sandwiched between two slices of malted bread.
“Malted bread contains more fibre than regular white bread, and this sandwich provides around 17 per cent of our daily fibre needs,” Ludlam-Raine says.
“This would probably be my personal choice of a sandwich, with a side of fresh fruit and a water or coffee,” Ludlam-Raine adds.
Least healthy sandwich
Its sandwiches ranked least healthy for four out of 10 sandwich categories but it’s Pret’s Ham & Cheese sandwich that is the worst overall for our health, according to Ludlam-Raine.
It’s made with malted bread, Wiltshire cured ham, sliced mature cheddar cheese and butter.
“It’s also one of the highest in calories (530kcal) of the 62 sandwiches looked at and has the highest saturated fat (15.2g) and salt content (3.49g), thanks to the large amounts of butter, cheese and ham (a processed red meat which in large amounts isn?t good for health),” she says. “This should most certainly be an occasional indulgence as opposed to a daily habit.”
How to choose a healthier sandwich
“If you have them frequently, avoid sandwiches with high levels of salt, and choose those with a shorter ingredients list,” suggests Ludlam-Raine. “In general, these contain fewer additives.”
It’s worth selecting a sandwich with little or no added mayo or butter and consider adding extra ingredients, such as a smashed avocado, which will provide healthy fats, to make it more balanced, she says.
When it comes to the bread, opt for wholegrain or wholewheat bread, rather than white, which is generally lower in fibre and higher in calories, Ludlam-Raine recommends.
While the wholegrain and wholewheat breads used in shop-bought sandwiches are still ultra-processed, they are higher fibre. “More recent research shows that UPFs that are high in fibre and plants may not be associated with negative health outcomes” such as obesity, she adds.
Also, consider how often you’re eating shop-bought sandwiches. “Limit yourself to twice a week, if you can,” Ludlam-Raine says. “The best scenario is always to make your own sandwich at home from wholegrain bread, lean protein and plenty of salad.”
What’s in your shop-bought sandwich?
“Shop-bought sandwiches often contain additives and preservatives to enhance shelf life and taste,” explains Ludlam-Raine.
Common preservatives include sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, which prevent harmful bacteria and yeast forming in food.
Emulsifiers, such as soya lecithin, monoglycerides and diglycerides, are often added to sandwiches. They prevent oil and water from splitting in ingredients such as butter, mayonnaise, sauces and dressing. Stabilisers, such as xanthan gum and guar gum, help maintain texture and structure.
“These additives may be safe, but together they make the majority of shop-bought sandwiches ‘ultra-processed’,” Ludlam-Raine notes. “Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are often easy to eat, which may promote over-consumption.
“Recent evidence suggests that we should reduce our intake of UPFs, in particular those that contain multiple different types of additives and are high in fat, sugar and salt.”
The only non-UPF shop-bought sandwiches are those made using bakery bread, contain only butter or homemade mayonnaise, with a single ingredient or wholefood protein (such as chicken, eggs or homemade falafel), explains Ludlam-Raine.
“However, just because something is UPF or not, that isn’t the only indicator of being healthy or unhealthy, especially if it?s rich in plant protein, fibre and healthy fats,” she says. “The additives used in sandwiches make it safe and enjoyable for us to eat even if it?s been on the shelf for a few days.”