I tested 13 mueslis – Tesco’s £2.50 bag was perfect

Let’s hear it for muesli. In recent years, it has fallen behind its jazzy cousin, granola, in the breakfast cereal pecking order. At Waitrose, sales of muesli are down this year (granola is up 11 per cent), while granola sales at Ocado well exceed those for muesli. But while it may be associated with old hippies as opposed to the trendier granola, there’s a lot to be said for good-old muesli. Most come with health benefits, says Dr Sammie Gill, a registered dietitian and senior nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation. The different components – usually a mix of whole grains and dried fruit – have been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes. “Muesli can be a healthy option for breakfast as part of a healthy diet,” says Gill. “It typically combines oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, providing a good balance of fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.” Adding cow’s milk, yogurt or fortified plant-based alternatives can add protein, calcium and other minerals, making for an even more balanced breakfast, Gill adds. While generally packed with whole ingredients (some contain a few UPFs), it’s worth keeping an eye on sugar – some contain added sugar, although many purely from fruit. Shorts Granola, Gill says, is “essentially a baked version of muesli, and often contains added sugar under different names, such as brown rice syrup or honey”. It is also likely to include oil. “As a result, granola is typically higher in both sugar and fat than ‘unbaked’ muesli.” As a keen muesli lover (particularly Swiss style, where the grains tend to be finer, coated in milk powder and, to me, crispier), I put 13 options (both Swiss and regular) to the test. I blind tasted each with and without milk, looking for an option that was well balanced between grain and fruit (and seeds and nuts if present), and retained a pleasing crunch when milk was added. My scores are primarily based on flavour, although price and nutritional information were taken into account. (The nutritional information shown below is per serving suggestion on the pack, or per 100g where one wasn’t provided). Morrisons Extra Fruity Muesli £2.50 for 750g, Morrisons. Sugar per 45g portion: 13.2g. Fibre per 45g portion: 3.4g A rather high dried fruit content, almost 50:50 with the flaked grains. There are lots of different fruits – dates, raisins, apricots, cranberries, bananas, apples – so ideal for those who like a fruit-led muesli. But it does make it on the sweet side. There’s a nice balance between the chewy fruit and crispy wheat flakes. 3.5/5 Morrisons Extra Fruity Muesli has a high dried fruit content; Bio&Me Fruit & Nut Muesli tastes bland but has less sugar than most; Waitrose’s Essential Fruit Muesli could be sweeter Bio&Me Fruit & Nut Muesli £2.50 for 450g, Ocado. Sugar per 60g serving: 5.1g. Fibre per 60g serving: 6g Looks very oaty on first look, which gives it a pale colour that’s not appealing. The fruit is sparse, it’s mostly grain, with sporadic raisins and the odd bit of dried carrot giving colour. The puffed rice and seeds add to the healthy, non-sugary feel. It’s quite healthy tasting – it’s low in sugar and high in fibre – but it’s a bit bland. 2.5/5 Essential Fruit Muesli £3.30 for 1kg, Waitrose. Sugar per 45g serving: 12.4g. Fibre per 45g serving: 2.7g Very fruity, with all sorts, from raisins, sultanas and apricots to pineapple and papaya. This gives it a rather orange hue. But there’s a decent amount of raisins, and it’s full of grains – oat, wheat, barley – too. It retains a nice crunch with milk, but could be a touch sweeter. 3/5 Tesco Swiss Style Muesli is the winner and only £2.50; Sainsbury’s Fruit, Nut & Seed Muesli is a touch too sweet and chewy; Dorset Muesli Delicious Fruit & Nut is delicious Tesco Swiss Style Muesli £2.50 for 1kg, Tesco. Sugar per 50g: 8.7g. Fibre per 50g: 4g Crispy and flaky grain, with that welcoming dusting of milky powder found in Alpen and other Swiss-style mueslis, there’s a great balance of sweet, chewy raisin and earthy, nutty wheat – each mouthful contains a good amount of each. With milk it all remains crispy, the perfect balance. Excellent value, too. 5/5 Sainsbury’s Fruit, Nut & Seed Muesli £2.50 for 750g, Sainsbury’s. Sugar per 45g serving: 8.4g. Fibre per 45g serving: 3.5g High in raisins and sultanas, and at first glance there’s a good amount of nuts – almonds, hazelnuts. But it is a touch on the sweet side, and chewy in consistency rather than crispy. Some mouthfuls were like putting a bunch of raisins into your mouth rather than muesli. The almonds added a welcome crunch, though. 3/5 Dorset Muesli Delicious Fruit & Nut £3 for 500g, Morrisons. Sugar per 45g: 8.6g. Fibre per 45g: 3.2g A decent fruit-to-grain ratio, with some chunky raisins thrown in. With dates and dried apples, it’s a nice mix of fruit without going too far. Hazelnuts added a nice crunch, while cashews were a nice touch, too. Overall, it creates a good mix, not too sweet apart from the odd pop of a raisin, and remains crunchy with milk. Delicious. 4.5/5 Aldi’s Harvest Morn Original Swiss Style Muesli is great value; Co-op High Fibre Mixed Fruit Muesli has too much fruit; Alpen No Added Sugar Muesli is delicious, if a bit too sweet Harvest Morn Original Swiss Style Muesli £2.29 for 1.1kg, Aldi. Sugar per 100g: 19.1g. Fibre per 100g: 8.13g A very nice Swiss style muesli, with very crunchy crisped grains (some almost tasted like Ryvita). The raisins could have been a touch chewier – it’s not quite up there with some other Swiss mueslis – but it is a very good effort, and the best value of all. 4/5 Co-op High Fibre Mixed Fruit Muesli £2.25 for 500g, Co-op. Sugar per 45g serving: 10g. Fibre per 45g serving: 2.8g A huge amount of fruit, primarily raisin – I can barely see grains. You might as well buy a carton of Sun-Maid. It’s not bad, and you can taste some welcome apricot, but for me I needed the fruity sweetness dialled down a bit. 3/5 Alpen No Added Sugar Muesli £3.10 for 550g, Tesco. Sugar per 45g serving: 8.1g. Fibre per 45g serving: 3.7g The grains are flaky, crispy and crunchy, covered in ample milk powder. There’s a good amount of nuts (almond and hazelnuts), and there’s a nice saltiness to it, too, unlike most of the others. With milk it remains exceptionally crisp, too. The only minor downside is it’s a tiny bit sweet. 4.5/5 Lidl’s Crownfields Premium Fruit & Nut Muesli is one of the sweetest and high in sugar; Rude Health The Ultimate Muesli Organic has even more sugar and mushy, like overnight oats Crownfields Premium Fruit & Nut Muesli £2.29 for 750g, Lidl. Sugar per 45g: 11.1g. Fibre per 45g: 6.4g This is one of the sweetest tested, thanks to a wide variety of dried fruit, including pineapple and papaya. Coconut flakes were welcome, though. Overall there’s too many things going on, thanks to a lengthy ingredient list. 3/5 Rude Health The Ultimate Muesli Organic £3.20 for 400g, Ocado. Sugar per 80g serving: 14g. Fibre per 80g serving: 9g Lots of fruit, seeds and nuts, with good variation – quinoa, buckwheat, linseed, cranberry, prunes, and so on. I liked the addition of puffed rice, too. Definitely one for those looking to up their plant intake, but with milk I found it all a bit mushy, like overnight oats – I prefer a crunch to my morning muesli. 3.5/5 M&S No Added Sugar Swiss Style Muesli was tasty but has a large sugar content; Duchy Organic Muesli with Raisins & Almonds is low in sugar but not sweet enough M&S No Added Sugar Swiss Style Muesli £3.20 for 1kg, M&S. Sugar per 100g: 14g. Fibre per 100g: 7.2g A flaky muesli, with a nice toasty wheatiness to the flavour, which adds an earthiness to help balance the sweet raisins. There was a touch too much milky powder, and it could do with perhaps a few more raisins to add a little more sweetness, but it’s a nice, crisp muesli. 4/5 Duchy Organic Muesli with Raisins & Almonds £4 for 750g, Waitrose. Sugar par 45g serving: 5.9g. Fibre per 45g serving: 3.9g Not sweet at all (reflected in the low sugar content), so a good option for those looking to cut down. The ingredients list is minimalist: wheat, oat, raisins, almonds. While this might be welcome in that there’s no hidden nasties, it does make it bland, a few more fruits, nuts or seeds would enliven things. 3/5