Asda - Gluten vs Gluten Free Basket Comparison

Table of Contents

• Porridge oats

• Box of cereal

• Loaf of white/brown/seeded bread

• Pack of 4 white/brown/seeded bread rolls

• Pasta

• Spaghetti

• Plain flour

• Digestive biscuits

• Gravy Granules

• THE RESULTS!

Head over to our blog page to read our introduction to the gluten free basket comparison or click here to see what it’s all about.

We’ve now done most of our supermarket basket comparisons and we’ve been to Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, M&S Food, Waitrose, Tesco and now it’s Asda’s turn to be put on the spot.

Just a reminder, we’re comparing the price of 9 gluten free products with their gluten containing version across 8 of the UK’s major supermarkets to see where the cheapest place to shop for gluten free is.

Of course, we know that cheap isn’t always best (especially for gluten free) but this comparison will allow us to clearly highlight the price differences between basic gluten and gluten free items and see how prices vary between the supermarkets.

We’ve created a dedicated comparison page on our website to keep track of the supermarket prices we’re reviewing. Click here to see the leaderboard 🏆

Asda, let’s see if we get the ‘Asda Price Feeling’ after reading this…⬇️

Porridge oats

Asda don’t seem to do their own brand of gluten free oats so we’re comparing a branded product with a non-branded product which, like I’ve said before, is inevitable when supermarkets only stock some GF products from other brands. Asda normal porridge oats are £1.29 for a 1kg pack vs the branded Nairn’s gluten free oats which are priced at £2.20 for 450g.

So, by shopping at Asda, you’ll be paying  91p  more for the gluten free oats which is a  71%  increase in product price.

If you work our the price per weight, then the price of the gluten free oats goes up more because you’ll be paying  36p  more per 100g, which is a  175% increase.

Box of cereal

Asda’s own corn flakes are priced at 85p for 500g, and surprise surprise, the gluten free cereal is more expensive, even though you’re only getting 300g at £1.60.

Despite the clear size difference, buying the gluten free cereal means you’re having to spend  75p  more and is  88%  more expensive than the normal cereal.

Per 100g, the gluten free cereal costs  36p  more which is an increase of  214% when you look at what you’re getting for your money, per 100g.

Loaf of white/brown/seeded bread

An 800g wholemeal loaf at Asda will cost you 75p, whereas a 535g gluten free brown sliced loaf will set you back £1.80; more than double the price of the normal loaf.

Buying the gluten free loaf means you’re spending  £1.05  more which is a percentage increase of  140% .

Per 100g, the gluten free loaf costs  24p  more and that’s a  259%  increase.

Pack of 4 white/brown/seeded bread rolls

For the rolls, Asda only seemed to have the Extra Special range and these cost £1.25 and the gluten free rolls cost £1.75.

That’s a price increase of  50p  for the gluten free rolls which is  40%  more expensive than the gluten product.

When we look per 100g, because they’re slightly different in weight, the gluten free rolls cost  23p  more than the regular rolls with a  53%  increase.

Pasta

No price match here I’m afraid 😒 

Asda pasta is priced at 75p, the same as what we’ve seen at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S and Waitrose (Morrisons is excluded because their pasta is 95p). Unfortunately though, unlike Sainsbury’s and Tesco, the gluten free pasta isn’t priced the same, it’s £1.00.

That means that the gluten free pasta costs  25p  more and is  33%  more expensive than the normal pasta.

Going off price per 100g, the gluten free pasta costs  5p  more and is again,  33%  more expensive.

Spaghetti

Asda gluten free spaghetti also hasn’t price matched the normal spaghetti with the prices being the same as the pasta; gluten containing at 75p and gluten free at £1.00 for 500g.

Again, that means that the gluten free spaghetti costs  25p  more and is  33%  more expensive than the normal spaghetti. Per 100g, that’s  5p  more for the gluten free pasta which is a  33%  increase.

Plain flour

Asda do actually have their own branded gluten free flour and it’s about £1 cheaper than what we’ve seen so far with the Doves branded flour and the M&S own flour. So if you haven’t tried it, it might be worth it to see if you could be saving yourself some money! Standard flour is priced at 70p for a 1.5kg pack and the gluten free flour costs a little more at £1.05 but for a pack weighing 500g less, at 1kg.

So the gluten free flour is  35p  more expensive and that’s  50%  more expensive than the standard flour.

But, when you consider the prices per 100g, it does get slightly more expensive; the gluten free flour is  6p  more expensive which is a  125%  increase.

Digestive biscuits

We’re back at it again with the digestive biscuits saga. A standard 400g packet of digestive biscuits will cost you 70p but for a 160g pack of gluten free digestive biscuits, you’ll be spending £1.60.

That means that you’re spending  90p  more having to buy gluten free digestive biscuits which is a  129%  increase on price per product.

As always, it’s important to look into the cost per 100g because you might think differently about the price! For the gluten free digestives, you’re getting 240g less than what you get for a standard pack, less than half the amount. That means that per 100g, the gluten free biscuits are  83p  more expensive and a price increase of  471% !

If there’s one challenge to come out of this, it’s to learn how to make your own digestive biscuits!

Gravy Granules

The last item to compare is gravy granules. Whilst a 200g tub of gravy granules containing wheat will cost you £1.00, gluten free gravy granules cost £1.50 for 170g.

For gluten free gravy, you’re having to spend  50p  more for the product which is a  50%  increase on the gluten containing tub.

Per 100g, that’s  38p  more expensive and an increase of  76% , when you’re buying gluten free.

THE RESULTS!

So, the baskets are full and the total price for each basket has been calculated. At Asda, the basket containing all of the normal gluten containing products comes to £8.04. It will cost you  £5.46  more however, to buy the gluten free basket, which has totalled up to £13.50. That’s an increase of  68% .

If we look at the baskets in quantity/weight, the total price per 100g for each item in the gluten basket comes to £1.85. The gluten free basket however, is more than double that price that at £4.42 which is  £2.56  more expensive and an increase of  138% .

So if we look at basket price only, Asda’s gluten free basket has actually come out the cheapest with Sainsbury’s in the lead for it’s gluten containing basket price. 🥇

However, because not everything in each basket or each supermarket has the same weight, it would be unfair to judge only on the basket and disregard what quantity you’re getting for that price.

So, per 100g, Asda has come in still as one of the cheapest but based on price per 100g rather than overall basket price, it’s been beaten by another supermarket.

That means that, yes, buying these products at Asda would mean that you’d get the cheapest basket we’ve seen so far, but you wouldn’t be getting as much as you would if you spent a little extra. That’s why it’s super important to check the weight/size of the product you’re buying and look at the price per 100g to make sure it’s worth it.

It’s far more cost effective in the long run! 👍🏼

I’m not feeling very positive about our next 2 supermarkets, but you never know, so let’s see if Aldi and Lidl can compete with other supermarkets in what they offer gluten free…