Do Hot Cross Buns Have Syns?

Whether you are enjoying a hot cross bun around Easter or you just love a hot cross bun as a treat with a cuppa in the afternoon, since these are not free foods, you have to make sure you are tracking them on the slimming world diet.

On average, hot cross buns tend to have a similar syn value of 9-11 syns per bun, making them a high syn treat to have once in a while as long as you have enough syns free within your allowance. 

If you wondering whether or not you are allowed to eat a hot cross bun on the SW plan, some syn values according to different brands and how to make your own low syn hot cross buns we've put together a short guide below which will cover everything you need to know.

Should I Eat Hot Cross Buns On The Slimming World Plan?

Since hot cross buns are pretty high in syns we would only suggest having one per day as treat, two would put you over your daily syn allowance costing you around 18 syns in total.

You also need to consider if you are topping your hot cross buns with butter or jam as this would contribute to additional syns. Hot cross buns get most of their syns from the butter and sugar inside of them, the addition of the dried fruits is what makes them very sugary.

One way to pick healthier hot cross buns is by choosing reduced-fat ones or wholemeal ones, gluten-free buns also tend to be much healthier. Avoid hot cross buns with a chocolate flavour or extra mix-ins such as cheese, this can make them very high in calories without you knowing.

Popular Branded Hot Cross Bun Syn Values

As we mentioned above, most hot cross buns are between 9-11 syns but do vary slightly according to the brand and the mix-ins they have within their buns.

To help you out, we have listed the syn values of some popular branded hot cross buns below.

• Tesco hot cross buns - 10 syns.
• Sainsbury’s fruity hot cross buns - 10 syns.
• Tesco reduced fat hot cross buns - 9 syns.
• Aldi everyday essentials hot cross buns - 7 syns.
• Aldi specially selected hot cross buns - 10 syns.
• Asda chosen by you hot cross buns - 10 syns.
• Asda wholemeal hot cross buns - 9 syns.
• Tesco finest hot cross buns - 11 syns.
• Sainsbury’s be good to yourself hot cross buns - 9 syns.
• Sainsbury’s tastes the difference triple berry hot cross buns - 10 syns.
• M&S Marmite Cheese hot cross buns - 9 syns.
• M&S Bramley Apple hot cross buns - 9 syns.
• M&S 4 Luxury hot cross buns - 11 syns.

Our SW Friendly Hot Cross Bun Recipe

If you are looking to save some syns why not try making your hot cross buns at home? We've listed a healthy hot cross bun type recipe to try out below if you are craving some.

7 Syns Hot Cross Bun

At 7 syns per hot cross bun, this recipe is much lower than a standard 9 syn hot cross bun and can even be frozen for eating later on. The whole recipe makes up to 6 hot cross buns.

Ingredients

• 200g of plain flour.
• 200g of fat-free natural yoghurt.
• 2 tsp of baking powder.
• 1 egg.
• Some water.
• 4.5 tablespoons of sweetener. 
• A pinch of salt.
• 20g of diced apples.
• 1tsp of mixed spice and cinnamon.
• Light cooking spray.
• 1 tbsp of apricot jam (for glaze).

Method

1. To start with heat your oven to gas mark 7 and set aside a small spoon of flour later for the glaze.
2. Mix your flour, sweetener, baking powder, spices and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Put in the yoghurt, eggs, raisin and apple then mix the dough and divide into six balls with a spatula, the mixture will stick to your hands.
4. Grease a slightly deep baking pan then oil your hands and place each ball on the tray forming them into neat buns.
5. Combine your flour and water to make a paste then pipe across each bun in a cross shape.
6. Allow them to bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, once baked through you can mix some boiling water with your jam and use it as a glaze.
7. Enjoy!

Last Words

To conclude, as long as your syns allow, having a hot cross bun now and then will not ruin your SW progress as long as it fits into your syns. Always choose plain hot cross buns and be careful if putting butter on top, alternatively, you could even make your own low syn hot cross buns which we listed above.