Both spelled flakes and oat flakes are suitable for a healthy, nutritious breakfast. We compared the nutritional values of the two cereals.
Oat porridge is probably one of the most popular breakfast foods – especially among athletes, because oatmeal is known to be rich in proteins. But you can also prepare the delicious breakfast porridge or muesli from spelled flakes. You can find out here which nutritional values the cereal flakes provide you with in detail.
Spelled flakes vs. oat flakes: nutritional value comparison
Oatmeal is high in protein, healthy fats and fiber, and also provides some vitamins and minerals. More information: nutritional values of oatmeal. Oats have earned their reputation as a healthy breakfast ingredient—but spelled can keep up, too.
The macronutrients of oat flakes and spelled flakes in comparison (per 100 grams):
Calories: With around 350 to 370 kilocalories, spelled flakes and oat flakes have about the same energy density.
Carbohydrates: Both cereals are rich in high-quality long-chain carbohydrates. With around 64 grams, spelled flakes provide a little more than oat flakes with around 59 grams.
Proteins: Spelled flakes provide about 14 grams of vegetable protein. With around 13 grams, oat flakes can almost keep up with this considerable value.
Fat: The spelled flakes contain around 2.6 grams of fat. In comparison, oatmeal is quite high in fat, at about seven grams of fat. In both cases, however, it is mainly unsaturated fatty acids that are considered healthy fats.
Fiber: With around 8.4 grams of fiber, spelled flakes are among the foods rich in fiber. Oatmeal can even go one better with almost ten percent fiber content. The breakfast cereals thus contribute to healthy digestion.
Conclusion: In terms of macronutrients, oat and spelled flakes perform similarly. Both types of grain can score with a high protein and fiber content as well as with complex carbohydrates. The biggest difference lies in the fat content: spelled flakes are significantly lower in fat than oat flakes. However, these are mainly the health-promoting unsaturated fatty acids.
Oat or spelled flakes: vitamins in comparison
When comparing the two cereal flakes, it is also worth taking a look at the micronutrients they contain. Both oat and spelled flakes provide valuable vitamins:
Vitamin B1: 100 grams of spelled flakes cover around 30 percent of the daily thiamine requirement and still provide only half as much vitamin B1 as oat flakes. The latter contain a proud 0.6 milligrams of thiamine. The flakes support the metabolism and are healthy for the nervous system.
Vitamin B2: With the same amount of spelled flakes you can still cover 8.6 percent of your daily riboflavin requirement. They have about as much vitamin B2 as oatmeal (nine percent of the Guideline Daily Amount GDA).
Vitamin B3: While spelled flakes do not contain any significant amount of niacin, 100 grams of oat flakes can cover a quarter of your daily needs. So oat flakes perform significantly better here – and are therefore particularly good for metabolism, cell division, the immune system as well as skin and muscles.
Vitamin B5: Oatmeal can also score points with vitamin B5. 100 grams cover around 18 percent of the GDA and thus support the energy metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Vitamin B6: Spelled flakes are particularly rich in vitamin B6. With around 25 percent of the GDA, they provide about twice as much vitamin B6 as oatmeal and thus support a healthy metabolism as well as the nervous and immune systems.
Vitamin E: Both oat flakes and spelled flakes are rich in vitamin E. While 100 grams of spelled flakes cover around 10.5 percent of the GDA, oat flakes even manage around twelve percent. The cereal flakes thus protect the cells from free radicals.
Conclusion: Spelled flakes provide a lot of important vitamins. Compared to oats, spelled scores with a particularly high vitamin B6 content. Oatmeal, on the other hand, contains more vitamins B1, B3 and B5. Both cereal flakes contain about the same amount of vitamins B2 and E.
You also get important minerals from both oat and spelled flakes:
Iron: 100 grams of spelled flakes cover 20 percent of the daily iron requirement, oat flakes even more than 35 percent. The breakfast cereals thus support a healthy immune system and the transport of oxygen in the blood.
Potassium: There are about 330 milligrams of potassium in 100 grams of spelled flakes – about 16.5 percent of the GDA. Oatmeal even manages to reach almost 400 milligrams. This makes the flakes particularly healthy for the muscles.
Magnesium: With 105 milligrams per 100 grams, spelled flakes can cover around 35 percent of the GDA. Oatmeal contains even more magnesium with 130 milligrams. Both cereals contribute to healthy muscles and metabolism.
Zinc: 100 grams of spelled flakes cover about 31 percent of the daily zinc requirement – oat flakes even about 60 percent. The mineral is important for healthy skin and hair.
Conclusion: With these minerals, both spelled flakes and oat flakes can contribute to a balanced diet. A comparison shows that oat flakes provide slightly more vital minerals than spelled flakes.
Oat or spelled flakes? – Conclusion of the comparison
Both in terms of macronutrients and micronutrients, oat and spelled flakes are convincing. Both cereal flakes are rich in vegetable protein, fiber and long-chain carbohydrates – and also provide lots of vitamins and minerals.
In a direct comparison, it is noticeable that oat flakes contain slightly more minerals: Iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc are contained in both cereal flakes, but in higher proportions in oats.
Oatmeal is also a bit healthier in terms of vitamin content: they contain a particularly large amount of vitamins B1, B3 and B5. On the other hand, spelled flakes provide twice as much vitamin B6 as oat flakes. This makes it clear once again why a varied diet is so important.
The bottom line is that both spelled flakes and oat flakes are extremely healthy: We therefore recommend that you neither limit yourself to one nor the other and instead vary them occasionally or mix both types. Variety on the daily menu is an important part of a balanced diet.
Only in the case of gluten intolerance (celiac disease) are spelled flakes eliminated because of their relatively high gluten content. Oats, on the other hand, are gluten-free. But beware: rolled oats and other oat products can be contaminated with wheat residues. Therefore, pay attention to the “gluten-free” packaging note when buying if you suffer from celiac disease.
We also recommend that you buy organic oat and spelled flakes – like other foods. Because: As Öko-Test found out, conventional oatmeal is often contaminated with glyphosate.
By the way: spelled and oat flakes hardly differ in taste either. Both have a slightly nutty taste with an individual touch. You can use the flakes either cold in muesli, cooked as porridge, baked as granola, pureed in a smoothie or for vegan patties and when baking, for example for delicious biscuits.
