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There are plenty of foods that can be conveniently and deliciously eaten in a hamburger bun: beef, turkey, pulled pork, chicken breast, veggie or black bean burgers all taste even better when served in a tasty, and sometimes nutritious, hamburger bun.
Unfortunately, many commercial hamburger buns are loaded with carbohydrates, sodium and added sugars without adding many beneficial nutrients to your diet. Smart shoppers can get a bun that tastes great while still being healthy by paying attention to a few key factors. Avoiding traditional refined grain hamburger buns and choosing whole grain options and buns with added fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals can help you sustain your meal and get closer to your daily fiber and protein goals.
you did it Even if you swap out your burger bun for an alternative like a lettuce wrap, you may still need extra carbs and energy. We’ve reviewed the best burger buns you can find on supermarket shelves that are the most nutritious and will satisfy your craving for a hearty, tasty bun. While there are plenty of other buns on the list, we’ve also included two burger buns that you may want to avoid for your health.
How to Choose the Best Hamburger Bun
While it’s impossible to choose which burger bun is the healthiest for you and your specific nutritional goals, here are the nutritional factors we considered to select the overall healthiest burger bun.
- Whole grains. Choosing a burger bun that contains whole grains rather than refined, fortified foods can help reduce your risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Over 90% of bread products While foods sold in the U.S. contain refined grains, our healthiest foods contain whole grains, helping you meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation to consume at least 50% of your grains as whole grains.
- At least 3 grams of fiber. Whole grains naturally increase the fiber in your burger bun, but making conscious choices that contain at least 3 grams of fiber per serving can help you reach your goal. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend consuming at least 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories, but only about 5% of the population meets that goal. This recommendation is met.
- Watch out for sodium. Processed bread products, even if they don’t taste “salty,” are notoriously high in sodium. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, Americans consume more than 3,400 milligrams On average, low sodium burger buns are hard to find, but most of our burger buns contain less than 12% of your daily recommended sodium per serving.
Learn about the best and worst burger buns you can buy at the grocery store, then check out the seven best quality frozen burger buns and the two you should avoid.
The 8 Best Burger Buns
Best: Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 130
fat: 2g (Saturated fatty acids: 0g)
sodium: 200mg
carbohydrates: 25 g (dietary fiber: 4 g, carbohydrates: 3 g)
protein: 6g
Bread is easily available Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns It has 4 grams of fiber, which is 14 percent of your recommended daily value, no artificial colors or preservatives, and each bun has 6 grams of protein, helping you reach your protein goals, especially when you sandwich a veggie burger or other low-protein food between the buns.
Best: Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Burger Buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 90
fat: 0.5 g (Saturated fatty acids: 0 g)
sodium: 80mg
carbohydrates: 17 g (dietary fiber: 3 g, carbohydrates: 1 g)
protein: 5g
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Wheat Burger Buns Made from organically grown barley, lentils, millet, soy, spelt and sprouted wheat. Sprouted grains It increases the absorption of valuable minerals like iron, zinc and magnesium, and increases protein and starch digestibility, reducing strain on the digestive system. While the nutritional information on the back of the package is only for half a bun, eating a whole bun with your burger adds 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and 180 calories with no added sugar. This high-fiber, high-protein bun is also 100% vegan and certified glyphosate- and GMO-free.
Best: Aunt Millie’s Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 140
fat: 2g (Saturated fatty acids: 0g)
sodium: 240mg
carbohydrates: 27 g (dietary fiber: 3 g, carbohydrates: 3 g)
protein: 5g
The first ingredient is Aunt Millie’s Whole Grain Hamburger Buns It is a whole grain. Because it also contains fortified grains, the bread volume is slightly reduced, but it still contains 3 grams of fiber per serving. It is a good option for those who do not like the flavor or texture of whole grains or are transitioning from refined grains to those with more fiber. Because it is fortified, it is a good source of the B vitamins that are added to the grains.
Best: Hero Classic Burger Buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 90
fat: 4g (Saturated fatty acids: 0.5g)
sodium: 390mg
carbohydrates: 23g (dietary fiber: 22g, carbohydrates: 0g)
protein: 11g
Hero Classic Burger Buns It contains more sodium than you’d want in a burger bun, amounting to 17% of your daily recommended intake. Despite the high sodium content, it makes our list of the healthiest burger buns, with 22 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein. Using whole food ingredients like resistant starch, wheat protein, fava protein and ground flaxseed, Hero Buns are incredibly high in protein and fiber, helping you reach your goals quickly and easily while maintaining the bready consistency you want in your buns.
Best: Rudy’s Wheat Hamburger Buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 160
fat: 3g (Saturated fatty acids: 0g)
sodium: 240mg
carbohydrates: 31 g (dietary fiber: 3 g, carbohydrates: 4 g)
protein: 5g
High fiber options with minimal ingredients, Rudy’s Wheat Hamburger Buns It’s 100% USDA certified organic. This bread uses basic ingredients like whole wheat wheat, potato flour, cornmeal, sunflower oil, and bran. Each serving contains 5 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and just 10% of the recommended daily intake of sodium.
Best: Schmidt’s Old Time 647 Sandwich Roll
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 90
fat: 1g (Saturated fatty acids: 0g)
sodium: 250mg
carbohydrates: 24 g (dietary fiber: 9 g, carbohydrates: 2 g)
protein: 5g
Try our low-calorie hamburger buns, which are packed with fiber and protein and only 90 calories per serving. Schmidt’s Old Time 647 Sandwich RollMade with fortified wheat and oat fiber, the bread contains 9 grams of fiber per piece (32% of the recommended daily intake), plus B vitamins such as thiamin and folate, and 6% of the recommended daily intake of iron.
Best: Alvarado Street Bakery’s sprouted wheat burger buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 160
fat: 1g (Saturated fatty acids: 0g)
sodium: 250mg
carbohydrates: 30 g (dietary fiber: 4 g, carbohydrates: 3 g)
protein: 8g
Made primarily from organic sprouted whole grain wheat berries, Alvarado Street Bakery’s sprouted wheat burger buns It contains 8 grams of protein and 4 grams of dietary fiber. Sprouted grains increase your body’s ability to absorb and utilize the nutrients in the grain and also improve the digestibility of the grain. In addition to being higher in protein and fiber than most burger buns, this particular type of burger bun is also a USDA certified organic bun with only 3 grams of added sugars made with organic agave syrup.
Best: Carbonaut Hamburger Buns
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 150
fat: 5g (Saturated fatty acids: 0g)
sodium: 240mg
carbohydrates: 20 g (dietary fiber: 17 g, carbohydrates: 0 g)
protein: 12 grams
Another low carb burger bun, Carbnote Hamburger BunsIt contains a whopping 17 grams of fiber, no added sugars, and only 3 grams of net carbs. It also contains 12 grams of protein per serving, helping to keep you full and satisfied. The list includes ingredients such as wheat protein, resistant starch, flax meal, inulin, pea fiber, and psyllium. These types of fiber are: Nourishing your gut bacteria For a healthy and diverse gut flora.
2 burger buns to avoid
Worst: King’s Hawaiian Pretzel Hamburger Bun
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 220
fat: 6g (Saturated fatty acids: 2.5g)
sodium: 760mg
carbohydrates: 34 g (dietary fiber: <1 g, carbohydrates: 12 g)
protein: 7g
King’s Hawaiian Pretzel Hamburger Buns It’s the triple whammy of burger bun failure: too much sodium, added sugar and less than 1 gram of fiber, these buns should be left on the shelf. Just one pretzel bun provides 33% of your daily sodium intake and 11 grams of added sugars. Each bun has 34 grams of carbohydrates but less than a gram of fiber. And the lengthy ingredient list is packed with preservatives, which contribute to the high sodium content.
Worst: Oroweat Golden Seed Bread
Nutritional information (per loaf):
calorie: 210
fat: 4g (Saturated fatty acids: 0.5g)
sodium: 350mg
carbohydrates: 37 g (dietary fiber: 1 g, carbohydrates: 5 g)
protein: 7g
It has only 1 gram of fiber but 37 grams of carbohydrates. Oroweat Golden Seed Bread It’s made with refined grains, which doesn’t do much to help you meet your daily fiber goals, plus it contains 350 milligrams of sodium per loaf, meaning one loaf of bread will get you 15% of your sodium limit.
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