To keep an organic rice meal in the cupboard that you can heat up, choose a pouch clearly labelled as a ready meal, then check its ingredients and allergens. A multipack of rice cooking cartons serves a different purpose: it’s for making sauces and other recipes, not for stocking up on meals. If you’re looking for multipacks of tinned meals, check the contents and size of each tin before treating them as an equivalent option.
You’re looking for a rice meal to heat up, rather than an ingredient to cook with. The Jardin BiO étic and Bjorg pouches mentioned here contain rice-based recipes, with different ingredients depending on the product.
You want a cupboard meal that combines rice and pulses. Bjorg’s soya or lentil recipes are worth checking for their ingredients, allergens and nutritional values, pouch by pouch.
You use a plant-based preparation in sauces or other recipes. The pack of three AUCHAN BIO rice cooking cartons is designed for this purpose, but it isn’t a rice meal ready to heat up.
Start by distinguishing between a meal to heat up and a cooking ingredient. When buying multipacks of tins, the packaging alone doesn’t tell you enough: check the product description to confirm that it’s a rice meal.
| What matters | What to check | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Quick meal | The meal description, net quantity and reheating instructions. | When I want to heat up a meal without making a sauce, I need a ready meal rather than a rice cooking carton; around 38% of consumers prioritise this need. |
| Plant-based recipe | The ingredients and allergens, followed by protein, fibre and salt per 100 g and per pouch. | To have a cupboard meal that combines rice and pulses, I look for a plant-based recipe with ingredients that suit me; around 37% of consumers prioritise this type of meal. |
| Multipack cooking ingredient | The product description, number of cartons and storage instructions after opening. | If I make sauces for different meals, several smaller cartons may suit my needs; around 25% of consumers prioritise a multipack cooking ingredient. |
The multipack of AUCHAN BIO rice cooking cartons is a cooking ingredient made with rice and sunflower oil. It’s not a substitute for a pouch containing a rice meal to heat up.
Read the product description: look for a ready meal if you want something to eat, or a cooking ingredient for your recipes.
Rice recipes don’t all contain the same ingredients. The Bjorg rice and soya meal contains soya; other recipes may also carry warnings about traces of allergens.
Check the ingredients and any ‘may contain’ warnings on the product you choose. To compare salt or other nutritional values, use the same basis, such as per 100 g.
The three 20 cl AUCHAN BIO rice cooking cartons and the 220 to 250 g meal pouches mentioned here have different contents and uses.
Before stocking up on several units, check what each one contains and how you’ll use it after opening.
A product page may still be available to view even when the product isn’t available to order. This is the case with a discontinued Jardin BiO étic product listed as unavailable by Carrefour.
If you plan to buy regularly, check availability and the exact format with your chosen retailer.
Auchan’s AUCHAN BIO rice cooking ingredient is a plant-based UHT product, sold in a pack of three 20 cl cartons.
The organic rice, vegetable and chicken recipe listed by Auchan is an individual 220 g pouch meal.
Bjorg offers organic pouch meals combining rice and pulses, including soya and lentil recipes.
Carrefour’s range of organic meals includes a 300 g CARREFOUR BIO chilli con carne with rice.
Look for the EU organic logo, and check the product description and ingredients too. The Ministry of Agriculture explains that organic production and processing are governed by European regulations. The organic label alone doesn’t tell you whether a product is a meal or a cooking ingredient.
No: Auchan describes the pack of three 20 cl AUCHAN BIO cartons as a cooking ingredient made with rice and sunflower oil. To stock up on meals, look for a ready meal made with rice and check its reheating instructions.
Follow the instructions on the specific product, as they vary by format. Auchan’s product pages say to store the opened AUCHAN BIO rice cooking carton at between 0 and 6 °C and use it within five days. For the Jardin BiO étic rice, vegetable and chicken pouch, they advise keeping it chilled and using it within two days.
No: the Bjorg rice and soya recipe contains soya, while the Bjorg rice and lentils product page mentions possible traces of gluten and mustard. Read the ingredients and trace warnings on the packaging of the product you choose.