Glucose and cream biscuits are probably the single most common tea-time snack in Indian households — cheap, familiar, and everywhere. Roasted makhana is a newer entrant to that same slot. Here's an honest look at how they actually compare, without pretending either is a health food.
Sugar and refined carbs
Mass-market glucose biscuits (Parle-G Gold style) and cream/Marie biscuits typically carry 20-27g added sugar per 100g, made from refined (maida) flour. Plain roasted makhana has no added sugar — its carbohydrate content, around 77g per 100g, comes from the seed's natural starch, not sweeteners. (One caveat: our Dark Chocolate flavour and similar sweetened variants do carry some added sugar — this comparison is against plain/savoury roasted makhana specifically.)
Fibre
Roasted makhana carries about 3.5g fibre per 100g. Mass-market glucose or Marie biscuits, made from refined flour with the bran removed, typically carry only about 1-2g fibre per 100g — and that figure is often not even declared on Indian labels, so treat it as an estimate. Makhana comes out ahead here, though neither is a high-fibre food in absolute terms.
Fat
Glucose and cream biscuits typically carry 13-16g fat per 100g, largely from palm oil or vanaspati used in the dough — a mix of saturated fats. Roasted makhana carries about 0.6g fat per 100g. This is a meaningful gap, though biscuit fat content varies noticeably by brand and type (cream-filled biscuits generally run higher than plain glucose biscuits).
Protein
Roasted makhana's 9.7g protein per 100g is higher than most mass-market biscuits' 6.7-7.5g per 100g, though the gap here is smaller than in fat or sugar — neither food is a strong protein source compared to something like roasted chana or peanuts.
Cost
This is where biscuits win decisively. Mass-market glucose biscuits are among the cheapest packaged snacks available in India, at roughly ₹120-140 per kg — a fraction of what roasted, flavoured makhana costs per kg. Biscuits are mechanically mass-produced from cheap ingredients; makhana is hand-harvested and hand-popped, a fundamentally more labour-intensive process (see why makhana isn't cheap).
The honest verdict
Makhana comes out ahead on sugar, fibre and fat content; biscuits win decisively on price and, for many people, on sheer familiarity and taste preference. If you're looking to reduce added sugar and refined flour in your regular tea-time habit without giving up a crunchy snack, makhana is a reasonable swap to try — but it's a genuinely different eating experience, not a like-for-like replacement.
Frequently asked questions
Are glucose biscuits unhealthy? Occasionally, in small amounts, they're not something to be alarmed about — but mass-market glucose biscuits are made from refined flour, added sugar (typically 20-27g per 100g) and palm-based fat, with almost no fibre and modest protein (roughly 6.7-7.5g per 100g). Eaten as a regular, frequent snack rather than an occasional treat, that sugar and refined-carb load is worth being mindful of.
Which has more sugar, makhana or biscuits? Biscuits, by a wide margin. Mass-market glucose and cream biscuits typically carry 20-27g added sugar per 100g. Plain roasted makhana has no added sugar at all — its carbohydrate content comes from the seed itself, not from added sweeteners (flavoured variants like Dark Chocolate makhana do contain some added sugar — check the specific product label).
Which has more fibre, makhana or biscuits? Makhana, clearly. Roasted makhana carries about 3.5g fibre per 100g, while mass-market glucose or Marie-style biscuits typically carry only about 1-2g fibre per 100g, since they're made primarily from refined (not whole-grain) flour.
Is makhana more expensive than biscuits? Yes, generally. Mass-market glucose biscuits are among the cheapest packaged snacks in India, at roughly ₹120-140 per kg. Roasted, flavoured makhana costs meaningfully more per kg, reflecting its manual harvesting and hand-popping process rather than a mechanized bakery line.
Can makhana replace biscuits with evening chai? For many people, yes — roasted makhana works well as a savoury or lightly sweet tea-time snack in place of biscuits, without the added sugar and refined flour. It's a different eating experience (crunchy, not soft-bake), so whether it satisfies the same craving depends on what you're actually looking for from your biscuit habit.
About Makhana Box
No added sugar in our plain and savoury flavours, no refined flour, no palm oil — try our roasted flavours with your next cup of chai. Reach us directly:
- Phone: +91 91559 97784
- Email: sales@makhanabox.com
Biscuit figures are from common Indian branded labels (glucose and Marie-style biscuits); fibre content is often undeclared and treated here as an estimate. This is a general nutrition comparison, not a claim about any specific competing brand.