Is Jimmy Dean Healthier Than Great Value? 400 vs 360 Cal

TL;DR: Is Jimmy Dean healthier than Great Value? The labels split. Per sandwich, Jimmy Dean lists 400 calories, 610 mg sodium and 13 g protein (128 g), while Great Value UPC 0194346116805 lists 360 calories, 630 mg sodium and 12 g protein (124 g). Saturated fat is 10 g in both, and both sausage patties list mechanically separated chicken.

Key takeaways

• Sodium: 610 mg (Jimmy Dean, 128 g) vs 630 mg (Great Value, UPC 0194346116805, 124 g) per sandwich.
• Calories and fat: 400 kcal and 26 g total fat (Jimmy Dean) vs 360 kcal and 25 g total fat (Great Value). Saturated fat is 10 g in both.
• Protein: 13 g (Jimmy Dean) vs 12 g (Great Value) per sandwich.
• Sausage: both patties list mechanically separated chicken, and ingredient lists differ by UPC.

The table lists label values per sandwich as printed. Great Value Daily Value percentages were not disclosed, so that column shows grams and milligrams only.

Nutrient (per sandwich)	Jimmy Dean (128 g)	Great Value, UPC 0194346116805 (124 g)
Calories	400	360
Total fat	26 g (33% DV)	25 g
Saturated fat	10 g (50% DV)	10 g
Trans fat	0 g	not disclosed
Cholesterol	120 mg (40% DV)	115 mg
Sodium	610 mg (27% DV)	630 mg
Total carbohydrate	29 g (11% DV)	27 g
Dietary fiber	2 g (7% DV)	1 g
Total sugars	5 g	5 g
Added sugars	4 g (8% DV)	3 g
Protein	13 g	12 g
Calcium	150 mg (10% DV)	not disclosed
Iron	3 mg (15% DV)	not disclosed
Potassium	200 mg (4% DV)	not disclosed

How do the two croissant sandwiches compare on sodium per serving?

The answer is 610 mg vs 630 mg sodium per sandwich, with Jimmy Dean lower by 20 mg. Jimmy Dean's 610 mg is printed as 27% of the Daily Value for a 128 g sandwich on the Jimmy Dean product page, and Great Value's 630 mg is listed for a 124 g sandwich in its Open Food Facts record without a printed percentage.

FDA's sodium guidance defines 5% DV or less per serving as low and 20% DV or more as high. The Daily Value for sodium is less than 2,300 mg per day.

FDA notes that over 70% of dietary sodium comes from packaged and prepared foods, which is one reason sandwich labels matter. Sodium figures can vary by package, so check the Nutrition Facts panel on the box you buy.

How do the two croissant sandwiches compare on total fat and saturated fat?

The Jimmy Dean sandwich has 26 g total fat and the Great Value sandwich has 25 g, while saturated fat is 10 g in both. Jimmy Dean's saturated fat is printed as 50% DV, and Great Value's percent Daily Value was not disclosed.

Cholesterol is 120 mg (40% DV) in the Jimmy Dean sandwich and 115 mg in the Great Value sandwich. Jimmy Dean lists 0 g trans fat, and the trans fat amount for Great Value was not disclosed.

The fat sources in the ingredient lists differ. Jimmy Dean's croissant uses palm and soy shortening, and Great Value's uses margarine made with palm oil and soybean oil. Both egg patties list soybean oil. The Great Value version under UPC 0078742012896 (Open Food Facts record), which is not the UPC 0194346116805 sandwich compared above, lists an artificial butter flavor containing partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, and its trans fat amount was not disclosed.

How do the two sandwiches compare on protein and calories per serving?

Jimmy Dean lists 13 g protein and 400 calories per sandwich, and Great Value lists 12 g protein and 360 calories per sandwich, each at the brand's stated serving weight.

FDA states that serving sizes reflect the amount people typically eat and are not a recommendation. Each package is labeled as one sandwich per serving, and the Jimmy Dean box lists 4 servings per container.

Carbohydrates are 29 g in Jimmy Dean and 27 g in Great Value. Fiber is 2 g in Jimmy Dean and 1 g in Great Value. Added sugars are 4 g and 3 g, and total sugars are 5 g in both.

Jimmy Dean also lists 150 mg calcium (10% DV), 3 mg iron (15% DV), and 200 mg potassium (4% DV). Great Value calcium, iron, and potassium were not disclosed.

Nutrition panels describe each product as labeled. They cannot show how any one person responds to sodium, fat, or protein, and the evidence here does not cover infants, children, pregnancy, or people with specific kidney or heart conditions.

What sausage ingredients do Jimmy Dean and Great Value UPC 0194346116805 list?

Both patties list mechanically separated chicken. The Jimmy Dean label describes its sausage patty as "made with pork and chicken," and its patty ingredients are pork, mechanically separated chicken, water, and soy protein concentrate.

Ingredients at 2% or less in the Jimmy Dean patty include salt, pork stock, spices, dextrose, sodium phosphates, sugar, monosodium glutamate, citric acid, flavor, and caramel color.

For Great Value UPC 0194346116805, the patty lists pork, mechanically separated chicken, water, a seasoning blend (salt, corn syrup solids, sodium tripolyphosphate, spices, monosodium glutamate, citric acid, spice extractive), soy protein concentrate, pork stock, and natural flavor.

The Great Value version under UPC 0078742012896 is listed with a pork-only patty: pork, water, a seasoning (dextrose, spices, sugar, monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed corn protein, caramel color, spice extractive), salt, and sodium phosphates. Great Value labels can differ by UPC, so check the code printed on your box before relying on any ingredient list.

Is nitrite in either sausage patty?

The ingredient lists shown here do not name nitrite or nitrate in either sausage patty. Jimmy Dean's list includes sodium phosphates, and Great Value UPC 0194346116805 lists sodium tripolyphosphate, which is a different phosphate salt.

Nitrite status for Great Value versions other than UPC 0194346116805 was not disclosed, so this answer applies only to the labels compared here.

What do the croissant, egg patty, and cheese ingredients show about each sandwich?

Both croissants use enriched wheat flour, palm-based shortening or margarine, and preservatives including potassium sorbate and calcium propionate. Jimmy Dean's croissant also lists sodium benzoate as a preservative.

Both egg patties list whole eggs, soybean oil, xanthan gum, salt, and citric acid. Jimmy Dean's also lists nonfat milk, modified corn starch, and a butter flavor, while Great Value's lists water and dry whole milk. The ingredient lists do not describe the egg supply beyond the ingredient names.

The cheese components differ. Jimmy Dean uses pasteurized process American cheese with milk, water, cream, cheese culture, sodium citrate, potassium citrate, sorbic acid, and tetrasodium pyrophosphate. Great Value uses pasteurized process cheddar cheese with pasteurized milk, cheese culture, sodium citrate, sorbic acid, annatto, and paprika.

Who should pay closer attention to sodium and saturated fat when comparing these?

Adults who have been told to limit sodium, or who track saturated fat closely, should compare the Nutrition Facts panel on the package they actually buy. A single Jimmy Dean sandwich provides 27% DV of sodium, and its 10 g of saturated fat is 50% DV on that label.

FDA's sodium guidance is a general reference for adults and does not replace advice from a clinician who knows a person's health history. The label numbers also cannot show individual responses, and the evidence here does not establish outcomes for specific health conditions.

How can shoppers find sodium, fat, protein, and sausage ingredients on the label?

Use these checks on any frozen breakfast sandwich box:

• Confirm the serving size in grams and the servings per container.
• Find sodium in mg and the % Daily Value.
• Compare total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat in grams.
• Read protein in grams per serving.
• Find the sausage patty sub-list in the ingredient statement.
• Look for sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, or celery powder in the cure or patty ingredients.
• Match the UPC on the box to the UPC on any online listing you use.

Because the ingredient order runs from most to least by weight, the first items on a list show what makes up the most of the product.

Which other breakfast and meat comparisons on Aurascan help with label reading?

These related guides use the same label-reading approach for other products:

• Is Jimmy Dean Healthier Than Johnsonville? Sodium, MSG, BHA covers another Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage label.
• Do Ball Park Franks Have Nitrites? Yes, So Do Oscar Mayer's explains how nitrite appears on meat labels.
• Does Oscar Mayer Bacon Have Nitrites? Yes, and So Does Hormel compares nitrite listings in another breakfast meat.