Is Black Pudding Halal?

What is in black pudding?

Black pudding is a blood sausage, popular in a full English or Scottish breakfast. A typical recipe contains:

• Blood, usually pig's blood, often dried.
• Pork fat, such as back fat or suet.
• Oats or barley, which give it its texture.
• Onion, salt and spices such as pepper, nutmeg and coriander.

It's then cooked in a casing, which is often made from natural intestine or collagen.

Why halal black pudding doesn't exist

Some people assume a "halal black pudding" could be made with blood from a halal-slaughtered animal. It can't, because the prohibition is on the blood itself, from any animal. Halal slaughter is designed to drain the blood from the animal, and the Quran forbids eating blood that has flowed out (Al-An'am 6:145).

Two related points that scholars agree on:

• The small amount of blood left in meat after proper slaughter is excused. You don't need to worry about it.
• Liver and spleen are permitted, even though they're rich in blood. A well-known hadith names them as the two kinds of "blood" made lawful.

What about white pudding and haggis?

• White pudding has no blood, but it's usually made with pork fat, so standard white pudding isn't halal.
• Haggis is made from sheep offal, oats and suet. Traditional haggis isn't halal unless the meat is certified, but halal and vegetarian haggis are available. See is haggis halal?

Halal alternatives for a cooked breakfast

• Vegetarian or vegan "black pudding", made from beans, oats and spices, gives a similar taste and texture with no blood or pork. Check the ingredients for the casing and any alcohol.
• Halal beef or chicken sausages and halal turkey rashers. See is turkey bacon halal?
• Mushrooms, hash browns and baked beans, which are usually vegetarian. Check that hash browns aren't fried in lard.

Our guide to a halal full English breakfast puts it all together.

More questions

Can Muslims eat black pudding?

No. Black pudding is made from blood, which is forbidden in the Quran, and usually also contains pork fat.

Is there halal black pudding?

There's no halal black pudding made with blood, because blood is forbidden from any animal. Vegetarian and vegan versions without blood can be halal if their other ingredients are.

Is black pudding made from pork?

Most black pudding is made from pig's blood and pork fat. Some is made with beef or lamb blood, but it still isn't halal, because the blood itself is forbidden.