It’s not surprising that most of us consume way too much sugar.
While “natural” sugar from fruits is way better than refined sugar like high fructose corn syrup, you may still want to limit how much you ingest for a variety of reasons (e.g. ketogenic diet).
Let’s take a look at which fruits are particularly high or low in carbohydrates and sugars.
Table of Contents
How Much Sugar or Carbohydrates Should You Have Per Day?
There aren’t any strict RDAs for sugar or carbohydrates.
Current research and institutions typically recommend:
- Up to 275 grams of carbohydrates for adults
- Up to 10% of calories (around 50 grams) coming from added sugar (so fruit technically isn’t recommended against)
It’s rare for a nutritionist or doctor to recommend limiting fruit intake since it can help many people stay away from junk foods.
Fruits High in Carbohydrates and Sugar
I collected data from the USDA to create the table below.
All data is per 100 gram serving of each fruit. You can click on the headings to sort by either carbohydrates or sugar.
Aside from sugar (which is mostly glucose, fructose, and sucrose), most other carbohydrates in fruit are just fiber.
| Food | Carbohydrates (g) | Sugars (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Dates (dried) | 75.0 | 66.5 |
| Plantain | 31.9 | 17.5 |
| Jackfruit | 23.2 | 19.1 |
| Banana | 22.8 | 12.2 |
| Fig | 19.2 | 16.3 |
| Grapes | 18.1 | 15.5 |
| Cherry | 16.0 | 12.8 |
| Pear | 15.2 | 9.8 |
| Mango | 15.0 | 13.7 |
| Apple | 13.8 | 10.4 |
| Tangerine | 13.3 | 10.6 |
| Pineapple | 13.1 | 9.8 |
| Cranberry | 12.0 | 4.3 |
| Orange | 11.5 | 9.1 |
| Plum | 11.4 | 9.9 |
| Apricot | 11.1 | 9.2 |
| Nectarine | 10.6 | 7.9 |
| Blackberry | 9.6 | 4.9 |
| Peach | 9.5 | 8.4 |
| Melon | 9.1 | 8.1 |
| Cantaloupe | 8.2 | 7.9 |
| Strawberry | 7.7 | 4.9 |
If you want more detail on the sugar breakdown, you might find my post on fructose in fruits helpful.
Which Fruits Are Highest in Carbohydrates?
Let’s look specifically at carbohydrate content in a bit more detail.
Aside from dates, there are a handful of other fruits that have about 20 grams of carbohydrates per 100 gram serving:
- Plantain – 31.9 grams
- Jackfruit – 23.2 grams
- Banana – 22.8 grams
- Figs – 19.2 grams
- Grapes – 18.1 grams
On the other side of the spectrum, the fruits on the bottom end have just under 10 grams of carbohydrates.
Which Fruits Are Highest in Sugar?
Excluding dried fruits, the one with the most sugar is jackfruit, with 19.1 grams of sugar per 100 gram serving.
Other fruits high in sugar are plantains (17.5 g), figs (16.3 g), grapes (15.5 g), and mangos (13.7 g).
There’s a large gap between those fruits and the ones with the least amount of sugar, which have around just 4 grams of sugar.
Which Fruits Are Lowest in Carbohydrates and Sugar?
The fruits lowest in carbohydrates and sugar aren’t necessarily bitter. In fact, they are often the ones we think of when we think of sweet fruit.
For example, strawberries are the lowest in overall carbohydrates with just 7.7 grams per 100 gram serving, and 4.9 grams of sugar. This is because strawberries have a very high water content (about 91%).
Other fruits that are low in both carbohydrates and sugar include:
- Cranberries
- Blackberries
- Cantaloupe
- Nectarines and peaches
- Melons
- Oranges
Oranges are another fruit known for being sweet, but also have a very high water content.
The takeaway is that even if you have a sweet tooth, you can still lower your carbohydrate intake from fruit if you wish without sacrificing much.
