Top 10 Foods Highest in Sucrose
Sucrose is a disaccharide, which is a sugar that's formed from two smaller sugars linked together. In the case of sucrose, these two sugars are glucose and fructose, meaning that both of these sugars are found in sucrose in equal amounts.
Natural sucrose is mainly found in plants, such as sugar cane and sugar beets. White and brown sugars, including both granulated and powdered sugars, are refined from plants that naturally contain high levels of sucrose. Consumption of large amounts of sucrose has been linked to a range of health problems, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. (1)
Sucrose can be found in a range of fast foods, restaurant foods, and other commercially processed foods, as well as homemade baked goods. High sucrose foods include puddings, milkshakes, cakes, fruit juice drinks, deep-fried meats with sweet sauce, cookies, pancakes, candies, chocolate, and commercial cereals.
The list below gives the amount of sucrose in both grams and teaspoons. 1 teaspoon of packed sucrose weighs about 4 grams.
For more high sucrose foods see the complete list of foods with sucrose in the nutrient ranking tool.
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Up to 41.8% Sucrose
1. Dulce De Leche
Sucrose per Cup Sucrose per 100g 127g (32 tsp) 41.8g (10 tsp) More Desserts High in Sucrose
- 35g per cup of chocolate and vanilla pudding
- 30g per cup of rice pudding (arroz con leche)
- 29g per cup of tapioca pudding
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Up to 16.9% Sucrose
2. Milkshakes (Blended with Candy)
Sucrose per 12oz Cup Sucrose per 100g 58.8g (15 tsp) 16.9g (4 tsp) More Ice-Creams and Milkshakes High in Sucrose
- 59g in a McDonald's McFlurry with Oreos
- 59g in a Soft-Serve Ice-Cream with Milk Chocolate Candies
- 35g in a McDonald's Hot Fudge Sunday
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Up to 36.5% Sucrose
3. Cake with Frosting
Sucrose per Slice Sucrose per 100g 52.6g (13 tsp) 36.5g (9 tsp) A slice of apple pie contains 14g of sucrose.
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Up to 8.2% Sucrose
4. Cran-Lemonade Juice Drink
Sucrose per 16oz Glass Sucrose per 100g 40.5g (10 tsp) 8.2g (2.1 tsp) More Drinks High in Sucrose
- 40g per 16oz cup of coffee with milk and sugar
- 32g per 16oz iced mocha
- 28g per 16oz horchata
- 27g per 16oz bottle of Ruby Red Cranberry Juice
- 13g per 8.4oz can of Red Bull
See the ranking of all drinks high in sucrose.
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Up to 12.3% Sucrose
5. Orange Chicken (Deep Fried with Sweet Sauce)
Sucrose per 9 Pieces Sucrose per 100g 23.2g (6 tsp) 12.3g (3.1 tsp) More Deep Fried Dishes with Sweet Sauce High in Sucrose
- 22g in 9 pieces of sesame chicken
- 17g in 9 pieces of General Tso's Chicken
- 11g in 9 pieces of lemon chicken
- 9g in 9 pieces of sweet and sour chiekn
- 6g in 9 pieces of sweet and sour pork
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Up to 47.9% Sucrose
6. Cookies
Sucrose in 3 Cookies Sucrose per 100g 21.6g (5 tsp) 47.9g (12 tsp) A 1.5oz KitKat Bar contains 17g of sucrose.
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Up to 7.8% Sucrose
7. Fast Foods (Hot Cakes with Syrup)
Sucrose per 3 Pancakes Sucrose per 100g 17.1g (4 tsp) 7.8g (1.9 tsp) More Fast Foods High in Sucrose
- 17g per cup of coleslaw
- 12g per fruit and yogurt parfait
- 9g in a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich
- 5g in a burger king double whopper
See over 100 fast foods high in sucrose.
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Up to 40% Sucrose
8. Kit-Kat Bar
Sucrose per 1.5oz Bar Sucrose per 100g 16.8g (4 tsp) 40g (10 tsp) 6 tootsie rolls contain 16g of sucrose.
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Up to 46.3% Sucrose
9. Chocolate (45-59% Cocoa)
Sucrose per 1oz Square Sucrose per 100g 13.1g (3.3 tsp) 46.3g (12 tsp) Milk chocolate is even higher in sucrose.
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Up to 35.5% Sucrose
10. Malt-o-Meal Golden Puffs
Sucrose per 3/4 Cup Sucrose per 100g 9.6g (2.4 tsp) 35.5g (9 tsp) See the list of breakfast cereals high in sucrose.
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From the Nutrient Ranking Tool
Use the ranking tool links below to select foods and create your own food list to share or print.
- Foods High in Sucrose
- Foods Low in Sucrose
- Vegetables High in Sucrose
- Fruits High in Sucrose
- Vegetarian Foods High in Sucrose
- Breakfast Cereals High in Sucrose
- Fast Foods High in Sucrose
View more nutrients with the nutrient ranking tool, or see ratios with the nutrient ratio tool.
Related
Data Sources and References
- Mozaffarian D. Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2023 Jul;11(7):448-451. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(23)00151-1. Epub 2023 Jun 2. 37276874
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