Which fruits have the least sugar for a smoothie?
On this page
Berries. A cup of frozen strawberries straight from the bag (about 5 oz) has about 7 g of sugar, a cup of frozen blueberries 13 g, a cup of pineapple 16 g and a cup of mango 23 g. One Medjool date has 16 g on its own.
People who cut sugar often cut fruit first, and then they make a smoothie with a date or two for sweetness and think they’ve done well. The fruits that taste sweetest and feel healthiest, like dates and mango, are the ones with the most sugar per bite. Berries taste tart and carry the least.
What we’d do
Build the glass on berries and add one sweeter fruit for flavor, like half a banana or half a cup of mango, for two portions at most. The sugar in whole fruit isn’t added sugar under the US guidelines, so the goal is to leave room for protein, and berries do that best. Leave the dates out, or use one.
A cup of frozen strawberries has less sugar than a cup of 2% milk (12 g). Neither counts as added.
How much sugar is in each fruit?
USDA numbers, sorted from least to most sugar.
| Fruit | Amount | Sugar | Fiber | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frozen strawberries | 1 cup (5 oz) | 7 g | 3.2 g | 53 |
| Frozen blueberries | 1 cup | 13 g | 4.2 g | 79 |
| Banana | 1 medium | 14 g | 3.1 g | 105 |
| Pineapple | 1 cup | 16 g | 2.3 g | 82 |
| Medjool date | 1 date | 16 g | 1.6 g | 66 |
| Mango | 1 cup | 23 g | 2.6 g | 99 |
A cup of frozen strawberries measured after it thaws is closer to 10 g, since thawed berries pack down into the cup. Either way they’re the lowest on the list.
Least sugar
Strawberries and blueberries. A cup of frozen strawberries also has 62 mg of vitamin C, 69% of the Daily Value, and blueberries have the most fiber on the list.
Most sugar
Dates and mango. One date has more sugar than a whole banana, and a cup of mango has about three times the sugar of a cup of frozen strawberries.
Does low sugar matter if it’s fruit?
Less than people think, as long as the fruit is whole. The 2025 to 2030 US guidelines say the sugar in fruit isn’t added sugar, and their 10 g a meal limit doesn’t apply to it. The reason to pick berries is room. Two portions of the sweeter fruits, like a banana and a cup of mango, bring about 37 g of sugar before the protein goes in. A cup of strawberries and a cup of blueberries bring about 20 g, which leaves the glass room to be a meal.
Which fruit combination works best?
Our blueberry oat glass uses a whole cup of blueberries for only 16 g of sugar in the glass. The strawberry banana yogurt glass pairs berries with a banana for sweetness, and the tropical glass keeps the mango and pineapple to half a cup each, one portion in all.
The sugar calculator has a game, Which has more sugar?, where the date and the banana are round one.
9 sources
- USDA SR Legacy, strawberries, frozen, unsweetened (FDC 168173), via nutritionvalue.orgnutritionvalue.org
- USDA SR Legacy, blueberries, frozen, unsweetened (FDC 173950), via nutritionvalue.orgnutritionvalue.org
- USDA SR Legacy, pineapple, raw (FDC 169124), via nutritionvalue.orgnutritionvalue.org
- USDA SR Legacy, mangos, raw (FDC 169910), via nutritionvalue.orgnutritionvalue.org
- USDA SR Legacy, bananas, raw (FDC 173944), via nutritionvalue.orgnutritionvalue.org
- USDA SR Legacy, dates, medjool (FDC 168191), via nutritionvalue.orgnutritionvalue.org
- USDA SR Legacy, milk, reduced fat, 2% (FDC 171267)fdc.nal.usda.gov
- US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030, January 2026cdn.realfood.gov
- US Food and Drug Administration, Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts labelsfda.gov
