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.

List of Foods Highest in Sucrose

• 1. Dulce De Leche + Add
  Up to 41.8% Sucrose

  Sucrose per Cup	Sucrose per 100g
  127g (32 tsp)	41.8g (10 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Dulce de Leche. (Source)

  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
• 2. Milkshakes (Blended with Candy) + Add
  Up to 16.9% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 12oz Cup	Sucrose per 100g
  58.8g (15 tsp)	16.9g (4 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for McDonald's, McFLURRY with M&M'S CANDIES. (Source)

  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
• 3. Cake with Frosting + Add
  Up to 36.5% Sucrose

  Sucrose per Slice	Sucrose per 100g
  52.6g (13 tsp)	36.5g (9 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Yellow Cake With Chocolate Frosting. (Source)

  A slice of apple pie contains 14g of sucrose.

• 4. Cran-Lemonade Juice Drink + Add
  Up to 8.2% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 16oz Glass	Sucrose per 100g
  40.5g (10 tsp)	8.2g (2.1 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Beverages, OCEAN SPRAY, Cran Lemonade. (Source)

  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.

• 5. Orange Chicken (Deep Fried with Sweet Sauce) + Add
  Up to 12.3% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 9 Pieces	Sucrose per 100g
  23.2g (6 tsp)	12.3g (3.1 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Restaurant, Chinese, orange chicken. (Source)

  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
• 6. Cookies + Add
  Up to 47.9% Sucrose

  Sucrose in 3 Cookies	Sucrose per 100g
  21.6g (5 tsp)	47.9g (12 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Glutino, Gluten Free Cookies, Vanilla Creme. (Source)

  A 1.5oz KitKat Bar contains 17g of sucrose.

• 7. Fast Foods (Hot Cakes with Syrup) + Add
  Up to 7.8% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 3 Pancakes	Sucrose per 100g
  17.1g (4 tsp)	7.8g (1.9 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for McDonald's, Hotcakes (with 2 pats margarine & syrup). (Source)

  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.

• 8. Kit-Kat Bar + Add
  Up to 40% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 1.5oz Bar	Sucrose per 100g
  16.8g (4 tsp)	40g (10 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Candies, KIT KAT Wafer Bar. (Source)

  6 tootsie rolls contain 16g of sucrose.

• 9. Chocolate (45-59% Cocoa) + Add
  Up to 46.3% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 1oz Square	Sucrose per 100g
  13.1g (3.3 tsp)	46.3g (12 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for Dark Chocolate (45-59% Cocoa). (Source)

  Milk chocolate is even higher in sucrose.

• 10. Malt-o-Meal Golden Puffs + Add
  Up to 35.5% Sucrose

  Sucrose per 3/4 Cup	Sucrose per 100g
  9.6g (2.4 tsp)	35.5g (9 tsp)

  Nutrition Facts for MALT-O-MEAL, GOLDEN PUFFS. (Source)

  See the list of breakfast cereals high in sucrose.

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

• High Fructose Foods
• High Glucose Foods
• High Galactose Foods
• High Lactose Foods
• High Maltose Foods
• High Sugar Foods
• High Sugar Fruits
• High Carbohydrate Foods
• Low Sugar Fruits
• Fruits Low in Net-Carbs

Data Sources and References

1. 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