How Much Sugar Is in Fresh Cranberries?
A cup of fresh cranberries has only about 4 g of natural sugar — they're naturally tart, almost bitter, unlike the sweetened dried or sauced versions.
in 1 cup (100 g) · about 1 teaspoons
- Per serving
- 4 g
- Per 100 g
- 4 g
- Type
- Natural sugar
- In teaspoons
- ≈ 1 tsp
An easy fit for a low-sugar day.
Raw cranberries are one of the lowest-sugar fruits around, at just 4 g per cup. That's because they're genuinely tart on their own — most people have only ever tasted cranberries sweetened, in juice, sauce, or dried, so the fresh fruit's near-sour taste comes as a surprise.
The catch is that almost nothing made from cranberries stays this low: a batch of cranberry sauce typically adds a cup or more of sugar to make the fruit palatable, and dried cranberries are usually sweetened during processing. Cooking fresh cranberries yourself with a chopped apple instead of sugar is the way to keep the low number.
Lower-sugar swaps
- Simmer with a chopped apple instead of sugar for a lower-sugar sauce
- Toss a handful into a salad for tartness instead of dried, sweetened cranberries
Frequently asked questions
- Are fresh cranberries sweet?
- No — raw cranberries are naturally tart and low in sugar, at only about 4 g per cup. The sweetness in cranberry sauce and juice comes from added sugar.
- Is cranberry sauce as low-sugar as fresh cranberries?
- Not usually — most cranberry sauce recipes add a cup or more of sugar to offset the fruit's natural tartness.
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Sugar values from USDA FoodData Central; actual amounts vary by brand, ripeness, and recipe. Last updated 2026-08-09.