How Much Sugar Is in Rice Cakes?
A plain rice cake has essentially no sugar — but its refined starch spikes blood sugar quickly, much like white bread does.
in 1 cake (9 g) · about 0 teaspoons
- Per serving
- 0.1 g
- Per 100 g
- 1 g
- Type
- Natural sugar
- In teaspoons
- ≈ 0 tsp
An easy fit for a low-sugar day.
A single plain rice cake has next to no sugar — about 0.1 g, close to zero on any label. On paper it looks like one of the cleanest snacks there is, and if sugar were the only thing that mattered, it would be.
The catch is the same one that applies to white bread: puffed white rice is a very refined starch, and it's digested into glucose fast, so a plain rice cake can spike blood sugar almost as quickly as something sugary would — despite the label saying almost 0 g. Pairing it with protein or fat (nut butter, avocado, cheese) slows that spike down and makes it more filling.
How rice cakes compares
Out of 114 everyday foods and drinks we track, rice cakes ranks #113 for sugar per serving — more than 1% of them.
- Cheerios1g
- Avocado0.5g
- Mayonnaise0.1g
- Rice cakes (this page)0.1g
- Beer0g
Bars show sugar per serving. Tap any food to see its full breakdown.
Lower-sugar swaps
- Top with nut butter or avocado to slow the blood-sugar response
- Choose a wholegrain cracker with fibre if you want something that digests more slowly
Frequently asked questions
- If rice cakes have no sugar, are they a good snack for blood sugar control?
- Not necessarily. The near-zero sugar number is accurate, but the refined starch is digested into glucose quickly, so it can raise blood sugar in a way similar to sugary snacks. Adding protein or fat helps.
- Are rice cakes similar to white bread?
- In terms of blood sugar impact, yes — both are refined, low-fibre starches that convert to glucose fast, even though neither shows much sugar on the nutrition label.
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Sugar values from USDA FoodData Central; actual amounts vary by brand, ripeness, and recipe. Last updated 2026-08-28.