How much sugar is in carrots?
Carrots has 2.9 g of sugar per 1 medium (61 g) — about 0.7 teaspoons. That's 4.7 g per 100 g, and it's all naturally occurring — whole carrots has no added sugar.
USDA FoodData Central · raw · FDC 170393
Sugar by portion
| Portion | Sugar | ≈ teaspoons | Total carbs | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 medium (61 g) | 2.9 g | 0.7 tsp | 5.9 g | 25 |
| 100 g | 4.7 g | 1.1 tsp | 9.6 g | 41 |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 1.3 g | 0.3 tsp | 2.7 g | 12 |
Teaspoon figure converts grams of sugar at ~4.2 g per level teaspoon, for scale only. This is the total sugar naturally present — whole carrots carries no added sugar. Values from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 170393, SR Legacy). raw.
A medium carrot has under 3 g of sugar — about 2.9 g, or roughly 0.7 teaspoons — for around 25 calories. That’s 4.7 g per 100 g, and it’s all naturally occurring, with no added sugar in a raw carrot. So the popular worry that “carrots are too sugary” doesn’t hold up: a whole carrot carries less than a single teaspoon of sugar, bound together with fiber, beta-carotene, and a lot of crunch for almost no calories.
The “carrots are sugary” myth
The myth has two roots, and both fall apart on inspection. One is the per-100-gram sugar figure, which sounds higher in the abstract than it ever is on your plate — you’d rarely eat 100 g of carrot in one sitting, and even a generous cup of chopped carrots only reaches about 6 g of sugar. The other is carrots’ glycemic index, which is often quoted without the portion behind it; the actual glycemic load of a single carrot is small, because there’s so little carbohydrate to begin with. And the sugar that is there is entirely natural — nothing on the “added sugar” line of a raw carrot. (Glazed or honey-roasted carrots are a different food; that’s where added sugar shows up.)
Low-sugar in real portions
The honest framing is compare, don’t scare. After about 1.7 g of fiber, a medium carrot nets out to roughly 4 g of net carbs — a small cost that fits comfortably into most low-carb and even many keto-style days. By sugar, a carrot sits below a serving of corn and well under any cup of fruit, in the same gentle range as broccoli. In real-world portions, carrots are a low-sugar, high-volume snack, not a hidden sugar source — the reputation outruns the numbers. This is general guidance rather than medical advice, but there’s no reason to treat a whole carrot as a sugar splurge.
For the rest of the macro picture, see protein in carrots — and on any glazed, juiced, or packaged carrot product, read the label’s own added sugar line, which is where the meaningful sugar hides.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sugar is in a carrot?
About 2.9 g of sugar in one medium carrot (61 g), which is 4.7 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 170393). That's under 3 g per whole carrot — far less than the 'carrots are sugary' reputation suggests — and it's all naturally occurring, with no added sugar.
How many teaspoons of sugar is that?
Roughly 0.7 teaspoons per medium carrot, using 4.2 g of sugar per level teaspoon. A whole carrot carries less than a single teaspoon of sugar, all of it bound up with about 1.7 g of fiber.
Are carrots too sugary for keto?
That's mostly a myth. A medium carrot has under 3 g of sugar and only about 4 g of net carbs after fiber, so in real portions carrots are low-sugar, not high. The confusion comes from carrots' per-100 g figure and their glycemic index, but a single whole carrot is a small carb cost. Plans vary, so this is general information rather than medical advice.
Is the sugar in carrots natural or added?
Entirely natural. Raw carrots contain only the vegetable's own sugar and nothing added. Glazed or honey-roasted carrots are a different story — that's where added sugar enters — but a plain raw or steamed carrot has none.
How much sugar is in a cup of chopped carrots versus one carrot?
A cup of chopped raw carrots is about 128 g, so roughly 6 g of sugar; a single medium carrot is about 2.9 g. Even a full cup stays around 6 g — modest for a whole cup of vegetable — so portion rarely pushes carrots into high-sugar territory.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-04, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 170393 (Carrots, raw; SR Legacy). We re-verify reference pages periodically and update when USDA revises its underlying data.
Whole-food values are USDA reference data, not a Labelgrade (that score is for branded packaged products, where we penalize added sugar). See our methodology and the added-sugar calculator.