How much sugar is in cherries?
Cherries has 17.7 g of sugar per 1 cup (138 g) — about 4.2 teaspoons. That's 12.8 g per 100 g, and it's all naturally occurring — whole cherries has no added sugar.
USDA FoodData Central · raw · FDC 171719
Sugar by portion
| Portion | Sugar | ≈ teaspoons | Total carbs | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup (138 g) | 17.7 g | 4.2 tsp | 22.1 g | 87 |
| 100 g | 12.8 g | 3 tsp | 16 g | 63 |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 3.6 g | 0.9 tsp | 4.5 g | 18 |
Teaspoon figure converts grams of sugar at ~4.2 g per level teaspoon, for scale only. This is the total sugar naturally present — whole cherries carries no added sugar. Values from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 171719, SR Legacy). raw.
A cup of sweet cherries carries about 17.7 g of sugar — that’s roughly 4.2 teaspoons — in a 138 g serving, or 12.8 g per 100 g. Cherries are genuinely one of the sweeter fruits, so that number is real and worth knowing. But the headline that matters more than the gram count is where the sugar comes from: every bit of it is the cherry’s own, naturally occurring sugar, with no added sugar anywhere in a bowl of whole fruit.
Natural sugar, not added sugar
The 17.7 g in a cup is fundamentally different from the 17.7 g you’d get from a few spoonfuls of table sugar, and the difference is the rest of the cherry. That sugar arrives wrapped in about 2.9 g of fiber, a lot of water, potassium, and the anthocyanins — the antioxidant pigments behind the deep red color that cherries are prized for. Fiber and water slow digestion and add fullness, so the fruit behaves differently in the body than the same grams poured from a sugar packet. “Added sugar” is the kind health guidance tells you to limit; the sugar in whole cherries isn’t that. When you read a packaged label, the line to watch is added sugars specifically — whole cherries simply don’t have one.
Is that a lot of sugar?
Honestly, cherries are on the higher-sugar side of common fruit — more than berries, similar to grapes — so it’s fair to treat them as a sweeter pick and let portion do the work. A single cup at ~17.7 g of sugar alongside its fiber is a moderate, sensible serving; a giant mixing-bowl portion is just more of everything. People managing blood sugar or weight often keep fruit servings in check and pair them with a protein or fat, which is reasonable, everyday practice rather than anything to be afraid of. None of this is medical advice — if you’re tracking carbs for diabetes, your own clinician or dietitian can set the right number for you.
So enjoy cherries as the antioxidant-rich, naturally sweet fruit they are, and keep an eye on serving size rather than the scary-sounding total. If you want the other side of the nutrition picture, see protein in cherries — and for anything packaged, always read the label’s own sugar and added-sugar lines.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sugar is in a cup of cherries?
About 17.7 g of sugar in a 1-cup serving of sweet cherries (138 g), which is 12.8 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 171719). That whole cup is roughly 87 calories and 22.1 g of total carbohydrate, with about 2.9 g of fiber along for the ride.
How many teaspoons of sugar is that?
Roughly 4.2 teaspoons. We convert the 17.7 g of sugar in a cup at about 4.2 g per level teaspoon, purely to make the amount easier to picture. It's a useful mental scale, not a sign anyone spooned sugar into the fruit — cherries grow with their sugar already inside.
Is the sugar in cherries natural or added?
Entirely natural. Whole sweet cherries have zero added sugar — every gram is the fruit's own, and it arrives packaged with fiber, water, potassium and the anthocyanin antioxidants that give cherries their deep red color. That whole-food bundle is what separates it from the added sugar in candy or soda, even when the gram count looks similar.
Are cherries too much sugar for someone watching blood sugar or weight?
Cherries sit on the higher-sugar end of common fruit, so portion is what matters. A 1-cup serving is about 17.7 g of sugar with around 2.9 g of fiber to slow it down — moderate, not alarming. People managing diabetes or counting calories often pair fruit with protein or fat and watch the serving size; this is general information, not medical advice, so check with your own clinician or dietitian for a personal plan.
How much sugar is in 10 cherries?
Roughly 8 to 9 g of sugar. Ten sweet cherries weigh about 70 g, so at 12.8 g of sugar per 100 g that's a little under 9 g — about 2 teaspoons. A heaped cup runs closer to 17.7 g because you're simply eating more of them.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-04, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 171719 (Cherries, sweet, raw; SR Legacy). We re-verify reference pages periodically and update when the underlying USDA entry changes.
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.