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Are Jelly Beans high in sugar? Jelly beans. They are those colorful bean shaped candies that come in so many different flavors. If you can think of a flavor, then it exits in Jelly Bean format – from delicious (my favorites must be banana, coffee, and cherry) to some more “interesting” flavors you wouldn’t so much expect (black pepper jelly bean anyone). Jelly beans are the perfect candy for anyone who loves a bit of “Russian Roulette” thrown in with their candy. But what about the sugar content of jelly beans? Are jelly beans high in sugar and are there any sugar-free jelly beans on the market? In this post, I will be examining the sugar content of 5 of the most popular jelly beans out there as well as presenting you with 2 sugar-free jelly bean varieties.
How Much Sugar is in a Regular Jelly Bean?
As a general rule, most regular jelly beans contain 0.8g-1.1g of sugar per jelly bean. Therefore, if you eat 20 jelly beans, this can add up to quite a lot of sugar. Jelly Belly does, however, make sugar-free jelly beans that are sweetened with maltitol syrup, maltitol, and sucralose.
Summary Table – Sugar Content of Jelly Bean Brands
Below is a summary table of five (5) of the most popular Jelly Bean Brands available. For each brand, I list the total sugar per Jelly Bean and the sweetener used by each one. As you can see from the table the sugar content per bean varies from 2.1g to 0g per bean. With the exception of “sugar-free” Jelly Bean brands most brands of Jelly beans are sweetened with sugar and corn syrup.
| Jelly Beans | Total Sugar Per Jelly Bean | Sweetener Used |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brach’s Classic Jelly Beans | 2.1g | Sugar and corn syrup |
| 2. Welch’s Assorted Fruit Flavored Jelly Beans | 1.1g | Sugar and corn syrup |
| 3. Starburst Jelly Beans | 1g | Sugar and corn syrup |
| 4. The Jelly Bean Planet Jelly Beans | 0.85g | Sugar and glucose syrup |
| 5. Jelly Belly Jelly Beans | 0.8g | Sugar and corn syrup |
| 6. Jelly Belly Sugar Free Assorted Flavors Jelly Beans | 0g* (*0.94g of sugar alcohol) | Maltitol syrup, maltitol and sucralose |
| 7. Jelly Belly Sugar Free Sour Jelly Beans | 0g* (*0.94g of sugar alcohol) | Maltitol syrup, maltitol and sucralose |
Ranking Jelly Bean Brands Based on Sugar Content – item-by-item
In this section, I will go through each of the six (6) jelly bean brands I listed above item by item to give you a more in-depth review of each brand.
1. Brach’s Classic Jelly Beans – 2.1g of Total Sugar
The highest sugar jelly beans I came across in my search were Brach’s classic jelly beans. Brach’s classic jelly beans are sweetened with sugar and corn syrup and contain 2.1g of total sugar per jelly bean.
You will see below that most jelly beans contain 0.8g-1.1g of sugar per jelly bean, so 2.1g seems pretty high in comparison.
When you look at the weight of a Brach’s jelly bean it makes sense though – each jelly bean weighs a whopping 2.9g. In comparison, the jelly beans listed below only weigh 1.1g-1.5g. This means on a gram-for-gram basis Brach’s do not work out that much higher in sugar than most other jelly beans (they are just higher on an individual jelly bean basis).
2. Welch’s Assorted Fruit Flavored Jelly Beans – 1.1g of Total Sugar
The next highest sugar jelly bean I came across comes from Welch’s. Welch’s sweetens their jelly beans with sugar and corn syrup and there is 1.1g of sugar per jelly bean. Admittedly 1.1g of sugar isn’t much, but I mean who only eats 1 jelly bean? I mean seriously?
If you are interested, I also talked about Welch’s in the post I wrote examining the sugar content of fruit snacks – you can read it here: Are Fruit Snacks High in Sugar?.
3. Starburst Jelly Beans – 1g of Sugar
Starburst jelly beans have a similar sugar content, coming in at 1g of sugar per jelly bean. Like most regular jelly beans, Starburst jelly beans are sweetened with corn syrup and sugar.
4. The Jelly Bean Planet Jelly Beans – 0.85g of Sugar
The Jelly Bean Planet sweetens its jelly beans with sugar and glucose syrup. There is 0.85g of sugar per jelly bean. Again, this isn’t much, but it of course adds up when you are eating handfuls of jelly beans at a time. I mean how else are you going to get to try all the crazy flavors?
5. Jelly Belly Jelly Beans – 0.8g of Sugar
Now I have finally reached the King of jelly beans – Jelly Belly. Jelly Belly regular jelly beans were actually the lowest sugar jelly beans I came across in my search, coming in at 0.8g of sugar per jelly bean. Like most of the other jelly bean brands Jelly Belly beans are sweetened with sugar and corn syrup.
Sugar-Free Jelly Bean Brands
6. Jelly Belly Sugar Free Assorted Flavors Jelly Beans
Okay, now I am getting to the really exciting stuff – sugar free jelly beans! So, I have established that jelly beans on an individual jelly bean basis do not contain that much sugar – but who wants to eat just one Jelly Bean? No really? That’s the whole point of jelly beans – to try all the crazy flavors – good or bad. So, if you want to flavor taste all those jelly beans let me introduce you to Jelly Belly sugar free jelly beans.
Jelly Belly sugar free jelly beans are sweetened with maltitol syrup, maltitol, and sucralose. There is 0g of sugar per jelly bean and 0.94g of sugar alcohol per jelly bean.
You can try Jelly Belly sugar free jelly beans assorted flavors for yourself on Amazon here.
7. Jelly Belly Sugar Free Sour Jelly Beans
Jelly Belly’s sugar free jelly beans also come in a sour variety. This would be my choice as I love a good face pull whilst eating candy (on that note – if you want to read the post I wrote on the sugar content of sour candy you can here – 9 Low Sugar Sour Candies (0g-3g) You Need To Try!).
Jelly Belly’s sour sugar free jelly beans, just like the assorted variety are sweetened with maltitol syrup, maltitol, and sucralose and contain 0g of sugar and 0.94g of sugar alcohol per jelly bean.
You can find Jelly Belly sugar free sour jelly beans on Amazon here.
Are Jelly Beans High In Sugar? – The Final Bite
Are Jelly Beans high in sugar? What have we learned from the above? Well, individually Jelly Beans are not that high in sugar. It can add up quickly though depending on how many you eat. Normal Jelly Beans come in at around 1g of sugar per bean and in one sitting you can easily eat a lot of beans. If you love Jelly Bean but are watching your sugar intake then your best option is to go for sugar-free Jelly Belly beans. All the fun flavors but without the sugar. Just avoid that pink peppermint-flavored one with the funny marks on it – oh gosh that one I just don’t like.
Top tip – try eating a coffee and a chocolate bean together at the same time (mocha perfection).
And Remember…
Ingredients and/or manufacturing processes may change. Always double-check ingredient lists and nutritional information before purchasing any food items.
WANT TO FIND MORE LOW SUGAR OPTIONS?
Do you want to learn about some other low-sugar options at your favorite coffee chains, fast food, or restaurant joints, or just while you are shopping for groceries? If you do, then check out some of my other articles below:
