Is Cranberry Juice High In Sugar?

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Cranberry Juice. It is that Ruby Red hued juice that people love to mix with vodka or just to drink it straight and plain. But does anybody know how much sugar is in cranberry juice? I mean cranberries without sugar are renowned for being bitter so sweetened cranberry juice must be high in sugar, right? In order to answer this question, I have selected 11 cranberry juices and compared the total sugar content of an 8oz serving (pro-rating where relevant). I have then put together a list of these 11 cranberry juices in descending order of sugar content to see what conclusions can be drawn. I have already written a post on the best added sugar-free cranberry juices here (The Sugar-Free Cranberry Juices You Need To Know About), but in this post, I want to look more generally at the sugar content of cranberry juice, particularly non-diet versions.

So, let’s dig in – is cranberry juice high in sugar?

Is Cranberry Juice High in Sugar?

As a general rule, cranberry juice cocktails are high in added sugar and tend to contain 25g-30g of total sugar per 8oz serving. Pure unsweetened cranberry juices only tend to contain 7g-11g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per 8oz serving.

Before I continue, if you want to see how the sugar content of cranberry juice compares next to other types of juice make sure to check out the following posts I wrote:

• Is There A Lot of Sugar in Orange Juice?
• Is Apple Juice High in Sugar Content? Let’s Find Out!
• Is Pineapple Juice High in Sugar?
• Is Grape Juice High in Sugar?
• Is There A Lot of Sugar in Grapefruit Juice?
• Does Mango Juice Contain Sugar? You Will Be Surprised!
• Is Pomegranate Juice High in Sugar?
• Is There A Lot of Sugar in Watermelon Juice?
• Is Cherry Juice High in Sugar?
• The Sugar-Free Cranberry Juices You Need To Know About
• How Much Sugar is in Peach Juice? You Need To Know This!

I have also written a comparative piece looking at which juice type tends to be lowest in sugar and which juice type tends to be highest in sugar here – What Juice Has The Least Sugar? And Which Has The Most?

1. Langers Cranberry Juice Cocktail – 30g of Total Sugar

First up on this list is Langer’s Cranberry Juice Cocktail which contains 30g of total sugar per 8oz serving. There are actually 38g of sugar per 10oz bottle, but to keep the comparison fair compared to the other cranberry juices on this list I pro-rated the sugar content.

The sweetener used in this cranberry cocktail is sugar.

The first lesson to be learnt is if you want to enjoy cranberry juice without too much sugar avoid any cranberry juices that are marketed as “juice cocktails”. All the higher-sugar cranberry juices on this list tend to be marketed as “juice cocktails“.

This means avoiding any cranberry juices with the word cocktail on the front of the bottle.

2. Ocean Spray Pink Cranberry Juice Cocktail – 26g of Total Sugar

Next up is, you guessed it, another cranberry juice cocktail. This time a pink one from Ocean Spray. Ocean Spray Pink Cranberry Juice Cocktail contains 26g of total sugar per 8oz serving and 24g of this is added sugar.

If you want to see how this compares next to Ocean Spray’s grapefruit juices make sure to check out the following post, I researched and wrote – Is There A Lot Of Sugar In Grapefruit Juice?

3. Tropicana Cranberry Cocktail Juice – 26g of Total Sugar

Next up is yet another cranberry juice cocktail, this time from Tropicana. Tropicana’s cranberry cocktail juice contains 32g of total sugar in a 10oz bottle – pro-rated this equates to 26g of sugar in an 8oz serving – 23g of which are added.

If you want to find out how this compares to the sugar content of Tropicana’s other juices make sure to check out the following post, I wrote – How Much Sugar is in Tropicana Juices and Which Are Lowest?

4. Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail – 25g of Total Sugar

Ocean Spray’s Cranberry Juice Cocktail contains a tiny bit less sugar than the pink cocktail version, but it’s a negligible difference. There are 25g of total sugar per 8oz serving – this is the same for the Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail with Calcium and The Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail with Lime.

5. Amazon Happy Belly Cranberry Juice Cocktail – 25g of Total Sugar

Amazon’s Happy Belly Cranberry Juice also contains 25g of total sugar per serving and you won’t believe it – it is a cranberry juice cocktail. 20g of this sugar is added sugar.

6. Ocean Spray White Cranberry Juice – 25g of Total Sugar

Next up is the first cranberry juice on this list that doesn’t have the word cocktail in the name – Ocean Spray’s White Cranberry Juice. There are 25g of total sugar per 8oz serving and 23g of these are added.

7. Ocean Spray 100% Juice Cranberry – 23g of Total Sugar

Okay, so this next entry is the first added sugar-free cranberry juice on this list. This juice is Ocean Spray’s 100% Juice Cranberry. As the name suggests this drink is made from 100% juice and so there is no added sugar.

Not all of this juice is cranberry though – this juice contains apple and grape juice too.

8. Ocean Spray Cran50 Cranberry Juice Drink – 13g of Total Sugar

Next up is a cranberry juice from Ocean Spray’s Cran50 range. This Cran50 range has a lower total sugar content than most cranberry cocktail juices at 13g of total sugar per 8oz serving, 10g of which are added. A mixture of sugar and sweeteners are used in this drink – fructose and sugar are ingredients as well as sucralose and acesulfame potassium. This cranberry juice also contains grape juice too.

9. Lakewood Pure Cranberry Juice – 11g of Total Sugar

Next up is the first pure cranberry juice on this list. This cranberry juice is Lakewood Pure Cranberry Juice which contains 12g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per 8oz serving. If you want to enjoy cranberry juice but without any sugar or any sweeteners, then pure unsweetened cranberry juice is your best bet.

Be warned though, you must enjoy a bitter taste if you are going to enjoy this juice.

You can try it for yourself and see if you like it on Amazon here.

If you want a sweet taste to your cranberry juice but without all of the sugar, then check out my list of added sugar-free cranberry juices which I compiled here – The Sugar-Free Cranberry Juices You Need To Know About.

10. Ocean Spray Pure Unsweetened Cranberry – 9g of Total Sugar

Ocean Spray also makes unsweetened cranberry juice too. There are 9g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar in Ocean Spray unsweetened cranberry juice. You can see it for yourself on Amazon here.

11. 365 by Whole Foods Cranberry Juice – 7g of Total Sugar

The final entry on this list is another pure unsweetened cranberry juice this time from 365 by Whole Foods Market. This cranberry juice contains a mere 7g of total sugar per 8oz serving and 0g added so this is my number 1 recommendation for an unsweetened pure cranberry juice. If you can handle the bitterness that is.

You can find 365 by Whole Foods Market Cranberry Juice on Amazon here.

FAQs Sugar Content of Cranberry Juices

Is 100% Cranberry Juice Sugar-Free?

100% cranberry juice contains naturally occurring sugar just from the cranberries – usually, this is made up of 7g-11g of naturally occurring sugar per 8oz serving.

Does Unsweetened Cranberry Juice Still Have Sugar?

As a general rule, unsweetened cranberry juice does not contain any added sugar – it only contains naturally occurring sugar from the cranberries.

How Much Sugar Is In Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice?

The amount of sugar in Ocean Spray Cranberry juice depends on the variety. There can be as little as 1g of sugar in its Diet Cranberry Juices and as much as 26g of sugar in an 8oz serving of Ocean Spray cranberry juice.

Does Ocean Spray Have Sugar?

A number of Ocean Spray Cranberry juices do contain added sugar. One Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice that does not contain sugar is Ocean Spray Pure Unsweetened Cranberry. This Ocean Spray cranberry juice can be found on Amazon here.

What Is the Sweetener in Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice?

Sugar is the sweetener in the non-diet versions of Ocean Spray cranberry juices.

Does Ocean Spray Contain High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Ocean Spray does not contain high fructose corn syrup.

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Is Cranberry Juice High In Sugar?

Is Cranberry Juice high in sugar? What have we learned from the above? Well, when it comes to cranberry juice you need to be particularly watchful of sugar content. Because cranberries are naturally so bitter a lot of the juice will contain added sugars. In particular, you want to watch out for the difference between cranberry juices labeled as “Cranberry Juice Cocktail” and “Cranberry Juice”. Cranberry Juice Cocktails tend to always contain added sugars. If you are looking for the lowest sugar option, your best choice is pure unsweetened cranberry juice such as Whole Foods 365 Cranberry juice (entry number 11 on my list) which contains 7g of total sugar per serving. Just remember pure unsweetened cranberry juice is going to have that bitter flavor to it. But if you want to save on the sugar it may be something you have to get used to.

And Remember…