Which Milk Has the Least Amount of Sugar?

Which milk has the least amount of sugar? Milk. It is one of those staple food items and ingredients. You splash it into your coffee, pour it over your cereal, or just drink it plain. But exactly how much sugar is in the white stuff? That is the question I am going to be answering in this post – how much sugar is there in milk?

In order to answer this question, I looked at several different brands of the four main types of milk – whole, 2%, 1%, and fat-free.

So, let’s dig in, which milk has the least amount of sugar?

How Much Sugar is in Milk?

As a general rule there is no added sugar in milk and the following amounts of naturally occurring sugar in a cup (240ml):

• 15g of sugar in 1% milk
• 13g-14g of sugar in 2% milk
• 12g-13g of sugar in whole milk
• 11g-12g of sugar in fat free milk

This naturally occurring sugar is from the lactose in milk.

What About Non-Dairy Milks?

Before we dig in, if you are interested in the sugar content of non-dairy milks make sure to check out the following posts I wrote:

• Which Oat Milks Do Not Contain Any Sugar?
• The Best Sugar-Free and Low Sugar Almond Milks
• Which Coconut Milks Do Not Contain Sugar
• How Much Sugar is in Cashew Milk
• Does Flax Milk Contain Any Sugar
• Is Soy Milk High in Sugar
• Is there Sugar in Macadamia Nut Milk? Let’s Find Out
• Which Alternatives Milks Contain No Sugar (0g)

How Much Sugar is in Whole Milk?

First, let’s compare the sugar content of some Whole Milk brands commonly available from grocery stores.

1. Clover Sonoma Organic Whole Milk Gallon – 12g of Sugar

There is 12g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per serving of Clover Sonoma organic whole milk

2. 365 by Whole Foods Market Whole Organic Milk – 11g of Sugar

There is ever so slightly less total sugar in 365 by Whole Foods Market’s organic whole milk at 11g of total sugar per serving.

3. Organic Valley Whole Ultra Pasteurized Organic Milk – 11g of Sugar

It is the same situation with Organic Valley’s whole organic milk – 12g of total sugar per 240ml serving.

It seems safe to conclude that as a general rule, whole milk contains 0g of added sugar and 12g-13g of total sugar per 240ml serving.

How Much Sugar Is In 2% (Reduced Fat) Milk?

4. Horizon Organic 2% Reduced Fat Milk with DHA Omega-3 – 14g of Sugar

There is slightly more sugar in Horizon 2% milk than there normally is in whole milk – at 14g total sugar per 240 ml serving.

5. Organic Valley Organic 2% Milk – 13g of Sugar

There is 2g more total sugar in a 240ml serving of Organic Valley 2% milk than Organic Valley’s whole milk – at 13g of total sugar per 240ml serving.

6. 365 by Whole Foods Market 2% Milk – 13g of Sugar

It is the same situation with 365’s 2% milk – there are 13g of total sugar per serving, which is 2g more than their whole milk.

7. Clover Sonoma Organic 2% Reduced Fat Half Milk – 13g of Sugar

There is 1g more total sugar in Clover Sonoma’s 2% milk than their whole milk, at 13g of total sugar per serving.

As a general rule, it seems that 2% milk tends to contain 0g of added sugar and 13g-14g of total sugar.

How Much Sugar Is In 1% (Low Fat) Milk?

8. Organic Valley UHT Low Fat Organic Milk – 15g of Sugar

I was surprised to discover that there are 15g of total sugar in a serving of Organic Valley 1% milk.

9. Clover Sonoma Organic 1% Milk – 15g of Sugar

It is the same situation with Clover Sonoma organic 1% milk – there are 15g of total sugar per serving.

10. 365 by Whole Foods Market 1% Milk – 15g of Sugar

365’s 1% milk also contains 15g of total sugar per serving.

As a general rule, it seems safe to conclude that there are 0g of added sugar and 15g of total sugar per 240ml serving of 1% milk. Who knew 1% milk was the highest sugar variety?

How Much Sugar is in Non-Fat Milk?

11. Organic Valley Grassmilk Fat Free Milk – 12g of Sugar

There are 12g of total sugar in a 240 ml serving of Organic Valley Fat Free milk.

12. 365 by Whole Foods Market Fat Free Milk – 11g of Sugar

There is slightly less total sugar in a serving of Whole Foods Market Fat Free milk at 11g of sugar per serving.

As a general rule, there are 11g-12g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per 240ml serving of Fat Free milk.

Want to Know About Milk Alternatives, Coffee Creamer, and Heavy Cream as well?

If you are looking for milk that contains 0g of total sugar per serving then you must check out this post I wrote on the best 0g of sugar alternative kinds of milk (i.e. vegan milk): Which Alternatives Milks Contain No Sugar (0g).

Also, there are some great sugar-free creamers you can add to your coffee (which you can read about here – Are There Any Sugar-Free Coffee Creamers?).

Heavy Cream is also an awesome 0g of sugar per serving option for adding to coffee. You can read about that here – Which has Less Sugar – Half Half or Heavy Cream.

General Rules – Sugar Content of Milk

I have established some general rules for the total sugar content of the four different types of dairy milk above. For your ease of reference below is a summary table.

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Type of Milk	Sugar Content
Whole Milk	Whole milk contains 0g of added sugar and 12g-13g of total sugar per 240ml serving.
2% Milk	2% milk tends to contain 0g of added sugar and 13g-14g of total sugar.
1% Milk	1% milk tends to contain 0g of added sugar and 15g of total sugar per 240 ml serving.
Fat-Free Milk	Fat-Free Milk tends to contain 11g-12g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per 240ml serving.

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What about a type of milk that is much lower than anything mentioned above? Well, I actually know of a type of dairy milk that is much lower in total sugar. It is actually a brand of lactose-free milk. You can read all about it here – Which Lactose-Free Milk Contains the Least Sugar?

F&Q Sugar in Milk

Why Does Milk Have Sugar?

There is naturally occurring sugar in milk from the lactose.

What is the Form of Sugar In Milk?

The form of sugar in milk is lactose.

Is There Sugar in Whole Milk?

As a general rule there are 12g-13g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per 240ml serving of whole milk.

Why Does Whole Milk Have Sugar?

Whole milk (nor any dairy milk) does not contain added sugar but there is naturally occurring sugar from the lactose.

Does 1% Milk Have Less Sugar Than Whole Milk?

Both 1% and whole milk are added sugar-free but 1% milk tends to contain more naturally occurring sugar than whole milk.

How Much Sugar Is In 2% Milk Vs Whole Milk?

As a general rule, there are 13g-14g of total sugar per 240ml of 2% milk vs 12g-13g of total sugar in a 240ml serving of whole milk.

Is There a Lot of Sugar in 2% Milk?

As a general rule there are 13g-14g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar in a 240ml serving of 2% milk.

Does 1% Milk Have More Sugar?

1% milk tends to contain more sugar than whole, non-fat, or 2% milk.

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Which Milk Has the Least Amount of Sugar? – The Final Bite

Which milk has the least amount of sugar? What have we learned from the above? Well, one of the most interesting things is that 1% milk tends to contain more sugar than whole, non-fat, or 2% milk. So if your preference is 1% milk and you are trying to watch your sugar intake you may want to think about swapping. As for what is the lowest sugar option – well that is actually a Lactose-Free milk I review in my post (Which Lactose-Free Milk Contains the Least Sugar?). If you are looking to limit your sugar intake from dairy, but don’t want to cut out the dairy then this may be your best option.

And Remember…