Yes, gochujang contains a significant amount of sugar. A standard tablespoon-sized serving (about 19 grams) has roughly 5 grams of sugar and 9 grams of total carbohydrates. That sweetness isn’t accidental. It’s built into gochujang at every level, from the grain starches that form its base to the syrups that commercial brands add for consistency and flavor.
Where the Sugar Comes From
Gochujang is made from a base of glutinous rice powder, red chili flakes, fermented soybean powder, and salt. Traditionally, the sweetness comes from two natural sources: the rice itself and barley malt. Coarse-ground malted barley, called yeotgireum in Korean, is mashed with warm water to convert its starches into a concentrated barley syrup. Glutinous rice flour adds another layer of starch that breaks down into simple sugars over time.
During fermentation, enzymes in the malt split the long starch chains in the rice and barley into glucose and maltose. White rice starches break down faster than brown rice, which is why gochujang made with white rice tends to taste noticeably sweeter, even without added sweeteners. This process means that even a “no sugar added” gochujang will contain naturally occurring sugars from grain hydrolysis.
Commercial Brands Add Extra Sweeteners
Most supermarket gochujang goes well beyond traditional fermentation for its sweetness. America’s Test Kitchen found corn syrup in nearly all mass-produced brands, alongside malt syrup and maltodextrin. These added sweeteners give commercial gochujang a more uniform, predictable flavor, but they also bump up the sugar content compared to artisan versions.
Artisan and traditionally fermented gochujang products listed much less sugar overall and no added sweeteners like corn syrup. If you’re trying to limit sugar intake, flipping the tub over and scanning the ingredient list matters. Look for versions where the sweetness comes from rice and malt rather than corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup listed in the first few ingredients.
How It Compares to Other Condiments
At about 5 grams of sugar per two-tablespoon serving, gochujang lands in similar territory to ketchup (which has about 4 grams per tablespoon). It’s sweeter than plain miso paste, which typically has 1 to 2 grams of sugar per tablespoon. Sriracha contains around 1 gram of sugar per teaspoon, but people tend to use less of it per dish. The practical difference depends on how heavily you use each condiment, and gochujang is often used generously as a marinade base or stir-fry sauce, which can add up.
The Blood Sugar Picture
Despite its sugar content, gochujang has some interesting metabolic properties. Research published in the journal Fermentation found that compounds in gochujang partially block an enzyme responsible for breaking carbohydrates into glucose in the gut, reducing that activity by about 29.6%. Animal studies have also shown improved insulin sensitivity and better oral glucose tolerance with gochujang consumption. These effects likely come from bioactive compounds produced during fermentation rather than the paste’s macronutrient profile. That said, the sugar is still there, and people managing blood glucose levels should factor in those 5 grams per serving.
Lower-Sugar Alternatives
If you want the flavor without the sugar load, you have a few options. Making gochujang at home lets you control exactly how much sweetener goes in. Some home recipes cut the rice syrup significantly while leaning on the natural sweetness from malt conversion.
For a more dramatic reduction, keto-friendly gochujang recipes replace traditional sweeteners entirely with sugar alternatives like allulose, a rare sugar that tastes similar to table sugar but has minimal impact on blood glucose. These versions swap out the glutinous rice base as well, bringing the net carbohydrate count down considerably. The tradeoff is texture and depth of flavor. Without the grain starches and their slow enzymatic breakdown, homemade low-sugar versions lack some of the layered complexity that months of fermentation produce in traditional gochujang.
For store-bought options, choosing an artisan or traditionally fermented brand with a short ingredient list is the simplest way to get the real thing with less added sugar. The fermentation-derived sugars will still be present, but you avoid the corn syrup that pads out most commercial tubs.