One cup of raw blackberries (144 grams) contains 62 calories. That makes blackberries one of the lowest-calorie fruits you can eat, with fewer calories per cup than most other popular berries.
Calories by Serving Size
Since blackberries vary in size, it helps to know the numbers for different portions. A standard one-cup serving weighs about 144 grams. Here’s how the calories break down:
- 1 cup (144g): 62 calories
- ½ cup (72g): 31 calories
- 100 grams: roughly 43 calories
- 1 small handful (about 10 berries): roughly 10 calories
These numbers apply to fresh, raw blackberries without any added sugar. Dried blackberries are a different story. Like all dried fruit, removing the water concentrates the sugar and calories into a much smaller volume. A quarter cup of dried blackberries can contain three to four times the calories of the same volume of fresh berries, so check the label if you’re snacking on the dried version.
How Blackberries Compare to Other Berries
Blackberries sit at the low end of the calorie spectrum among common berries. Blueberries, for comparison, come in at about 83 calories per cup. Strawberries are close to blackberries at roughly 50 calories per cup (sliced), while raspberries land around 64 calories. If you’re looking for a berry that gives you the most volume for the fewest calories, blackberries and strawberries are your best options.
What Else Is in That Cup
The calorie count only tells part of the story. A one-cup serving of blackberries delivers 14 grams of carbohydrates, but 8 of those grams come from fiber. That’s a remarkably high fiber-to-calorie ratio. Most adults need 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day, so a single cup of blackberries covers roughly a quarter to a third of that target.
You also get 2 grams of protein (unusual for a fruit), 30 milligrams of vitamin C, 29 milligrams of vitamin K, and 9 micrograms of manganese. The vitamin C alone covers about a third of most adults’ daily needs, and the vitamin K contributes meaningfully to the amount your body uses for blood clotting and bone health.
Blood Sugar Impact
Blackberries have a glycemic index of about 25 and a glycemic load of just 2 per 100 grams. Both numbers are very low. For context, a glycemic index under 55 is considered low, and a glycemic load under 10 is considered low. Blackberries land well below both thresholds, which means they cause a slow, minimal rise in blood sugar compared to higher-sugar fruits like bananas, grapes, or mangoes. The high fiber content plays a big role here, slowing down how quickly your body absorbs the natural sugars.
Fresh, Frozen, and Cooked
Frozen blackberries without added sugar have essentially the same calorie and nutrient profile as fresh ones. They’re picked and frozen at peak ripeness, so nutritionally you’re not losing anything meaningful. Frozen berries are often cheaper, especially outside of the summer growing season, and work well in smoothies, oatmeal, and baking.
Cooking blackberries doesn’t significantly change their calorie content on its own. The calories shift when you add sugar, butter, or pastry. A cup of blackberries in a pie or cobbler can easily triple or quadruple in calories depending on the recipe. If you’re tracking calories, the berries themselves aren’t the concern. It’s what goes in alongside them.
How Much Fruit You Actually Need
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 1½ to 2½ cups of fruit per day for most adults, depending on age, sex, and calorie needs. At least half of that should come from whole fruit rather than juice. One cup of blackberries counts as one cup equivalent of fruit, so a single serving gets you a meaningful chunk of your daily target for just 62 calories. For older adults (60 and up), the recommendation drops slightly to 1½ to 2 cups per day.