Cabbage is not high in sugar. A cup of chopped raw cabbage contains roughly 3 grams of sugar and just under 5 grams of total carbohydrates. That puts it among the lowest-sugar vegetables you can eat.
Sugar and Carb Content Per Serving
One cup of chopped raw cabbage provides about 4.97 grams of total carbohydrates, 2.05 grams of dietary fiber, and approximately 3 grams of sugar. If you subtract the fiber (which your body doesn’t digest or convert to blood sugar), you’re left with roughly 3 grams of net carbs per cup. For context, a single teaspoon of table sugar contains about 4 grams, so a full cup of cabbage delivers less sugar than that.
The sugars naturally present in cabbage are mostly fructose, which accounts for about half the total sugar content. Glucose makes up most of the remainder, while sucrose (the same compound as table sugar) represents only about 11% of cabbage’s sugar profile. None of these amounts are large enough to meaningfully affect blood sugar in most people.
How Cabbage Compares to Other Vegetables
Even among vegetables, cabbage stands out as particularly low in sugar. Using FDA nutrition data for common raw vegetables:
- Green cabbage (84 g serving): 3 g sugar
- Broccoli (148 g serving): 2 g sugar
- Carrot (78 g serving): 5 g sugar
Broccoli looks slightly lower at first glance, but its listed serving size is nearly twice as heavy as the cabbage serving. Gram for gram, cabbage and broccoli are comparable. Carrots, on the other hand, pack noticeably more sugar into a smaller portion. Starchier vegetables like corn, peas, and potatoes contain several times more sugar and total carbohydrate per serving than cabbage does.
Glycemic Index and Blood Sugar Impact
Cabbage has a glycemic index of 10, which is very low. Anything under 55 is considered low-GI, so cabbage barely registers on the scale. This means eating cabbage produces a minimal, gradual rise in blood sugar rather than a spike. The combination of low sugar, low total carbs, and a meaningful amount of fiber all contribute to that gentle response. If you’re managing blood sugar through diet, whether for diabetes, prediabetes, or weight loss, cabbage is one of the safest vegetables to eat freely.
Does Cooking Change the Sugar Content?
Cooking cabbage doesn’t add sugar, but it can change how sweet it tastes. Heat causes caramelization and browning reactions that convert some of the existing sugars into compounds with a more pronounced sweet flavor. This is why sautéed or roasted cabbage tastes noticeably sweeter than raw cabbage, even though the actual sugar content hasn’t increased in any meaningful way.
Cooking also softens the plant’s cell walls, which can make the sugars and carbohydrates slightly easier to absorb. In practical terms, though, you’re still dealing with a vegetable that started at 3 grams of sugar per cup. The difference between raw and cooked cabbage, from a blood sugar perspective, is negligible.
Cabbage on Low-Carb and Keto Diets
With roughly 3 grams of net carbs per cup, cabbage fits comfortably into low-carb and ketogenic diets. It’s a popular substitute for higher-carb ingredients: shredded cabbage works as a noodle replacement in stir-fries, cabbage leaves can stand in for tortilla wraps, and chopped cabbage adds bulk to soups without adding significant carbohydrates. A generous two-cup serving still only delivers about 6 grams of net carbs, which is a small fraction of even strict keto daily limits (typically 20 to 50 grams).
All varieties of cabbage, including green, red, savoy, and napa, are similarly low in sugar. Red cabbage tends to run very slightly higher in carbohydrates than green, but the difference is small enough that it rarely matters for meal planning.