Many fruits are surprisingly low in fructose, with some containing less than 2 grams per serving. The best options include apricots, raspberries, peaches, cantaloupe, and pineapple. Whether you’re managing fructose malabsorption, following a low-FODMAP diet, or simply trying to reduce fructose intake, there are plenty of fruits you can enjoy comfortably.
The Lowest-Fructose Fruits by Serving
A practical cutoff for “low fructose” is 3 grams or less per serving. Here are the fruits that fall under that line, ranked from lowest to highest:
- Apricots: 1.0 g per 3 small fruits (105 g)
- Raspberries: 1.5 g per ½ cup
- Peaches: 1.5 g per medium fruit
- Cantaloupe: 1.6 g per ½ cup cubed
- Pineapple: 1.7 g per ½ cup diced
- Nectarines: 1.9 g per medium fruit
- Plums: 2.0 g per small fruit
- Tangerines/mandarins: 2.1 g per medium fruit
- Strawberries (fresh): 2.2 g per ½ cup
- Grapefruit (pink): 2.2 g per half fruit
- Blueberries (wild): 2.6 g per ½ cup
- Honeydew melon: 2.7 g per ½ cup
Apricots stand out as the clear winner. Three whole apricots deliver just 1 gram of fructose, making them one of the safest choices for anyone sensitive to this sugar. Raspberries and peaches are close behind and give you a full serving for under 2 grams.
Fruits to Be Careful With
Not all fruits are equal when it comes to fructose. Apples contain about 6.9 grams of fructose per 100 grams, making them one of the highest-fructose common fruits. Pears are nearly as high at 6.2 grams per 100 grams. Both are often the first fruits people notice causing digestive trouble.
Bananas are an interesting case. They have 6.2 grams of fructose per 100 grams, which sounds high, but they also contain 6.7 grams of glucose. That higher glucose-to-fructose ratio actually matters for absorption (more on that below). Oranges are more moderate at 2.1 grams of fructose per 100 grams, putting them in a similar range to strawberries.
Why the Glucose-to-Fructose Ratio Matters
Your small intestine absorbs fructose more efficiently when glucose is present alongside it. Glucose essentially helps carry fructose across the intestinal wall. This means a fruit with equal or higher glucose compared to fructose will generally be easier on your gut than one where fructose dominates, even if the total fructose number looks similar.
Bananas have more glucose than fructose (6.7 g vs. 6.2 g per 100 g), which is why some people tolerate them despite the relatively high fructose content. Apples, by contrast, have far more fructose than glucose (6.9 g vs. 2.3 g), creating a large “excess fructose” load that your body has to handle on its own. That imbalance is a big reason apples are one of the most common triggers for bloating and discomfort in people with fructose sensitivity.
When choosing fruits, looking at the ratio gives you a more complete picture than fructose content alone. Fruits where fructose significantly exceeds glucose, like apples and pears, tend to cause the most symptoms.
How Much Fructose Most People Can Handle
People with fructose malabsorption can typically tolerate 10 to 15 grams of fructose spread across a full day. That’s the total from all food sources combined, not just fruit. Vegetables, sweeteners, processed foods, and drinks all contribute to that daily load.
A practical approach is to limit fruit to one serving (about half a cup, or one medium piece) per meal, up to three servings per day. Spacing your fruit intake throughout the day rather than eating several servings at once gives your body time to absorb the fructose without overwhelming the transport system in your gut. Eating fruit alongside a meal that contains protein and fat also slows digestion and can improve tolerance.
Stone Fruits and Melons Are Your Best Categories
Two fruit families consistently show up in the low-fructose range: stone fruits and melons. Peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots all fall comfortably under 2 grams per serving. These are some of the most versatile fruits for cooking and snacking, and they’re widely available fresh in summer and frozen year-round.
Cantaloupe is the standout among melons at just 1.6 grams per half cup. Honeydew is slightly higher at 2.7 grams but still well within the low-fructose range. Watermelon is trickier. While it’s relatively low in fructose per gram of fruit, people tend to eat it in much larger portions. A typical two-cup serving of diced watermelon contains about 20 grams of total sugar, and the fructose portion of that can add up quickly if you’re eating generous slices.
Berries Are Mostly Safe
Raspberries are the lowest-fructose berry at 1.5 grams per half cup, followed by fresh strawberries at 2.2 grams and wild blueberries at 2.6 grams. All three fit easily into a low-fructose eating pattern. Citrus fruits like tangerines (2.1 g) and grapefruit (2.2 g) also land comfortably in this range.
Lemons and limes, while not commonly eaten as whole fruit, contain very little sugar of any kind. They’re essentially a non-issue for fructose content and can be used freely in cooking, dressings, and drinks.
Why Dried Fruit Is a Different Story
Drying fruit removes the water but keeps all the sugar, dramatically concentrating the fructose. To put this in perspective: 100 grams of fresh apple contains about 10 grams of total sugar, while 100 grams of dried apple contains 57 grams. That’s nearly six times the sugar density in the same weight of food.
The portion problem compounds this. Dried fruits are smaller and easier to eat mindlessly, so people routinely eat two to three times the amount they’d consume if the fruit were fresh. A handful of dried apricots might seem modest, but it can easily represent four or five fresh apricots’ worth of fructose. If you do eat dried fruit, aim for no more than half the amount you’d eat fresh, and stick to varieties that are low in fructose to begin with, like dried apricots or dried peaches.
Putting It Together
Building a low-fructose fruit habit comes down to three principles: choose from the low-fructose list (stone fruits, berries, melons, citrus), keep portions to about half a cup or one medium piece at a time, and spread your intake across meals rather than eating multiple servings in one sitting. Avoid or limit high-fructose fruits like apples, pears, and mangoes, and be cautious with dried fruit and fruit juices, which concentrate fructose into small volumes.
Most people find that once they know which fruits work for them, they can still eat a satisfying variety without triggering symptoms. The low-fructose list is broader than many people expect, covering everything from summer peaches to winter citrus to year-round berries.