Larabar’s philosophy revolves around creating delicious bars with minimal, natural ingredients. They are proudly marketed as having no more than nine ingredients in each bar, with no artificial flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners.
But, do they have added sugar? Keep reading to quickly learn the answer!
Larabar Sugar Content
To determine whether Larabar products contain added sugar, we need to examine the sugar content data provided for each flavor. In other words, the sugar content varies from bar to bar.
The tables below include two sugar categories: “Total Sugars” and “Added Sugars.” It’s crucial to differentiate between these two values, as not all sugars in a product are necessarily added sugars.
- Total Sugars: This value represents the sum of all sugars present in the product, including both naturally occurring sugars (e.g., those from fruit or nuts) and any added sugars.
- Added Sugars: This value specifically indicates the amount of sugars that are added during the production process. These sugars are typically in the form of sweeteners added for flavor enhancement.
Below you’ll find the sugar content for Larabar Original, Minis, and Kids varieties at the time of this article. Be sure to reference the sugar content listed in the nutrition facts on the Larabar packaging for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
Larabar Original
Serving Size: 1 Bar (45g)
Larabar Original flavors have between 0-6 grams of added sugar. The majority of bars in this category have zero added sugar.
| Larabar Flavor | Total Sugars | Added Sugars |
|---|---|---|
| Almond Butter Chocolate Chip | 16g | 4g |
| Almond Cookie | 13g | 0g |
| Apple Pie | 18g | 0g |
| Banana Bread | 17g | 0g |
| Banana Chocolate Chip | 20g | 3g |
| Blueberry Muffin | 17g | 0g |
| Cashew Cookie | 15g | 0g |
| Cherry Pie | 20g | 0g |
| Chocolate Chip Brownie | 20g | 4g |
| Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough | 15g | 3g |
| Chocolate Peanut Caramel Truffle | 20g | 6g |
| Chocolate Raspberry Truffle | 20g | 3g |
| Cocoa Coconut Chew | 16g | 0g |
| Coconut Cream Pie | 20g | 0g |
| Double Chocolate Peanut Butter | 18g | 3g |
| Double Chocolate Truffle | 18g | 3g |
| Gingerbread | 18g | 0g |
| Lemon Bar | 16g | 0g |
| Mint Chip Brownie | 19g | 4g |
| Orange Sorbet | 18g | 0g |
| Peanut Butter & Jelly | 18g | 0g |
| Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip | 17g | 4g |
| Peanut Butter Cookie | 17g | 0g |
| Pecan Pie | 16g | 0g |
| Pineapple Upside Down Cake | 20g | 0g |
| Pumpkin Pie | 17g | 0g |
Larabar Minis
Serving Size: 1 Bar (22g)
The Larabar Minis offer smaller-sized bars compared to Original so their total sugar content is lower. All of these bars have a minimal amount of added sugar at 2 grams per bar.
| Larabar Mini Flavor | Total Sugars | Added Sugars |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini | 8g | 2g |
| Double Dark Chocolate Mini | 8g | 2g |
| Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini | 8g | 2g |
| Mint Chocolate Chip Mini | 9g | 2g |
Larabar Kids
Serving Size: 1 Bar (27g)
Interestingly, the Larabar Kids bars contains 10g of added sugar in each bar across all flavors. This is notably higher than the Larabar Original and Mini varieties.
The reason for this may be to cater to children’s taste preferences, but parents should be aware of this higher added sugar content.
| Larabar Kids Flavor | Total Sugars | Added Sugars |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Chip Cookie | 10g | 10g |
| Cinnamon Swirl | 10g | 10g |
| Chocolate Brownie | 10g | 10g |
Recommended Added Sugar
If you are following a typical 2,000 calorie diet, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommends no more than 50 grams of added sugar per day.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting your added sugar intake even more. These are their recommendations for most adults and children:
- Men: 36 grams
- Women: 24 grams
- Children 2-18: 24 grams
Based on the above recommendations, most Larabar products do not have a worrisome amount of added sugar.
Source:
Added sugar. The Nutrition Source. (2023, February 2). https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/added-sugar-in-the-diet/
