Blueberry Nutrition Facts, Per Cup and Per Berry
6 min read · Published August 7, 2026
A cup of blueberries is 84 calories and 3.6 g of fiber. Here is the full breakdown, and an honest look at the health claims.
One US cup of raw blueberries — about 148 g, or roughly 100 berries — contains 84 calories. That is the number most people are looking for, and by the standards of sweet food it is a low one.
Full breakdown per cup
| Nutrient | Per cup (148 g) | Per berry (1.5 g) |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 84 kcal | 0.86 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 21.4 g | 0.22 g |
| Fiber | 3.6 g | 0.04 g |
| Sugars | 14.7 g | 0.15 g |
| Protein | 1.1 g | 0.01 g |
| Fat | 0.5 g | trace |
| Vitamin C | 14.4 mg | 0.15 mg |
| Vitamin K | 28.6 mcg | 0.29 mcg |
| Manganese | 0.5 mg | trace |
| Water | ~84% | ~84% |
Figures are for raw cultivated blueberries from USDA reference data. Our nutrition calculator will scale these to any quantity — cups, grams, or an exact berry count.
The sugar question
Roughly 15 g of the 21 g of carbohydrate in a cup is sugar, which sounds like a lot until you compare it to the alternatives. A cup of blueberries has less sugar than a medium banana and dramatically less than a cup of grapes or a glass of juice.
More importantly, that sugar arrives packaged with 3.6 g of fiber and a great deal of water. Both slow absorption, which is why whole fruit behaves very differently in the body than the equivalent sugar in liquid form. Blueberries sit low on the glycemic index — generally in the low 50s.
Anthocyanins, and what is actually established
The deep blue-purple colour comes from anthocyanins, the compounds behind most blueberry health coverage. They are genuinely interesting: they are potent antioxidants in laboratory conditions, and blueberries contain more of them than most commonly eaten fruits.
Where the coverage tends to overreach is in the leap from that to specific health outcomes. The honest summary is that observational studies associate regular berry consumption with cardiovascular and cognitive benefits, and some small trials are encouraging, but the evidence is not strong enough to promise any individual a particular result.
Blueberries are a nutrient-dense, high-fiber, low-calorie fruit. That alone is a good reason to eat them. They are not a treatment for any medical condition, and we are not qualified to give medical advice — talk to a doctor or registered dietitian about your own diet.
Fresh, frozen, and dried compared
| Form | Calories | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh, 1 cup | 84 kcal | The baseline |
| Frozen, 1 cup | ~79 kcal | Nutritionally near-identical; often frozen at peak ripeness |
| Dried, 1/4 cup | ~127 kcal | Water removed, so sugar and calories concentrate sharply |
| Juice, 1 cup | ~110 kcal | Fiber largely removed; behaves much more like sugar water |
Dried blueberries surprise people. Removing the water concentrates everything, so a small handful carries the sugar of a much larger volume of fresh fruit — and many commercial dried berries are sweetened on top of that. They are excellent in cookies and granola; they are not a one-for-one swap for fresh.
Wild versus cultivated
Wild lowbush blueberries are smaller, which means more skin per unit of weight — and the skin is where most anthocyanins live. Wild berries typically test higher in anthocyanin content per gram, with broadly similar calories and macronutrients.
If you have the choice and the price is comparable, wild berries are the more nutrient-dense option. If not, the difference is small enough that the fruit you will actually eat is the better fruit.
How much is a reasonable amount?
Most dietary guidance frames fruit in servings rather than specific fruits — around two servings a day, where a serving is roughly a cup. A cup of blueberries daily fits comfortably inside that, contributes about 14% of the daily fiber target, and costs 84 calories.
For portioning by count rather than volume, see how many blueberries are in a cup.