Bottled smoothies might seem like a quick and easy way to get your daily fruits and veggies, but don't be fooled by their wholesome marketing. While they promise convenient nutrition, many are loaded with sugar, turning what seems like a healthy choice into a sweet treat that rivals dessert. m
Bottled smoothies can contain two types of sugar: natural and added. Natural sugars come from whole fruits or fruit juice concentrates, while added sugars are introduced during processing. Ingredients like cane sugar, fructose, and brown sugar fall into the added sugar category.
The problem with the sugar in bottled smoothies—regardless of whether it's natural or added—isn't necessarily the source; it's that these beverages often lack fiber because they rely on juice concentrates or purees instead of whole fruits. Without fiber, you miss out on its benefits, such as minimizing blood sugar spikes, supporting a healthy gut microbiome, and promoting satiety.
To help you make better choices at the supermarket, we've ranked the unhealthiest bottled smoothies by their sugar content, starting with the "least" sugary and ending with the most sugar-laden.
Chobani Raspberry Lemonade Greek Yogurt Drink
Calories: 150
Fat: 3.5 g (Saturated Fat: 2.5 g)
Sodium: 150 mg
Carbs: 19 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 16 g [Added Sugar: 9 g])
Protein: 10 g
This Greek yogurt smoothie drink from Chobani may seem like a healthy choice at first, as Greek yogurt can offer many health benefits like protein and gut-healthy probiotics. But with 16 grams of sugar (9 of which are added) and zero grams of fiber, this drink may not be as healthy as it seems. After cultured milk, water and cane sugar are the next ingredients listed, and there are no whole fruit sources here (which contributes to the lack of fiber), with the only fruit flavors coming from raspberry puree and lemon pulp.
Dannon Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Calories: 110
Fat: 0.5 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 80 mg
Carbs: 22 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 18 g [Added Sugar: 14 g])
Protein: 6 g
Compared to the other bottled smoothies on our list, this Strawberry Banana from Dannon may not seem that bad at first in terms of sugar. However, where many bottled smoothies still use natural sugar sources, the majority of sugars in this drink are added. In fact, "fructose" and "sugar" are the first few ingredients on the list.
Harmless Harvest Organic Mango Coconut Smoothie
Calories: 110
Fat: 2 g (Saturated Fat: 1.5 g)
Sodium: 45 mg
Carbs: 23 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 18 g [Added Sugar: 0 g])
Protein: 1 g
This Mango Smoothie from Harmless Harvest provides little to nothing in terms of staying power. Its 18 grams of sugar are from natural sources, but with only 2 grams of fiber and 1 gram of protein, this drink won't be able to fill you up or leave you feeling satiated.
Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Nut Butter Chocolate
Calories: 400
Fat: 15 g (Saturated Fat: 3.5 g)
Sodium: 590 mg
Carbs: 41 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 33 g [Added Sugar: 23 g])
Protein: 30 g
When you first take a peak at this Protein Plus Smoothie from Bolthouse, you may think it's a healthy choice. Who wouldn't want 30 grams of protein in their smoothie, especially when the flavor is Nut Butter Chocolate Peanut Butter? Unfortunately, after taking a look at the nutrition label, you'll see that even though this provides a protein boost and 4 grams of fiber, it also has 33 grams of sugar, 23 of which are from added sugars.
Bolthouse Farms Energy Peach Carrot Mango
Calories: 190
Fat: 0 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 110 mg
Carbs: 47 g (Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 40 g [Added Sugar: 0 g])
Protein: 2 g
Bolthouse offers a line of "Energy" smoothies, which contain caffeine and B vitamins (which can help increase energy levels and reduce fatigue), but these drinks may not be as healthy as they seem.
The Peach Carrot Mango flavor, for instance, has a whopping 40 grams of sugar. It still has 4 grams of fiber, which can slightly help your blood sugar levels, but all of the fruit in this bottled drink comes from juice concentrates, which limits some of the natural fibers you'd get from eating whole fruit. Plus, the 2 grams of protein won't do anything to keep you full.
Bolthouse Farms Strawberry Parfait Smoothie
Calories: 350
Fat: 5 g (Saturated Fat: 2.5 g)
Sodium: 130 mg
Carbs: 67 g (Fiber: 12 g, Sugar: 44 g [Added Sugar: 27 g])
Protein: 11 g
This Strawberry Parfait Breakfast Smoothie from Bolthouse Farms is intended to be a morning meal replacement, but its sugar content keeps it from being a nutritious choice. The 12 grams of fiber here gives this drink one of the highest fiber counts on the list, but its 27 grams of added sugar come far too close to the recommended daily limit.
Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost
Calories: 230
Fat: 0.5 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 20 mg
Carbs: 55 g (Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 47 g [Added Sugar: 0 g])
Protein: 2 g
The Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost Smoothie is marketed as a healthy, 100% juice smoothie, but there are almost 50 grams of sugar in this 15-ounce bottle, which uses only puree and juice concentrates instead of whole fruit.
Bolthouse Farms Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Calories: 260
Fat: 0.5 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 20 mg
Carbs: 61 g (Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 50 g [Added Sugar: 0 g])
Protein: 1 g
With 50 grams of sugar from puree and juice concentrates, plus only 1 gram of protein and 5 grams of fiber, this Strawberry Banana smoothie isn't going to fill you up or leave you feeling satiated.
Naked Boosted Smoothie Superfood Machine
Calories: 270
Fat: 2.5 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 5 mg
Carbs: 58 g (Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 54 g [Added Sugar: 0 g])
Protein: 4 g
Even though this Superfood Smoothie from Naked contains plenty of juice from superfood fruit sources, it's made only of juice concentrates and purees, meaning it's missing the fiber you'd get from eating this fruit whole.
Naked Boosted Smoothie Blue Machine
Calories: 320
Fat: 0.5 g (Saturated Fat: 0 g)
Sodium: 20 mg
Carbs: 76 g (Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 55 g [Added Sugar: 0 g])
Protein: 2 g
The Blue Machine Smoothie from Naked has the highest sugar count of all the bottled smoothies on our list with a whopping 55 grams. With only 2 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber, this smoothie will potentially spike your blood sugar and still leave you feeling hungry.
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