In this article
- Apricots fiber in fresh fruit, apricot by apricot
- Dried apricots: more fiber per bite, more sugar too
- Canned and frozen apricots: same fiber, very different sugar
- Apricot nutrition beyond fiber
- How apricots compare with other stone fruit
- Apricots, digestion and regularity
- Snacks that make apricots pull more weight
- Picking, ripening and storing apricots
- A quick rule for fresh or dried apricots
- The catch with a bag of dried apricots
- Apricot fiber questions, answered
- Sources
Apricots have a reputation as a fiber fruit, but a single fresh one weighing about 35 grams holds only 0.7 grams of fiber. Even a full cup of apricot halves comes to about 3.1 grams, which is 11% of the Daily Value.
So fresh apricots fiber is modest rather than high. Dried apricots tell a different story by weight, and knowing how both forms stack up helps you use this stone fruit well.
Apricots fiber in fresh fruit, apricot by apricot
USDA FoodData Central lists raw apricots with these values. The per apricot figures are calculated from USDA’s per 100 gram data:
| Amount | Calories | Fiber | % Daily Value | Total sugars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 apricot (35 g) | 17 | 0.7 g | 3% | 3.2 g |
| 3 apricots (105 g) | 50 | 2.1 g | 8% | 9.7 g |
| 100 grams | 48 | 2.0 g | 7% | 9.2 g |
| 1 cup halves (155 g) | 74 | 3.1 g | 11% | 14.3 g |
The FDA treats 20% of the Daily Value as high, and 5% or less as low. A cup of fresh apricots lands in between, a solid contribution but not a headline one.
Calories stay pleasantly low, though. At 74 calories per cup, apricots give about 4.2 grams of fiber per 100 calories, which beats several of their stone fruit cousins.
Curious how many grams you should aim for each day? Our fiber calculator gives you a personal target from a few quick answers.
Dried apricots: more fiber per bite, more sugar too
Drying pulls out most of the water, so everything left becomes more concentrated. USDA’s dried, sulfured apricots look like this:
| Amount | Calories | Fiber | Total sugars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ounce, about 8 halves (28 g) | 67 | 2.0 g | 15 g |
| 1/2 cup halves (65 g) | 157 | 4.6 g | 35 g |
| 100 grams | 241 | 7 g | 53 g |
The ounce and half cup values are calculated from USDA’s per 100 gram figures. An ounce of dried apricots gives about the same fiber as three fresh ones, in a handful that fits in your pocket.
The sugar climbs right along with it. Half a cup of dried halves carries about 35 grams of sugar, more than two cups of fresh apricot halves.
Per calorie, dried apricots give about 2.9 grams of fiber per 100 calories, compared with 4.2 for fresh. That doesn’t make them a bad choice, just a denser one.
Canned and frozen apricots: same fiber, very different sugar
Canned apricots surprise people. USDA’s canned records, measured with the fruit and its liquid together, show nearly identical fiber no matter what the apricots are packed in:
| Canned or frozen, 1 cup | Calories | Fiber | Total sugars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canned in water (243 g) | 66 | 3.9 g | 11.6 g |
| Canned in juice (244 g) | 117 | 3.9 g | 26.2 g |
| Canned in heavy syrup (240 g) | 199 | 3.8 g | 47.7 g |
| Frozen, sweetened (242 g) | 237 | 5.3 g | not reported |
The packing liquid changes the sugar, not the fiber. Heavy syrup carries about four times the sugar of the water pack for the same 3.8 to 3.9 grams of fiber.
If you keep canned fruit in the pantry, water packed apricots are the clear pick, with juice packed cans in the middle. Draining doesn’t rescue the syrupy kind, either: USDA’s drained heavy syrup apricots list the same 83 calories per 100 grams as the fruit with its syrup.
Apricot nutrition beyond fiber
Apricots get their orange color from beta-carotene, a plant pigment your body converts into vitamin A. A cup of fresh halves holds about 1,700 micrograms of it.
Per USDA, a cup of fresh apricot halves (155 grams) also supplies:
- Vitamin A: about 149 micrograms, roughly 17% of the 900 microgram Daily Value.
- Vitamin C: about 15.5 mg, roughly 17% of the Daily Value.
- Potassium: about 401 mg, roughly 9% of the 4,700 mg Daily Value.
- Vitamin E: about 1.4 mg, roughly 9% of the Daily Value.
- Protein: about 2.2 grams.
Dried apricots concentrate the minerals. Per 100 grams they provide about 1,160 mg of potassium (25% of the Daily Value), 38% for copper, 29% for vitamin E and 15% for iron.
Myth vs fact: apricots and vitamin A
Myth: Apricots are one of the richest fruit sources of vitamin A.
Fact: A cup of fresh apricots gives about 17% of the Daily Value. The FDA’s raw fruits label shows a quarter of a medium cantaloupe providing 120%, so apricots are a nice contributor rather than a standout.
How apricots compare with other stone fruit
Peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries all have a single hard pit, just like apricots. Using FDA and Dietary Guidelines serving data, apricots hold their own on fiber content:
| Fresh fruit and serving | Calories | Fiber | Fiber per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apricots, 1 cup halves | 74 | 3.1 g | 4.2 g |
| Peach, 1 medium (147 g) | 60 | 2 g | 3.3 g |
| Nectarine, 1 medium (140 g) | 60 | 2 g | 3.3 g |
| Cherries, 1 cup | 87 | 2.9 g | 3.3 g |
| Plums, 2 medium (151 g) | 70 | 2 g | 2.9 g |
| Pear, 1 medium (166 g) | 100 | 6 g | 6.0 g |
Among stone fruit, apricots come out on top per calorie. A pear, which isn’t a stone fruit, still beats all of them, which is a useful reminder that apricots are good rather than exceptional.
Dried stone fruit shuffles the order. The Dietary Guidelines list a quarter cup of dried peaches at 3.3 grams for 96 calories and prunes at 3.1 grams for 105 calories.
A quarter cup of dried apricot halves works out to roughly 2.3 grams for 78 calories, calculated from USDA data. So if dried fruit is your fiber snack, prunes and dried peaches edge out dried apricots.
Apricots, digestion and regularity
Fiber helps keep stools soft and regular. Cleveland Clinic suggests 18 to 30 grams of fiber a day plus a few extra glasses of water when constipation is the issue.
Three fresh apricots supply about 2 grams of that, while an ounce of dried apricots adds another 2 grams. A cup of water packed canned apricots adds 3.9 grams more for 66 calories, and combining apricots with other fiber foods makes the target far easier to reach.
Harvard’s Nutrition Source recommends adding fiber slowly and drinking enough fluids, and it advises choosing whole fruit over juice. Apricots fit well as a whole fruit snack you can scale up a little at a time.
If you’re working on your digestion, our gut health guides walk through the habits that matter most, one week at a time.
Snacks that make apricots pull more weight
Since fresh apricots give a moderate amount of fiber, pairing them is the easiest way to build a stronger snack. A few combinations using Dietary Guidelines figures:
- Apricots and raspberries: three fresh apricots plus half a cup of raspberries come to about 6 grams of fiber.
- Apricots and chia yogurt: chop three apricots into yogurt with a tablespoon of chia seeds for about 6.2 grams.
- Dried apricots and a pear: an ounce of dried apricots with a medium pear reaches about 8 grams.
- Apricot lentil salad: half a cup of cooked lentils with an ounce of chopped dried apricots comes close to 10 grams.
Any of these turns a light snack into one that covers roughly a fifth to a third of the Daily Value. The apricots bring sweetness and potassium, while the partner food does more of the fiber work.
Looking for more ways to cook with apricots in salads, grain bowls and bakes? Our recipe eBooks are full of easy high fiber ideas.
Picking, ripening and storing apricots
Ripe apricots feel slightly soft when pressed and smell sweet near the stem. Firm ones will soften at room temperature in a paper bag within a day or two.
Once ripe, move them to the refrigerator and eat them within a few days. There’s no need to peel them, since the thin skin is part of the whole fruit you’re eating.
For dried apricots, store the bag sealed in a cool, dark cupboard. Once opened, a well sealed bag keeps the halves soft and chewy.
A quick rule for fresh or dried apricots
- If you want volume and few calories: eat fresh apricots, at about 17 calories each.
- If you need a portable snack: grab an ounce of dried apricots, about 8 halves, for 2 grams of fiber.
- If dried fruit is your main fiber source: rotate in prunes or dried peaches, which give slightly more fiber per serving.
- If you’re chasing a bigger number: pair either form with berries, chia, a pear or legumes.
The catch with a bag of dried apricots
The biggest pitfall isn’t the fiber, it’s how easy dried apricots are to keep eating. A 6 ounce bag (170 grams) holds roughly 410 calories and 90 grams of sugar, calculated from USDA data.
That same bag gives about 12 grams of fiber, so the fiber is real. Portion out an ounce or two at a time and you keep the fiber and potassium without turning a snack into a meal’s worth of sugar.
Apricot fiber questions, answered
How much fiber is in one apricot?
One fresh apricot of about 35 grams has roughly 0.7 grams of fiber. You’d need four or five to match a cup of halves at 3.1 grams.
Are dried apricots high in fiber?
By weight, yes. Dried apricots have about 7 grams of fiber per 100 grams, and an ounce gives about 2 grams, along with 15 grams of sugar.
Which has more fiber, fresh or dried apricots?
Dried apricots have more fiber per ounce, but fresh apricots give more fiber per calorie, about 4.2 grams per 100 calories versus 2.9 for dried.
Do apricots help with constipation?
Their fiber can contribute. Cleveland Clinic recommends 18 to 30 grams of fiber a day plus extra water, and an ounce of dried apricots adds about 2 grams toward that.
Is apricot a good stone fruit for fiber?
Yes. Fresh apricots give about 4.2 grams of fiber per 100 calories, more than peaches, nectarines, plums or cherries.
What vitamins are in apricots?
A cup of fresh apricot halves gives about 17% of the Daily Value for vitamin A and 17% for vitamin C, plus potassium and vitamin E.
How many dried apricots should I eat?
An ounce, about 8 halves, is a sensible portion. It gives about 67 calories and 2 grams of fiber.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. “Apricots, raw (171697); Apricots, dried, sulfured, uncooked (173941); Apricots, canned, water pack (171698), juice pack (173937), heavy syrup pack (171699) and heavy syrup, drained (167768); Apricots, frozen, sweetened (171703).” FoodData Central. 2026. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” 2024. www.fda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Raw Fruits Poster (Text Version / Accessible Version).” 2023. www.fda.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Food Sources of Dietary Fiber.” Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 to 2025. www.dietaryguidelines.gov
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Fiber.” The Nutrition Source. 2022. nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu
- Cleveland Clinic. “Constipation.” 2023. my.clevelandclinic.org
