Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
applesauce
versus
sweet potatoes
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in applesauce and sweet potatoes:
Applesauce has 51% less calories than sweet potato - sweet potato has 86 calories per 100 grams and applesauce has 42 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, applesauce is lighter in protein, heavier in carbs and similar to sweet potatoes for fat. Applesauce has a macronutrient ratio of 1:97:2 and for sweet potatoes, 7:92:1 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Applesauce | Sweet Potatoes | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 1% | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 97% | 92% |
| Fat | 2% | 1% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Applesauce has 44% less carbohydrates than sweet potato - sweet potato has 20.1g of total carbs per 100 grams and applesauce has 11.3g of carbohydrates.
The carbs in sweet potatoes are made of 64% starch, 21% sugar and 15% dietary fiber, whereas the carbs in applesauce comprise of 90% sugar and 10% dietary fiber.
Sweet potato is a great source of dietary fiber and it has 173% more dietary fiber than applesauce - sweet potato has 3g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and applesauce has 1.1g of dietary fiber.
Sweet potato has 55% less sugar than applesauce - sweet potato has 4.2g of sugar per 100 grams and applesauce has 9.4g of sugar.
Sweet potatoes and applesauce contain similar amounts of protein - sweet potato has 1.6g of protein per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.17g of protein.
Both sweet potatoes and applesauce are low in saturated fat - sweet potato has 0.02g of saturated fat per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.01g of saturated fat.
Sweet potatoes and applesauce contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - sweet potato has 2.4mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and applesauce has 1mg of Vitamin C.
Sweet potato is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has 708 times more Vitamin A than applesauce - sweet potato has 709ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and applesauce has 1ug of Vitamin A.
Sweet potatoes and applesauce contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - sweet potato has 0.26mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.16mg of Vitamin E.
Sweet potatoes and applesauce contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - sweet potato has 1.8ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.5ug of Vitamin K.
Sweet potato has more thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and folate. Both applesauce and sweet potatoes contain significant amounts of riboflavin.
| Applesauce | Sweet Potatoes | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.026 MG | 0.078 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.03 MG | 0.061 MG |
| Niacin | 0.084 MG | 0.557 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.041 MG | 0.8 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.027 MG | 0.209 MG |
| Folate | 3 UG | 11 UG |
Sweet potato has 650% more calcium than applesauce - sweet potato has 30mg of calcium per 100 grams and applesauce has 4mg of calcium.
Sweet potatoes and applesauce contain similar amounts of iron - sweet potato has 0.61mg of iron per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.23mg of iron.
Sweet potato is an excellent source of potassium and it has 355% more potassium than applesauce - sweet potato has 337mg of potassium per 100 grams and applesauce has 74mg of potassium.
Naturally occuring in fruits and vegetables, flavonoids are associated with many health benefits and used in a variety of medicinal and pharmaceutical applications. [2][3]
For specific flavonoid compounds,
| Applesauce | Sweet Potatoes | |
|---|---|---|
| Quercetin | 2.0 mg | 0.01 mg |
| apigenin | ~ | 0.01 mg |
| luteolin | ~ | 0.02 mg |
| kaempferol | ~ | 0.01 mg |
| myricetin | ~ | 0.03 mg |
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids,
| Applesauce | Sweet Potatoes | |
|---|---|---|
| beta-carotene | 13 UG | 8509 UG |
| lutein + zeaxanthin | 18 UG | ~ |
| alpha-carotene | ~ | 7 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, both applesauce and sweet potatoes contain small amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Applesauce | Sweet Potatoes | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.003 G | 0.001 G |
| Total | 0.003 G | 0.001 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both applesauce and sweet potatoes contain small amounts of linoleic acid.
| Applesauce | Sweet Potatoes | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.012 G | 0.013 G |
| Total | 0.012 G | 0.013 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Applesauce (Applesauce, canned, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)) and Sweet Potatoes (Sweet potato, raw, unprepared) .
Applesauce g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Sweet Potatoes g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||