Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
quinoa
versus
applesauce
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in quinoa and applesauce:
Quinoa is high in calories and applesauce has 65% less calories than quinoa - quinoa has 120 calories per 100 grams and applesauce has 42 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, quinoa is heavier in protein, much lighter in carbs and heavier in fat compared to applesauce per calorie. Quinoa has a macronutrient ratio of 15:71:15 and for applesauce, 1:97:2 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Quinoa | Applesauce | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 15% | 1% |
| Carbohydrates | 71% | 97% |
| Fat | 15% | 2% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Applesauce has 47% less carbohydrates than quinoa - quinoa has 21.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and applesauce has 11.3g of carbohydrates.
The carbs in quinoa are made of 83% starch, 13% dietary fiber and 4% sugar, whereas the carbs in applesauce comprise of 90% sugar and 10% dietary fiber.
Quinoa is a great source of dietary fiber and it has 155% more dietary fiber than applesauce - quinoa has 2.8g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and applesauce has 1.1g of dietary fiber.
Quinoa has 9.7 times less sugar than applesauce - quinoa has 0.87g of sugar per 100 grams and applesauce has 9.4g of sugar.
Quinoa has 24 times more protein than applesauce - quinoa has 4.4g of protein per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.17g of protein.
Both quinoa and applesauce are low in saturated fat - quinoa has 0.23g of saturated fat per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.01g of saturated fat.
Applesauce has more Vitamin C than quinoa - applesauce has 1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and quinoa does not contain significant amounts.
Applesauce and quinoa contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - applesauce has 1ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and quinoa does not contain significant amounts.
Quinoa and applesauce contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - quinoa has 0.63mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.16mg of Vitamin E.
Applesauce and quinoa contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - applesauce has 0.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and quinoa does not contain significant amounts.
Quinoa has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6 and folate, however, applesauce contains more pantothenic acid.
| Quinoa | Applesauce | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.107 MG | 0.026 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.11 MG | 0.03 MG |
| Niacin | 0.412 MG | 0.084 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | ~ | 0.041 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.123 MG | 0.027 MG |
| Folate | 42 UG | 3 UG |
Quinoa has 325% more calcium than applesauce - quinoa has 17mg of calcium per 100 grams and applesauce has 4mg of calcium.
Quinoa has 548% more iron than applesauce - quinoa has 1.5mg of iron per 100 grams and applesauce has 0.23mg of iron.
Quinoa has 132% more potassium than applesauce - quinoa has 172mg of potassium per 100 grams and applesauce has 74mg of potassium.
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, both quinoa and applesauce contain small amounts of beta-carotene.
| Quinoa | Applesauce | |
|---|---|---|
| beta-carotene | 3 UG | 13 UG |
| lutein + zeaxanthin | 53 UG | 18 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, quinoa has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DHA than applesauce per 100 grams.
| Quinoa | Applesauce | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.085 G | 0.003 G |
| DHA | 0.015 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.1 G | 0.003 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, quinoa has more linoleic acid than applesauce per 100 grams.
| Quinoa | Applesauce | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.974 G | 0.012 G |
| other omega 6 | 0.003 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.977 G | 0.012 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: Quinoa (Quinoa, cooked) and Applesauce (Applesauce, canned, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)) .
Cooked Quinoa g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Applesauce 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 | |||