Blackberries vs raspberries: nutrition compared

— not reported by USDA for this food.

— not reported by USDA for this food.

On fiber, our USDA raspberry record has no figure. The UK food tables give both: 3.7 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) for raspberries and 3.4 g for blackberries, about even. USDA puts blackberries at 5.3 g, so compare within one table, not across two.

Neither berry has a health effect you could plan around. Twenty-seven overweight men ate about 21 oz (600 g) of blackberries a day for a week. Their insulin response fell by about a fifth, and their blood sugar curve did not move. In 59 adults with overweight, 9.9 oz (280 g) of frozen raspberries a day for 8 weeks changed neither insulin, glucose, inflammation markers nor blood pressure. A pooled analysis of 9 raspberry trials found one inflammation marker lower, fasting glucose unchanged and mixed insulin results.

In one outbreak, people who ate a mousse made with imported frozen raspberries had 3.4 times the risk of illness, and the investigators recommend heating imported frozen berries before eating them. In a lab test, Listeria grew on the intact skin of blackberries at 72 °F (22 °C), so do not leave them out. FDA names pregnant women, adults over 65 and people with weakened immunity as most at risk from listeriosis.

Buy the one you enjoy, and heat imported frozen raspberries before they go into anything uncooked.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E Per 100 g raw, UK tables list strawberries with 57 mg vitamin C against 19 mg in raspberries, with similar fiber of about 3.7 to 3.8 g. CoFID 2021, Public Health England, codes 14-375 and 14-324
2. Level E In the UK dataset, raw strawberries carry 57 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g) against 7 mg in blackberries, while blackberries carry six times more vitamin E (2.37 vs 0.39 mg). CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0
3. Level B Eating 21 oz (600 g) of blackberries a day for a week shifted 27 overweight men toward burning fat and cut their insulin response by about a fifth against a matched control. Nutrients, 2018
4. Level B Eating 9.9 oz (280 g) of frozen raspberries a day for 8 weeks did not change insulin, glucose, inflammation markers or blood pressure in 59 adults with overweight or abdominal obesity and slightly raised insulin or triglycerides. Nutrients, 2020
5. Level A A 2024 meta-analysis of 9 RCTs found raspberries lowered TNF-alpha by 3.07 pg/mL but did not change fasting glucose, HbA1c, CRP or IL-6. Curr Dev Nutr, 2024
6. Level C In a 2013 Oslo norovirus outbreak, people who ate mousse made with unheated imported frozen raspberries had 3.4 times the risk of illness, and investigators advise heating imported frozen berries. Epidemiol Infect, 2016
7. Level D Listeria monocytogenes grew on the whole unbroken surface of blackberries at 72 and 95 °F (22 and 35 degrees Celsius), as it did on the intact surface of every other produce item tested except carrot. J Food Prot, 2021
8. Level E FDA counts pregnant women and their unborn or newborn babies, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems as the high-risk groups for serious effects of listeriosis. Listeria (Listeriosis), US Food and Drug Administration, At-Risk Groups

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Blackberries: one trial, and it used 600 g a day
• Raspberries: small effects, one real kitchen rule

Rankings and guides

• Protein: what it does and how much you need
• Fiber: what it does and how much you need
• Which foods are highest in protein?

• Blackberries: USDA FoodData Central, Blackberries, raw, FDC ID 2727581 · all forms of blackberries
• Raspberries: USDA FoodData Central, Raspberries, raw, FDC ID 2346410 · all forms of raspberries

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.