Low-fructose recipes for fructose malabsorption

Every recipe here has no more than 3 g of free fructose per serving, no more fructose than glucose and no more than 0.2 g of sorbitol. We worked this out for every ingredient with the German nutrient database (BLS 4.0). Honey, dates, dried fruit and sugar alcohols never appear.

With fructose malabsorption, often called fructose intolerance, the small intestine can only absorb a limited amount of fructose. Glucose improves absorption, so the ratio matters as well as the amount: maple syrup and coconut blossom sugar are mostly sucrose, which is fructose and glucose in equal parts, while honey has much more fructose. Many people with fructose malabsorption also don't tolerate sorbitol, found in pears, plums and dried fruit, for example. These recipes are not suitable for the rare hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI) – much stricter rules apply there.

Low-fructose recipes

• Vegan Mediterranean lentil soup with turmeric and lemon – 380 kcal
• Quick beef steak strips on baby spinach – 440 kcal
• Gluten-free oven-baked sweet potato fries – 260 kcal
• Bread-free courgette and carrot fritters – 210 kcal
• Vegetarian cottage cheese and spinach omelette – 340 kcal
• Vegan banana chocolate pudding – 250 kcal
• Keto avocado chocolate shake – 340 kcal
• Vegetarian millet and veg patties for the lunchbox with peas and cheese – 325 kcal
• Quick tuna salad with white beans – 380 kcal
• Moroccan chickpea stew – 350 kcal
• Low-carb almond porridge with warm raspberries – 550 kcal
• Sweet vanilla quark bake with raspberries – 472 kcal
• Gluten-free sweet potato and cheese rösti – 410 kcal
• Keto parmesan crisps with herbs – 300 kcal
• Vegan vanilla chia pudding – 180 kcal
• Paleo beef and mushroom pan-fry – 410 kcal
• Low-carb mushroom and cheese omelette – 380 kcal
• Low-carb quark omelette – 290 kcal
• Vegetarian sweet potato omelette – 380 kcal
• One-pot chicken pasta with spinach – 520 kcal
• Vegetarian ricotta spinach muffins – 330 kcal
• Turkey strips with mushrooms – 340 kcal
• Low-carb spinach shakshuka – 340 kcal
• High-protein raspberry skyr with chia seeds – 290 kcal

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between fructose malabsorption and fructose intolerance?

In everyday use, ‘fructose intolerance’ usually means fructose malabsorption: the small intestine absorbs fructose poorly, it reaches the large intestine and causes symptoms there. Hereditary fructose intolerance is a rare metabolic disease in which table sugar and sorbitol are also off limits. These recipes aren't meant for that.

Which fruit is low in fructose?

According to the German nutrient database BLS, banana, kiwi, orange, mandarin, pineapple, raspberries and lemon have at least as much glucose as fructose and no sorbitol. Apples, mango and watermelon have much more fructose than glucose; pears, plums, cherries and blackberries contain a lot of sorbitol.

Can I use maple syrup or coconut blossom sugar?

Our recipes are sweetened with maple syrup or coconut blossom sugar, never with table sugar. Both are mostly sucrose, which contains fructose and glucose in equal parts, and in small amounts they're usually tolerated better than honey. Test how much works for you.

How long should I eat low-fructose?

The German Association of Dietitians recommends three steps: 2 to 4 weeks of strict low-fructose and low-sorbitol eating, then testing foods one by one over 6 to 8 weeks, and after that as much fructose as you tolerate in the long term. Staying on an unnecessarily strict diet for too long can make your tolerance worse.

How do you work out the values?

For every ingredient, we take fructose, glucose and sorbitol from version 4.0 of the German nutrient database (BLS) from the Max Rubner Institute and calculate them per serving. If a value or an amount is missing for any ingredient, the recipe isn't listed on this page.

Related ideas

• Recipes for IBS: low-FODMAP and not too fatty
• Bland diet recipes without common trigger foods
• Low-FODMAP breakfast: pancakes, porridge and eggs
• Low-FODMAP recipes for lunch and dinner
• Low-sodium recipes with little salt