Gochujang is low in calories and has barely any fat, but it’s high in sodium. A tablespoon of a typical supermarket brand has 35 to 45 calories and 400 to 550 mg of sodium, up to about a quarter of the daily limit. Several brands also list corn syrup near the top of the ingredients. So it’s a flavorful addition to food, and one worth using with a measuring spoon. Here’s what’s in it, and what the research on its health claims does and doesn’t show.
One quick note before we start: we know chili peppers inside and out, but we’re not doctors. If you’re watching your sodium or your blood sugar, or you’re thinking about gochujang for a health reason, talk it over with your doctor, since they know your health and we know peppers.
What’s in gochujang?
The name gives you the basics: gochu is Korean for chili pepper, and jang means paste. Traditional gochujang is made from red chili powder, glutinous rice, powdered fermented soybeans, barley malt and salt, then left to ferment, traditionally in earthenware jars.
Supermarket gochujang often reads differently: in the five brands we checked in USDA’s FoodData Central, corn syrup is the first ingredient in two and the second in a third. Four list some form of alcohol, and one adds wheat flour. Recipes vary that much from jar to jar, so read the label on yours.
What’s in a tablespoon of gochujang?
Here’s what those five labels list for a serving of 15 to 20 grams, which is about a tablespoon of a paste this thick.
| Brand | Serving | Calories | Sodium | Sugars | First ingredient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chung Jung One Sunchang (medium hot) | 20 g | 40 | 480 mg | 3 g | Corn syrup |
| Ajumma Republic | 20 g | 45 | 550 mg | 2 g | Rice |
| Mother-in-Law’s (concentrated) | 20 g | 45 | 400 mg | 6 g | Glutinous rice powder |
| Lucky Foods Seoul | 15 g | 35 | 450 mg | 3 g | Red pepper powder |
| Wegmans | 18 g | 35 | 440 mg | 3 g | Corn syrup |
Across the five, a serving has 35 to 45 calories, 6 to 10 grams of carbohydrate, about a gram of protein and a gram or less of fat. The two labels that report vitamins A and C both list 0 percent, so don’t count on gochujang for either.
How much sodium is in gochujang?
A lot, for the amount you eat: the brands above carry 400 to 550 mg per serving. The Daily Value for sodium is 2,300 mg, so one spoonful is 17 to 24 percent of a day’s worth. The FDA counts 20 percent or more per serving as high. Two of the five clear that line, and two more come within a point of it.
And a recipe rarely stops at one tablespoon. A marinade or a pot of stew can call for several, often alongside soy sauce. According to the FDA, diets higher in sodium are linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, so this is the number to watch.
Want the flavor with less of it? Use gochujang as a seasoning and let other ingredients make up the bulk of the sauce. A teaspoon stirred into mayo, yogurt or a vinaigrette goes a long way. If you want more heat without more salt, add gochugaru, the Korean chili flakes that give gochujang its color.
How much sugar is in gochujang?
More than its savory reputation suggests. The five labels list 2 to 6 grams of sugar per serving, and in two of them corn syrup is the first ingredient. Traditional gochujang gets its sweetness from the rice in it, but supermarket versions often add syrup as well.
Two to six grams isn’t much on its own. But who eats one spoonful? If you’re counting carbs or added sugar, it adds up the same way the sodium does, and a glaze or sauce built on it may add honey or sugar on top.
Can gochujang help you lose weight?
There’s some research behind the idea, but it’s too thin to treat gochujang as a diet food. In a 2013 Korean trial, 60 overweight adults took gochujang or a placebo every day for 12 weeks. The gochujang group ended up with less visceral fat, the kind packed around the organs, and lower triglycerides, though their body weight didn’t change.
The details matter, though: volunteers took the gochujang as freeze-dried pills, 32 grams a day, equal to about 39 grams of paste, or roughly two tablespoons. The researchers estimated the pills alone added about 6 grams of salt a day. And a 2017 paper from the same group, reporting the same dose and the same number of volunteers, found no difference in body composition between the gochujang and placebo groups, though triglycerides still fell.
A 2022 trial gave three kinds of gochujang pills to 62 adults, without a placebo group. Waist size shrank in two of the groups, and visceral fat fell in only one. That’s a promising start, but small trials with pills aren’t a reason to eat more of it. For the capsaicin side of the weight question, see our look at using capsaicin to lose weight.
Does the capsaicin in gochujang have health benefits?
Gochujang gets its heat from capsaicin, the compound that makes chili peppers hot. Capsaicin gets credit online for everything from fighting cancer to easing ulcers, but much of that research uses cell cultures, animals or concentrated doses, a long way from a spoonful of chili paste.
When you see it called a cancer fighter, that’s coming from lab work. The evidence in people is mixed, as we cover in do chili peppers cause cancer?
Is gochujang gluten-free?
Not always. Glutinous rice is gluten-free despite its name, but barley malt, a traditional ingredient, contains gluten, and some brands add wheat. Of the five labels we checked, one lists wheat flour and two list malt. If you need to avoid gluten, Beyond Celiac says to check the label or look for a certified gluten-free product.
Gochujang health claims: fact or fiction?
- “Gochujang is low in calories.” Fact, at 35 to 45 calories a serving in the brands we checked.
- “Gochujang is fat-free.” Mostly fact, since four of the five labels list zero fat.
- “Gochujang is low in sugar.” Half true: it’s 2 to 6 grams per serving, and some brands lead with corn syrup.
- “Gochujang is a good source of vitamins.” Fiction, since the labels that report vitamins A and C list 0 percent.
- “Gochujang helps you lose weight.” Not proven. Small Korean trials found less visceral fat with daily gochujang pills, but body weight didn’t change.
- “Gochujang is low in sodium.” Fiction, at 400 to 550 mg a serving, up to about a quarter of the daily limit.
Get the free PepperScale Scoville Heat Chart
A printable, at-a-glance ranking of 25 chilies from sweet to scorching — with the jalapeño and Carolina Reaper as your reference points. Join the newsletter and we’ll send it straight to your inbox.
No spam — just Wicked Wednesday recipes and occasional extra dashes of chili pepper inspiration. Unsubscribe anytime.
Related reading
- Sriracha Nutrition: Is Sriracha Healthy?: How another popular chili condiment stacks up on sodium and sugar.
- Eight Delicious Gochujang Uses: Ways to cook with it, a little at a time.
- Ghost Pepper Nutrition: How Healthy Are They?: What the research on capsaicin does and doesn’t show.