Dried Apricots vs Carrots – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing dried apricots to carrots, we picked the dried apricots.

Why?

And first, why this comparison? Well, they’re both pleasantly refreshing vitamin A heavyweights (hence their color, though vitamin B6 does also contribute to that), but mainly it came about because of this writer having a desk snack of dried apricots, whereas in summer she’s more likely to have raw carrots (for posterity: this one was written in winter). And, which is healthier? Well, that’s the question, so…

In terms of macros, dried apricots have more fiber, carbs, and protein, making them the more nutritionally dense option in this category.

In the category of vitamins, dried apricots have more of vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, and E, while carrots have more of vitamins A, B1, B9, C, and K, for a 5:5 tie (and yes, the margins of difference are quite similar too, so there’s no reasonable tiebreaker in this round).

Looking at minerals, dried apricots have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while carrots are not higher in any minerals, unless we want to count that they are higher in sodium, which is not usually considered a plus for most of us in the industrialized world. In any case, an overwhelming win for apricots in the minerals category.

In other considerations, they’re comparable for polyphenols, but apricots have some specific anticancer properties that carrots can’t boast, so that’s an extra point in dried apricots’ favor here.

Adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for dried apricots, but by all means enjoy either or both, as carrots really are also great, and diversity is invariably best of all!

Want to learn more?

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Enjoy!