Which Has More Sugar, King's Hawaiian or Sara Lee Rolls?

King's Hawaiian Original lists more added sugar per roll (5 g vs 2 g), while Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls lists more sodium (180 mg vs 75 mg). Sara Lee's ingredient list includes sucralose and Reb A (stevia leaf sweetener), and King's ingredient list includes butter and eggs. Neither roll is lower on every measure, so the facts below are set side by side for you to weigh.

Key takeaways

• Per 1 roll, King's Hawaiian Original lists 5 g added sugar and 75 mg sodium, while Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls lists 2 g added sugar and 180 mg sodium.
• The King's Hawaiian Original ingredient list shows no sucralose or stevia, while the Sara Lee ingredient list includes Reb A (stevia leaf sweetener) and sucralose.
• King's lists butter and eggs. The Sara Lee ingredient list does not.
• Serving sizes differ (28 g King's vs 35 g Sara Lee), so compare per-roll figures alongside each label's own serving size.

Do King's Hawaiian and Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls differ in added sugar per roll?

King's Hawaiian Original lists 5 g of added sugar per 28 g roll (10% Daily Value), while Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls lists 2 g per 35 g roll (4% Daily Value). The gap is 3 g per roll.

King's SmartLabel record, updated 7/24/2026 by King's Hawaiian, lists total sugars of 5 g and added sugars of 5 g per roll. The Open Food Facts entry for the same UPC shows the same 5 g per 1 roll. Sara Lee's SmartLabel record, updated 8/13/2021 by Sara Lee, lists total sugars of 2 g and added sugars of 2 g per roll.

FDA sets the Daily Value for added sugars at 50 grams per day. Added sugars include sugars added during processing, such as sucrose or dextrose, and sugars from syrups. For readers comparing children's limits, see How Much Added Sugar Should Kids Have a Day? By Age, in Grams.

Does Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls contain sucralose and stevia while King's does not?

Yes. The Sara Lee ingredient list includes sucralose and Reb A (stevia leaf sweetener), while the King's Hawaiian Original ingredient list shows neither. Neither label discloses how much of either sweetener is in a roll.

Sara Lee's Open Food Facts ingredient text lists reb a (stevia leaf sweetener) and sucralose after monoglycerides and before spice, coloring, citric acid and grain vinegar. Its SmartLabel ingredient tab lists the same items. King's itemized ingredient list, updated 7/24/2026, runs from enriched flour through enzymes and names no sweetener other than sugar.

Sara Lee's rolls also list two preservatives by name, calcium propionate and sorbic acid. The King's list does not name a preservative in the same way. For what sucralose is and how it shows up on labels, see our sucralose ingredient review.

How much sodium is in King's Hawaiian Original vs Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian per roll?

King's Hawaiian Original lists 75 mg of sodium per 28 g roll (3% Daily Value), and Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls lists 180 mg per 35 g roll (8% Daily Value). The Sara Lee roll carries 105 mg more sodium.

FDA sets the Daily Value for sodium at less than 2,300 mg per day and classifies 5% DV or less per serving as low. By that threshold, the King's roll is at 3% and the Sara Lee roll is at 8%. Open Food Facts lists 183 mg of sodium for the Sara Lee roll, slightly above the 180 mg in its SmartLabel record, so the Nutrition Facts panel on the package you hold is the figure to check.

Do King's Hawaiian and Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls both contain butter and eggs?

King's Hawaiian Original lists butter and eggs in its ingredient list. The Sara Lee ingredient list retrieved for this comparison contains neither. The most recent Sara Lee label found is dated 2021, so a current package may differ.

King's butter is listed as butter (pasteurized cream, salt), and its list also includes whey and nonfat milk among the ingredients under 2%. Open Food Facts lists butter, eggs, whey, nonfat milk and soy flour for the same King's UPC. The Sara Lee list instead includes soybean oil as its fat source and soy lecithin as an emulsifier.

People who avoid dairy or eggs should read the allergen statement on the current package rather than rely on this comparison alone. Hawaiian-style breads have been recalled over milk that was missing from the label, as in the Nature's Own Hawaiian bread undeclared milk recall.

How do the ingredient lists of these two sweet rolls compare in order?

Both lists start with enriched flour and water, and both place sugar third. After that, King's moves to butter and eggs, while Sara Lee moves to yeast, salt and soybean oil.

• King's Hawaiian Original, in order: enriched flour, water, sugar, butter, eggs, then ingredients under 2% (including whey, nonfat milk, soy flour, wheat gluten, salt and enzymes).
• Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls, in order: enriched wheat flour, water, sugar, yeast, salt, soybean oil, wheat gluten, potato flakes, preservatives (calcium propionate, sorbic acid), datem, corn flour, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, cellulose gum, monoglycerides, Reb A, sucralose, spice, coloring, citric acid, grain vinegar, calcium sulfate, potassium iodate, monocalcium phosphate and soy lecithin.

For the reader, the practical difference is that Sara Lee's sweeteners appear in the middle of its list, while King's list contains no sweetener beyond sugar.

What do serving sizes and calories mean when comparing these two sweet rolls?

One King's roll (28 g) is 90 calories, and one Sara Lee roll (35 g) is 100 calories. Because the rolls differ in weight, per-roll numbers are not a like-for-like weight comparison.

Both labels list 12 servings per container. The King's package is 12 oz, and the Sara Lee package is 15 oz (425 g). Per roll, the labels show the following:

Nutrition item	King's Hawaiian Original (1 roll, 28 g)	Sara Lee Sweet Hawaiian Rolls (1 roll, 35 g)
Calories	90	100
Total fat	2 g (3% DV)	1 g (1% DV)
Saturated fat	1 g (5% DV)	0 g
Cholesterol	15 mg (5% DV)	0 mg
Sodium	75 mg (3% DV)	180 mg (8% DV)
Total carbohydrate	15 g (5% DV)	19 g (7% DV)
Total sugars	5 g	2 g
Added sugars	5 g (10% DV)	2 g (4% DV)
Protein	3 g	3 g
Calcium	15 mg (2% DV)	35 mg (no DV listed)
Iron	1 mg (6% DV)	1.0 mg (6% DV)
Sweeteners in ingredient list	None beyond sugar	Reb A and sucralose
Butter and eggs in ingredient list	Yes	No

The nutrition panel on your package is the authoritative version of these figures.

What data is still missing from this label comparison of sweet rolls?

The amounts of sucralose and Reb A in the Sara Lee roll are not disclosed, so a sweetener dose per roll cannot be calculated. The current Sara Lee package was also not available in this comparison, and the 2021 SmartLabel record may not match every current package.

• Amount of sucralose or Reb A in a Sara Lee roll: not disclosed.
• Whether the 2021 Sara Lee SmartLabel record matches every current package: not disclosed.
• Current butter and egg status on a Sara Lee package: could not be confirmed.
• King's Hawaiian or Sara Lee slider, bun or savory-butter variants: different numbers, not covered here.
• Taste results or price per ounce: not covered here.
• Any health effect of sucralose or stevia in these rolls: no study cited here establishes one.

How can you compare sweet roll labels yourself by sugar, sodium and ingredients?

Start with the serving size and servings per container, then read added sugars, sodium and the ingredient list on the package you have. FDA's guide to the Nutrition Facts label explains how each line is calculated.

• Check the serving size first, since 28 g and 35 g rolls are not the same portion.
• Compare added sugars in grams and as % Daily Value, using FDA's 50 g per day reference.
• Compare sodium per serving, noting that FDA treats 5% DV or less as low.
• Read the ingredient list from the start, since ingredients are listed in order of predominance.
• Look for sweeteners by name, such as sucralose or stevia leaf extracts like Reb A.
• Check butter, eggs, milk and other allergen-related ingredients on the current package.
• Note the date on any online label record you use.

Related reading: Baking a pumpkin pie for the same holiday table? See What's the Difference Between Libby's Pumpkin and Pie Mix?, which compares the two cans' ingredient lists, sugar and sodium per serving and per 100 g.