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Sweet bean paste

Sweet bean paste is a sweetened legume paste used as a filling, spread, or dessert component in East Asian cuisine.

Sweet bean paste — illustrative ingredient image

About Sweet bean paste

Sweet bean paste is a cooked legume paste sweetened with sugar or another sweetener and used in East Asian foods. It is commonly used as a filling for pastries, buns, cakes, dumplings, pancakes, and other desserts, or served as a spread.

Its texture may be smooth or coarse, thick or spreadable, with a dense consistency. Depending on the legume, it may be red, brown, black, or pale, and its flavour can range from earthy and nutty to distinctly sweet.

It may be sold or prepared as a ready filling, spread, or dessert component. Sieving produces a smoother paste, while different moisture levels, bean types, sweetness, oil, and flavourings change its appearance, firmness, and handling in cooked or chilled foods.

Ingredient type
paste

Forms & related ingredients

  • Watercontains · Sweet bean paste → Water
  • Adzuki Beancontains · Sweet bean paste → Adzuki Bean
  • Sugarcontains · Sweet bean paste → Sugar

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Where sweet bean paste appears

3 linked foods

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Showing 1–3 of 3

Main dishes

Snacks

Street food

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for sweet bean paste

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Sweet bean paste

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Sweet bean paste nutrition & diet

Sweet bean paste nutritional value

Bean paste, sweetened

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the recorded USDA food form.

Calories
226kcal
Protein
6.2g
Carbs
50.0g
Fat
0.5g

Reference values per 100 g for the displayed USDA form. Varieties, recipes, brands and preparation can differ.

Portions & preparation

Establish the bean species and recipe before comparing products, since sweet bean paste may be smooth or coarse and may contain sugar, oil, starch, salt, or flavorings. Use the paste as served in a filling, spread, or dessert, separately from wrappers, dough, rice, or toppings.

Compare the right form: Match the reference to the named sweet bean paste, identifying bean species, texture, sweetener, oil, starch, salt, and ready-to-eat form.

Diet considerations

Sweet bean paste is plant-derived when based on legumes with plant ingredients only, but recipes may add dairy, lard, gelatin, honey, or other animal products. It is often paired with rice, wheat wrappers, pastry, or other cereal ingredients, so the complete dessert or snack determines compatibility and carbohydrate pattern.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Depends on the version
  • Vegetarian
    Depends on the version
  • Pescatarian
    Depends on the version
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Typically incompatible
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Vegetarian · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Pescatarian · Depends on the version
Check the version or source of: Sugar. Check the refining process and processing aids for the particular producer.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Typically incompatible
Recorded common ingredients: Adzuki Bean; Sugar. This profile falls outside the conventional paleo pattern used here (grains and pseudograins, legumes, dairy or refined sugar). Recipes and products can differ.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: USDA FoodData Central — Bean paste, sweetened ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .