A food calorie chart is the fastest way to see how many calories are in what you eat. You look up a food, read the number, and move on. The catch is that the number on the screen rarely matches what actually lands on your plate.
This page covers both ends. First, a real chart with more than 50 everyday foods, in calories per 100 grams and per common serving. Then the part most charts skip: how to read that number without getting the count wrong because of portion and cooking.
By the end, you will see why ContaCal swaps the food-by-food lookup for a single photo of your plate. But the chart comes first.
Food calorie chart: 50+ common foods per 100 g and per serving
The chart below lists the most common everyday foods, with calories per 100 grams and per common serving. Use it for a quick lookup, then read the next section to adjust the number to what you actually eat.
The values follow reference databases like the USDA FoodData Central. They are averages: every batch of food varies a little, so treat the numbers as a solid estimate, not an exact figure.
Grains, starches, and breads
| Food | Per 100 g | Common serving |
|---|---|---|
| White rice, cooked | 130 kcal | 1 cup (158 g) = 205 kcal |
| Brown rice, cooked | 123 kcal | 1 cup (195 g) = 240 kcal |
| Quinoa, cooked | 120 kcal | 1 cup (185 g) = 222 kcal |
| Pasta, cooked | 158 kcal | 1 cup (140 g) = 221 kcal |
| Oatmeal, cooked | 71 kcal | 1 cup (234 g) = 166 kcal |
| White bread | 265 kcal | 1 slice (28 g) = 74 kcal |
| Whole wheat bread | 247 kcal | 1 slice (28 g) = 69 kcal |
| Bagel | 250 kcal | 1 medium (100 g) = 250 kcal |
| Baked potato | 93 kcal | 1 medium (170 g) = 158 kcal |
| Sweet potato, baked | 90 kcal | 1 medium (150 g) = 135 kcal |
| Corn | 96 kcal | 1 ear (100 g) = 96 kcal |
Per 100 g or per serving? The 100-gram column is for comparing foods against each other. The serving column is what matters in practice, because nobody eats exactly 100 grams. Rice is 130 kcal per 100 g, but your plate usually holds a full cup or more.
Meat, eggs, and seafood
| Food | Per 100 g | Common serving |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, grilled | 165 kcal | 1 breast (120 g) = 198 kcal |
| Ground beef, 90% lean | 176 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) = 150 kcal |
| Sirloin steak, grilled | 210 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) = 179 kcal |
| Pork chop | 231 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) = 196 kcal |
| Salmon | 208 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) = 177 kcal |
| Tilapia | 128 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) = 109 kcal |
| Canned tuna, in water | 116 kcal | 1 can (120 g) = 139 kcal |
| Shrimp, cooked | 99 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) = 84 kcal |
| Egg, boiled | 155 kcal | 1 large (50 g) = 78 kcal |
| Egg, fried | 196 kcal | 1 large (50 g) = 98 kcal |
| Bacon | 541 kcal | 2 slices (16 g) = 87 kcal |
Milk and dairy
| Food | Per 100 g | Common serving |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk | 61 kcal | 1 cup (240 ml) = 146 kcal |
| Skim milk | 34 kcal | 1 cup (240 ml) = 82 kcal |
| Greek yogurt, plain | 59 kcal | 1 cup (245 g) = 145 kcal |
| Cheddar cheese | 402 kcal | 1 slice (28 g) = 113 kcal |
| Mozzarella | 280 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) = 78 kcal |
| Butter | 717 kcal | 1 tbsp (14 g) = 100 kcal |
| Cream cheese | 342 kcal | 1 tbsp (15 g) = 51 kcal |
Fruits
| Food | Per 100 g | Common serving |
|---|---|---|
| Banana | 89 kcal | 1 medium (118 g) = 105 kcal |
| Apple | 52 kcal | 1 medium (180 g) = 95 kcal |
| Orange | 47 kcal | 1 medium (130 g) = 62 kcal |
| Grapes | 69 kcal | 1 cup (150 g) = 104 kcal |
| Strawberries | 32 kcal | 1 cup (150 g) = 48 kcal |
| Watermelon | 30 kcal | 1 cup (150 g) = 46 kcal |
| Blueberries | 57 kcal | 1 cup (148 g) = 84 kcal |
| Mango | 60 kcal | 1 cup (165 g) = 99 kcal |
| Avocado | 160 kcal | 1/2 medium (68 g) = 109 kcal |
Vegetables
| Food | Per 100 g | Common serving |
|---|---|---|
| Lettuce | 15 kcal | 1 cup (36 g) = 5 kcal |
| Tomato | 18 kcal | 1 medium (120 g) = 22 kcal |
| Carrot | 41 kcal | 1 medium (60 g) = 25 kcal |
| Broccoli | 34 kcal | 1 cup (90 g) = 31 kcal |
| Spinach | 23 kcal | 1 cup (30 g) = 7 kcal |
| Cucumber | 15 kcal | 1/2 cup (60 g) = 9 kcal |
| Bell pepper | 31 kcal | 1 medium (120 g) = 37 kcal |
| Onion | 40 kcal | 1/2 cup (80 g) = 32 kcal |
Fats and nuts
| Food | Per 100 g | Common serving |
|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 884 kcal | 1 tbsp (14 g) = 119 kcal |
| Peanut butter | 588 kcal | 1 tbsp (16 g) = 94 kcal |
| Almonds | 579 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) = 164 kcal |
| Cashews | 553 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) = 157 kcal |
| Walnuts | 654 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) = 185 kcal |
That is 51 foods covering most plates. Notice the pattern: pure fats at the top, like oil and nuts, pack far more calories per gram than any meat or fruit. Keeping that hierarchy in mind already changes how you build a plate.
Why the same food shows different calories
The chart value changes for three reasons: the portion you eat, how the food is cooked, and the hidden fat that gets added along the way. Understanding that is what separates people who use the chart from people who read one number and get it wrong.
Start with portion. The chart shows 100 grams, but your plate rarely holds exactly 100 grams. A cup of rice can weigh 158 grams, so 130 kcal quietly becomes 205 kcal.
Then comes cooking. The same food raw, boiled, or fried has very different calories, because frying soaks up oil and boiling drives off water. Look at a potato:
| Potato (100 g) | Calories |
|---|---|
| Boiled | 87 kcal |
| Mashed, with milk and butter | 113 kcal |
| French fries | 312 kcal |
| Potato chips | 545 kcal |
It is the same potato on the chart, but the fried version has six times the calories of the boiled one. No food calorie chart solves this on its own, because it does not know how you cooked the food.
Watch out for hidden fat. The drizzle of oil on a salad, the butter in the pan, and the oil in a stir-fry do not show up on the plate, but they add up. One tablespoon of olive oil is 119 kcal. Two tablespoons at lunch are already 238 kcal that the chart for the raw food will never show.
ContaCal
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How to use a calorie chart day to day
To get real value from the chart, weigh or estimate the portion, multiply by the per 100 g value, and add up the whole day, including the cooking oil. It sounds like work on paper, but it becomes routine after a few days.
Here is a quick lunch example with rice, beans, grilled chicken, and salad:
| Plate item | Portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| White rice | 150 g | 195 kcal |
| Black beans | 1/2 cup (120 g) | 114 kcal |
| Grilled chicken | 120 g | 198 kcal |
| Salad with 1 tbsp olive oil | as desired | 130 kcal |
| Plate total | 637 kcal |
Notice how the near zero-calorie salad jumped from 20 kcal to 130 kcal because of one tablespoon of oil. That is the kind of detail that decides the result at the end of the month.
If you want the manual method, the guide on how to calculate calories in food walks through the 4-4-9 formula step by step, and how to count calories helps you close out the day without a spreadsheet. To set your target, see how many calories you should eat.
USDA, food labels, or an app: which to trust
For whole foods, use a database like the USDA; for packaged products, use the label on the box, which gives the exact value for that item. Each source has a job, and mixing them avoids errors.
The USDA FoodData Central and similar national tables list rice, beans, meat, and fruit in raw and cooked form, based on lab analysis. That is the right reference for real food with no brand.
The label steps in when the food comes in a package. Cookies, yogurt, cereal bars, and frozen meals vary a lot from brand to brand, so the box value is more reliable than any general chart. If you are unsure how to read that panel, the guide on how to read a nutrition label breaks down serving size, %DV, and ingredient order. For a broader view of nutrition, the Harvard Nutrition Source is a strong reference.
Counting calories without a chart: a photo instead of a spreadsheet
Instead of looking up each food on a chart, ContaCal reads a photo of your plate and estimates calories and macros at once, already accounting for portion and cooking. It is the same logic as the chart, just automatic.
ContaCal is an AI calorie counter that works from a photo. You take a picture of your meal, the packed lunch, or the plate at a restaurant, and the AI identifies the items, estimates the portion size, and returns the total. The rice, beans, and mixed plates that confuse older apps, it already knows.
That fixes the weak spot of the chart, which is the work of adding up item by item and the hidden fat that slips through. If you want the limits of this technology, read what an AI calorie counter gets right and where it still misses, and how that turns into a real calorie deficit by the end of the day.
Food calorie chart FAQ
What is the most reliable food calorie chart?
For whole foods, the most reliable source in the US is the USDA FoodData Central, because it is based on lab analysis. For packaged products, the label on the box is the most accurate source for that specific item.
How many calories are in 100 g of cooked white rice?
About 130 kcal per 100 grams. Since a plate portion is often a full cup, around 158 grams, the real value lands closer to 205 kcal.
How do I find the calories in a food without a chart?
You have three options: read the label when there is one, weigh the food and apply the 4-4-9 formula, or use an app that estimates from a photo, like ContaCal, which identifies the food and the portion from the image.
Does a calorie chart help with weight loss?
It helps as a support tool. Weight loss depends on a calorie deficit, meaning you eat less than you burn. The chart helps you estimate how much each food weighs in that math, but the result comes from the whole day's balance.
Are a food calorie chart and a nutrition label the same thing?
No. A food calorie chart lists the calories of many foods for quick lookup. A nutrition label is the panel printed on a product, with calories, macros, and %DV for that item. One is for comparing, the other is for checking a specific product.
