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Caloric Density of Food Calculator

Enter the calories and weight of a food to find its caloric density.

Result

1.389 kcal/g
138.89 kcal/100g

How it is calculated

The tool divides energy by weight: kcal per gram = calories ÷ weight (g) and kcal per 100 g = kcal per gram × 100. Calories are the total energy in kcal of the portion you are measuring, and weight is that same portion in grams. Weight must be above zero. The per-gram figure is shown with three decimals and the per-100 g figure with two, and the 100 g value is worked from the unrounded per-gram number, so the two lines agree exactly. The weight must be the weight of the food as measured, cooked or raw, matching how the calories were counted. Foods with a lot of water or fibre come out low and foods rich in fat come out high.

Worked example

A portion of food is 250 kcal and weighs 180 g. Per gram: 250 ÷ 180 = 1.389 kcal/g. Per 100 g: 1.3889 × 100 = 138.89 kcal/100g. That makes it a moderate-density food, far below an oil or nut butter and above most raw vegetables.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the weight in ounces or in a count of items. The field is grams, so a 6.35 oz serving must be entered as about 180.
  • Mixing a raw weight with calories of the cooked food, or the other way round. Cooking changes water content, so the weight and calories must describe the same state.
  • Entering the calories per 100 g and the weight of the whole package. Use matching figures: either per 100 g with 100 g, or the full package with its full calories.
  • Entering kilojoules in the calories field. kJ must be divided by 4.184 first to get kcal.
  • Including the weight of packaging, bones or shells. Use the edible weight only.

About this calculator

Caloric density expresses how much energy a food packs per unit of weight, calculated simply as calories ÷ grams, then scaled to a standard per-100-gram figure so different foods can be compared on equal footing regardless of portion size — the basis of nutrition labels in many countries, though US panels list per serving. Foods high in fat (about 9 kcal/g) sit far above foods high in water content like most vegetables (often under 1 kcal/g), even when their total calorie counts per serving look similar.

This calculator takes a food's total calories and weight and returns its density per gram and per 100 grams. Dietitians and weight-management coaches use caloric density to guide clients toward higher-volume, lower-density foods for satiety on fewer calories, and food product developers use it to compare formulations or verify label claims against a recipe.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Once you have the kcal per gram figure you can scale any portion yourself: portion in grams times the density. At the default 2.5 kcal per gram, 40 g of the food is 100 kcal. It is also a fair way to compare two versions of the same dish, as long as both weights are taken in the same state, raw or cooked. What foods are you comparing?

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