USDA Survey Foods445 exact records

Snacks & desserts: find the record that best matches the food.

Desserts, candy, frozen treats, chips, crackers, popcorn, and snack foods. This page shows the shape of the collection before asking you to choose a number: what sits near the middle, how wide the central range is, and which words distinguish one source record from another.

The shortest route to a defensible estimate

Choose in this order: identity, amount, then context.

01
Identity
Match the exact food description—especially preparation, additions, and whether the record is a single food or mixed dish.
02
Amount
Use a household measure tied to that record or enter grams. A familiar serving word without a weight can hide a large difference.
03
Context
Add the brand, recipe, sauce, cooking fat, toppings, or edible portion that the generic source record cannot know.

What the collection actually contains

Central nutrient ranges on one denominator

Each row uses values per 100 grams. The median is the collection midpoint; the central range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile. That interval describes variation among source records—not uncertainty around a single meal and not a recommended intake range.

Median and central per-100-gram nutrient ranges for records in this category
Nutrient	Median	Central 80%	Records reporting
Energyper 100 g	413 kcal	236–514 kcal	445 of 445
Proteinper 100 g	5.6 g	2.9–10.3 g	445 of 445
Fiberper 100 g	2.3 g	0.6–6.6 g	445 of 445
Sodiumper 100 g	314 mg	73–763 mg	445 of 445

Zeros are retained when reported; missing values are not silently converted to zero. Rounded values are for orientation. Open an exact profile for Feast’s 21-nutrient panel and source citation.

Three coordinates, not winners

Records that make the range easier to understand

These examples sit near the collection’s energy midpoint or upper central protein and fiber boundaries. A high value for one nutrient is not a complete judgment of the food, and the records are not ranked as “best.”

Near the collection midpoint

Milk 'n Cereal bar

413 kcal per 100 g—close to the median energy concentration among these records.

Inspect portions, nutrients, and source →

Near the upper central protein boundary

Cookie, peanut butter, sugar free

10.3 g protein per 100 g in this exact source record.

Inspect portions, nutrients, and source →

Near the upper central fiber boundary

Crackers, saltine, multigrain

6.7 g fiber per 100 g in this exact source record.

Inspect portions, nutrients, and source →

What “Snacks & desserts” includes here

One Feast category, several USDA source categories

Feast groups related records to make the library navigable. The more specific USDA category and the complete food name remain the better evidence for choosing a match.

Cookies and brownies83 records

Cakes and pies65 records

Ice cream and frozen dairy desserts51 records

Pretzels/snack mix37 records

Crackers, excludes saltines36 records

Cereal bars28 records

Tortilla, corn, other chips28 records

Potato chips25 records

Popcorn23 records

Doughnuts, sweet rolls, pastries18 records

Candy containing chocolate17 records

Turnovers and other grain-based items17 records

Candy not containing chocolate9 records

Saltine crackers3 records

Nutrition bars2 records

Pudding2 records

Gelatins, ices, sorbets1 record

Decision support from the exact records on this page

Turn source data into a better next decision

These conclusions and reading paths are computed from 9 exact records behind Snacks & desserts category landmarks. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.

Equal-weight result

Sweet potato chips is higher in calories per 100 g

Sweet potato chips reports 529 kcal versus 180 kcal for Light ice cream, chocolate: a 349 kcal difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

The denominator changes the answer

Milk 'n Cereal bar is denser; Light ice cream, chocolate is higher in its source amount

Milk 'n Cereal bar reports 413 kcal per 100 g and 165 kcal in USDA source amount (40 g). Light ice cream, chocolate reports a lower 180 kcal per 100 g but a higher 243 kcal in USDA source amount (135 g).

Record identity is part of the estimate

Distinguish “Milk 'n Cereal bar” from “Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored”

These are separate USDA records with separate formulations or survey descriptions. Match preparation, additions, and the named household amount before borrowing either record’s nutrients.

Inspect the underlying evidence

Contextual knowledge graph

Follow the relationship that matches your question

For Snacks & desserts category landmarks, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.

Best next guide for this exact record Cookie

Cookie, almond and Cookie, peanut butter, sugar free are explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.

Follow this evidence path Best next guide for this exact record Cake or cupcake

Cake or cupcake, white, no icing is explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.

Follow this evidence path Put the observed spread in corpus context Calories: density and serving context

In this page’s records, calories runs from 180 kcal in Light ice cream, chocolate to 529 kcal in Sweet potato chips, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Salt, table

USDA input 2047 appears in 2 of 9 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 0.5–2 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Beverages, water, tap, drinking

USDA input 14411 appears in 1 of 9 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 27–27 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path Test a nearby record choice Crackers, saltine, multigrain vs Crackers, saltine, reduced fat

Crackers, saltine, multigrain is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Fat-level wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus reduced-fat wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path Test a nearby record choice Ice cream bar, vanilla vs Light ice cream bar, vanilla

Light ice cream bar, vanilla is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Light wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus light wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path

Exact-record directory

Browse all 445 profiles in this category

Records are presented as source descriptions, not as universal recipes. Open the closest wording first; compare alternatives only after checking that the denominator and preparation context match.

Snacks & desserts

Bean chips

134 kcal in a 30 g source amount. Open the record to compare that amount with 100 grams and other source measures.

Source amount: 134 kcal · 30 g
Listed measures: 13–381 kcal
Protein, same amount: 4.4 g

Choose in this order: identity, amount, then context.

Identity

Amount

Context

Central nutrient ranges on one denominator

Records that make the range easier to understand

One Feast category, several USDA source categories

Turn source data into a better next decision

Sweet potato chips is higher in calories per 100 g

Milk 'n Cereal bar is denser; Light ice cream, chocolate is higher in its source amount

Distinguish “Milk 'n Cereal bar” from “Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored”

Follow the relationship that matches your question

Browse all 445 profiles in this category

Three questions that prevent the most common category mistakes