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Portions and preparation · USDA nutrition

Pasta calories per cup: 248–523 across 48 of 52 named USDA examples

Across 48 of 52 named USDA examples, a cup contains 248–523 calories. Each included example lists 250 g for that measure. The same household label can carry a different gram weight elsewhere in USDA data. The remaining 4 specifically named examples do not list that exact household measure.

Portion calculator

Estimate your portion

Choose a source measure or enter the weight you ate.

Preparation and portion

Named measures come from this exact source record.

Estimated for 1 cup, cooked · 140 g

220calories

Pasta, cooked

Protein
8.1 g
Carbs
43 g
Fat
1.3 g

These values scale the selected reference food by weight. Ingredients, preparation, and portion size can change your meal’s estimate.

FoodData Central Survey Foods (FNDDS) · FDC 2708357 Full nutrition profile →

Compare all 52 food records, nutrition tables and USDA sources

The 52 exact records in this guide report 179–523 calories in the records' own listed source servings and 99–209 calories per 100 grams. Those are observations from named database records—not a universal range or an estimate of an unseen plate.

Match my meal

Start with the description closest to what you ate

For Pasta, begin by separating “Pasta, cooked” from “Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant.” Choosing a card filters this source set; it does not infer the portion or fill in ingredients the chosen description does not name.

Showing the first 6 of 52 linked records.

Equal-weight view

How pasta records compare at 100 grams

Five rank landmarks are shown from all 52 cited records: minimum, 25th-ranked, median-ranked, 75th-ranked, and maximum. Weight is held at 100 grams; source-serving weights are listed in the table.

  1. Minimum: Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and added vegetables, home recipe 99 kcal
    99 kcal
  2. 25th-ranked landmark: Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat 125 kcal
    125 kcal
  3. Median-ranked landmark: Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, home recipe 150 kcal
    150 kcal
  4. 75th-ranked landmark: Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, restaurant 165 kcal
    165 kcal
  5. Maximum: Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, restaurant 209 kcal
    209 kcal

Shared basis: 100 g · kilocalories

What this page compares

Named source records, not one universal meal

This guide keeps 52 named USDA records in view: 52 direct matches. They span 2 source categories, including Pasta, noodles, cooked grains and Pasta mixed dishes, excludes macaroni and cheese. The exact descriptions remain the unit of comparison; the familiar heading is only the doorway into the evidence.

Why these records appear together: The deterministic grouping rule “normalized first description segment” placed these 52 records together under the exact grouping key “pasta.” That rule determines membership before any nutrition result is read.

For Pasta, this page can compare 52 named records from FDC 2708357 through FDC 2708900. It cannot observe which preparation was eaten, recover unnamed additions, or supply the eaten grams.

Read the shared calculation, provenance, and uncertainty method →

Editor’s decision brief

The three facts to carry into the table

Carry the denominator, exact identity, and strongest observed contrast into every number below.

Portion

140–250 g before composition

The largest source amount is 1.8× the smallest. Read per-serving calorie differences with that mass gap in view.

Composition

110 kcal separates the fixed-weight endpoints

The lower endpoint is “whole grain, …, home recipe”; the higher is “whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, restaurant.” This isolates density, not ingredient causation.

Discriminator

574 mg sodium gap per 100 g

Of protein, fiber, and sodium, the strongest normalized contrast is between “gluten free” (4 mg) and “whole grain, with cream sauce, restaurant” (578 mg).

Observed source examples

Three landmarks inside this source set—not universal endpoints

The cards are ordered by calories in each record's listed serving. Serving weights differ, so use per-100-gram values to compare composition. These selected records do not define a calorie range for every pasta.

Important: “Lower” begins with Pasta, vegetable, cooked; “higher” ends with Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, restaurant, using each record’s own source amount. Those labels order this selected set only—they are not endpoints for every pasta meal.

Full comparison

Compare every selected FNDDS record

For Pasta, serving columns preserve each record’s own listed amount, while calories per 100 g hold weight constant. A dash means the cited record does not supply that field; it does not mean the nutrient is absent.

On smaller screens, focus the table and scroll horizontally to read every column.

USDA records selected for the Pasta nutrition guide
Exact source record Match Source amount Calories kcal / 100 g Protein Fiber Sodium USDA
Pasta, cooked Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 220 kcal 157 8.1 g 2.5 g 325 mg FDC 2708357 ↗
Pasta, gluten free Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 251 kcal 179 4.5 g 2 g 6 mg FDC 2708359 ↗
Pasta, vegetable, cooked Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 179 kcal 128 6.3 g 6 g 139 mg FDC 2708351 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, cooked Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 207 kcal 148 8.3 g 5.5 g 329 mg FDC 2708358 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 400 kcal 160 15.6 g 5 g 630 mg FDC 2708910 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 430 kcal 172 15.3 g 5 g 968 mg FDC 2708911 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 523 kcal 209 14.4 g 4.8 g 1,410 mg FDC 2708909 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and poultry, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 380 kcal 152 16.1 g 5 g 628 mg FDC 2708916 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and poultry, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 413 kcal 165 15.7 g 5 g 965 mg FDC 2708917 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and poultry, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 505 kcal 202 14.8 g 4.8 g 1,408 mg FDC 2708915 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and seafood, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 368 kcal 147 14.9 g 5 g 655 mg FDC 2708922 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and seafood, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 400 kcal 160 14.6 g 5 g 993 mg FDC 2708923 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and seafood, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 493 kcal 197 13.8 g 4.8 g 1,433 mg FDC 2708921 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 340 kcal 136 10.3 g 5.5 g 515 mg FDC 2708907 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 373 kcal 149 10 g 5.3 g 855 mg FDC 2708908 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 468 kcal 187 9.5 g 5 g 1,303 mg FDC 2708906 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 375 kcal 150 10.3 g 5 g 670 mg FDC 2708904 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, meat, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 373 kcal 149 15.6 g 5.5 g 505 mg FDC 2708913 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, meat, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 405 kcal 162 15.2 g 5.3 g 845 mg FDC 2708914 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, meat, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 498 kcal 199 14.4 g 5 g 1,293 mg FDC 2708912 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 353 kcal 141 16 g 5.5 g 503 mg FDC 2708919 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 385 kcal 154 15.7 g 5.3 g 843 mg FDC 2708920 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 480 kcal 192 14.8 g 5 g 1,290 mg FDC 2708918 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 408 kcal 163 10.1 g 5 g 1,005 mg FDC 2708905 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 500 kcal 200 9.5 g 4.8 g 1,445 mg FDC 2708903 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 340 kcal 136 14.8 g 5.5 g 530 mg FDC 2708925 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 373 kcal 149 14.5 g 5.3 g 870 mg FDC 2708926 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 468 kcal 187 13.7 g 5 g 1,315 mg FDC 2708924 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 248 kcal 99 9.6 g 7.3 g 393 mg FDC 2708883 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 285 kcal 114 9.4 g 7 g 735 mg FDC 2708884 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 385 kcal 154 8.9 g 6.5 g 860 mg FDC 2708882 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and meat, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 303 kcal 121 14.9 g 6.8 g 500 mg FDC 2708886 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and meat, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 335 kcal 134 14.6 g 6.8 g 840 mg FDC 2708887 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and meat, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 435 kcal 174 13.8 g 6.3 g 963 mg FDC 2708885 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and poultry, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 283 kcal 113 15.4 g 6.8 g 498 mg FDC 2708892 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and poultry, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 318 kcal 127 15 g 6.8 g 838 mg FDC 2708893 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and poultry, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 418 kcal 167 14.2 g 6.3 g 960 mg FDC 2708891 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and seafood, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 270 kcal 108 14.2 g 6.8 g 525 mg FDC 2708898 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and seafood, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 305 kcal 122 13.9 g 6.8 g 865 mg FDC 2708899 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and seafood, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 405 kcal 162 13.2 g 6.3 g 985 mg FDC 2708897 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 255 kcal 102 9.5 g 7.3 g 510 mg FDC 2708880 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, meat, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 298 kcal 119 15 g 6.8 g 405 mg FDC 2708889 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, meat, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 333 kcal 133 14.7 g 6.5 g 748 mg FDC 2708890 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, meat, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 430 kcal 172 13.9 g 6.3 g 873 mg FDC 2708888 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 278 kcal 111 15.5 g 6.8 g 403 mg FDC 2708895 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 313 kcal 125 15.1 g 6.5 g 745 mg FDC 2708896 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, poultry, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 413 kcal 165 14.3 g 6.3 g 873 mg FDC 2708894 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 290 kcal 116 9.3 g 7 g 850 mg FDC 2708881 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 390 kcal 156 8.8 g 6.8 g 970 mg FDC 2708879 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, home recipe Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 265 kcal 106 14.3 g 6.8 g 430 mg FDC 2708901 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 300 kcal 120 14 g 6.5 g 773 mg FDC 2708902 ↗
Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant Direct name match 250 gUSDA reference amount 400 kcal 160 13.3 g 6.3 g 898 mg FDC 2708900 ↗

Portion analysis

Serving total and calorie density answer different questions

The listed source amounts run from 140 to 250 grams—a 110-gram gap before composition enters the comparison. Their own source servings run from 179 calories for “vegetable” to 523 for “whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, restaurant.” At a fixed 100 grams, “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and added vegetables, home recipe” is 99 calories and “whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, restaurant” is 209—a fixed-weight separation of 110 calories. For Pasta, the serving view answers “how much is in the database portion?”; the 100-gram view answers “how concentrated is the matched record?” Neither reveals how many grams were actually eaten.

The scaling rule: multiply a per-100-gram value by eaten grams ÷ 100. The arithmetic is exact; the result is only as defensible as the record match and portion estimate.

Preparation analysis

The long description carries the evidence

The published descriptions distinguish forms such as “cooked”, “whole grain, with cream sauce, and added vegetables, home recipe”, “whole grain, with cream sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat”, “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and seafood, ready-to-heat”, and “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant”. The source formulations contain 22 distinct ingredient codes; examples that appear in only part of the set include pasta, whole-wheat, cooked (includes foods for usda's food distribution program), salt, table, vegetable oil, nfs, and alfredo sauce. On this Pasta page, those rows make the records inspectable, but they are not a controlled experiment: they cannot tell us that one named input, by itself, caused a nutrient difference.

Database precision is not meal certainty. Retain the exact description beside the number so later corrections remain possible.

What changes the comparison

Four drivers worth checking before choosing a record

The family label “Pasta” cannot resolve the differences between Pasta, cooked and Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant. The four checks below identify the record wording, source weight, and formulation evidence that can.

  1. 01

    Source weight before serving calories

    The source amounts span 140–250 grams. Compare per 100 grams before reading a serving-calorie gap as a composition gap.

  2. 02

    The words that split the family

    Representative record-level distinctions include “cooked”, “whole grain, with cream sauce, and added vegetables, home recipe”, “whole grain, with cream sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, ready-to-heat”, “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and seafood, ready-to-heat”, and “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant”. Those phrases are evidence for choosing a record, not decorative subtitle text.

  3. 03

    Formulation evidence, with limits

    22 source-input codes appear across the selected records. Their presence and listed weights describe USDA formulations, not finished plated proportions.

  4. 04

    The unresolved plate

    Even “Pasta, cooked” leaves the eaten grams and unnamed oils, sauces, toppings, substitutions, or leftovers unresolved. Preserve those Pasta unknowns for correction instead of converting them into false precision.

Record matching

Match identity first; scale quantity second

Read the source name as a sequence of decisions. First confirm that pasta is the right meal family. Then resolve the phrases that actually separate this set—“cooked”, “whole grain, with cream sauce, meat, and added vegetables, home recipe”, “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and poultry, home recipe”, and “whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, seafood, and added vegetables, restaurant”—before comparing gram weight. If a package, menu, or known recipe provides a closer first-party description, prefer it and keep this USDA record as a transparent fallback.

A practical matching checklist

  1. Read the complete Pasta source description, including preparation and additions.
  2. Compare the listed source weight with the amount actually eaten.
  3. Prefer a current package or restaurant source when a specific branded item is known.
  4. Record toppings, sauces, cooking fat, sides, and substitutions that the selected description does not name.

Explore this meal family

1 more-specific pasta guides

Use a focused guide when its description matches your meal. Each one keeps its own exact source records and links back to this broader family.

Focused guide Pasta, whole grain Pasta, whole grain: compare 49 exact USDA records by source calories, 100-gram values, portions, and citations.

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 52 exact records behind Pasta source-record guide. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.

Equal-weight result

Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, home recipe is higher in total sugars per 100 g

Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, home recipe reports 3 g versus 0 g for Pasta, gluten free: a 3 g difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

The denominator changes the answer

Pasta, cooked is denser; Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, restaurant is higher in its source amount

Pasta, cooked reports 157 kcal per 100 g and 220 kcal in USDA source amount (140 g). Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce, restaurant reports a lower 156 kcal per 100 g but a higher 390 kcal in USDA source amount (250 g).

Choose the record before reading the number

Pasta, gluten free and Pasta, whole grain, cooked are not interchangeable

The page keeps both records at the same 100 g denominator and makes Grain wording (No matching controlled term in the source name versus whole-grain or whole-wheat wording) the explicit record-description contrast. It does not show that the wording difference caused a nutrient difference. Pick the description that matches the food in front of you rather than averaging away the distinction.

Inspect the underlying evidence

Contextual knowledge graph

Follow the relationship that matches your question

For Pasta source-record guide, 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 Pasta with meat sauce

Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and meat, home recipe and Pasta, whole grain, with tomato-based sauce and meat, ready-to-heat are explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.

Follow this evidence path Compare two records on this page Pasta, gluten free vs Pasta, whole grain, cooked

Both records appear in this page’s evidence set. The explicit record-description contrast is Grain wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus whole-grain or whole-wheat wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path Compare two records on this page Pasta, cooked vs Pasta, gluten free

Both records appear in this page’s evidence set. The explicit record-description contrast is Gluten wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus gluten-free wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path 48 context records in this source topic Pasta mixed dishes, excludes macaroni and cheese

Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, home recipe and Pasta, whole grain, with cream sauce and meat, ready-to-heat belong to this USDA source-category collection. Its displayed ranges and complete exact-record catalog provide the peer set for a manual comparison; the destination does not preselect this page’s record.

Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Pasta, whole-wheat, cooked (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)

USDA input 20125 appears in 49 of 52 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 100–140 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 Salt, table

USDA input 2047 appears in 35 of 52 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 0.2–2.5 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 4 context records in this source topic Pasta, noodles, cooked grains

Pasta, cooked and Pasta, gluten free belong to this USDA source-category collection. Its displayed ranges and complete exact-record catalog provide the peer set for a manual comparison; the destination does not preselect this page’s record.

Follow this evidence path