Feast Get Feast
Menu

Portions and preparation · USDA nutrition

Popcorn, microwave calories per cup, popped: 32–73 across all 7 named USDA examples

Across all 7 named USDA examples, a cup, popped contains 32–73 calories. Their listed weights span 8–14 g, so each calorie value is calculated from that example's own gram weight and published calories per 100 g.

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 35 g

181calories

Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored

Protein
3.2 g
Carbs
19.3 g
Fat
10.7 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 2708227 Full nutrition profile →

Compare all 7 food records, nutrition tables and USDA sources

The 7 exact records in this guide report 114–181 calories in the records' own listed source servings and 406–518 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 Popcorn, microwave, begin by separating “Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored” from “Popcorn, microwave, plain, light.” 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 7 linked records.

Equal-weight view

How popcorn, microwave records compare at 100 grams

Five rank landmarks are shown from all 7 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: Popcorn, microwave, flavored, light 406 kcal
    406 kcal
  2. 25th-ranked landmark: Popcorn, microwave, plain, light 409 kcal
    409 kcal
  3. Median-ranked landmark: Popcorn, microwave, kettle 504 kcal
    504 kcal
  4. 75th-ranked landmark: Popcorn, microwave, cheese flavored 516 kcal
    516 kcal
  5. Maximum: Popcorn, microwave, plain 518 kcal
    518 kcal

Shared basis: 100 g · kilocalories

What this page compares

Named source records, not one universal meal

This guide keeps 7 named USDA records in view: 7 direct matches. All sit within “Popcorn.” 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 two description segments” placed these 7 records together under the exact grouping key “popcorn microwave.” That rule determines membership before any nutrition result is read.

For Popcorn, microwave, this page can compare 7 named records from FDC 2708227 through FDC 2708225. 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

28–35 g before composition

The largest source amount is 1.3× the smallest. Read per-serving calorie differences with that mass gap in view.

Composition

112 kcal separates the fixed-weight endpoints

The lower endpoint is “flavored”; the higher is “microwave, plain.” This isolates density, not ingredient causation.

Discriminator

720 mg sodium gap per 100 g

Of protein, fiber, and sodium, the strongest normalized contrast is between “low sodium” (310 mg) and “flavored” (1,030 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 popcorn, microwave.

Important: “Lower” begins with Popcorn, microwave, flavored, light; “higher” ends with Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored, using each record’s own source amount. Those labels order this selected set only—they are not endpoints for every popcorn, microwave meal.

Full comparison

Compare every selected FNDDS record

For Popcorn, microwave, 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 Popcorn, microwave nutrition guide
Exact source record Match Source amount Calories kcal / 100 g Protein Fiber Sodium USDA
Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored Direct name match 35 gUSDA reference amount 181 kcal 518 3.2 g 3.6 g 267 mg FDC 2708227 ↗
Popcorn, microwave, cheese flavored Direct name match 35 gUSDA reference amount 181 kcal 516 3.2 g 3.6 g 321 mg FDC 2708229 ↗
Popcorn, microwave, flavored, light Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 114 kcal 406 3.3 g 3.7 g 288 mg FDC 2708228 ↗
Popcorn, microwave, kettle Direct name match 35 gUSDA reference amount 176 kcal 504 3.3 g 3.7 g 210 mg FDC 2708230 ↗
Popcorn, microwave, low sodium Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 139 kcal 496 2.5 g 2.8 g 87 mg FDC 2708226 ↗
Popcorn, microwave, plain Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 145 kcal 518 2.6 g 2.9 g 214 mg FDC 2708224 ↗
Popcorn, microwave, plain, light Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 115 kcal 409 3.3 g 3.8 g 214 mg FDC 2708225 ↗

Portion analysis

Serving total and calorie density answer different questions

The listed source amounts run from 28 to 35 grams—a 7-gram gap before composition enters the comparison. Their own source servings run from 114 calories for “flavored” to 181 for “butter flavored.” At a fixed 100 grams, “flavored” is 406 calories and “microwave, plain” is 518—a fixed-weight separation of 112 calories. For Popcorn, microwave, 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 “microwave, butter flavored”, “microwave, flavored, light”, “microwave, kettle”, “microwave, plain”, and “microwave, plain, light”. The source formulations contain 9 distinct ingredient codes; examples that appear in only part of the set include salt, table, industrial oil as ingredient in food, snacks, popcorn, air-popped, and oil, coconut. On this Popcorn, microwave 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 “Popcorn, microwave” cannot resolve the differences between Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored and Popcorn, microwave, plain, light. 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 28–35 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 “microwave, butter flavored”, “microwave, flavored, light”, “microwave, kettle”, “microwave, plain”, and “microwave, plain, light”. Those phrases are evidence for choosing a record, not decorative subtitle text.

  3. 03

    Formulation evidence, with limits

    9 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 “Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored” leaves the eaten grams and unnamed oils, sauces, toppings, substitutions, or leftovers unresolved. Preserve those Popcorn, microwave 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 popcorn, microwave is the right meal family. Then resolve the phrases that actually separate this set—“microwave, butter flavored”, “microwave, flavored, light”, “microwave, low sodium”, and “microwave, plain, light”—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 Popcorn, microwave 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.

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 7 exact records behind Popcorn, microwave 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

Popcorn, microwave, kettle is higher in total sugars per 100 g

Popcorn, microwave, kettle reports 2.2 g versus 0.5 g for Popcorn, microwave, low sodium: a 1.7 g difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

The denominator changes the answer

Popcorn, microwave, plain is denser; Popcorn, microwave, cheese flavored is higher in its source amount

Popcorn, microwave, plain reports 518 kcal per 100 g and 145 kcal in USDA source amount (28 g). Popcorn, microwave, cheese flavored reports a lower 516 kcal per 100 g but a higher 181 kcal in USDA source amount (35 g).

Choose the record before reading the number

Popcorn, microwave, low sodium and Popcorn, microwave, plain, light are not interchangeable

The page keeps both records at the same 100 g denominator and makes Sodium wording (reduced- or low-sodium wording versus No matching controlled term in the source name) 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 Popcorn, microwave source-record guide, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.

Compare two records on this page Popcorn, microwave, flavored, light vs Popcorn, microwave, low sodium

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

Follow this evidence path Compare two records on this page Popcorn, microwave, low sodium vs Popcorn, microwave, plain, light

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

Follow this evidence path 7 context records in this source topic Popcorn

Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored and Popcorn, microwave, cheese flavored 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 Salt, table

USDA input 2047 appears in 6 of 7 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 0.4–2 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 Industrial oil as ingredient in food

USDA input 99998210 appears in 3 of 7 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 6–18 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 Put the observed spread in corpus context Sodium: density and serving context

In this page’s records, sodium runs from 310 mg in Popcorn, microwave, low sodium to 1,030 mg in Popcorn, microwave, flavored, light, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path Inspect an exact record Popcorn, microwave, butter flavored

Open the full nutrient table, household measures, formulation inputs, and FoodData Central 2708227 citation for this exact record—not a name-level average.

Follow this evidence path