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Portions and preparation · USDA nutrition

Popcorn, ready-to-eat calories per cup: 35–74 across all 7 named USDA examples

Across all 7 named USDA examples, a cup contains 35–74 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

186calories

Popcorn, ready-to-eat, butter flavored

Protein
3.1 g
Carbs
18.7 g
Fat
11.4 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 2708235 Full nutrition profile →

Compare all 7 food records, nutrition tables and USDA sources

The 7 exact records in this guide report 122–186 calories in the records' own listed source servings and 435–531 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, ready-to-eat, begin by separating “Popcorn, ready-to-eat, butter flavored” from “Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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, ready-to-eat 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, ready-to-eat, flavored, light 435 kcal
    435 kcal
  2. 25th-ranked landmark: Popcorn, ready-to-eat, plain, light 437 kcal
    437 kcal
  3. Median-ranked landmark: Popcorn, ready-to-eat, low sodium 486 kcal
    486 kcal
  4. 75th-ranked landmark: Popcorn, ready-to-eat, cheese flavored 526 kcal
    526 kcal
  5. Maximum: Popcorn, ready-to-eat, kettle 531 kcal
    531 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 ready to eat.” That rule determines membership before any nutrition result is read.

For Popcorn, ready-to-eat, this page can compare 7 named records from FDC 2708235 through FDC 2708233. 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

96 kcal separates the fixed-weight endpoints

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

Discriminator

576 mg sodium gap per 100 g

Of protein, fiber, and sodium, the strongest normalized contrast is between “low sodium” (313 mg) and “cheese flavored” (889 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, ready-to-eat.

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

Full comparison

Compare every selected FNDDS record

For Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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, ready-to-eat nutrition guide
Exact source record Match Source amount Calories kcal / 100 g Protein Fiber Sodium USDA
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, butter flavored Direct name match 35 gUSDA reference amount 186 kcal 530 3.1 g 3.5 g 267 mg FDC 2708235 ↗
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, cheese flavored Direct name match 35 gUSDA reference amount 184 kcal 526 3.3 g 3.5 g 311 mg FDC 2708236 ↗
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, flavored, light Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 122 kcal 435 3.2 g 3.5 g 214 mg FDC 2708237 ↗
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, kettle Direct name match 35 gUSDA reference amount 186 kcal 531 1.9 g 2.1 g 173 mg FDC 2708238 ↗
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, low sodium Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 136 kcal 486 2.9 g 3.2 g 88 mg FDC 2708234 ↗
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, plain Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 135 kcal 482 2.9 g 3.2 g 172 mg FDC 2708232 ↗
Popcorn, ready-to-eat, plain, light Direct name match 28 gUSDA reference amount 122 kcal 437 3.2 g 3.6 g 168 mg FDC 2708233 ↗

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 122 calories for “flavored” to 186 for “kettle.” At a fixed 100 grams, “flavored” is 435 calories and “kettle” is 531—a fixed-weight separation of 96 calories. For Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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 “ready-to-eat, butter flavored”, “ready-to-eat, flavored, light”, “ready-to-eat, kettle”, “ready-to-eat, plain”, and “ready-to-eat, plain, light”. The source formulations contain 5 distinct ingredient codes; examples that appear in only part of the set include oil, corn, salt, table, snacks, popcorn, air-popped, and snacks, popcorn, cheese-flavor. On this Popcorn, ready-to-eat 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, ready-to-eat” cannot resolve the differences between Popcorn, ready-to-eat, butter flavored and Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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 “ready-to-eat, butter flavored”, “ready-to-eat, flavored, light”, “ready-to-eat, kettle”, “ready-to-eat, plain”, and “ready-to-eat, plain, light”. Those phrases are evidence for choosing a record, not decorative subtitle text.

  3. 03

    Formulation evidence, with limits

    5 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, ready-to-eat, butter flavored” leaves the eaten grams and unnamed oils, sauces, toppings, substitutions, or leftovers unresolved. Preserve those Popcorn, ready-to-eat 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, ready-to-eat is the right meal family. Then resolve the phrases that actually separate this set—“ready-to-eat, butter flavored”, “ready-to-eat, flavored, light”, “ready-to-eat, low sodium”, and “ready-to-eat, 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, ready-to-eat 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, ready-to-eat 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, ready-to-eat, kettle is higher in total sugars per 100 g

Popcorn, ready-to-eat, kettle reports 28.5 g versus 0.6 g for Popcorn, ready-to-eat, butter flavored: a 27.9 g difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

The denominator changes the answer

Popcorn, ready-to-eat, flavored, light is denser; Popcorn, ready-to-eat, cheese flavored is higher in its source amount

Popcorn, ready-to-eat, flavored, light reports 11.3 g per 100 g and 3.2 g in USDA source amount (28 g). Popcorn, ready-to-eat, cheese flavored reports a lower 9.3 g per 100 g but a higher 3.3 g in USDA source amount (35 g).

Choose the record before reading the number

Popcorn, ready-to-eat, low sodium and Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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, ready-to-eat 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, ready-to-eat, butter flavored vs Popcorn, ready-to-eat, plain, light

Both records appear in this page’s evidence set. 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 Compare two records on this page Popcorn, ready-to-eat, flavored, light vs Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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 7 context records in this source topic Popcorn

Popcorn, ready-to-eat, butter flavored and Popcorn, ready-to-eat, 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 Oil, corn

USDA input 4518 appears in 6 of 7 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 10–40 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 6 of 7 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 0.8–2 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 Put the observed spread in corpus context Calcium: density and serving context

In this page’s records, calcium runs from 4 mg in Popcorn, ready-to-eat, kettle to 113 mg in Popcorn, ready-to-eat, cheese flavored, all per 100 g.

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

In this page’s records, sodium runs from 313 mg in Popcorn, ready-to-eat, low sodium to 889 mg in Popcorn, ready-to-eat, cheese flavored, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path