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Portions and preparation · USDA nutrition

Tamale calories per cup: 296–316 across all 4 named USDA examples

Across all 4 named USDA examples, a cup contains 296–316 calories. Each included example lists 170 g for that measure. The same household label can carry a different gram weight elsewhere in USDA data.

Portion calculator

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Choose a source measure or enter the weight you ate.

Preparation and portion

Named measures come from this exact source record.

Estimated for 1 item, any size · 140 g

244calories

Tamale, beef

Protein
10.3 g
Carbs
22.1 g
Fat
12.7 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 2708571 Full nutrition profile →

Compare all 4 food records, nutrition tables and USDA sources

The 4 exact records in this guide report 244–260 calories in the records' own listed source servings and 174–186 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 Tamale, begin by separating “Tamale, beef” from “Tamale, pork.” Choosing a card filters this source set; it does not infer the portion or fill in ingredients the chosen description does not name.

Showing all 4 linked records.

Equal-weight view

How tamale records compare at 100 grams

All 4 cited records are shown at the same 100-gram weight. The source servings may differ.

  1. Tamale, beef 174 kcal
    174 kcal
  2. Tamale, chicken 174 kcal
    174 kcal
  3. Tamale, pork 174 kcal
    174 kcal
  4. Tamale, no meat 186 kcal
    186 kcal

Shared basis: 100 g · kilocalories

What this page compares

Named source records, not one universal meal

This guide keeps 4 named USDA records in view: 4 direct matches. All sit within “Other Mexican mixed dishes.” 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 4 records together under the exact grouping key “tamale.” That rule determines membership before any nutrition result is read.

For Tamale, this page can compare 4 named records from FDC 2708571 through FDC 2708572. 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

A shared 140 g comparison anchor

Equal source weights make the selected Tamale serving totals easier to compare, but the eaten portion still has to be measured or estimated.

Composition

12 kcal separates the fixed-weight endpoints

The lower endpoint is “beef”; the higher is “no meat.” This isolates density, not ingredient causation.

Discriminator

3.9 g protein gap per 100 g

Of protein, fiber, and sodium, the strongest normalized contrast is between “no meat” (3.5 g) and “pork” (7.4 g).

Observed source examples

Three landmarks inside this source set—not universal endpoints

These 4 records each use a 140 g serving. Their serving calories compare equal weights within this set. They do not define a calorie range for every tamale; match the preparation and adjust to your portion.

Important: “Lower” begins with Tamale, beef; “higher” ends with Tamale, no meat, using each record’s own source amount. Those labels order this selected set only—they are not endpoints for every tamale meal.

Full comparison

Compare every selected FNDDS record

For Tamale, 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 Tamale nutrition guide
Exact source record Match Source amount Calories kcal / 100 g Protein Fiber Sodium USDA
Tamale, beef Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 244 kcal 174 10.3 g 3.4 g 662 mg FDC 2708571 ↗
Tamale, chicken Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 244 kcal 174 10.3 g 3.4 g 662 mg FDC 2708573 ↗
Tamale, no meat Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 260 kcal 186 4.9 g 4.5 g 388 mg FDC 2708574 ↗
Tamale, pork Direct name match 140 gUSDA reference amount 244 kcal 174 10.3 g 3.4 g 662 mg FDC 2708572 ↗

Portion analysis

Serving total and calorie density answer different questions

Every selected record uses a 140-gram source amount, so serving-weight differences do not explain the calorie spread inside this set. Their own source servings run from 244 calories for “beef” to 260 for “no meat.” At a fixed 100 grams, “beef” is 174 calories and “no meat” is 186—a fixed-weight separation of 12 calories. For Tamale, 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 “beef”, “chicken”, “no meat”, and “pork”. The source formulations contain 2 distinct ingredient codes; examples that appear in only part of the set include restaurant, latino, tamale, pork and restaurant, latino, tamale, corn. On this Tamale 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 “Tamale” cannot resolve the differences between Tamale, beef and Tamale, pork. The four checks below identify the record wording, source weight, and formulation evidence that can.

  1. 01

    A shared source weight

    Every selected record uses 140 grams. Inside this set, serving-calorie differences therefore reflect the published composition rather than a change in source weight.

  2. 02

    The words that split the family

    Representative record-level distinctions include “beef”, “chicken”, “no meat”, and “pork”. Those phrases are evidence for choosing a record, not decorative subtitle text.

  3. 03

    Formulation evidence, with limits

    2 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 “Tamale, beef” leaves the eaten grams and unnamed oils, sauces, toppings, substitutions, or leftovers unresolved. Preserve those Tamale 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 tamale is the right meal family. Then resolve the phrases that actually separate this set—“beef”, “chicken”, “no meat”, and “pork”—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 Tamale 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 4 exact records behind Tamale 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

Tamale, no meat is higher in total sugars per 100 g

Tamale, no meat reports 7.4 g versus 0.5 g for Tamale, beef: a 7 g difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

These listed servings have equal weights

4 listed servings each weigh 140 g

The 4 records with a listed serving weight on this page each use 140 g. Their serving totals therefore compare equal weights, even if the household labels differ. Match the preparation and adjust the weight to the amount you eat.

Record identity is part of the estimate

Distinguish “Tamale, beef” from “Tamale, pork”

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 Tamale source-record guide, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.

A formulation detail that separates records Restaurant, Latino, tamale, pork

USDA input 36412 appears in 3 of 4 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 100–100 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 Other Mexican mixed dishes

Tamale, beef and Tamale, chicken 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 Put the observed spread in corpus context Calcium: density and serving context

In this page’s records, calcium runs from 24 mg in Tamale, no meat to 75 mg in Tamale, pork, all per 100 g.

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

In this page’s records, protein runs from 3.5 g in Tamale, no meat to 7.4 g in Tamale, pork, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path Inspect an exact record Tamale, beef

Open the full nutrient table, household measures, formulation inputs, and FoodData Central 2708571 citation for this exact record—not a name-level average.

Follow this evidence path Check another exact record Tamale, chicken

Open the full nutrient table, household measures, formulation inputs, and FoodData Central 2708573 citation for this exact record—not a name-level average.

Follow this evidence path 4 records share this broad food family Mixed dishes: broader category context

Tamale, beef and Tamale, chicken, plus 2 more are assigned to Feast’s Mixed dishes editorial category. Use the category page to compare nearby foods at a broad level; keep the exact USDA descriptions on this page for record-level decisions.

Follow this evidence path