Nutrient comparisonUSDA survey foods

Calorie density of common meals: a USDA comparison

Calorie density describes energy relative to weight; it does not tell you how much of a food someone will eat or whether a meal is suitable for them. This page ranks USDA source records by calories per 100 grams and shows the listed serving alongside that shared basis.

Read the rank carefully

Concentration and portion answer different questions.

Water content, added fat, sugar, and ingredient proportions often drive large differences. A smaller portion of a calorie-dense food can contain fewer total calories than a much larger portion of another food.

Boundary: Calorie density is descriptive, not a moral score or a complete measure of nutrition quality. Your actual recipe and portion matter more than the rank.

USDA comparison

Records with more calories per 100 grams

The list surfaces the strongest values in this specific survey-food corpus. Open any row to see household portions, the full nutrient panel, uncertainty factors, and the exact FoodData Central record.

Rank and food	Per 100 g	Per source serving	Serving context
01Pecans, unsaltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	754 kcal	211.1 kcal	Typical reported amount211 kcal in that serving
02Fat back, cookedSauces, fats & condiments	750 kcal	120 kcal	Typical reported amount120 kcal in that serving
03Pecans, unroastedBeans, nuts & protein foods	750 kcal	210 kcal	Typical reported amount210 kcal in that serving
04Pecans, saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	747 kcal	209.2 kcal	Typical reported amount209 kcal in that serving
05Walnuts, excluding honey roastedBeans, nuts & protein foods	730 kcal	204.4 kcal	Typical reported amount204 kcal in that serving
06Macadamia nutsBeans, nuts & protein foods	716 kcal	200.5 kcal	Typical reported amount200 kcal in that serving
07TahiniBeans, nuts & protein foods	697 kcal	195.2 kcal	Typical reported amount195 kcal in that serving
08Pecans, honey roastedBeans, nuts & protein foods	681 kcal	190.7 kcal	Typical reported amount191 kcal in that serving
09Pine nutsBeans, nuts & protein foods	673 kcal	188.4 kcal	Typical reported amount188 kcal in that serving
10Walnuts, honey roastedBeans, nuts & protein foods	668 kcal	187 kcal	Typical reported amount187 kcal in that serving
11Brazil nutsBeans, nuts & protein foods	659 kcal	184.5 kcal	Typical reported amount185 kcal in that serving
12Peanut butter, lower sugarBeans, nuts & protein foods	650 kcal	208 kcal	Typical reported amount208 kcal in that serving
13Almond butter, lower sodiumBeans, nuts & protein foods	645 kcal	206.4 kcal	Typical reported amount206 kcal in that serving
14Almond butterBeans, nuts & protein foods	641 kcal	205.1 kcal	Typical reported amount205 kcal in that serving
15Sesame seedsBeans, nuts & protein foods	631 kcal	176.7 kcal	Typical reported amount177 kcal in that serving
16HazelnutsBeans, nuts & protein foods	628 kcal	175.8 kcal	Typical reported amount176 kcal in that serving
17Almonds, unroastedBeans, nuts & protein foods	626 kcal	175.3 kcal	Typical reported amount175 kcal in that serving
18Mixed nuts, without peanuts, unsaltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	625 kcal	175 kcal	Typical reported amount175 kcal in that serving
19Peanut butter, lower sodium and lower sugarBeans, nuts & protein foods	624 kcal	199.7 kcal	Typical reported amount200 kcal in that serving
20Mixed nuts, without peanuts, saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	620 kcal	173.6 kcal	Typical reported amount174 kcal in that serving
21Mixed nuts, unroastedBeans, nuts & protein foods	616 kcal	172.5 kcal	Typical reported amount172 kcal in that serving
22Mixed nuts, with peanuts, unsaltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	615 kcal	172.2 kcal	Typical reported amount172 kcal in that serving
23Soy nut butterBeans, nuts & protein foods	613 kcal	196.2 kcal	Typical reported amount196 kcal in that serving
24Mixed nuts, with peanuts, lightly saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	612 kcal	171.4 kcal	Typical reported amount171 kcal in that serving
25Mixed nuts, with peanuts, saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	610 kcal	170.8 kcal	Typical reported amount171 kcal in that serving
26Cashew butterBeans, nuts & protein foods	609 kcal	194.9 kcal	Typical reported amount195 kcal in that serving
27Almonds, unsaltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	607 kcal	170 kcal	Typical reported amount170 kcal in that serving
28Almonds, lightly saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	604 kcal	169.1 kcal	Typical reported amount169 kcal in that serving
29Trail mix with nutsBeans, nuts & protein foods	604 kcal	169.1 kcal	Typical reported amount169 kcal in that serving
30Almonds, saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	601 kcal	168.3 kcal	Typical reported amount168 kcal in that serving
31Almonds, flavoredBeans, nuts & protein foods	599 kcal	167.7 kcal	Typical reported amount168 kcal in that serving
32Peanuts, roasted, saltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	599 kcal	167.7 kcal	Typical reported amount168 kcal in that serving
33Peanuts, roasted, unsaltedBeans, nuts & protein foods	599 kcal	167.7 kcal	Typical reported amount168 kcal in that serving
34Peanut butterBeans, nuts & protein foods	598 kcal	191.4 kcal	Typical reported amount191 kcal in that serving
35Peanut butter, lower sodiumBeans, nuts & protein foods	598 kcal	191.4 kcal	Typical reported amount191 kcal in that serving
36Peanut butter, vitamin and mineral fortifiedBeans, nuts & protein foods	591 kcal	189.1 kcal	Typical reported amount189 kcal in that serving

This is a descriptive ranking, not a list of recommended portions. Values are rounded for readability; each linked profile retains the source details.

A three-step comparison

Move from a ranked record to your actual meal.

01
Match the description
Open the closest record and check its exact USDA food description, ingredients implied by the name, and preparation style.
02
Match the amount
Use the household portions or gram calculator instead of assuming the database's source serving equals what you ate.
03
Add what the record misses
Brands, recipes, sauces, cooking fat, fortification, and substitutions can move calories and the rest of the nutrient profile.

Why two versions of the same meal can differ

Food names are useful search labels, not complete recipes. A restaurant dish, homemade version, frozen entrée, and school meal may share a familiar name while using different ingredients and portions. Water loss during cooking can also raise the amount per 100 grams without adding more of the nutrient to the original ingredients.

USDA survey-food records are valuable because they provide a traceable comparison point. They do not remove normal variation. For a packaged item, use the current label; for a homemade dish, a weighed recipe can be more specific than a generic record; for an unweighed plate, keep the result as an estimate.

Daily Value is context, not a prescription

This page emphasizes the reported amount rather than turning it into a personalized target. A single nutrient value should be interpreted alongside the whole meal and the person's actual context.

For the labeling framework, see the FDA's Daily Value guide. For corpus provenance and calculations, read Feast's nutrition-page methodology.

Common questions

Using this comparison responsibly

What does calories per 100 grams mean?

It is the amount of calories in 100 grams of the USDA reference food. Holding weight constant helps compare concentration, but it does not describe the amount in every person's serving.

Does a higher calories rank mean a meal is better?

No. The rank describes one nutrient relative to food weight. It does not score the whole meal, account for individual needs, or replace the serving, ingredient, and preparation context.

Will my meal match the USDA value?

Not necessarily. Recipe, brand, cooking method, additions, and portion weight can all change the total. Use the linked profile as a reference and compare its exact description with your food.