Calories in Snacks and Sweets – Crisps, Chocolate, Cookies and More
Most packaged snacks and sweets have 130 to 170 calories per ounce (28 g), which is a small portion. Air-popped popcorn, rice cakes and fruit are the main exceptions, giving far more volume for the calories.
Snacks are the most under-logged foods in any calorie count. They are eaten standing up, between meals, from the packet, and they rarely feel like “eating” at all. They are also dense: almost every packaged snack and sweet sits around 450 to 550 calories per 100 g, so small amounts add up fast.
Calories in common snacks and sweets
| Snack | Serving | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Potato chips | 1 oz (28 g) | 150–160 |
| Tortilla chips | 1 oz (28 g) | about 140 |
| Pretzels | 1 oz (28 g) | about 108 |
| Popcorn, air-popped | 3 cups (24 g) | 93 |
| Popcorn, microwave, butter | 3 cups popped | about 120–170 |
| Rice cake, plain | 1 cake (9 g) | 35 |
| Dark chocolate, 70–85% | 1 oz (28 g) | about 170 |
| Milk chocolate | 1 oz (28 g) | about 150 |
| Chocolate chip cookie | 1 medium (16 g) | about 78 |
| Glazed doughnut | 1 medium (about 60 g) | about 240 |
| Croissant, plain | 1 medium (57 g) | about 231 |
| Blueberry muffin, bakery | 1 large | 400–500 |
| Vanilla ice cream | ½ cup (66 g) | about 137 |
| Granola bar | 1 bar | 100–200, by brand |
| Protein bar | 1 bar | 180–280, by brand |
Values are approximate, rounded from USDA FoodData Central where available. Packaged snacks vary widely by brand; the label is always better than a general table.
Calories per 100 g
Looking at snacks per 100 g makes the pattern clear:
| Snack | Calories per 100 g (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Air-popped popcorn | 387 (but very light, so a big bowl weighs little) |
| Pretzels | 380 |
| Rice cakes | 390 |
| Potato chips | 536 |
| Milk chocolate | 535 |
| Dark chocolate, 70–85% | 600 |
| Cookies | 480–500 |
Popcorn and rice cakes look as dense as chips on paper, but they are mostly air. Three cups of popcorn is a large bowl at under 100 calories; three cups of chips would be about 500.
Why snacks get under-counted
- Serving sizes are small. One serving of chips is about 15 to 20 chips; most people eat more from an open bag.
- Sharing bags. A 150 g “sharing” bag is roughly five servings, around 800 calories.
- Bites and tastes. A cookie from the office tin, a handful of nuts, a few squares of chocolate after dinner. Each is small; together they can be several hundred calories a day.
- Bakery sizes. Café muffins, cookies and croissants are often much larger than the standard database entry.
Counting snacks honestly
- Log the snack before you eat it. It takes ten seconds and often changes the decision.
- Portion into a bowl instead of eating from the bag.
- Use the barcode. Packaged snacks are the easiest food to log accurately because the label is right there.
- Pick the larger entry for bakery items unless you know the weight.
Snacks that do more for fewer calories
Snacks are not the enemy. A planned snack can stop a meal from turning into a feast. The most useful ones give volume, protein or fiber: fruit, vegetables with hummus or salsa, Greek yogurt, a boiled egg, air-popped popcorn, a small portion of nuts, or cottage cheese with fruit.
Related
See the drinks chart for the other hidden calories, and our explainer on the most common counting mistakes.
Other calorie charts
- How many calories are in a bag of chips?
- A 1 oz (28 g) single-serve bag of potato chips has about 150 to 160 calories. Larger "sharing" bags hold several servings; check the servings per container on the label.
- What is the lowest-calorie snack?
- Among common snacks, air-popped popcorn (about 93 calories for 3 cups), rice cakes (about 35 each), fruit, vegetables with salsa and plain Greek yogurt give the most volume or protein for the fewest calories.
- How many calories are in a square of chocolate?
- It depends on the bar, but a typical square of a 100 g bar weighs about 8 to 10 g, which is roughly 45 to 60 calories for dark or milk chocolate.