How many calories are in olive oil?
USDA numbers for olive oil per 100 g, per tablespoon, per teaspoon and per cup, with the fat breakdown and logging tips.
Olive oil is pure fat, so it is the most calorie-dense food in our list: 884 calories per 100 g, about 119 per tablespoon and 40 per teaspoon. It has no protein, carbohydrate, sugar or sodium to speak of. People under-log it more than almost any other food, because the oil that goes into the pan, the dressing and the roasting tray is poured, not measured, and a casual pour is often two or three tablespoons.
Calories in olive oil per 100 g
According to USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy entry “Oil, olive, salad or cooking”), 100 g of olive oil contains 884 calories (3,699 kJ), 0 g of protein, 0 g of carbohydrates and 100 g of fat.
| Nutrient (per 100 g) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 884 |
| Energy (kilojoules) | 3,699 kJ |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 0 g |
| Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Total fat | 100 g |
| Saturated fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 2 mg |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Potassium | 1 mg |
| Calcium | 1 mg |
| Iron | 0.6 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg |
Calories per serving
Per-100 g numbers are only useful once you know your portion. Typical servings of olive oil:
| Serving | Calories | kJ | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon (14 g) | 119 | 499 | 0 g | 0 g | 14 g |
| 1 cup (216 g) | 1909 | 7,989 | 0 g | 0 g | 216 g |
| 1 tsp (4.5 g) | 40 | 166 | 0 g | 0 g | 4.5 g |
Macro breakdown
By energy, olive oil is about 0% carbohydrate, 0% protein and 100% fat (using 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat).
Olive oil is 100% fat by calories and by weight: 100 g of fat per 100 g, of which 13.8 g is saturated. Everything else is zero or close to it, including sodium at 2 mg and carbohydrate at 0 g, so the only number that matters when you log it is the amount.
How olive oil compares with similar foods
| Food (per 100 g) | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayonnaise | 680 | 1 g | 0.6 g | 75 g |
| Dark chocolate (70-85%) | 598 | 7.8 g | 46 g | 43 g |
| Milk chocolate | 535 | 7.7 g | 59 g | 30 g |
| Potato chips | 532 | 6.4 g | 54 g | 34 g |
| Kit Kat | 518 | 6.5 g | 65 g | 26 g |
Is olive oil good for weight loss?
Olive oil is not something to cut out in a deficit, but it is the first thing to measure. A tablespoon is about 119 calories, and a tablespoon in the pan, a tablespoon in the dressing and a drizzle at the table can reach 300 to 400 calories without a single bite of food. Use a teaspoon (about 40 calories) for a non-stick pan, measure dressing with a spoon rather than pouring from the bottle, and roast vegetables with a measured tablespoon instead of a glug. Swapping to butter does not help; it is about 102 calories per tablespoon. The win is in the amount, not the type.
How to log olive oil in Cal.AI
Olive oil never shows up in a photo, so add it by hand: search for olive oil and log teaspoons (4.5 g, about 40 calories) or tablespoons (13.5 g, about 119), or use Fix Results to add oil to a scanned dish that was cooked in it. Save your usual amount for one-tap reuse. The common mistake is logging the salad and the vegetables and skipping the oil they were cooked and dressed in, which can hide 200 or more calories a day.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in a tablespoon of olive oil?
A tablespoon of olive oil weighs about 13.5 g and has about 119 calories, all from its 13.5 g of fat, of which about 1.9 g is saturated. A teaspoon (4.5 g) is about 40 calories. There is no protein, carbohydrate or meaningful sodium, so the calorie count depends entirely on how much you pour.
Is olive oil high in calories?
Yes. At 884 calories per 100 g it is the most calorie-dense food in our list, above butter (717) and mayonnaise (680), because it is 100% fat and fat has 9 calories per gram. A cup of olive oil is about 1,909 calories. That does not make it a bad food; it makes it a food to measure by the spoon rather than pour.
Is olive oil lower in calories than butter?
No. Olive oil has 884 calories per 100 g and butter has 717, because butter is 81.11 g of fat per 100 g while oil is 100 g. Per tablespoon they are close, about 119 for olive oil (13.5 g) and about 102 for butter (14.2 g). Swapping butter for olive oil changes the kind of fat, not the calorie total.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central, SR Legacy: “Oil, olive, salad or cooking” (FDC ID 171413). FoodData Central
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