Weight Loss

85+ Popular Nigerian Foods With Low and High Calories Content

Calories in Nigerian FoodsAre you looking for the number of calories in Nigerian foods you eat?

You already know that to gain weight, you need to eat more calories than you burn, and to lose weight, burn more calories than you eat.

According to the National Health Service (NHS) UK, the recommended daily calorie limit is:

  • For a woman = 2,000 calories
  • For a man = 2,500 calories

You must know the calorie content of some of these foods you consume in order to plan your meal and diet correctly.

This table shows 85+ popular Nigerian foods, dishes, meals, stews, soups, snacks, drinks, fruits and vegetables with low and high calories.

 Nigerian Foods Calories

FOOD PORTION SIZE CALORIES
7up 50cl

(1 Big Bottle)

216
35cl

(1 Medium Bottle)

160
Akara 1 Ball 71
Almonds 1.2g 7
Amala 1 Cup 352
Apple 223g

(1 Large Fruit)

116
Apple Cider Vinegar 100g 22
Apple Juice 200ml

(Small Glass)

87
Avocado 150g

(Sliced)

285
Banana 118g 105
Barbecue Sauce 17g

(1 Table Spoon)

29
Beans (Baked) 255g 239
Beans (White) 178g 249
Brown Beans (Raw) 100g 379
Beer 356g

(1 Can)

154
Broccoli (Raw) 91g

(1 Cup Chopped)

31
Butter 14.2g

(1 Table Spoon)

102
Cabbage (Raw) 89g 22
Can Tomatoes 110.5g 19
Carrot Juice 236g 93
Carrots (Raw) 61g 25
Cashew (Dry Roasted) 8.6g 49
Cassava (Raw) 206g 328
Cauliflower (Raw) 107g 27
Champagne 175ml 133
Cherry 155g 77
Chicken Breast 52g

(1 Unit)

86
Chicken Drumsticks 133g

(1 Drumstick with Skin)

211
Chicken Liver 44g

(1 Liver)

76
Chicken Thigh 135g

(1 Thigh with Skin)

239
Chicken Wings 13g

(1 Unit)

26
Coconut 45g

(1 Piece)

159
Coconut Oil 4.5g 39
Coconut Water 240g 45
Coke 50cl

(1 Bottle)

210
Coleslaw 191g 291
Cooked Starch 1 Wrap 500
Corn 90g 77
Corned Beef 85g 213
Cowpea 170g 194
Cucumber, With Peel, Raw 52g 8
Cupcake With Icing 43g 155
Curry Powder 2g 6
Date 7.1g 20
Egg Fried 46g 90
Egg (White Raw) 33g 17
Egg (Boiled) 50g 78
Ewedu (Cooked) ½ Cup 20
Fufu (Akpu) One Wrap 330
Gala 2.3g

(1 Packet)

297
Garden Egg 100g 25
Garlic, Raw 3g (1 Clove) 5
Garri (Eba) 100g (1 Cup) 360
Ginger 11g

(5 Slices)

9
Gizzard 100g (1 Cup) 239
Goat Meat 28g 31
Grape Juice 249g 54
Grapefruit 123g

(½ Grapefruit)

52
Green Beans 55g

[10 Beans (4″ Long)]

17
Green Leaf Lettuce 36g 5
Green Peas 145g 118
Green Peppers 119g 24
Groundnut 1 Seed 5
Guava 55g 38
Honey 21g 64
Hot Chili Peppers 45g

(1 Pepper)

40
Ice Cream (Vanilla) 66g 137
Noodles 1 Super pack 640
Irish Potatoes 75g 77
Ketchup 17g 20
Lemon 58g 17
Lemon Juice 1 Table spoon 3
Lime 67g 20
Lime Juice 1 Table spoon 3
Liver 85g 140
Maggi 1 Cube 5
Mango 336g

(1 Mango Without Refuse)

201
Margarine 14.2g 102
Mayonnaise 13.8g 94
Milk (Peak- Powdered) 1 Table

Spoon

40
Milk (Powdered) 32g 159
Millet 200g 756
Moimoi 1 Wrap 306
Oatmeal (Cooked) 234g 158
Okpa 1 Wrap 250
Okra 95g

(8 Pods)

33
Onions, Raw 14g

(1 Slice, Medium)

5
Orange 131g

(1 Orange)

62
Orange Juice 248g 111
13.6g 117
Palm Oil 1 Table Spoon 130
Pap (Raw) 1 Table Spoon 91
Pawpaw 145g

(1 Piece)

62
Peach 150g 59
Peanut Butter 32g 188
Pear 178g 102
Pineapple 84g 42
Plantain

(Fried)

1 Slice 68
Plantain (Ripe) 179g 253
Plantain (Unripe) 179g 218
Pounded Yam 1 Milk Tin Cup 400
Prawn 100g 105
Pumpkin Seeds 64g 258
Raisin 26g

(50 Raisins)

78
Red Wine 175ml

(Small Glass)

149
250ml

(Large Glass)

212
Rice (Ofada) 1 Cup 565
Rice (White, Long-Grain, Cooked) 1 Table Spoon 14
Rice (White, Long-Grain, Raw) 185g 675
Samosa Average Size 80
Semovita 1 Cup 600
Shrimp (Raw) 100g 85
Snail 100g 90
Soybeans 100g 446
Spinach, Raw 10g

(1 Leaf)

2
Spirit 35ml 81
Sprite 330ml

(1 Can)

146
Strawberry 12g 2
Sugar 2.3g

(1 Cube)

9
Sugar Granulated 2.5g 10
8g 31
Sweet Potato, Raw 130g 112
Tangerine 88g 47
Tomatoes 123g 28
Tomatoes Juice 243g 42
Turkey Breast 18kg 120
Tuwo Masara (White Corn Meal) 1 Cup 450
Ugwu Leaf A cup of chopped 14
Ugba 100g 406
Vegetable Juice 247g 72
Walnuts 28g

(7 Nuts)

183
Watermelon 152g 46
Wheat Flour (All Purpose) 245g 455
White Wine 175ml

(Small Glass)

144
250ml

(Large Glass)

205
Yam 150g 177

For conversion of some of these foods to grams, 1 Cup, Tablespoons, Teaspoon’s etc., checkout:

Note

  • The portion sizes in grams (g) are worldwide standards and are included as a reference.
  • However, foods without the portion size in grams (g) are not completely accurate but are close estimates.
  • The “calorie” we refer to in food is actually kilocalorie. One (1) kilocalorie is the same as one (1) Calorie (upper case C).
  • Most companies usually add some other ingredients, making the calories are higher.
  • Always look at the food label to find the nutritional fact of some of these foods when buying from the market.

Also…

Remember that the actual calories of your cooked meal depend on what you add (ingredients).

For example, let’s look at two popular Nigerian foods.

Banga Soup

Banga Soup and Starch

Banga Soup is referred to as Ofe Akwu by people in South East Nigeria, where “Ofe” means Soup, while “Akwu” means palm fruit. In the Yoruba land, it is referred to as “Obe Eyin”.

Banga is eaten with other carbohydrates like pounded yam, cooked starch, etc.

The cooked starch (yellow swallow mould in the above picture) is very starchy.

That cooked starch alone contains approximately 500 calories.

According to research, 1 tablespoon of palm oil contains 130 calories.

In other to cook Banga soup, you’ll most likely need 4 – 6 table spoons of palm oil.

So, assuming these are the basic ingredients of Banga soup and their corresponding calorie contents:

  • 4 table spoons of palm oil (4 x 130) = 520 calories.
  • 1/3 Maggi Chicken cube: 3 calories
  • 1/4 of an Onion: 16 calories
  • 1/10 of a Red Bell Pepper: 10 calories
  • 1/4 Stockfish (cod): 45 calories
  • 1tsp of cray fish: 6 calories

The soup ingredients come to 600 calories (520 + 3 + 16 + 10 + 45 + 6).

Remember that by the time you add your meat and your Iyan, you have added more calories.

So, Banga Soup (600 calories) + Starch (500 Calories) = 1,100 calories!

Just from ONE meal!

Your own Banga soup calories might be different, it depends on other added ingredients and oil used.

Akara (Bean Cake)

akara and bread

Akara is one of the best Nigerian foods made from beans, tomatoes, pepper, onions.

Each ball of Akara contains approximately 71 calories, but that is if you add just the basic ingredients mentioned above.

The more you add other ingredients, the more calorific it gets.

This same thing applies to foods like moimoi and okpa.

A plate of moimoi will have different calories count depending on the ingredients and quantity used in making it.

To get a more accurate count on your moimoi, you’ll have to add up the calories of each ingredient you use in making it.

READ ⇒  The Right Way to Lose Weight and Belly Fat on a Nigerian Diet

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Saint Chinedu

My GOAL is to equip you with the right strategy and working information to improve your academic performance, financial situation, and health this month.

9 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for this detailed run down of calorie content in foods.
    Just a few sites give such information on Nigerian foods.
    I really appreciate what you did here 😍

  2. This is an amazing job summing up the calories thank you!

    However, how are we to eat our traditional meals and loose weight?

  3. This chart is helpful. Had me open my mouth cuz we can even exceed required daily calories from just a meal

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