How Many Calories In a Serving Of Broccoli? | Calorie Count

One cup of chopped raw broccoli has about 31 calories, and a cooked half-cup usually lands around 27.

Broccoli is one of those foods that earns its spot on the plate. It’s filling, crisp when raw, tender when cooked, and light on calories. That’s why people keep searching for one clean number. The snag is that “a serving” can mean a few different things once you get from a nutrition label to your dinner bowl.

If you want the plain answer, start with broccoli on its own. No oil. No butter. No cheese sauce. No creamy dressing. A plain serving of broccoli is low in calories, and the count stays low until extras start piling on. Once you know that base number, it’s much easier to log meals, build a side dish, or size up a restaurant plate without guessing.

Calories In A Serving Of Broccoli By Portion Size

The cleanest way to answer this is to match the serving to the way you eat it. A lot of people picture one cup of chopped raw broccoli. Others mean a cooked side dish. Both are fair. They just don’t land at the same number because cooked broccoli shrinks, so more of it fits into a cup.

Here’s the short version most readers want:

• 1 cup chopped raw broccoli: about 31 calories
• 100 grams raw broccoli: about 34 calories
• 1/2 cup cooked broccoli: about 27 calories
• 1 cup cooked broccoli: about 54 calories

That means plain broccoli stays light whether you eat it raw or cooked. The shift comes from volume, not from some hidden change in the vegetable itself. When broccoli cooks, it loses water and softens down. So a cup of cooked broccoli packs in more florets than a cup of raw pieces.

Portion	About Weight	Calories
1 small floret, raw	5 g	2
1 spear, raw	12 g	4
1/2 cup chopped, raw	45 g	15
1 cup chopped, raw	91 g	31
100 g, raw	100 g	34
1/2 cup chopped, cooked	78 g	27
1 cup chopped, cooked	156 g	54
2 cups chopped, raw	182 g	62

Why The Number Changes From Bowl To Bowl

Plain broccoli doesn’t swing wildly on calories. What changes is the portion and what goes on top of it. Raw florets have lots of water and air between pieces. Steam them, and they soften down. Roast them, and they lose more moisture. That can make a “cup of broccoli” look similar from one meal to the next, even when the weight and calorie count are not the same.

Raw Vs Cooked

Cooking doesn’t suddenly make broccoli a high-calorie food. The vegetable stays light. The bigger shift is that cooked broccoli becomes denser in the measuring cup. So a cooked cup has more broccoli packed into it than a raw cup, which is why the calorie count climbs.

What Gets Added In The Pan

This is where the real jump happens. A plain steamed side can sit in the 25-to-55 calorie range, depending on size. Add olive oil, butter, cheese, breadcrumbs, or a creamy sauce, and the count rises fast. That’s not bad. It just means the broccoli isn’t the full calorie story anymore.

If you’re checking the base numbers yourself, the USDA’s FoodData Central broccoli entries are a solid place to compare raw and cooked portions side by side.

What Counts As A Serving On Labels And Meal Plans

A serving is not always the same thing as a portion. A serving is the measured amount used for nutrition data. A portion is what you place on your plate. Some days those match. Some days they don’t. That’s why the same bowl of broccoli can feel light one night and larger the next.

On packaged foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the serving size on the Nutrition Facts label reflects the amount people tend to eat, not a rule you must follow. That makes label reading easier, but it also means you still need to glance at the cup measure, grams, or number of servings in the package.

At home, a lot of meal planning uses cup-based vegetable portions. The USDA’s MyPlate vegetables page is handy if you want to think in cups instead of calories. For broccoli, that works well, since most people serve it by scoop, handful, or bowl rather than by ounce.

If you track food, here’s the easiest move: log broccoli by the form you ate. Use “raw” if it went into a salad tray. Use “cooked” if it was steamed or roasted. Then add any oil, butter, cheese, or sauce as a separate entry. That keeps your log clean and avoids undercounting.

Why Broccoli Feels Filling For So Few Calories

Broccoli pulls off a neat trick. It gives you a lot to chew for not many calories. That comes from its water, fiber, and bulk. A plate with broccoli looks generous, takes time to eat, and leaves less room for calorie-heavy extras. If you’re trying to build a meal that feels hearty without getting heavy, broccoli earns its keep.

It also brings more than just a low calorie count. A plain serving gives you fiber along with vitamin C and vitamin K. So the payoff isn’t just that the number stays low. You’re also getting a vegetable that adds texture and substance to a meal instead of sitting there like decoration.

Broccoli Dish	What Changes The Count	Rough Calories Per Serving
Raw broccoli	No added fat	15 to 35
Steamed broccoli	Water loss, still plain	27 to 55
Roasted broccoli	Oil on florets	70 to 90
Stir-fried broccoli	Oil plus sauce	80 to 120
Cheesy broccoli side	Cheese, butter, milk	100 to 170
Broccoli casserole	Sauce, cheese, crumbs	150 to 250

Easy Ways To Keep Broccoli Light

You don’t need to eat plain, soggy broccoli to keep the calorie count low. A few smart tweaks go a long way:

• Steam it until just tender, then finish with lemon and black pepper.
• Roast it hot with a light coat of oil instead of drenching the tray.
• Toss it with garlic, chili flakes, or vinegar for flavor without a heavy sauce.
• Mix it into rice bowls, pasta, or stir-fries so a modest amount still fills the plate.
• Use grated Parmesan sparingly if you want a salty finish without turning it into a cheese dish.

The big trap is not broccoli itself. It’s the “little bit extra” that keeps sneaking in. A splash of oil, a pat of butter, a thick spoonful of dressing, a handful of cheddar — each one can outweigh the calories in the broccoli underneath it. If your goal is accuracy, log the add-ons. If your goal is just a lighter meal, use one add-on with a light hand and stop there.

What To Put In Your Tracker

If you want one clean entry, use this rule: log plain chopped raw broccoli at about 31 calories per cup, or plain cooked broccoli at about 27 calories per half-cup. That will keep you close enough for day-to-day eating. Then count any fats, sauces, or cheese on top.

So, how many calories are in a serving of broccoli? Not many. In plain form, broccoli is one of the lighter foods you can throw on a plate. The serving size matters, the cooking method nudges the number a bit, and the extras are what change the math.