How many calories in an egg? Boiled, fried, scrambled

A large egg (about 50 g without the shell) has about 70 calories raw, about 80 hard-boiled and about 90 fried. Two scrambled eggs come to about 180 kcal with the milk and fat USDA counts in its recipe. The egg itself is a small number; the butter and oil are what double it.

I eat eggs most mornings, so they were among the first things I put into my tables. The numbers come from USDA FoodData Central, the US Department of Agriculture's nutrient database, for a US large egg. If yours are smaller or bigger, crack one onto a kitchen scale once and use the per-100 g values.

How many calories are in a boiled egg?

A large hard-boiled egg (50 g without the shell) has about 80 kcal, from 155 kcal per 100 g, with 6.3 g protein, 5.3 g fat and under a gram of carbs. Boiling adds nothing, which makes it the easiest egg to log.

Soft-boiled and poached eggs are in the same place, because no fat is added. Whatever comes with the egg, a slice of toast or a pat of butter, I log separately.

How many calories are in a fried egg?

A large fried egg (46 g) has about 90 kcal, from USDA's 196 kcal per 100 g, which already includes a little fat from the pan.

If I fry in a full tablespoon of oil and mop it up with bread, I count it differently: the raw egg plus the oil I actually ate. A tablespoon of olive oil (13.5 g) is about 120 kcal, more than the egg itself.

How many calories are in eggs and cooking fat?

Eggs have about 70 to 90 kcal each depending on how they're cooked, while a tablespoon of butter or olive oil adds 110 to 120 kcal.

What	kcal / 100 g	Serving	kcal
Egg, raw		1 large (50 g)	70
Egg, poached		1 large (50 g)	70
Egg, hard-boiled	155	1 large (50 g)	80
Egg, hard-boiled	155	2 large (100 g)	155
Egg, fried	196	1 large (46 g)	90
Scrambled eggs	149	2 eggs (120 g)	180
Scrambled eggs	149	3 eggs (180 g)	270
Butter	717	1 tbsp (15 g)	110
Olive oil		1 tbsp (13.5 g)	120

Source: USDA FoodData Central (hard-boiled 173424, fried 173423, scrambled 172187, butter 173430) as used in my food tables; raw and poached egg and olive oil from USDA's household-measure list. Servings rounded.

How many calories are in scrambled eggs from 2 or 3 eggs?

Scrambled eggs from two large eggs have about 180 kcal and from three about 270, in USDA's scrambled eggs recipe with a little milk and fat. You can also add it up yourself:

• 2 large eggs, raw: about 145 kcal
• 3 large eggs, raw: about 215 kcal
• a teaspoon of butter (5 g): about 35 kcal; a tablespoon (15 g): about 110 kcal

Two eggs in a teaspoon of butter come to about 180 kcal, the same as USDA's recipe. Two eggs in a tablespoon of butter are about 250. Cheese, bacon or sausage are separate items on top.

Does the yolk or the white have more calories?

The egg yolk has more calories than the white. Most of an egg's calories come from fat (about 65 % in a hard-boiled egg, by the USDA numbers in my table), and the fat sits in the yolk; the white is mostly water and protein. My table doesn't split the two, so I won't quote numbers for them that I haven't checked.

An egg-white omelette is lighter, but whole eggs keep me full for longer, so I eat whole eggs and save on the oil instead.

Why do raw, boiled and fried eggs have different numbers?

Raw, boiled and fried eggs have different numbers mostly because of water: a cooked egg loses some, so the same grams carry a bit more energy, and a fried egg also soaks up some fat. That's why I don't mix entries: if I weigh a cooked egg, I use the cooked value; if I'm working out a recipe, I start from raw eggs and add the fat.

Are eggs good for weight loss?

Eggs can be a good part of losing weight: a large egg has about 6 g of protein for about 80 kcal, and for me protein is what makes a breakfast last. Two hard-boiled eggs and a 40 g slice of whole-wheat bread come to about 255 kcal, a breakfast that gets me to lunch.

Eggs don't "melt fat", whatever some diets promise. An eggs-only diet easily ends up far too low in calories, and I don't recommend it. If you're thinking about a plan under 1,200 kcal a day, talk to your doctor first.

What should I log when I eat eggs out?

When you eat eggs out, log how many eggs there were and what they were cooked in. A restaurant scramble can easily be three eggs and a good amount of butter: built from the table, three scrambled eggs with an extra tablespoon of butter come to about 375 kcal before the toast, so I log it as an estimate in that range. When I cook the same breakfast at home, I weigh it once and from then on I have my own number.

That's also why I'm building Calorko: you photograph the plate and the app estimates the eggs, the fat and the bread as separate items, each with a range.

In short

• Large egg: about 70 kcal raw, 80 hard-boiled, 90 fried.
• Two scrambled eggs: about 180 kcal with a teaspoon of butter, about 250 with a tablespoon.
• The fat makes the difference: a tablespoon of olive oil (about 120 kcal) has more than the egg.
• Eggs are a filling breakfast, not a miracle diet.