Sandwich Calories and Nutrition

Sandwich calories chart

USDA's What We Eat in America survey (FNDDS) lists sandwiches the way people eat them, with a typical weight for each. These are the calories for sandwich portions in that data:

How many calories is a sandwich, on average?

How many calories are in a sandwich depends on three things: the bread, the filling and the size. The bread carries a big share of the calories (a plain bun alone has 123), so a lean filling like turkey or ham lands near 215, while fillings bound with mayonnaise, like tuna or chicken salad, or fried chicken push past 390. How many calories does a sandwich have when it's a 6-inch sub? About 1.5 times a regular one, since USDA weighs a 6-inch sub at 175 g against 115 g for most regular sandwiches.

BLT nutrition facts

A BLT on white bread (105 g) has 243 calories, 11.4 g of protein, 7.9 g of fat, 31.2 g of carbs and 547 mg of sodium. Carbs in a BLT come almost entirely from the bread; bacon, lettuce and tomato add very few. That's the BLT nutritional value for USDA's standard recipe. To see how that compares with other foods, check the low sodium diet chart.

Calories in a BLT with mayo

The spread is the biggest variable in a BLT. If you add more mayonnaise than usual, check the jar's label for calories per tablespoon and add that to the 243. Toasting doesn't change the calories, and extra bacon slices raise both the calories and the sodium. For BLT nutrition info on your own version, weigh it and set the grams in the calculator above.

Club sandwich nutrition facts

Club sandwich kcal: a club on white (130 g) has 289 calories, 19.6 g of protein, 9.7 g of fat and 30 g of carbs. The number to watch is sodium: about 1,000 mg, close to half the 2,300 mg daily limit, because it stacks several cured meats. For turkey club nutrition from a restaurant, weigh it or use the menu's published numbers, since restaurant clubs vary in size. Club protein is the highest of the lighter sandwiches on this page.

Turkey sandwich nutrition facts

How many calories is a turkey sandwich? About 217 for a regular one on white bread (115 g), with 13.8 g of protein, 4.2 g of fat and 30.5 g of carbs. How much protein is in a turkey sandwich at sub size? A large or 6-inch turkey sub (175 g) has about 21 g of protein and 331 calories. Turkey sandwich nutrition information like this makes it one of the leanest choices; adding cheese or mayo is what changes it most.

Tuna sandwich nutrition information

A regular tuna salad sandwich on white (180 g) has 392 calories, 17.7 g of protein, 21.2 g of fat and 32.9 g of carbs. Most of the fat comes from the mayonnaise in the tuna salad. As a 6-inch sub (270 g) it's about 589 calories. Tuna sandwich nutritional information varies a lot with the recipe: tuna mixed with less mayo, or with Greek yogurt, is much lighter.

How many calories in a sandwich with chicken?

A chicken fillet sandwich (140 g) has 393 calories, 17.1 g of protein and 18.9 g of fat. USDA's version is the fried fast-food kind; a grilled chicken breast on bread has fewer calories, and you can work it out by adding the grilled chicken breast to the bread's label. A chicken salad sandwich (180 g) has 443 calories, the most on this page, because the salad is bound with mayonnaise.

Roast beef, steak and cheesesteak

A regular roast beef sandwich (115 g) has 223 calories and 16 g of protein, one of the best protein-to-calorie choices. Roast beef sandwich nutrition facts at sub size (175 g) come to about 340 calories. A steak sandwich has 286 calories, and a cheesesteak 392, rising to about 594 for a 6-inch sub. For steak and cheese nutrition per ounce of meat, see the steak and beef nutrition page. Roast beef on its own, top round roasted, has 163 calories per 100 g.

Cheese and grilled cheese sandwich calories

A cheese sandwich kcal count is about 303 for a plain one (102 g), with 13.6 g of fat and 572 mg of calcium per sandwich. Grilling it in butter raises a sandwich with cheese to about 398 calories and 24.1 g of fat.

BBQ, Italian sub and other sandwiches

A barbecue pork sandwich on a bun (180 g) has 437 calories and 16 g of sugar, most of it from the sauce. BBQ sandwich calories drop to about 219 for a slider. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich has 404 calories, with 12.8 g of protein. USDA doesn't list a cold-cut Italian sub in its survey data, so we don't give a number for one; for an Italian sub's nutrition info, use the label or the shop's published nutrition. A 6-inch ham sub, the closest USDA entry, has about 327 calories.

Calories of a bun

A plain hamburger or hot dog bun (44 g) has 123 calories, 4.3 g of protein and 22 g of carbs. Check your bread's label to compare it with two slices.

Making a sandwich lighter

• Pick a lean filling: turkey, ham, roast beef or grilled chicken over salads made with mayo.
• Measure the spread: mustard has almost no calories; mayo and butter add the most.
• Watch the sodium: deli meats are salty, and many sandwiches here pass 700 mg.
• Go open-faced or half: leaving off one slice of bread takes off its calories, listed on the bag.

To fit a sandwich into your day, check your daily target with the TDEE calculator, then log it in the calorie counter. Making sandwiches in bulk for the week? The recipe nutrition calculator totals the ingredients for you.

Sandwich FAQ