How many calories are in corn?
A medium cob of sweetcorn is about 90 kcal, and 100 g of kernels is roughly 96. Butter it and it becomes 125 to 190; pop the same grain and sell it in a cinema and a large tub passes 1,000. Few foods spread that far, and the reason is that corn is a grain rather than a green vegetable.
Per portion
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiled kernels, 100 g | ~96 kcal | 3.4 g | 21 g | 1.5 g |
| Tinned, drained, 100 g | ~85 kcal | 3 g | 18 g | 1 g |
| 1 medium cob, kernels (~90 g) | ~90 kcal | 3 g | 19 g | 1.3 g |
| Cob with 1 tbsp butter | ~190 kcal | 3 g | 19 g | 13 g |
| Creamed corn, 100 g | 70-90 kcal | 2 g | 18 g | 0.5 g |
| Air-popped popcorn, 30 g popped | ~115 kcal | 3 g | 23 g | 1.3 g |
| Baby corn, 100 g | ~26 kcal | 2 g | 4 g | 0.2 g |
What changes the number
Butter. A teaspoon on a cob adds 35 kcal and a tablespoon 100, so a bhutta runs from 90 to 190 depending on the hand holding the butter. Roasted with lemon, salt and masala, it stays near 95.
What the tin contains. Plain sweetcorn in water is about 85 kcal per 100 g drained, but some tins add sugar and creamed versions add starch — small per spoon, and worth a label check if corn is a daily habit.
Frying and dressing. Corn fritters or pakoras are 250 to 400 kcal a plate. Corn chaat with butter and cheese is 250 to 350 a bowl, against about 110 for the same corn with lemon and chaat masala.
Baby corn is a different food. At roughly 26 kcal per 100 g it is picked before the starch develops, so it behaves like a low-calorie vegetable. Battered and fried, that advantage disappears.
Where it fits in a deficit
Corn is reasonable value, but not free bulk. At 96 kcal per 100 g it sits close to a boiled potato and to peas, four times the density of green beans. The common error is counting it as the vegetable on a plate that already has rice or potatoes, quietly doubling the starch.
Counted as a starch, it does well: a cob takes minutes of real work to eat, which matters more for appetite than 90 kcal suggests, and brings 2 g of fibre per 100 g. In a calorie deficit the simplest use is swapping a cob for the rice or chips rather than adding it alongside.
Popcorn
Air-popped popcorn is about 385 kcal per 100 g, which sounds high until you weigh a portion. Popped corn is mostly air: 10 g of kernels makes roughly 30 g popped, a decent bowl for about 115 kcal. That is one of the best volume snacks there is: a lot of chewing, salt and crunch for the cost of an apple.
Everything else:
| Version | Calories |
|---|---|
| Air-popped, a 30 g bowl | ~115 kcal |
| Microwave butter popcorn, one bag | 400-550 kcal |
| Toffee or caramel popcorn, 100 g | ~480 kcal |
| Cinema popcorn, medium | 600-900 kcal |
| Cinema popcorn, large tub with butter topping | 1,000-1,300 kcal |
The gap is not popcorn. It is oil, butter topping, sugar and a tub holding 150 g of it: cinema popcorn is popped in oil and then topped again, which is why a medium can cost more than a restaurant main.
Air-popping needs nothing but a lidded pan, and a teaspoon of oil across a batch adds about 40 kcal — nearly tenfold less than the tub, for the same grain.
Figures are typical values and vary by variety, size and preparation. General information, not medical advice.