How many calories are in a laddu?
A medium besan laddu of about 40 g is roughly 185 kcal, and besan laddu runs around 450 kcal per 100 g. No sweet here varies more. “One laddu” covers objects from 20 g to 175 g made from four or five different bases, and ghee is the biggest lever.
Per portion
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besan laddu, medium (40 g) | ~185 kcal | 3 g | 20 g | 9 g |
| Motichoor laddu, medium (45 g) | ~185 kcal | 2 g | 23 g | 9 g |
| Rava laddu, medium (35 g) | ~145 kcal | 2 g | 20 g | 6.5 g |
| Coconut laddu (35 g) | ~140 kcal | 1.5 g | 17 g | 7 g |
| Til and gur laddu, small (25 g) | ~110 kcal | 2.5 g | 13 g | 5 g |
| Temple or prasad laddu (100–175 g) | ~420–750 kcal | 7–13 g | 50–90 g | 20–38 g |
| 100 g besan laddu | ~450 kcal | 7 g | 50 g | 24 g |
What changes the number
Ghee, which is most of it. A typical besan laddu recipe uses 150–200 g of ghee to 250 g of besan, so each laddu carries 10–15 g of ghee — 90–135 kcal, often close to half the piece. Halving the ghee is the only change that moves a laddu by 30% or more, and the one that alters the texture most, which is why shops do not.
Type of base. Besan and rava laddus are roasted in fat, so the fat is added on purpose. Motichoor is deep-fried boondi, which absorbs fat in the pan and then takes on syrup too. Coconut brings its own fat, and dried coconut is heavier per gram than fresh. Til-gur laddus are the lightest per piece, mostly because they are made small.
Nuts and dry fruit. A laddu studded with cashew, almond and raisin gains 20–40 kcal. Dry-fruit laddus of nuts and dates reach 480–520 kcal per 100 g, higher than besan, and are often sold as the light option. That claim is about the ingredients, not the energy.
Jaggery or sugar. Essentially a wash — both are close to 380–390 kcal per 100 g. Swapping one for the other changes the flavour and not the arithmetic.
One laddu is not a unit
This is the part worth internalising. Weigh what gets handed to you and the same word covers:
- a 20 g mini laddu from a mixed box — about 90 kcal
- a 40 g standard shop laddu — about 185 kcal
- a 70 g festival laddu — about 315 kcal
- a 175 g temple prasad laddu — 700 kcal and up
A laddu is pressed by hand, so it is denser than a hollow fried sweet the same size, and it holds no water, so nothing about its look tells you its weight. A fist-sized one is a meal’s worth of energy. Put one on a kitchen scale once: the type matters far less than knowing whether your usual piece is 35 g or 60 g.
Where it fits in a deficit
Laddus are fat-and-sugar dense with no water and little fibre, so they are expensive per unit of fullness — the bottom of the satiety ladder. The small ones are the useful fact: a 25 g til-gur laddu at 110 kcal is a finished dessert that fits in almost any calorie deficit without planning.
Quantity and season are where laddus add up. A box in the house during Diwali, at 185 kcal a piece, turns two a day into 370 kcal extra for a fortnight. Choosing between sweets, barfi is milk-based rather than fried at about 125 kcal a standard piece, and gulab jamun is about 125 kcal drained — both smaller than a full-sized laddu, mainly because the pieces are smaller.
Figures are typical values and vary by variety, size and preparation. General information, not medical advice.