Popcorn: Calories, Nutrition & Healthier Swaps
380 kcal per 100 g · Nutri-Score A
sugar: low saturated fat: low salt: low fiber: high
Air-popped popcorn is a whole grain with fiber and few calories for a big bowl. Butter, salt or caramel change the picture completely.
Popcorn nutrition facts per 100 g and per serving
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Serving: serving, 30 g |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 380 kcal | 114 kcal |
| Protein | 13 g | 3.9 g |
| Fat | 4.5 g | 1.3 g |
| incl. saturated | 0.6 g | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 64 g | 19 g |
| incl. sugars | 0.9 g | 0.3 g |
| Fiber | 15 g | 4.4 g |
| Salt | 0 g | 0 g |
Values per 100 g as eaten, averaged from food composition tables (USDA FoodData Central and others) and rounded — a specific brand or recipe will differ a little.
Popcorn: nutrition highlights
It has 4.4 g of fiber per serving — roughly 17% of the 25 g a day most adults fall short of. There's almost no sugar: the carbohydrate is mostly starch.
On the open Nutri-Score algorithm, popcorn gets an A: one of the better picks in its category. The score weighs calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt against protein, fiber and the share of fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts.
What to watch
- No red flags on the traffic light: sugar, salt and saturated fat per 100 g are all within the low-to-medium range.
How much movement is one serving?
One serving (serving, 30 g) is 114 kcal — roughly 37 min of easy walking or 14 min of cycling for a 70 kg (154 lb) person. In the diary, minutes are worked out for your weight and the activities you actually do.
Healthier swaps for Popcorn
Swaps are picked the same way the app does it: from the same kind of food, with a serving matched to the same calories (±25%), and only when the swap is clearly better — not “salad instead of pizza”.
- Dried porcini — 50 g, 105 kcal: +5.7 g fibre, +11 g protein.