How Many Calories in Beans on Toast? The Plate, Costed
There are 338 calories in beans on toast made the standard way: half a 415 g tin over two slices of white toast. The beans account for 168 of that, the toast 170. Butter pushes the plate to 412, a layer of melted cheddar to 421, and emptying the whole tin to 506.
You'd need to walk about 68 minutes to burn the 338 calories in half a 415 g tin on two slices of toast.
How long does it take to burn off beans on toast?
Half a 415 g tin on two slices of toast is 338 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 338 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 8 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 42 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 48 min |
| Jogging | 40 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 15 min |
Times are for a 154 lb (11 st) adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (415 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Beans on toast nutrition at a glance
- What the plate actually costs
- Beans on toast with butter
- Beans on toast with cheese
- How does beans on toast compare?
- Two things people get wrong
- Most popular baked bean brands
- FAQ
- Similar foods
Beans on toast nutrition at a glance
The beans are the branded half of this plate, so the label does the talking. These are the figures printed on the Heinz label.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Half a 415 g tin (207 g) | %RI* per half tin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 81 kcal / 339 kJ | 168 kcal / 703 kJ | 8% |
| Protein | 3.9 g | 8.1 g | 16% |
| Carbohydrate | 15.5 g | 32.1 g | 12% |
| of which sugars | 4.8 g | ||
| Fat | 0.4 g | 0.8 g | 1% |
| Fibre | 4.9 g | ||
| Salt | 0.6 g | 1.24 g | 21% |
*%RI = share of the reference intake for an average adult (2,000 kcal; 70 g fat, 260 g carbohydrate, 90 g sugars, 50 g protein, 6 g salt).
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from CoFID, the UK government’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified August 2026. How we verify our data →
Two slices of white toast add 170 kcal and 2.1 g of fibre, which is 7% of the 30 g a day the NHS suggests. That brings the finished plate to 338 kcal / 1,414 kJ, or 17% of a 2,000-calorie day.
The number worth a second look is not the energy. It is the salt: 1.24 g from the beans alone is a fifth of the 6 g the NHS advises adults to stay under, before the bread contributes anything.
What the plate actually costs
Half a tin is the honest default. It is what a 415 g tin gives two people, and it is the portion nearly everyone pictures when they picture this meal.
| Portion | Calories |
|---|---|
| Half a 415 g tin (207 g), on its own | 168 kcal |
| 2 slices of white toast, dry | 170 kcal |
| The classic plate: half a tin on 2 slices | 338 kcal |
| Plate with 10 g of butter under the beans | 412 kcal |
| Whole 415 g tin on 2 slices | 506 kcal |
The gap between the first plate and the last is 168 calories, and it comes down to one decision made with the tin opener. Empty the tin and you have not made a bigger version of the same meal; you have added a second portion of beans.
Butter and cheese are the two things that actually move this plate, and they move it in very different ways.
Beans on toast with butter
Ten grams of butter on the toast adds 74 kcal, taking the plate to 412 kcal / 1,724 kJ.
That is a 22% increase for something you stop tasting the moment the beans land on it. Put another way, those 74 calories would buy roughly another 90 g of beans, which is most of a second helping. If you butter the toast out of habit rather than because you want it, this is the cheapest 74 calories on the plate to give up.
Beans on toast with cheese
A 20 g scattering of melted cheddar adds 83 kcal at 416 kcal per 100 g, so a cheesy plate lands at 421 kcal / 1,761 kJ.
Skip the butter and the cheese costs you almost exactly what the butter did, except it brings protein and it is the thing you came for. Do both and you are at 495 kcal, which is a heavier plate than a whole tin of beans on plain toast. Cheese melts perfectly well onto hot beans without a buttered base underneath.
How does beans on toast compare?
| Plate | Per 100 g | Typical UK portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beans on toast | 121 kcal | half a tin + 2 slices, 279 g | 338 kcal |
| Baked beans on their own | 81 kcal | half a 415 g tin, 207 g | 168 kcal |
| Toast on its own | 236 kcal | 2 medium slices, 72 g | 170 kcal |
| Beans on toast with butter | 143 kcal | 289 g | 412 kcal |
At 121 kcal per 100 g the finished plate is one of the lightest hot meals you can put in front of yourself, and that is entirely down to the beans: at 81 kcal per 100 g they are half the energy density of the bread they sit on. Beans are one of the most-logged evening foods in BodyPal, and half a tin is the entry that comes up again and again.
The verdict: for weight loss, beans on toast is hard to beat at this end of the menu, because 338 calories buys a hot plate with 8.1 g of protein in it rather than a snack. For staying full, spend the extra on the cheese rather than the butter. The same half tin over a baked potato is costed out on the jacket potato page, and the other end of the British scale is on the full English breakfast page.
Two things people get wrong
"It's just carbs on carbs." Half a tin carries 8.1 g of protein, 16% of an adult's daily reference intake, and the toast brings 2.1 g of fibre. That is a more balanced plate than most things costing 338 calories, and the NHS puts starchy foods at the base of a balanced plate anyway.
"The butter is the small bit." It is 74 of the 412, more than a fifth of a buttered plate, from 10 g you would struggle to see once it has melted. The beans, at 168 calories for 207 g, are the cheap part.
Most popular baked bean brands in the United Kingdom
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United Kingdom, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each label.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Heinz Baked Beanz | 81 kcal |
| Branston Baked Beans | 85 kcal |
| Corale Baked Beans (Aldi) | 93 kcal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in beans on toast?
Beans on toast is 338 kcal for the standard plate: half a 415 g tin of baked beans, which is 168 kcal, over two slices of white toast at 170 kcal. That is 17% of a 2,000-calorie day, and it includes 8.1 g of protein from the beans.
How many calories are in beans on toast with cheese?
With 20 g of melted cheddar on top, beans on toast is 421 kcal. Cheddar runs 416 kcal per 100 g, so that scattering adds 83 kcal to the 338-calorie plate. Butter the toast as well and you are at 495 kcal.
How many calories are in beans on toast with butter?
With 10 g of butter, beans on toast is 412 kcal, up from 338 without it. The butter alone is 74 calories, about 22% of the plate. It is the single easiest thing to drop here, because the beans keep the toast from tasting dry on their own.
How many calories are in half a tin of baked beans?
Half a 415 g tin is 207 g and comes to 168 kcal, from 81 kcal per 100 g on the Heinz label. That half tin also carries 8.1 g of protein, 32.1 g of carbohydrate, 0.8 g of fat and 1.24 g of salt.
Is beans on toast healthy?
A 338-calorie plate with 8.1 g of protein and 2.1 g of fibre from the toast is a reasonable balanced meal by most measures. The figure to watch is salt: half a tin is 1.24 g, a fifth of the 6 g a day the NHS advises adults to stay under, and the bread adds more on top.
Is beans on toast good for weight loss?
Yes, at 338 kcal it is one of the lightest hot dinners you can make, and at 121 kcal per 100 g of finished plate it is filling for the energy. Keep it to half a tin and skip the butter and you have a proper meal under 350 calories.
How many calories are in a whole tin of beans on toast?
A whole 415 g tin over two slices is 506 kcal: 336 for the beans and 170 for the toast. That is 168 calories more than the half-tin plate, so emptying the tin is the same as adding a second portion of beans rather than a slightly bigger one.
How many calories are in two slices of toast?
Two medium slices of white toast are 170 kcal, at 85 kcal a 36 g slice and 236 kcal per 100 g. Toasting does not change the number, because it drives off water rather than energy. The slices also bring 2.1 g of fibre to the plate.
Similar foods
- Pasta carbonara — 124 kcal per 100 g the finished plate
- Cottage pie — ~444 kcal a portion
- Instant noodles — 135 kcal per 100 g made up
- Indian takeaway — 145 kcal per 100 g chicken curry
- Jacket potato — 277 kcal per medium potato
- Chicken breast — 147 kcal per 100 g grilled
Count it without the maths
BodyPal logs the beans, the toast and the butter you nearly forgot from one photo, so the plate adds up without a calculator.
