How Many Calories in Mayonnaise?
Mayonnaise is the most calorific thing in your fridge — 103 calories in a single tablespoon, 686 per 100 g. It's three-quarters fat by weight, and 100 g clears 107% of your entire daily fat allowance. Only pure oil beats it, and oil lives in the cupboard.
You'd need to walk about 21 minutes to burn the 103 calories in 1 tablespoon (15 g).
How long does it take to burn off mayonnaise?
1 tablespoon (15 g) is 103 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 103 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 21 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 13 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 15 min |
| Jogging | 12 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 23 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 (15 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Quick facts
- The tablespoon problem
- Light and homemade mayonnaise
- How does mayonnaise compare?
- The salad cream surprise
- Most popular mayonnaise brands
- FAQ
Quick facts
Standard retail mayonnaise, per 100 g:
| Per 100 g | Amount | % RI |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 686 kcal (2,870 kJ) | 34% |
| Protein | 1.1 g | 2% |
| Carbohydrates | 2.4 g | 1% |
| Fat | 74.8 g | 107% |
| — of which saturates | 5.65 g | 28% |
| Fibre | 0 g | — |
| Sugar | 2.4 g | 3% |
| Salt | 0.33 g | 6% |
RI = reference intake for an average adult (2,000 kcal). That fat row is not a typo: 100 g of mayonnaise is more than a full day's fat. Most of it is unsaturated oil, as the NHS guide to fats distinguishes them — but the calories don't care which kind.
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 →
The tablespoon problem
One tablespoon is about 15 g: 103 calories. A thin scrape across a sandwich is nearer 10 g: 69 calories. Neither sounds like much until you count spoons — the second dollop in the tuna mayo, the one on the chips, the one "for the coleslaw".
Per spoon, that 103 carries 11 g of fat — 16% of the daily reference intake from a condiment. Saturates are the milder story at 0.85 g per spoon, about 4% of the reference; mayo's fat is mostly the unsaturated kind. A ham sandwich at 277 calories still gains a quarter of itself again from one generous spread. Mayo doesn't ruin a meal; unmeasured mayo does.
It's worth saying plainly: sugar isn't the issue here and never was. At 2.4 g per 100 g — under half a gram per spoon — mayonnaise is nearly all fat, which is precisely why the calorie number is so high and why it slips past people who only scan labels for sugar.
Light and homemade mayonnaise
Light mayonnaise is the rare "light" label that means it: 288 kcal per 100 g, a 58% cut, which takes the tablespoon from 103 down to 43. Most reduced-fat products shave single digits; this one changes the food.
Homemade mayonnaise goes the other way — 786 kcal per 100 g, richer than anything on the shelf, because it's essentially oil whisked into an egg yolk with nothing pulled out. A tablespoon of your own batch is 118.
How does mayonnaise compare?
| Spread or dressing | Portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Light mayonnaise | 1 tbsp (15 g) | 43 |
| Salad cream | 1 tbsp (15 g) | 49 |
| Butter | spread for one slice | 52 |
| Hummus | 30 g serving | 92 |
| Mayonnaise | 1 tbsp (15 g) | 103 |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | 124 |
For a sandwich, light mayo is the outright winner at 43 a spoon; hummus costs more but brings fibre and protein the others lack. Standard mayo is the second-heaviest thing on this table, beaten only by neat oil.
The salad cream surprise
Salad cream gets treated as the naff retro option next to "proper" mayonnaise. On calories, the joke reverses: 326 kcal per 100 g against mayo's 686 — less than half, about 49 per tablespoon versus 103.
If the tang doesn't offend you, the old-fashioned bottle is the lighter dressing. The premium product is the heavier one. Nostalgia wins this round.
Most popular mayonnaise 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. Light is the one label where the difference is real.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise | 721 kcal |
| Hellmann's Vegan Mayo | 488 kcal |
| Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise | 268 kcal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels.
FAQ
How many calories in a tablespoon of mayo?
103 calories for a level tablespoon, about 15 g of standard mayonnaise at 686 kcal per 100 g. Of those, 11 g are fat — 16% of an adult's daily reference intake from one spoon. Light mayo cuts the same spoon to 43.
How many calories in mayo spread on a sandwich?
About 69 calories for a thin 10 g scrape of standard mayonnaise. That's often more than the filling it's dressing — sliced ham in a typical sandwich contributes less. Two well-mayo'd slices can add a quiet 130-plus to lunch.
How many calories in light mayonnaise?
288 per 100 g — 43 for a tablespoon. The 58% cut from standard mayo is one of the few "light" claims that genuinely delivers, and it makes light mayo the lowest-calorie option on the condiment shelf spoon for spoon.
Mayo or butter in a sandwich — which is lighter?
Butter, narrowly: a spread for one slice runs about 52 calories against 69 for a thin layer of mayonnaise. Light mayo undercuts both at roughly 29 for the same scrape. Whichever you pick, the spread is rarely the biggest number in the sandwich — but it's the easiest one to halve.
Is mayonnaise bad for you?
Per 100 g it's extreme — 107% of a day's fat allowance. Per tablespoon it's 103 calories and 11 g of mostly unsaturated fat, which a normal diet absorbs without drama. The dose is the whole story; the jar is only dangerous with a big spoon.
Mayo vs salad cream — which has fewer calories?
Salad cream, decisively: 326 calories per 100 g against mayonnaise at 686. Per tablespoon that's about 49 versus 103. Salad cream carries more tang and less oil — if you like the taste, it's the cheaper habit by half.
How many calories in homemade mayonnaise?
786 per 100 g — about 118 per tablespoon, roughly 15% above the shop-bought jar. Homemade is oil and egg yolk with nothing held back, which is why it tastes better and costs more, calorically, than anything you can buy.
Does mayonnaise have sugar or carbs?
Barely — 2.4 g of each per 100 g, which works out to about 0.4 g per tablespoon. Mayonnaise is essentially fat: checking the label confirms it, and the NHS label guide shows where to look on any jar.
What is the lowest-calorie way to eat mayo?
Light mayonnaise at 43 per tablespoon — a real 58% saving, not marketing. If you want the creamy job done by something with nutrients attached, a 30 g spoon of hummus is 92 calories with fibre and protein included. Standard mayo is for when only mayo will do — measured.
Similar foods
- Margarine — 48 kcal per scrape
- Almond butter — 103 kcal per tablespoon
- Butter — 52 kcal per thin scrape
- Peanut butter — 97 kcal per tablespoon
- Pistachios — 180 kcal per 30 g kernels
- Almonds — 166 kcal per 30 g handful
One photo, spoon included
BodyPal spots the mayonnaise in the sandwich as well as the sandwich — calories and macros logged from a single photo.
