Asparagus calories come to 20 for a 1/2 cup (90 g) of boiled, drained spears and 22 per 100 g. What stands out is the protein share: 34% of those calories come from protein, high for a vegetable, while fat sits at just 0.2 g per 100 g. Portions barely move the total.
20kcal
1 half cup · 90 g, boiled, drained
34%protein
2.2 gProtein
4 gCarbs
0.2 gFat
How to burn off 20 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Boiled, drained · per 90 g
Calories
20 kcal
Protein
2.2 g
Carbohydrate
3.7 g
Fat
0.2 g
Saturated fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
13 mg
Potassium
202 mg
Iron
0.8 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Asparagus: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1/2 cup (90 g)
20
2.2 g
3.7 g
0.2 g
13 mg
1%
4 spears (60 g)
13
1.4 g
2.5 g
0.1 g
8 mg
1%
1 cup raw (134 g)
27
2.9 g
5.2 g
0.2 g
3 mg
1%
100 g
22
2.4 g
4.1 g
0.2 g
14 mg
1%
3 × 1/2 cup (90 g)
59
6.5 g
38 mg
5 × 1/2 cup (90 g)
99
10.8 g
63 mg
Half a cup of asparagus is a 20-calorie side
The default serving is 1/2 cup (90 g) of boiled, drained asparagus, and it carries 20 calories, 2.2 g of protein and 3.7 g of carbs. That is 1% of the daily value for calories. Four spears (60 g) come to 13 calories, so a few spears on the side of a plate barely register.
Portions scale in a straight line, and the line stays low. Two half-cup servings (180 g) total 40 calories, three (270 g) total 59, and a big 450 g pile, five half cups, still lands at 99 calories with 10.8 g of protein. Few side dishes let you double or triple the plate for so little.
Raw asparagus is measured differently. A cup of raw spears weighs 134 g and comes to 27 calories, more than the cooked half cup mainly because the cup holds more food. If you eat a generous plate, the vegetable itself is rarely the number that matters.
A third of the calories come from protein
Per 100 g, boiled asparagus has 2.4 g of protein, 4.1 g of carbs and 0.2 g of fat. Split by calories, that is 34% protein, 59% carbs and 7% fat. Carbs lead, as with most vegetables, but the protein share is high for something this light.
The carbs are not mostly sugar. Of the 4.1 g per 100 g, 2 g is fiber and 1.3 g is sugars. A half cup gives 1.8 g of fiber and 1.2 g of sugars, so the sweet part is small and the bulky part does more of the work on your plate.
Protein in absolute terms stays modest: 2.2 g per half cup, or 4% of the daily value. Asparagus will not carry a meal's protein on its own, but it adds some without bringing fat along. Saturated fat and cholesterol both read 0, so the macro picture is about as clean as vegetables get.
Sodium is near zero until you salt it
Boiled, drained asparagus has 14 mg of sodium per 100 g and 13 mg per half cup, which is 1% of the daily value. Four spears carry 8 mg. Even the 450 g pile of five half cups reaches only 63 mg, a small figure for that much food.
Raw spears are lower still, at 3 mg of sodium for a 134 g cup. Potassium runs the other way, at 224 mg per 100 g. So the vegetable itself is never the sodium problem on the plate.
The real total comes from what you add. The salt shaker, soy sauce, a salty cheese topping or a bottled dressing decides how much sodium lands on the plate. If you watch sodium, season with lemon, pepper or garlic first and taste before reaching for salt. That one habit keeps the number close to what the card shows.
The fat on asparagus comes from the cook
At 0.2 g of fat per 100 g, asparagus adds almost nothing on that front. Butter, olive oil, hollandaise, bacon wraps and parmesan are where the calories on a roasted or sauteed plate come from. The oil you toss the spears in can easily outweigh the vegetable itself, so measure it if you are counting.
As a side, asparagus works best next to something that brings the protein and fat it lacks: eggs, salmon, chicken, steak or beans. Its fiber and volume fill out the plate, which lets the denser part of the meal be smaller. A 1/2 cup next to a protein source adds 20 calories and real bulk.
Logging is simple because small portion errors barely move the total. BodyPal can log asparagus from a photo, so spears on a dinner plate need no weighing. If you add a sauce, log it as its own line; that is the entry that changes the day.
How does asparagus compare?
Here is how asparagus stacks up against brussels sprouts, cooked carrots and corn on the cob, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories pick asparagus: 22 per 100 g against 36 for brussels sprouts, 35 for cooked carrots and 94 for corn on the cob, which runs about 4.3 times higher. If you want a little more protein per 100 g, brussels sprouts at 2.6 g and corn at 3.1 g edge it out, but corn also brings 240 mg of sodium.
Most popular asparagus brands in the United States
Canned and jarred spears are drained and packed in water, so their labels read a little lower than the 22 calories per 100 g of home-boiled asparagus. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Asparagus FAQs
How many calories are in asparagus?
Half a cup of boiled asparagus (90 g) is about 20 calories and four spears (60 g) are 13. Per 100 g asparagus has 22 calories.
Is asparagus good for weight loss?
A half-cup serving has 20 calories, 0.2 g of fat and 1.8 g of fiber, so even a large plate of 200 g stays at 44 calories.
Asparagus vs bok choy: which has fewer calories?
Boiled asparagus has 22 calories per 100 g and bok choy has 20, so the two are within 2 calories of each other.
How much protein is in asparagus?
Boiled asparagus has 2.4 g of protein per 100 g, so a half-cup serving (90 g) gives about 2.2 g and a cup of raw spears (134 g) about 2.9 g.
How many calories are in 4 asparagus spears?
Four spears (60 g) of boiled asparagus have 13 calories. They also bring 1.4 g of protein, 2.5 g of carbs and 1.2 g of fiber, so a few spears on the side barely change a meal's total.
How many calories are in a cup of asparagus?
A cup of raw asparagus (134 g) has 27 calories. Cooked, a 1/2 cup (90 g) has 20, so two half cups, a full cooked cup at 180 g, come to 40 calories.
How many calories are in 100 g of asparagus?
Boiled, drained asparagus has 22 calories per 100 g. That amount also gives 2.4 g of protein, 4.1 g of carbs, 0.2 g of fat and 2 g of fiber, with 14 mg of sodium.
How much is one serving of asparagus in grams?
A standard serving is 1/2 cup of boiled asparagus, which weighs 90 g and has 20 calories. Four spears weigh about 60 g, and a cup of raw spears weighs 134 g.
Is asparagus high in calories?
No, asparagus has just 22 calories per 100 g. A 1/2 cup serving is 1% of the daily value for calories, and even 450 g, five half cups, comes to 99 calories.
