Cooked beans calories come to 245 for 1 cup (171 g) of pinto beans boiled with salt, and 143 per 100 g. The number to notice is fiber: that cup carries 15.4 g, exactly matching its 15.4 g of protein, while fat stays at just 1.1 g. Portion size, not fat, decides your total.
245kcal
1 cup · 171 g, pinto, boiled with salt
25%protein
15.4 gProtein
45 gCarbs
1.1 gFat
How to burn off 245 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
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Nutrition facts
Pinto, boiled with salt · per 171 g
Calories
245 kcal
Protein
15.4 g
Carbohydrate
45 g
Fat
1.1 g
Saturated fat
0.2 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
407 mg
Potassium
746 mg
Iron
3.6 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 →
Cooked beans: 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 cup (171 g)
245
15.4 g
44.8 g
1.1 g
407 mg
12%
3 oz portion (85 g)
122
7.7 g
22.3 g
0.6 g
202 mg
6%
Navy variety (182 g)
255
15 g
47.4 g
1.1 g
431 mg
13%
100 g
143
9 g
26.2 g
0.7 g
238 mg
7%
3 × 1 cup (171 g)
734
46.2 g
1,221 mg
5 × 1 cup (171 g)
1,223
77 g
2,035 mg
A cup is 245 calories, a big bowl can double it
One level cup of cooked pinto beans weighs 171 g and lands at 245 calories, about 12% of a 2000-calorie daily value. A 3 oz portion (85 g), the size of a side scoop next to rice or eggs, comes to 122 calories. That smaller scoop still brings 7.7 g of protein and 7.7 g of fiber, so it pulls its weight on the plate.
Bowls are where the count drifts. A chili or burrito bowl that holds 2 cups puts you at 489 calories and 30.8 g of protein before any cheese, rice or tortilla goes on top. Three cups reach 734 calories. If you cook a batch and eat 5 cups over a few days, that pot holds 1,223 calories and 77 g of protein in total.
The practical move is to weigh your usual bowl once. Beans are dense, and a heaped ladle often holds more than it looks. Once you know what your bowl holds, you can log it by eye with confidence, or let BodyPal log the bowl from a photo.
Carbs supply 71% of the calories, protein a quarter
Per 100 g, cooked pinto beans hold 26.2 g of carbohydrate, 9 g of protein and only 0.7 g of fat. In calorie terms, carbs supply 71% of the energy, protein 25% and fat 4%. That makes beans a starchy food that happens to carry real protein, not a protein food in the way chicken or eggs are.
The carbs are not sugar. A cup has just 0.6 g of sugars against 15.4 g of fiber, and that fiber figure matches the protein figure gram for gram. Measured against the 28 g daily value for fiber, a single cup covers more than half on its own, which few foods can say.
The protein side deserves credit too. A cup gives 15.4 g, which is 31% of the 50 g daily value, at a modest calorie cost. Saturated fat is a trace at 0.1 g per 100 g, and cholesterol is 0. If you want a filling base that is light on fat, beans earn their place.
The salt in the pot sets the sodium
These figures are for pinto beans boiled with salt, and the sodium row shows it: 238 mg per 100 g and 407 mg per cup, or 18% of the 2300 mg daily value. For one serving that is moderate. The trouble starts in a big bowl, because 2 cups reach 814 mg and 3 cups reach 1,221 mg.
At 5 cups the total hits 2,035 mg, close to the full daily value from beans alone. Our pages list butter beans and cooked lentils at just 2 mg of sodium per 100 g, a gap that mostly reflects the salted cooking water rather than the legume itself.
If you watch sodium, cook dried beans in unsalted water and salt to taste at the end, so you control the amount. Potassium runs the other way here, at 436 mg per 100 g against a 4700 mg daily value. Toppings matter as well: salsa, cheese and seasoning packets can add more sodium than the beans.
Navy beans run a little higher per cup than pinto
This page uses pinto beans as the default, but navy beans sit in the serving table for a reason. A cup of navy beans weighs 182 g and comes to 255 calories, against 245 for a 171 g cup of pinto. Most of that difference is weight: navy beans are smaller and pack more into the same cup.
Fiber is where navy pulls ahead, at 19.1 g per cup versus 15.4 g for pinto. Protein is close, 15 g against 15.4 g, and sodium for the salted navy cup is 431 mg, or 19% of the daily value. Sugars stay under a gram in both, so neither is a sweet bean.
For logging, the amount matters far more than the variety. The gap between a cup of pinto and a cup of navy is small next to the gap between 1 cup and 2. Pick the closer match if you know it, and spend your attention on the portion.
How does cooked beans compare?
Here is how cooked pinto beans stack up against butter beans, cooked lentils and baked beans, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories pick cooked lentils or butter beans, at 116 and 115 per 100 g with almost no sodium. Baked beans cost the most at 392 calories per cup, with 5.2 g of fat and 422 mg of sodium per 100 g, so plain beans make the better everyday base.
Most popular cooked beans brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Heinz Baked Beans0.5 cup · 130 g100 kcal
2Heinz Homestyle Baked Beans0.5 cup · 130 g115 kcal
3Goya Black Beans0.25 cup · 44 g341 kcal
Canned baked beans come in a sweetened sauce and the Goya label is per dry beans, so both read differently from plain boiled beans. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Cooked beans FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of cooked beans?
About 245 calories for one cup of boiled pinto beans (171 g). A 3 oz portion (85 g) comes to 122 calories.
Are cooked beans good for weight loss?
A cup is 245 calories and brings 15.4 g of fiber and 15.4 g of protein, with 1.1 g of fat.
Cooked beans or butter beans: which has fewer calories?
Butter beans are lower at 115 calories per 100 g against 143 for boiled pinto beans.
How much protein is in cooked beans?
About 9 g per 100 g, so one cup (171 g) gives 15.4 g of protein.
How many calories are in 100 g of cooked beans?
Cooked pinto beans have 143 calories per 100 g. That weight also gives 9 g of protein, 26.2 g of carbs, 9 g of fiber and 0.7 g of fat, with 238 mg of sodium when boiled with salt.
How many calories are in a bowl of beans?
A bowl holding 2 cups of cooked pinto beans has 489 calories and 30.8 g of protein. A smaller bowl of 1 cup is 245 calories, so weigh your usual bowl once to know which one you eat.
Do boiled beans have fewer calories than baked beans?
Yes. Boiled pinto beans come to 143 calories per 100 g, while baked beans reach 155 per 100 g. The sauce is the difference, lifting fat to 5.2 g per 100 g versus 0.7 g for plain boiled beans.
How many calories does a small serving of beans have?
A 3 oz portion (85 g) of cooked pinto beans has 122 calories, about 6% of a 2000-calorie daily value. It still brings 7.7 g of protein and 7.7 g of fiber, which makes it an easy side to fit in.
