How many calories are in chicken chop suey?
A 1-cup serving of chicken chop suey weighs 220 g and carries 183 calories. Per 100 g the dish runs just 83 calories, which makes it one of the lightest things on a Chinese-American menu. The chicken and the sauce do the work; there is almost no starch in the bowl.
You'd need to walk about 37 minutes to burn the 183 calories in a 1-cup (220 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off 183 kcal of chicken chop suey?
A 1-cup (220 g) serving is 183 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 183 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 37 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 23 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 26 min |
| Jogging | 22 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 41 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (220 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chicken chop suey quick facts
- US servings, from a half cup to a takeout container
- With noodles: the same dish, 105 calories heavier
- Beef, pork and shrimp chop suey
- Sodium is the row to watch, not calories
- How does chicken chop suey compare?
- Most popular chicken chop suey brands
- Chicken chop suey FAQs
Chicken chop suey quick facts
The record behind these numbers is FNDDS 2706798, "Chicken or turkey chow mein or chop suey, no noodles", from the USDA's 2021-2023 survey release. One quirk is worth knowing before you read a single row: USDA files chow mein and chop suey together. The two dishes share a code, so a takeout chop suey and a takeout chow mein without noodles are the same line in the database.
The no-noodle version is the right starting point because that is what the plate usually looks like — chicken pieces, celery, onion, bean sprouts and a glossy brown sauce, with rice served on the side rather than mixed in. If your container has soft fried noodles stirred through it, skip ahead to the noodle section, because that is a different record and a different calorie count.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (220 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 83 | 183 | — |
| Total fat | 3.23 g | 7.1 g | 9% |
| Saturated fat | 0.72 g | 1.6 g | 8% |
| Carbohydrate | 3.84 g | 8.4 g | 3% |
| Dietary fiber | 0.8 g | 1.8 g | 6% |
| Total sugars | 1.76 g | 3.9 g | — |
| Protein | 9.78 g | 21.5 g | 43% |
| Sodium | 344 mg | 757 mg | 33% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
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 →
Two label rows are missing on purpose. Added sugars and trans fat are not published for this FNDDS record, so there is nothing honest to put in those cells. Cholesterol and potassium are published: a cup gives 81 mg of cholesterol (27% DV) and 403 mg of potassium (9% DV). Daily Value percentages here follow the FDA reference amounts for a 2,000-calorie day.
US servings, from a half cup to a takeout container
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 24 kcal |
| 1/2 cup | 110 g | 91 kcal |
| USDA portion, about 3/4 cup | 165 g | 137 kcal |
| 1 cup | 220 g | 183 kcal |
| 2 cups, restaurant container | 440 g | 365 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 83 kcal |
Two of those weights come straight from USDA: the 1-cup measure at 220 g and the unspecified portion at 165 g. The half cup, the 2-cup container and the ounce are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
The ounce row is where people go wrong. A cup of this dish weighs 220 g, which is about 7.8 oz, so logging "an ounce of chop suey" at 24 calories undercounts a normal plate almost eightfold. Chop suey is wet and dense — sauce, sprouts and celery all carry water — and that weight adds up fast. If you order takeout, assume the container holds closer to two cups than one, which puts you at 365 calories before any rice.
Rice is the other half of the meal and it is not in any of these numbers. A cup of cooked white rice roughly doubles the calorie total of a chop suey dinner, which is why the dish has a light reputation that the plate does not always earn.
With noodles: the same dish, 105 calories heavier
Soft noodles stirred into the sauce change the record entirely. FNDDS 2706687, "Chicken or turkey chow mein or chop suey with noodles", runs 131 calories per 100 g, which works out to 288 calories in a 1-cup serving — 105 more than the no-noodle version.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken chop suey, no noodles | 83 kcal | 1 cup (220 g) | 183 kcal |
| Chicken chop suey with noodles | 131 kcal | 1 cup (220 g) | 288 kcal |
What is striking is how little else moves. Protein is 9.91 g per 100 g with noodles against 9.78 g without — statistically the same chicken. The extra calories are carbohydrate and fat: 11.15 g of carbs per 100 g instead of 3.84 g, and 5.43 g of fat instead of 3.23 g. So the noodles buy you starch and oil, not a bigger serving of meat. Scaled to a cup, that is 24.5 g of carbs and 12 g of fat, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figures.
Sodium climbs too, from 344 mg to 408 mg per 100 g, so a noodle cup lands near 898 mg — roughly 39% of a day, again our own scaling from the USDA 100 g figure.
Beef, pork and shrimp chop suey
Swap the protein and the calories shift less than most people expect. All five USDA no-noodle records share the same vegetable base and the same 344 mg of sodium per 100 g; only the meat changes.
| Version | Per 100 g | 1 cup (220 g) | Protein per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shrimp chop suey | 69 kcal | 152 kcal | 8.80 g |
| Beef chop suey | 82 kcal | 180 kcal | 10.76 g |
| Chicken chop suey | 83 kcal | 183 kcal | 9.78 g |
| Pork chop suey | 98 kcal | 216 kcal | 10.34 g |
| Chop suey, meat not specified | 83 kcal | 183 kcal | 9.78 g |
Twenty-nine calories per 100 g separate the lightest version (shrimp, at 69) from the heaviest (pork, at 98). Across a cup that is a 64-calorie spread. Beef sits one calorie per 100 g under chicken and delivers the most protein of the group, which surprises people who assume beef is automatically the richer order. The USDA record for chop suey with the meat left unspecified is identical to the chicken line, so a generic menu listing is safe to log as chicken.
Sodium is the row to watch, not calories
A cup of chicken chop suey carries 757 mg of sodium, or 33% of the Daily Value — about a third of a teaspoon of table salt. Calories, by comparison, barely register: 183 in a cup, with carbohydrate at 3% DV. If you eat the two-cup container, sodium reaches roughly 1,514 mg, which is about two thirds of the day's reference amount in a single meal. The CDC's sodium guidance puts the recommended ceiling at 2,300 mg a day for most adults.
The flip side is the protein column, and it is genuinely good. Those 21.5 g in a cup are 43% of the Daily Value, from a serving that costs under 200 calories. Very few restaurant entrees hit that ratio. MyPlate's protein guidance treats roughly 5 to 6 ounce-equivalents a day as typical for adults, and a cup of chop suey covers a meaningful share of that.
Fiber is the weak spot at 1.8 g per cup, or 6% DV, despite all the visible vegetables. Bean sprouts, celery and onion are mostly water. If you are aiming at the Dietary Guidelines fiber target, this dish is not doing much of the lifting.
How does chicken chop suey compare?
| Version | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shrimp chop suey, no noodles | 69 kcal | 1 cup (220 g) | 152 kcal |
| Beef chop suey, no noodles | 82 kcal | 1 cup (220 g) | 180 kcal |
| Chicken chop suey, no noodles | 83 kcal | 1 cup (220 g) | 183 kcal |
| Pork chop suey, no noodles | 98 kcal | 1 cup (220 g) | 216 kcal |
Our take: for weight loss, order shrimp and skip the noodles — 152 calories a cup with the same sauce and the same vegetables is the cheapest plate on the board. For staying full, beef is the pick, since it brings 10.76 g of protein per 100 g, the most of the four, for one calorie per 100 g less than chicken. Chicken is the safe middle and the version most menus mean by default. Pork is the only one that meaningfully costs you, and even then the gap is 33 calories a cup against chicken.
Most popular chicken chop suey brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| La Choy Chicken Chow Mein (White Meat Chicken & Sauce with Asian-Style Vegetables) | 37 cal |
| Healthy Choice Chicken Chow Mein | 62 cal |
| Tai Pei Chicken Chow Mein | 106 cal |
| La Choy Chop Suey Vegetables | 25 cal |
| Schnucks Chop Suey Vegetables | 22 cal |
| Caldwell Fresh Foods Exotic Chop Suey | 24 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken chop suey FAQs
How many calories are in chicken chop suey?
183 calories in a 1-cup serving of 220 g, based on the USDA record for chicken chow mein or chop suey without noodles. Per 100 g it is 83 calories. A smaller USDA portion of 165 g comes to 137 calories, and a two-cup takeout container reaches 365.
Does chop suey with noodles have more calories?
Yes — 288 calories a cup instead of 183, so noodles add 105. Per 100 g the jump is 83 to 131 calories. Protein barely moves, going from 9.78 g to 9.91 g per 100 g, so what you gain is starch and oil rather than any extra chicken in the bowl.
Is chicken chop suey high in sodium?
A cup holds 757 mg of sodium, which is 33% of the Daily Value and roughly a third of a teaspoon of table salt. That is high relative to its 183 calories. A two-cup container pushes past 1,500 mg, close to two thirds of the 2,300 mg daily reference amount.
How much protein is in chicken chop suey?
21.5 g of protein in a 1-cup serving, or 43% of the Daily Value, from 9.78 g per 100 g. That is an unusually strong ratio for a 183-calorie serving. Beef chop suey edges it out at 10.76 g per 100 g, while the shrimp version is lowest at 8.80 g.
Chop suey vs chow mein - which has fewer calories?
USDA does not separate them: chow mein and chop suey share one record at 83 calories per 100 g without noodles. The real split is noodles, not the name. A no-noodle serving is 183 calories a cup; the same cup with noodles stirred through it is 288.
Is chicken chop suey good for weight loss?
At 83 calories per 100 g with 21.5 g of protein in a cup, it is one of the lighter entrees you can order. The catches are sodium at 757 mg a cup and the rice served alongside, which is not counted in the 183. Shrimp chop suey is lighter still at 152.
How many carbs are in chicken chop suey?
8.4 g of carbohydrate in a 1-cup serving, only 3% of the Daily Value, from 3.84 g per 100 g. Fiber accounts for 1.8 g of that. Adding noodles takes carbohydrate to 11.15 g per 100 g, which is about 24.5 g in a cup by our own arithmetic.
Is chicken chop suey keto friendly?
A cup has 8.4 g of total carbohydrate and 1.8 g of fiber, so about 6.6 g net by our own arithmetic — low enough to fit most low-carb plans. The version with noodles does not fit as easily, at roughly 24.5 g of carbohydrate a cup. Order it without noodles and without rice.
Similar foods
- Pomegranate — 72 cal for 1/2 cup arils
- Clam Chowder — 237 cal per cup
- Chinese Chicken and Broccoli — 206 cal per cup
- Ceviche — 158 cal per cup
- Pork And Beans — 273 cal per cup
- Turkey deli meat — 89 cal for 3 slices
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the container and BodyPal counts the chop suey for you, sauce and all.
