Chili calories come to 301 for one cup (255 g) of chili with meat and beans, and 118 per 100 g. The split is unusually even: protein, carbs and fat each supply about a third of the energy. The number that climbs fastest is sodium, at 867 mg a cup.
301kcal
1 cup · 255 g, with meat and beans
33%protein
25 gProtein
26 gCarbs
11 gFat
How to burn off 301 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
With meat and beans · per 255 g
Calories
301 kcal
Protein
25 g
Carbohydrate
26 g
Fat
11 g
Saturated fat
4.1 g
Cholesterol
56 mg
Sodium
867 mg
Potassium
727 mg
Iron
4.9 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
🛡️
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 →
Chili: 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 (255 g)
301
25 g
26.1 g
11 g
867 mg
15%
No beans (255 g)
354
34 g
6.1 g
21 g
910 mg
18%
Canned (255 g)
270
21.7 g
27.6 g
8.6 g
910 mg
14%
100 g
118
9.8 g
10.3 g
4.3 g
340 mg
6%
3 × 1 cup (255 g)
903
75 g
2,601 mg
5 × 1 cup (255 g)
1,505
125 g
4,335 mg
One cup is 301 calories, a big bowl doubles it
A level cup of chili with meat and beans weighs 255 g and lands at 301 calories, which is 15% of the daily calorie value. That same cup brings 25 g of protein, half the daily value, plus 7.7 g of fiber. As a single bowl, it is a solid meal on its own.
The catch is that few people serve chili by the measuring cup. A generous home or diner bowl often holds two cups, which takes the total to 602 calories and 50 g of protein. Go back for a third cup and you are at 903 calories. A pot of five cups, the kind made for a game day, holds 1,505 calories in total.
If you are counting, weigh your usual bowl once. Every 100 g adds 118 calories, so the scale settles the question faster than guessing at ladle sizes. BodyPal can also log a bowl of chili from a photo, which helps when the serving clearly is not one neat cup.
Protein, carbs and fat each carry a third
Chili is one of the few everyday meals with an almost perfectly even split. Protein supplies 33% of the calories, carbohydrates 34% and fat 33%. Per 100 g that means 9.8 g of protein, 10.3 g of carbs and 4.3 g of fat.
The meat drives the protein and most of the fat. The beans drive the carbs and nearly all of the fiber, 3 g per 100 g. Sugar stays low at 1.5 g per 100 g, so very little of the carbohydrate is sugar. That is a different profile from most saucy comfort food, where sugar and fat tend to lead.
Saturated fat is modest at 1.6 g per 100 g, and cholesterol sits at 22 mg per 100 g. Neither stands out on the label. What does stand out is the protein return: one cup covers half the protein daily value for 15% of the calorie value. Few hearty dishes make that trade so well.
Sodium is the row to watch
One cup carries 867 mg of sodium, 38% of the daily value, while supplying only 15% of the calorie value. That gap is the real story of the bowl: sodium arrives more than twice as fast as energy does.
Seconds make it worse quickly. Two cups put you at 1,734 mg. Three cups reach 2,601 mg, more than the full daily value in one sitting. Canned chili and chili without beans are saltier still, both at 910 mg a cup, or 40% of the daily value.
If you watch sodium, the fix is in the bowl, not the recipe card. Keep the portion to one cup, go easy on toppings like shredded cheese and corn chips, and pair the chili with plain sides rather than salty ones. Cooking at home also puts the salt shaker in your hands, while a can gives you no say at all.
Dropping the beans adds calories, not removes them
Taking the beans out does not make chili lighter. A cup of chili without beans comes to 354 calories against 301 with beans, because meat fills the space and fat climbs from 11 g to 21 g. Protein rises to 34 g, which is 68% of the daily value.
The trade is fiber. The no-bean cup has just 1.3 g, while the bean version has 7.7 g. Carbs fall to 6.1 g a cup, which suits a low-carb plan, but most of the fiber leaves with the beans.
Canned chili with beans is the lightest of the three at 270 calories a cup, with 8.6 g of fat and 8.2 g of fiber. Protein drops to 21.7 g, and sodium sits at 910 mg. Hormel Chili No Beans is a common pick on the shelf; read its own label for the brand's figures, since they will not match the USDA rows here.
How does chili compare?
Here is classic chili with meat and beans next to turkey chili, chicken chili and refried beans, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories pick chicken chili, at 99 per 100 g with only 2.1 g of fat. For the most protein per calorie pick turkey chili, which gives 14.1 g of protein for 100 calories against 9.8 g for 118 in classic chili.
Most popular chili brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Hormel Chili No Beans1 cup · 236 g110 kcal
Canned chili is sold without beans in this listing, so its label reads per cup as packed and lands near the per 100 g number above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chili FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of chili?
A cup of chili with meat and beans (255 g) is about 301 calories, with 25 g protein and 11 g fat.
Is chili good for weight loss?
A 255 g cup is 301 calories and brings 25 g protein and 7.7 g fiber. The no-bean version is 354 calories per cup and drops the fiber to 1.3 g.
Chili or turkey chili: which has fewer calories?
Turkey chili is 100 calories per 100 g against 118 for chili with meat and beans, so a 255 g cup is about 255 calories versus 301.
How much protein is in chili?
Chili with meat and beans has 9.8 g protein per 100 g, or 25 g in a 255 g cup. Chili with meat and no beans has 13.3 g per 100 g, about 34 g per cup.
How many calories are in a bowl of chili?
A one-cup bowl of chili with meat and beans has 301 calories. Many bowls hold closer to two cups, which brings the total to 602 calories and 1,734 mg of sodium, so the bowl size matters more than the recipe.
How many calories are in 2 cups of chili?
Two cups of chili with meat and beans (510 g) contain 602 calories, along with 50 g of protein and 1,734 mg of sodium. That is a full meal's worth of energy and a large share of a day's sodium.
How many calories does chili have per 100 grams?
Chili with meat and beans has 118 calories per 100 g, with 9.8 g of protein, 10.3 g of carbs and 4.3 g of fat. Weighing your bowl and using this figure is the most reliable way to count it.
How many calories are in canned chili?
A cup of canned chili with beans (255 g) has 270 calories, a bit less than homestyle chili at 301. It is saltier, though, at 910 mg of sodium, which is 40% of the daily value.
How many calories are in chili without beans?
A cup of chili without beans has 354 calories, more than the 301 in chili with beans. It carries 34 g of protein and 21 g of fat, but only 1.3 g of fiber.
