How many calories are in coleslaw?
A 1-cup (220 g) serving of deli-style coleslaw is 257 calories, and per 100 g the dressed cabbage runs 117 calories. Cabbage is not what makes that number. Almost 18 g of the cup is fat from the dressing, which is why a spoonful on a sandwich costs 64 and a full side bowl costs four times that.
You'd need to walk about 51 minutes to burn the 257 calories in a 1-cup (220 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off coleslaw?
A 1-cup (220 g) serving is 257 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 257 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 51 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 32 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 37 min |
| Jogging | 30 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 57 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
- Coleslaw quick facts
- US servings, from a sandwich spoonful to a full cup
- Fast food, KFC, fruit and the dressing itself
- Sodium is the row to watch, fiber is the payoff
- How does coleslaw compare?
- Most popular coleslaw brands
- FAQ
Coleslaw quick facts
The row used here is USDA FNDDS 2709815, "Coleslaw" — plain dressed shredded cabbage, the kind sold by the pound at a deli counter or mixed at home in a big bowl. That is the food most people have in front of them when they look this up. Chain versions and the bottled dressing sit further down the page as their own rows, because what separates them is how much dressing is in the mix, not where the data comes from.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (220 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 117 | 257 | 13% |
| Total fat | 7.98 g | 17.6 g | 23% |
| Saturated fat | 1.23 g | 2.7 g | 14% |
| Carbohydrate | 10.45 g | 23.0 g | 8% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.9 g | 4.2 g | 15% |
| Total sugars | 7.44 g | 16.4 g | — |
| Protein | 0.94 g | 2.1 g | 4% |
| Sodium | 280 mg | 616 mg | 27% |
% 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 rows you would see on a package are missing here: USDA does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this record, so neither is listed rather than guessed. Cholesterol is small at 9 mg per 100 g, 20 mg in a cup, and potassium comes to 172 mg per 100 g, or 378 mg in the cup — 8% of the FDA Daily Value for potassium.
The shape of the row is worth reading before the totals. Fat carries more than half the calories in coleslaw, while protein barely registers at 0.94 g per 100 g. This is a vegetable side that behaves like a dressing delivery system, and every number below follows from that.
US servings, from a sandwich spoonful to a full cup
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 33 kcal |
| Spoonful on a sandwich | 55 g | 64 kcal |
| 1/2 cup | 110 g | 129 kcal |
| Single-serving deli container | 150 g | 176 kcal |
| 1 cup | 220 g | 257 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 117 kcal |
The cup and the deli container are USDA household measures for this record. The half cup and the ounce are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings, and the 55 g sandwich spoonful is the guideline amount used for a portion piled on a pulled pork bun.
That spread is the single most useful thing on this page. The same food ranges from 33 calories to 257 depending on nothing but the size of the spoon, and the cup is not an unusual amount — it is what a cardboard side container from a barbecue joint holds. If you log coleslaw as "a serving" without a weight, you are guessing across an eight-fold range.
One more trap: the tubs at the supermarket use different label servings. Store-brand prepared coleslaw runs from about 120 to 186 calories per 100 g across national labels, and some list a half cup as 100 g while others call it 113 g or 118 g. Weigh the scoop once and you will never have to trust the tub again.
Fast food, KFC, fruit and the dressing itself
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deli-style coleslaw (main row) | 117 kcal | 1 cup, 220 g | 257 kcal |
| Fast-food or restaurant coleslaw | 159 kcal | 1 cup, 220 g | 350 kcal |
| KFC coleslaw | 144 kcal | 1 package, 112 g | 161 kcal |
| Popeyes coleslaw | 161 kcal | 1 package, 120 g | 193 kcal |
| Coleslaw with fruit | 113 kcal | 1 cup, 220 g | 249 kcal |
| Coleslaw dressing | 404 kcal | 1 tablespoon, 15.6 g | 63 kcal |
Restaurant coleslaw is 36% heavier per gram than the deli kind — 159 against 117 — with 11.78 g of fat per 100 g instead of 7.98 g and 9.54 g of sugar instead of 7.44 g. A cup of it is 350 calories, which is lunch-sized for something that arrives as a garnish. USDA also carries an averaged fast-food side row at 153 per 100 g, sitting between the two.
The named chains are less alarming than their reputation, because the packages are small. A KFC container is 112 g and 161 calories, sweeter rather than fattier: 13.54 g of sugar per 100 g, nearly double the deli figure. Popeyes goes the other way, 11.18 g of fat per 100 g, and its 120 g package lands at 193.
Coleslaw with fruit is the surprise. Pineapple or raisins push sugar up to 10.15 g per 100 g, yet the whole thing is the lightest version on the list at 113 per 100 g, because the fruit displaces dressing. A cup is 249 calories, eight fewer than plain.
Then there is the dressing on its own, at 404 calories per 100 g. One tablespoon is 63 calories; two tablespoons, 125, cost about what a half cup of finished coleslaw does. Reduced-fat coleslaw dressing trades one problem for another: 329 per 100 g, but 38.73 g of sugar and 1,600 mg of sodium in that same 100 g. Undressed slaw mix straight from the bag is only 29 to 32 calories per 100 g, which tells you exactly where the other 85 came from.
Sodium is the row to watch, fiber is the payoff
A cup of coleslaw carries 616 mg of sodium, 27% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value — more of your day's sodium than a cup of most soups, from a dish nobody thinks of as salty. That is roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans treat sodium as one of the nutrients most people overshoot, and side dishes like this are a common reason. Keep it to the 55 g sandwich portion and it is 154 mg, or 7%.
Saturated fat is the row that behaves better than expected. Of 17.6 g of total fat in a cup, only 2.7 g is saturated, 14% of the Daily Value, because the dressing is built on oil rather than butter or cream. If you are watching saturated fat specifically, coleslaw is not where your budget goes.
And there is a real vegetable dividend: 4.2 g of fiber in a cup, 15% of the Daily Value, plus 378 mg of potassium. Cabbage counts toward the vegetables MyPlate asks for at half the plate, and getting a person to eat 220 g of raw cabbage is easier with dressing than without. The honest verdict is that coleslaw buys fiber at the price of fat and sodium — a fair trade at a half cup, a poor one at two cups.
How does coleslaw compare?
| Salad | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coleslaw | 117 kcal | 100 g | 117 kcal |
| Broccoli slaw salad | 123 kcal | 100 g | 123 kcal |
| Cucumber salad with Italian dressing | 120 kcal | 100 g | 120 kcal |
| Pea salad | 180 kcal | 100 g | 180 kcal |
Our take: gram for gram, coleslaw is the lightest of these four dressed cold salads, and the differences among the first three are too small to change a meal — 117, 120 and 123 are the same number in practice. Pea salad is the outlier at 180, more than half again as much, with 14.02 g of fat per 100 g. The choice that actually matters is not which slaw but how much of it: swapping pea salad for coleslaw at the deli counter saves 63 calories per 100 g, while cutting your own scoop from a cup to a half cup saves 128. Portion beats picking, every time.
Most popular coleslaw 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) |
|---|---|
| Taylor Fresh Foods Coleslaw | 120 cal |
| Real Foods Coleslaw | 165 cal |
| Publix Shredded Coleslaw | 160 cal |
| Signature Select Classic Coleslaw | 140 cal |
| Wellsley Farms Traditional Coleslaw | 136 cal |
| Market Pantry Coleslaw | 186 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Coleslaw FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of coleslaw?
A cup of deli-style coleslaw weighs 220 g and carries 257 calories, at 117 per 100 g. That single cup also brings 17.6 g of fat and 616 mg of sodium. A restaurant or fast-food version of the same cup runs higher, at 350 calories.
How many calories in a half cup of coleslaw?
A half cup of coleslaw is about 110 g and 129 calories, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure rather than a USDA serving. It carries 8.2 g of sugar and 308 mg of sodium, which is the portion most side-dish plates actually hold next to a sandwich.
How many calories in KFC coleslaw?
One KFC coleslaw package is 112 g and 161 calories, from a recipe that reads sweeter than deli-style: 13.54 g of sugar per 100 g against 7.44 g. Popeyes runs richer instead of sweeter, 161 calories per 100 g, so its 120 g package lands at 193.
Is coleslaw healthy?
Cabbage is the cheap part: 117 calories per 100 g, 1.9 g of fiber and only 0.94 g of protein. A cup delivers 4.2 g of fiber, 15% of the Daily Value, alongside 616 mg of sodium, 27%. As a vegetable side it works; as a light one, only in half-cup portions.
How many carbs are in coleslaw?
A cup of coleslaw holds 23.0 g of carbohydrate, 8% of the Daily Value, of which 16.4 g is sugar and 4.2 g is fiber. Per 100 g that is 10.45 g of carbohydrate. Most of it comes from the dressing and the cabbage's own sugars, not from starch.
How much sugar is in coleslaw?
A cup carries 16.4 g of total sugars, 7.44 g per 100 g. USDA does not publish added sugars for this record, so how much of that comes from the dressing rather than the cabbage is not separated. KFC's sweeter recipe is 13.54 g per 100 g.
How many calories in coleslaw dressing?
One tablespoon of coleslaw dressing is 15.6 g and 63 calories, or 404 per 100 g. Two tablespoons, 125 calories, cost about the same as a half cup of finished coleslaw. Reduced-fat coleslaw dressing drops to 329 per 100 g but climbs to 38.73 g of sugar.
Does coleslaw have a lot of sodium?
Yes: 616 mg in a 1-cup serving, 27% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, from 280 mg per 100 g. That is roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt in one side dish. A 55 g sandwich portion is only 154 mg, or 7%.
Similar foods
- Olive — 26 cal for 5 large olives
- Masoor Dal — 207 cal per cup cooked
- Mexican rice — 279 cal per cup
- Shrimp Lo Mein — 242 cal per cup
- Egg Foo Yung — 108 cal per patty
- Tuna steak — 185 cal per steak, 6 oz
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the container and BodyPal counts the scoop for you, dressing and all.
