Cooked kale calories come to 42 for 1 cup (118 g) and 36 per 100 g, boiled, drained and unsalted. What matters is the fat, not the kale itself. A cup cooked with fat (135 g) climbs to 93 calories and 250 mg of sodium, so the pan does more to the total than the portion does.
42kcal
1 cup · 118 g, boiled, drained, unsalted
27%protein
3.5 gProtein
6 gCarbs
1.4 gFat
How to burn off 42 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Boiled, drained, unsalted · per 118 g
Calories
42 kcal
Protein
3.5 g
Carbohydrate
6.3 g
Fat
1.4 g
Saturated fat
0.2 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
19 mg
Potassium
170 mg
Iron
1 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 October 2026. How we verify our data →
Cooked kale: 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 (118 g)
42
3.5 g
6.3 g
1.4 g
19 mg
2%
Cooked with fat, 1 cup (135 g)
93
4.1 g
6.2 g
5.8 g
250 mg
5%
100 g
36
2.9 g
5.3 g
1.2 g
16 mg
2%
3 × 1 cup (118 g)
127
10.4 g
57 mg
5 × 1 cup (118 g)
212
17.3 g
94 mg
Five cups of cooked kale total just 212 calories
A cup of boiled, drained kale weighs 118 g and carries 42 calories. Against a 2000-calorie daily value that is 2%, so the portion almost never decides your day. A 100 g serving is a little smaller at 36 calories, and both sit in the same low band. Measure after draining, since cooked weight is what these numbers describe.
Scaling up stays gentle. Two cups (236 g) come to 85 calories, three cups (354 g) reach 127, and five cups (590 g) total 212. Even that big pile brings only 94 mg of sodium while delivering 17.3 g of protein. Protein grows in step along the way: 6.9 g at two cups and 10.4 g at three.
That makes plain cooked kale a food where a heaping plate costs very little. Serve two cups instead of one if you want more volume, and you still stay under 100 calories. The total depends far more on what goes into the pan than on how many cups you serve.
Nearly half the calories come from carbs
Cooked kale splits its calories 48% carbs, 27% protein and 25% fat. For a leafy green that protein share is high, but the actual amount stays small: 2.9 g per 100 g and 3.5 g per cup. Kale will not carry a meal's protein on its own. Think of it as a fiber and volume food first.
The carbs are mostly fiber, not sugar. Per 100 g you get 5.3 g of carbohydrate, with 4 g of fiber and 1.2 g of sugars. A cup brings 6.3 g of carbs with 4.7 g of fiber and 1.4 g of sugars, so only a sliver of the carbohydrate is sugar.
By weight, fat is the smallest macro at 1.2 g per 100 g, with 0.2 g saturated and 0 mg cholesterol. Its 25% share of calories only looks big because the total is so low. Potassium shows up too, at 144 mg per 100 g against a daily value of 4700 mg.
Cooking with fat more than doubles the cup
The USDA row for kale cooked with fat puts a cup (135 g) at 93 calories, against 42 for the plain boiled cup. That is more than double, and nearly all of the gap is fat: 5.8 g instead of 1.4 g. Protein and carbs barely change, at 4.1 g and 6.2 g. The cup is also heavier, 135 g versus 118 g, so part of the difference is simply more food.
Sodium jumps even more. The plain cup has 19 mg, or 1% of the 2300 mg daily value. The cup cooked with fat has 250 mg, which is 11% of the daily value. The plain version on this page is boiled without salt; the cooked-with-fat row is not, and it shows.
If you watch calories, the pan matters more than the portion. Measure the oil, or cook the kale plain and add fat at the table where you can see it. If you watch sodium, season the boiled version yourself and you control every milligram.
Kale earns its place through fiber and volume
A cup of cooked kale carries 4.7 g of fiber against a 28 g daily value, for 42 calories. That is a lot of fiber for very few calories. Three cups bring 127 calories along with 10.4 g of protein, and the plate still looks generous.
Because it is so light, kale works best as volume next to something denser. Pair a cup or two with eggs, beans, chicken or fish to cover protein, and with a grain or potato if you need more energy. The kale fills out the plate without pushing the total up much. In soups and stews it adds bulk and fiber for barely any calories.
Watch the add-ons. Bacon, cream and cheese are what make kale dishes heavy, the same way the cooked-with-fat cup reaches 93 calories. Lemon, garlic, vinegar and chili add flavor for almost nothing. If you'd rather not weigh it, BodyPal can log cooked kale from a photo.
How does cooked kale compare?
Here is cooked kale next to raw kale, cooked onion and butternut, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories, cooked kale and raw kale tie at 36 and 35 per 100 g, and both beat cooked onion at 44 and butternut at 45. For protein, pick kale either way at 2.9 g per 100 g; choose butternut or onion only if you want sweeter, starchier volume.
Most popular cooked kale brands in the United States
Package labels list kale as sold raw, while the page's main number is for cooked kale, so values per gram differ. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Cooked kale FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of cooked kale?
About 42 calories in 1 cup (118 g) boiled without salt, or 93 calories in a cup (135 g) cooked with fat added.
Is cooked kale good for weight loss?
Boiled kale has 36 calories and 4 g of fiber per 100 g, so a full cup (118 g) adds 42 calories.
Cooked kale vs raw kale: which has more calories?
By weight they are almost equal: 36 calories per 100 g boiled and 35 raw. A cup of cooked kale (118 g) is 42 calories, while a cup of raw kale (20.6 g) is 7.
How much protein is in cooked kale?
A cup of boiled kale (118 g) has 3.5 g of protein, 6.3 g of carbs and 1.4 g of fat.
How many calories are in 100 g of cooked kale?
100 g of boiled, drained, unsalted kale has 36 calories, with 2.9 g of protein, 5.3 g of carbs and 1.2 g of fat. Raw kale is about the same at 35 per 100 g.
How much fiber is in cooked kale?
A cup of cooked kale (118 g) has 4.7 g of fiber, and 100 g has 4 g. Against the 28 g daily value, that is a solid amount of fiber for just 42 calories.
How many calories are in kale cooked with oil or butter?
A cup of kale cooked with fat (135 g) has 93 calories, 5.8 g of fat and 250 mg of sodium. The plain boiled cup has 42 calories, 1.4 g of fat and 19 mg of sodium.
How many calories are in 2 cups of cooked kale?
Two cups of cooked kale (236 g) have 85 calories, 6.9 g of protein and 38 mg of sodium. Three cups come to 127 calories and five cups to 212.
Is cooked kale high in sodium?
No. Unsalted cooked kale has 16 mg of sodium per 100 g and 19 mg per cup, which is 1% of the daily value. Cooked with fat, a cup jumps to 250 mg, or 11%.
