How many calories are in a cube steak?
One regular cube steak weighs 160 g cooked and carries 299 calories. Per 100 g the cooked meat runs 187 calories, with 28.83 g of protein and zero carbohydrate. The waffle-marked package in the meat case reads far lower, 125 calories per 100 g, because that figure is for raw beef that still holds its water.
You'd need to walk about 60 minutes to burn the 299 calories in one regular steak (160 g).
How long does it take to burn off cube steak?
One regular steak (160 g) is 299 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 299 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr |
| Cycling, moderate | 37 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 43 min |
| Jogging | 35 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 6 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 (160 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Cube steak quick facts
- US servings from one ounce to a thick 240 g steak
- Raw package versus cooked steak
- The other steaks in the case
- Protein is the headline and sodium is the catch
- How does cube steak compare?
- Most popular cube steak brands
- Cube steak FAQs
Cube steak quick facts
The number people actually need is for the steak on the plate, not the one in the plastic tray. That is FNDDS 2705826, "Beef, steak, cube", the Survey 2021-2023 record for cube steak as it is eaten: cooked, seasoned, out of the pan. USDA's Foundation and SR Legacy sets have no cube steak entry at all, so this single row does the work.
A "regular" steak in that record weighs 160 g cooked. That is the size a home cook plates one per person, and every bolded figure below scales from the same 100 g values.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 regular steak (160 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 187 | 299 | — |
| Total fat | 7.1 g | 11.4 g | 15% |
| Saturated fat | 2.12 g | 3.4 g | 17% |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 0 g | 0 g | — |
| Protein | 28.83 g | 46.1 g | 92% |
| Sodium | 379 mg | 606 mg | 26% |
| Cholesterol | 83 mg | 133 mg | 44% |
| Potassium | 417 mg | 667 mg | 14% |
% 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 retail label are missing here. This FNDDS edition publishes neither added sugars nor trans fat for the record, so they are left out rather than guessed; plain beef with no coating has no added sugar to declare anyway. Daily Values come from the FDA's Nutrition Facts reference amounts.
US servings from one ounce to a thick 240 g steak
Cube steak is sold by the piece, and the pieces vary more than most cuts. A thin one off a value pack and a thick one from the butcher counter are 225 calories apart before a drop of oil touches either.
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz (our arithmetic) | 28 g | 52 kcal |
| One thin steak | 120 g | 224 kcal |
| One regular steak | 160 g | 299 kcal |
| One cup, cooked pieces | 135 g | 252 kcal |
| One thick steak | 240 g | 449 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 187 kcal |
The thin, regular and thick pieces and the cup of cooked pieces are USDA household measures attached to the record itself. The 1 oz line is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving, and it is the handy one: multiply by the ounces on your kitchen scale and you are done.
Weigh cooked whenever you can. A cup of cut-up steak is 135 g and 252 calories, which is close enough to a regular steak that logging "one steak" for a cup you scooped out of a skillet will not throw the day off.
Raw package versus cooked steak
Here is the trap that sends cube steak logs 50% off. The Tyson/IBP raw cube steak label reads 125 calories per 100 g and 140 calories for its 4 oz (112 g) portion. The cooked USDA row reads 187 per 100 g. Nothing was added in the pan; water left it.
Follow one raw 4 oz portion through the cooking. Those 140 calories stay 140 calories, but the beef leaves the skillet at roughly 75 g instead of 112 g. Log it raw at 4 oz and you get 140. Weigh the same steak cooked, see 75 g, and multiply by the cooked figure, and you also get about 140. Weigh it cooked but apply the raw label, and you undercount by a third.
The rule of thumb the meat aisle never prints: 4 oz raw is about 3 oz on the plate. Pick raw numbers or cooked numbers and stay there.
The other steaks in the case
Cube steak is not a cut. It is round steak that has been through a mechanical tenderizer, which is why USDA lists both and why the two rows differ. Everything below is a separate FNDDS record, scaled to a 3 oz cooked serving (85 g) by our own arithmetic from each 100 g figure.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cube steak | 187 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 159 kcal |
| Round steak | 166 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 141 kcal |
| Tenderloin steak | 196 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 167 kcal |
| Beef roast | 206 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 175 kcal |
| Strip steak, lean only eaten | 216 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 184 kcal |
| Chuck steak | 225 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 191 kcal |
| Raw packaged cube steak (Tyson/IBP) | 125 kcal | 4 oz raw (112 g) | 140 kcal |
Of every cooked beef row here, only round steak comes in lighter than cube steak. That is the same muscle before the tenderizer, at 166 calories and 4.25 g of fat per 100 g against 187 and 7.1 g. The 21-calorie gap is trim and cooking fat, not a richer cut.
One oddity worth knowing: USDA's sirloin, lean only eaten row is identical to the strip row, 216 calories and 11.32 g of fat per 100 g. When the fat cap is cut off and left on the plate, the two steaks are the same food nutritionally.
Country-fried cube steak is a different item. The 187 figure is the beef alone, so flour, the oil it absorbs and any pan gravy go in as separate entries.
Protein is the headline and sodium is the catch
One regular steak delivers 46.1 g of protein for 299 calories. That is 92% of the Daily Value in a single piece of meat, and it is the whole argument for cube steak: cheap beef that hits a protein target the way a chicken breast does. MyPlate's protein foods guidance treats a 3 oz cooked portion as one serving, so a regular steak is closer to two.
The catch is sodium, and it is not in the beef. Cooked, the record shows 379 mg per 100 g, which makes 606 mg for a regular steak, 26% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt. The raw package label shows 62 mg per 100 g, about a sixth as much, so most of that sodium arrives with the seasoning, not the animal. If you are watching sodium, salt the steak yourself and skip the gravy rather than dropping the steak.
Saturated fat is the quieter line: 3.4 g per steak, 17% of the Daily Value. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put the ceiling at 10% of daily calories, so one steak leaves plenty of room. Cholesterol runs the other way, at 133 mg or 44% DV per steak, which is the number to notice if two steaks in a day is your habit.
How does cube steak compare?
| Cut | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cube steak | 187 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 159 kcal |
| Round steak | 166 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 141 kcal |
| Tenderloin steak | 196 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 167 kcal |
| Chuck steak | 225 kcal | 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 191 kcal |
Each 3 oz (85 g) serving in this table is our own arithmetic from the USDA per-100 g figures. Our take: if you are cutting calories, buy the round and skip the tenderizing, because it is the leanest of the four and the most protein per calorie, 17.9 g for every 100 calories against 15.4 g for cube steak, 15.5 g for tenderloin and 11.5 g for chuck. If you want the biggest, most filling plate for the money, cube steak wins, since a 160 g piece is 299 calories and nearly a full day of protein. Chuck is the one to think twice about at 225 calories per 100 g. And whichever you pick, the pan and the salt shaker will move the total more than the label on the package does.
Most popular cube steak 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) |
|---|---|
| Tyson IBP Cube Steak Large | 125 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Cube steak FAQs
How many calories are in a cube steak?
299 calories for a regular cooked cube steak of 160 g, at 187 calories per 100 g. A thin 120 g piece is 224 and a thick 240 g piece is 449. Those figures cover the beef alone, before any flour coating, pan oil or gravy.
How many calories in 4 oz of cube steak?
About 209 calories for 4 oz (112 g) of cooked cube steak, our own arithmetic from the USDA 187-per-100-g figure rather than a USDA serving. A raw 4 oz package portion is labeled 140 calories, but that beef shrinks to roughly 75 g once the water cooks out of it.
How much protein is in cube steak?
46.1 g of protein in one regular 160 g steak, which is 92% of the Daily Value, from 28.83 g per 100 g. A thin 120 g piece still gives about 35 g. Among the USDA steak rows here, only tenderloin at 30.46 g and round at 29.72 g are denser per 100 g.
Is cube steak healthier than round steak?
Round steak is leaner: 166 calories and 4.25 g of fat per 100 g against 187 calories and 7.1 g for cube steak, plus slightly more protein at 29.72 g. Cube steak is round steak that has been machine tenderized, so the gap comes from trim and cooking, not a different cut.
Does cube steak have carbs?
Zero: the USDA record lists 0 g of carbohydrate, 0 g of fiber and 0 g of total sugars per 100 g, so a 160 g steak adds nothing to a carb count. Breading changes that instantly, because the flour on a country-fried version is where the carbohydrate enters the plate.
How many calories in fried cube steak?
Start from 299 calories for a 160 g steak and add the coating on top. USDA's record covers the cooked beef only, and there is no separate USDA entry for a floured, pan-fried cube steak, so the flour, the oil it soaks up and any gravy have to be logged as their own items.
What cut of beef is cube steak?
Top or bottom round, run through a mechanical tenderizer that leaves the waffle pattern — USDA keeps a separate row for plain round steak at 166 calories per 100 g against 187 for cube steak, so the tenderizing and the pan, not the cut of the animal, explain the 21-calorie gap.
Is cube steak high in sodium?
606 mg in one 160 g steak, 26% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, from 379 mg per 100 g. That is roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt, and it lands there in the kitchen: the raw package label shows only 62 mg per 100 g before seasoning.
Similar foods
- Steak — 368 cal per regular steak
- Eggnog — 112 cal for 1/2 cup
- Protein Shake — 156 cal per cup
- Bubble Tea — 239 cal per drink
- Apple cider — 114 cal per cup
- Root beer — 152 cal for 12 fl oz glass
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the steak for you, cooked weight and all.
