How many calories are in a garlic knot?
One garlic knot from a pizzeria basket weighs about 38 g and carries 133 calories. Per 100 g the dough runs 349 calories, which puts it in the same bracket as garlic bread, because that is what a knot is: the same buttered, garlicked yeast dough, tied instead of sliced.
You'd need to walk about 27 minutes to burn the 133 calories in one garlic knot (38 g).
How long does it take to burn off a garlic knot?
One garlic knot (38 g) is 133 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 133 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 27 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 17 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 19 min |
| Jogging | 16 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 30 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 (38 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Garlic knot quick facts
- US servings, from one knot to a side order
- Frozen, parmesan and cheese-stuffed knots
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How do garlic knots compare?
- Most popular garlic knot brands
- Garlic knot FAQs
Garlic knot quick facts
USDA has no record called "garlic knot." It does have FNDDS 2707626, "Garlic bread, NFS", and that is the honest match: a knot is the same enriched dough, the same garlic butter, the same finish under a hot oven. NFS means not further specified, so the record averages the pizzeria version and the tray you bake at home rather than picking a side.
The 38 g weight comes from US frozen packaging, where "1 knot" sits between 35 g and 43 g across the major labels. Everything in the serving column below is that 100 g record scaled down, which makes it our own arithmetic rather than a USDA household measure.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 garlic knot (38 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 349 | 133 | — |
| Total fat | 16.58 g | 6.3 g | 8% |
| Saturated fat | 5.27 g | 2.0 g | 10% |
| Carbohydrate | 41.64 g | 15.8 g | 6% |
| Dietary fiber | 2.5 g | 1.0 g | 3% |
| Total sugars | 3.68 g | 1.4 g | — |
| Protein | 8.34 g | 3.2 g | 6% |
| Sodium | 620 mg | 236 mg | 10% |
% 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 expect from a package label are missing here: added sugars and trans fat. This FNDDS edition does not publish either value, so rather than guess, we leave them out. Cholesterol is 0 mg per knot, since the fat is butter-and-oil blend territory in the composite record, and potassium is 39 mg, about 1% of the Daily Value.
One number is worth pausing on. Fat supplies 43% of the calories in this record: 16.58 g times 9 is 149 of the 349 calories per 100 g. The dough alone would be a modest roll. It is the brushing that makes a garlic knot a garlic knot, on the plate and in the total.
US servings, from one knot to a side order
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 98 kcal |
| One garlic knot | 38 g | 133 kcal |
| Three knots, side order | 114 g | 398 kcal |
| One small slice garlic bread | 39 g | 136 kcal |
| One medium slice garlic bread | 79 g | 276 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 349 kcal |
The two garlic bread slices are real USDA household measures attached to the record. The knot weights are not: 38 g, 114 g and the 1 oz line are our own scaling from the USDA 100 g figure, anchored to what US packages call one knot.
That matters more than it sounds, because pizzeria knots are not standardized. A hand-tied knot from a counter in Brooklyn can be 50 or 60 g, which is 175 to 209 calories on the same per-100 g math. If your knot is visibly bigger than a golf ball, log two.
The oz line is the useful one for a takeout container. Four ounces of knots, roughly three, is 392 calories before you touch the marinara cup, which is not covered by this record at all.
Frozen, parmesan and cheese-stuffed knots
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical knot | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pizzeria knot, restaurant | 349 kcal | 38 g | 133 kcal |
| Baked from frozen | 350 kcal | 38 g | 133 kcal |
| Parmesan-topped | 351 kcal | 38 g | 133 kcal |
| Cheese-stuffed, from frozen | 343 kcal | 38 g | 130 kcal |
| Cheesy knots, restaurant | 339 kcal | 38 g | 129 kcal |
| Garlic bread, medium slice | 349 kcal | 79 g | 276 kcal |
Here is the surprise: the two cheese versions are the only ones that come in under the plain knot, at 130 and 129 calories. Melted cheese displaces dough, and cheese is lighter per gram than baked flour and butter combined. The trade is real, though. Cheese-stuffed knots carry 3.9 g of protein each against 3.2 g plain, and 2.3 g of saturated fat against 2.0 g.
Parmesan on top barely moves the calorie line, 351 against 349 per 100 g, because a dusting weighs almost nothing. It does add protein and a little more salt, which is the pattern in the restaurant parmesan record at 642 mg of sodium per 100 g.
Frozen is where labels and USDA disagree most. The store brands sit at 300 to 343 calories per 100 g: New York Bakery lists 120 calories for a 35 g knot, Great Value, Furlani and Cole's all list 120, Publix 130, and Marketside Three Cheese 140 for a bigger 43 g knot. Those 120-calorie figures are the floor, not the average. A hand-rolled knot from a pizzeria oven, brushed twice, is closer to the 133 in the table above.
Sodium is the row to watch
Calories are not the interesting number on a garlic knot. Sodium is. One knot delivers 236 mg, or 10% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value the FDA uses on the Nutrition Facts label. A side order of three reaches 707 mg, 31% of the day, and that is before the pizza it was ordered alongside.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put the same 2,300 mg ceiling on adults, and most people in the US are already over it. If you are watching sodium, the frozen tray is the better pick: at 544 mg per 100 g it saves you about 29 mg per knot compared with the restaurant version, and the melted-cheese restaurant knots at 636 mg per 100 g sit just behind the parmesan version at 642 mg.
The rest of the label is unremarkable in the way refined bread usually is. Fiber is 1.0 g per knot, 3% of the Daily Value, because this is white flour dough; MyPlate's grains guidance asks for half of your grains to be whole, and knots are not going to be that half. Saturated fat is 2.0 g per knot, 10% of the day, and three knots take that to 6.0 g, or 30%.
How do garlic knots compare?
| Bread | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic knot | 349 kcal | one knot, 38 g | 133 kcal |
| Fried bread dough | 384 kcal | 38 g piece | 146 kcal |
| Paratha | 326 kcal | 38 g piece | 124 kcal |
| Challah, toasted | 315 kcal | 38 g slice | 120 kcal |
Our take: a garlic knot is not a diet disaster, it is a portion trap. At 133 calories one knot is cheaper than a piece of fried dough and only 13 calories above toasted challah, so the food itself is ordinary enriched bread. The basket is the problem, because knots arrive in threes and fives and disappear while you wait for the main dish. For weight loss, order one knot and eat it slowly. For fullness per calorie, skip the basket entirely and put those 398 calories into the meal, since 9.5 g of protein across three knots will not hold you the way the entree will.
Most popular garlic knot 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) |
|---|---|
| New York Bakery Garlic Knots | 343 cal |
| Marketside Three Cheese Garlic Knots | 326 cal |
| Great Value Garlic Knots | 316 cal |
| Furlani Garlic Knots | 316 cal |
| Publix Garlic Knots | 342 cal |
| Cole's Garlic Knots | 300 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Garlic knot FAQs
How many calories are in one garlic knot?
One garlic knot is 133 calories at a typical 38 g. That comes from the USDA garlic bread record, 349 calories per 100 g, scaled down to knot size. Pizzeria knots run bigger, sometimes 50 to 60 g, and a knot that size lands nearer 175 to 209 calories on the same figure.
How many calories are in 3 garlic knots?
Three garlic knots, the standard side order, weigh about 114 g and come to 398 calories. They also carry 707 mg of sodium, 31% of a day's Daily Value, and 18.9 g of fat. That is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving.
How much sodium is in a garlic knot?
236 mg per knot, 10% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. The dough is salted, then brushed with salted butter, so sodium climbs faster than calories: three knots reach 707 mg, or 31% of the day, before the pizza arrives. Frozen knots are milder, at 544 mg per 100 g.
How many carbs are in a garlic knot?
15.8 g of carbohydrate in one 38 g knot, 6% of the Daily Value, with 1.0 g of fiber and 1.4 g of total sugars inside that number. Three knots come to 47.5 g. Cheese-stuffed knots trade starch for cheese and drop to 14.0 g of carbohydrate each.
Are garlic knots worse than garlic bread?
Per gram they are the same food, 349 calories per 100 g, because USDA has no separate garlic knot record. Size decides it. One knot is 133 calories and a medium slice of garlic bread is 79 g and 276 calories, so two knots still come in under one slice, at 266.
Do frozen garlic knots have fewer calories than pizzeria ones?
No, not per gram: the USDA data puts frozen at 350 calories per 100 g against 349 from a restaurant. The gap shows up on package labels instead, where frozen knots run 300 to 343 calories per 100 g and 120 to 140 per piece, because factory knots are smaller and less generously buttered.
How many calories are in a cheese-stuffed garlic knot?
130 calories for a 38 g cheese-stuffed knot, slightly under the plain one at 133. Melted cheese replaces dough, so calories dip while protein rises to 3.9 g and saturated fat rises to 2.3 g. Per 100 g that version is 343 calories against 349 for the plain knot.
Is there protein in garlic knots?
3.2 g in one knot, 6% of the Daily Value, and 9.5 g in a side order of three. That is bread protein rather than a meaningful source. Cheese-stuffed knots do better at 3.9 g each, and parmesan-topped knots land at 3.3 g, so the cheese is doing the work.
Similar foods
- Coconut — 283 cal per cup, shredded
- Summer Sausage — 203 cal for 4 slices
- Brie — 95 cal per oz
- Falafel — 170 cal for 3 patties
- Sausage Link — 75 cal per link
- Coconut Shrimp — 250 cal for 4 shrimp
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the basket and BodyPal counts the knots for you, butter and all.
