Grits calories come to 182 for 1 cup (257 g) of white grits cooked with water, or 71 per 100 g. Carbs supply 84% of those calories and protein is thin. The number to notice is sodium: the salted cup carries 573 mg, 25% of the daily value, while using only 9% of daily calories.
182kcal
1 cup · 257 g, white, cooked with water
10%protein
4.4 gProtein
38 gCarbs
1.2 gFat
How to burn off 182 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
White, cooked with water · per 257 g
Calories
182 kcal
Protein
4.4 g
Carbohydrate
38 g
Fat
1.2 g
Saturated fat
0.2 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
573 mg
Potassium
69 mg
Iron
1.5 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 September 2026. How we verify our data →
Grits: 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 (257 g)
182
4.4 g
37.9 g
1.2 g
573 mg
9%
Yellow, 1 cup (233 g)
151
2.9 g
32.3 g
0.9 g
520 mg
8%
Instant packet, dry (29 g)
99
2.1 g
22.7 g
0.6 g
325 mg
5%
100 g
71
1.7 g
14.8 g
0.5 g
223 mg
4%
3 × 1 cup (257 g)
547
13.2 g
1,719 mg
5 × 1 cup (257 g)
912
22 g
2,866 mg
A bowl of grits is often two cups, not one
The standard serving is 1 cup (257 g) of cooked white grits at 182 calories, 9% of the daily calorie value. That is modest for a warm, filling bowl. The catch is that few people stop at a measured cup.
Diner plates and home bowls often hold twice that. Two cups (514 g) come to 365 calories, and three cups (771 g) reach 547. Cook a full pot of five cups and you are looking at 912 calories before anyone adds butter or cheese. Plain grits scale in a straight line, so bowl size is the variable that matters most.
Instant grits run smaller by design. One dry packet (29 g) makes a single bowl worth 99 calories, a bit over half of a cooked cup of regular grits. Two packets land a little above one stovetop cup, so the packet count is the thing to track if instant is your habit.
Carbs supply 84% of the calories
Grits are ground corn cooked in plenty of water, and the calorie split shows it: 84% carbs, 10% protein and 6% fat. Per 100 g that works out to 14.8 g of carbohydrate, 1.7 g of protein and 0.5 g of fat. Water makes up most of the weight, which is why the figure of 71 calories per 100 g looks so low.
A cup delivers 37.9 g of carbs and only 4.4 g of protein, 9% of the daily value. Fiber is 2.1 g and sugars just 0.3 g, so this is starch rather than sweetness. Fat stays at 1.2 g per cup, and saturated fat is a mere 0.1 g per 100 g. Cholesterol is 0.
The practical read: grits are a carb base, not a protein source. On their own they are light and simple. What you put next to them decides how complete the meal turns out.
Salt, not calories, is the row to watch
The USDA figures behind this page are for grits cooked with water and salt. That puts 573 mg of sodium in one cup, 25% of the daily value, while the same cup is only 9% of daily calories. Sodium runs well ahead of every other number on the label.
It climbs fast with portion size. Two cups carry 1,146 mg, and three cups hit 1,719 mg. A five-cup pot holds 2,866 mg, more than a full day's value on its own, and that is before salty toppings.
Instant packets are no escape: one dry instant packet (29 g) lists 325 mg, 14% of the daily value. If you watch sodium, cook stovetop grits in unsalted water and season at the table. Go easy on cheese, bacon and sausage too, since they stack more salt on top of an already salted base.
White, yellow or instant, the toppings decide the total
Yellow grits come in a little lighter by the cup: 151 calories for 1 cup (233 g), with 520 mg of sodium, against 182 calories for white. Part of that gap is simply that the yellow cup weighs less. Stone-ground options such as Bob's Red Mill or McKaskle Family Farm and boxed Quaker grits all start from plain corn, while flavored packets like Quaker Cheddar Cheese or Butter Flavor add their own extras, so read the label.
The bigger swing comes after cooking. Butter, cheese, cream, shrimp and sausage are what turn a 182-calorie cup into a heavy plate, and none of them are in the numbers above. Grits themselves carry almost no fat, so every pat of butter shows up clearly in the total.
For a more balanced bowl, pair grits with a protein such as eggs, fish or beans and add vegetables like sauteed greens or tomatoes. If you log the full plate, BodyPal can identify the food from a photo, which helps when the toppings outweigh the grits.
How does grits compare?
Here is how grits stack up against mashed potatoes, ramen noodles and a burrito, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the lowest calorie count pick grits, at 71 per 100 g against 113 for mashed potatoes and 440 for ramen noodles. If you need staying power, a burrito brings 11.1 g of protein per 100 g, though at 482 calories a serving it costs far more.
Most popular grits brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Quaker Original Instant Grits1 packet · 28 g357 kcal
Packaged grits are labeled by dry weight, so their numbers read much higher than the cooked figures above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Grits FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of grits?
A cup of white grits cooked with water is 182 calories (257 g). Yellow grits come to 151 calories per cup (233 g).
Are grits good for weight loss?
A plain cup cooked with water is 182 calories with 1.2 g fat and 37.9 g carbs. Grits with cheese and fat added are 108 calories per 100 g against 71 for plain, so the add-ins raise the count by about half.
How many calories are in a packet of instant grits?
A plain instant packet is 29 g dry, about 99 calories before butter or cheese. Butter flavor instant grits are 369 calories per 100 g dry against 343 for plain.
How much protein is in grits?
A cup of cooked grits has 4.4 g protein, or 1.7 g per 100 g, alongside 37.9 g carbs per cup.
How many carbs are in a cup of grits?
One cup (257 g) of cooked white grits has 37.9 g of carbohydrates. Only 2.1 g of that is fiber and 0.3 g is sugar, so nearly all of it is starch. Carbs supply 84% of the calories.
How many calories are in a bowl of grits?
A 1-cup bowl of cooked grits is 182 calories, but many bowls hold two cups, which comes to 365. A three-cup serving reaches 547 calories, and that is before butter or cheese.
What are the macros in grits?
Per 100 g, cooked grits have 1.7 g protein, 14.8 g carbs and 0.5 g fat for 71 calories. Split by calories, that is 84% carbs, 10% protein and 6% fat.
Are grits high in calories?
No. Cooked grits have 71 calories per 100 g because they are mostly water, lower than mashed potatoes at 113 per 100 g. Large bowls, butter and cheese are what push the total up.
What are the nutrition facts for a cup of grits?
One cup (257 g) of cooked white grits has 182 calories, 4.4 g protein, 37.9 g carbs, 1.2 g fat, 2.1 g fiber and 573 mg sodium. The sodium, at 25% of the daily value, is the standout.
