How Many Calories Are in a Ham Sandwich?
One regular ham sandwich weighs 115 g and carries 213 calories, or 185 calories per 100 g. Two slices of wheat bread do most of the carbohydrate work, while the ham supplies 16.1 g of protein - 32% of a day's worth. The number that runs away from you is sodium: 756 mg in one sandwich.
You'd need to walk about 43 minutes to burn the 213 calories in one regular sandwich (115 g).
How long does it take to burn off a ham sandwich?
One regular sandwich (115 g) is 213 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 213 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 43 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 27 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 30 min |
| Jogging | 25 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 47 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 (115 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Ham sandwich quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a 6-inch sub
- White bread versus wheat, two calories apart
- Ham and cheese, deli subs and wraps
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does a ham sandwich compare?
- Most popular ham sandwich brands
- FAQ
Ham sandwich quick facts
The record behind this page is FNDDS 2706966, "Ham sandwich on wheat", from the USDA's 2021-2023 survey data. It is the plain build most people actually make at home: sliced deli ham between two slices of wheat bread, no cheese and no spread. That is exactly the sandwich in the photo, which is why it beats the restaurant and cheese records as the default answer.
USDA logs it with three household servings, and the middle one - a regular sandwich at 115 g - is the number in the headline. Everything in the right-hand column below is that 115 g portion.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 regular sandwich (115 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 185 | 213 | — |
| Total fat | 3.86 g | 4.4 g | 6% |
| Saturated fat | 0.91 g | 1.0 g | 5% |
| Carbohydrate | 23.62 g | 27.2 g | 10% |
| Dietary fiber | 2.8 g | 3.2 g | 12% |
| Total sugars | 2.69 g | 3.1 g | — |
| Protein | 13.96 g | 16.1 g | 32% |
| Sodium | 657 mg | 756 mg | 33% |
| Cholesterol | 20 mg | 23 mg | 8% |
| Potassium | 303 mg | 348 mg | 7% |
% 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 will not find here: added sugars and trans fat. This edition of FNDDS does not publish either for sandwich records, so quoting them would mean inventing them. Total sugars have no Daily Value of their own, which is why that cell is blank.
US servings, from one ounce to a 6-inch sub
Sandwiches are one of the few foods where the household measure is genuinely useful - nobody weighs a sandwich. USDA gives three sizes, and the gap between the small and the large one is nearly triple.
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28.3 g | 52 kcal |
| One miniature sandwich or slider | 60 g | 111 kcal |
| One regular sandwich | 115 g | 213 kcal |
| One large sandwich or 6-inch submarine | 175 g | 324 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 185 kcal |
The 60 g, 115 g and 175 g rows are USDA household measures for this record. The 1 oz and 100 g rows are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings - useful if you are weighing leftovers rather than counting sandwiches.
Two sliders are not the same as one regular sandwich: 120 g against 115 g, so 222 calories against 213 on our own doubling of the USDA slider row. Close, but the slider bread-to-filling ratio is heavier on crust, which is where the sodium hides.
White bread versus wheat, two calories apart
If you swap the bread hoping to save calories, you will be disappointed. USDA logs ham on white at 187 calories per 100 g against 185 for wheat - a two-calorie difference across an entire sandwich.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical sandwich | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham sandwich on wheat | 185 kcal | 1 regular, 115 g | 213 kcal |
| Ham sandwich on white | 187 kcal | 1 regular, 115 g | 215 kcal |
Fiber is the real split. Wheat carries 2.8 g per 100 g, white only 1.2 g - so one sandwich moves from 12% of the Daily Value down to 5%. That is the whole argument for wheat bread, and it has nothing to do with calories.
Ham and cheese, deli subs and wraps
Cheese is the single change that moves this sandwich most. Ham and cheese on wheat runs 212 calories per 100 g, and because USDA logs the cheese version at a heavier 135 g, the sandwich lands at 286 calories - about 70 more than the plain one. Saturated fat is where it really shows: 0.91 g per 100 g becomes 3.28 g, which on the real portion means 4.4 g, or 22% of the Daily Value instead of 5%.
| USDA record | Per 100 g | Sandwich as logged | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham on wheat (main record) | 185 kcal | 1 regular, 115 g | 213 kcal |
| Ham on white | 187 kcal | 1 regular, 115 g | 215 kcal |
| Ham and cheese on wheat | 212 kcal | 1 regular, 135 g | 286 kcal |
| Ham and cheese on white | 213 kcal | 1 regular, 135 g | 288 kcal |
| Ham sub, restaurant | 178 kcal | 1 sub, 130 g | 231 kcal |
| Ham and cheese sub, restaurant | 210 kcal | 1 sub, 160 g | 336 kcal |
| Ham sandwich wrap | 230 kcal | 115 g, our scaling | 265 kcal |
| Turkey and ham on wheat | 170 kcal | 115 g, our scaling | 196 kcal |
The last two rows are our own arithmetic: USDA has no matching household sandwich weight for the wrap or the turkey-and-ham mix, so both are scaled from the 100 g figure to 115 g for comparison only.
The wrap deserves a warning. At 230 calories per 100 g it is the densest of the eight records here, with 825 mg of sodium and 4.24 g of saturated fat per 100 g - both higher than any bread version. A tortilla feels lighter than bread and is not.
The deli counter goes the other way. A restaurant ham sub is 178 calories per 100 g, the lightest per gram of any all-ham build here, because the bread is airier and the filling spread thinner. Add cheese and a 160 g sub is 336 calories. Packaged versions come in bigger pieces: the Boar's Head ham sandwich label is 177 calories per 100 g but sells as a 215 g half-sandwich for 381 calories, and the Boar's Head Smokemaster Black Forest sandwich is 500 calories for a 244 g package.
Sodium is the row to watch
The calories on a ham sandwich are modest. The sodium is not. Ham is cured meat, bread is salted, and the two stack.
| Build | Serving | Sodium | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham on wheat | 115 g | 756 mg | 33% |
| Ham and cheese on wheat | 135 g | 960 mg | 42% |
| 6-inch ham sub (our scaling) | 175 g | 1150 mg | 50% |
| Ham and cheese sub, restaurant | 160 g | 1190 mg | 52% |
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put the adult ceiling at 2,300 mg of sodium a day, the same figure the FDA uses for the Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts label. One regular sandwich is about a third of a teaspoon of table salt. A 6-inch sub - only 324 calories, which sounds harmless - is half your day's sodium before you have touched anything else. The sub row and the cheese sub row are our own scaling from the USDA 100 g sodium figures, not USDA serving data.
The upside is protein. At 16.1 g in a 213-calorie lunch, this sandwich delivers 32% of the 50 g Daily Value, and MyPlate counts an ounce of lean deli meat toward the protein group. If you are watching sodium, the plain wheat build is the better pick of everything on this page; if you are watching saturated fat, skipping the cheese saves 3.4 g on the portion.
How does a ham sandwich compare?
| Sandwich | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham on wheat | 185 kcal | 1 regular, 115 g | 213 kcal |
| Ham on white | 187 kcal | 1 regular, 115 g | 215 kcal |
| Ham and cheese on white | 213 kcal | 1 regular, 135 g | 288 kcal |
| Ham sub, restaurant | 178 kcal | 1 sub, 130 g | 231 kcal |
Our take: of the four here, only the restaurant sub is lighter per gram than the home-made wheat sandwich, and it still costs more calories in practice because the portion is bigger. For weight loss, build it on wheat and leave the cheese off - 213 calories with 3.2 g of fiber and 16.1 g of protein is a hard lunch to beat at that price. For staying full through a long afternoon, the 135 g cheese version at 286 calories buys you 20.2 g of protein, and that is a fair trade. The version to think twice about is the wrap, which costs more calories and more sodium than any bread on this page.
Most popular ham sandwich 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) |
|---|---|
| Boar's Head Ham Sandwich | 177 cal |
| Boar's Head Smokemaster Black Forest Ham Sandwich | 205 cal |
| Boar's Head Simplicity Uncured Ham & Vermont Cheddar Sandwich | 202 cal |
| 18th Street Select Country Ham Sandwich | 212 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Ham sandwich FAQs
How many calories are in a ham sandwich?
A regular ham sandwich on wheat bread is 213 calories at 115 g, working out to 185 calories per 100 g. That is the plain build: two slices of bread and sliced ham, no cheese and no spread. Add cheese and the same sandwich climbs to 286 calories, since USDA logs it at 135 g.
How many calories are in a ham and cheese sandwich?
A ham and cheese sandwich on wheat is 286 calories for a 135 g sandwich, or 212 calories per 100 g. Cheese adds about 70 calories over the plain build, but saturated fat jumps from 1.0 g to 4.4 g - 22% of the Daily Value instead of 5%.
How much protein is in a ham sandwich?
One regular sandwich carries 16.1 g of protein, 32% of the 50 g Daily Value, scaled from 13.96 g per 100 g. A 6-inch sub pushes that to about 24 g by our own arithmetic. Adding cheese takes the 135 g sandwich to 20.2 g. For a 213 calorie lunch, that is a strong return.
How much sodium is in a ham sandwich?
One regular ham sandwich holds 756 mg of sodium, 33% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, about a third of a teaspoon of table salt. A 6-inch sub reaches roughly 1,150 mg, or 50%, on our own scaling. The Dietary Guidelines cap adults at 2,300 mg a day.
White vs wheat bread - does it change the calories?
Almost nothing: 187 calories per 100 g on white against 185 on wheat, so a 115 g sandwich is 215 versus 213 calories. Fiber is where they split - 1.2 g per 100 g on white against 2.8 g on wheat, which is 5% versus 12% of the Daily Value per sandwich.
How many calories are in a 6-inch ham sub?
A 6-inch ham sub built at home is 324 calories at 175 g, using the same 185 calories per 100 g. A deli or restaurant sub is logged separately at 178 calories per 100 g, so a 130 g portion is 231 calories, and with cheese a 160 g sub is 336.
Is ham a processed meat?
Yes - ham is cured, and the USDA record shows why it matters: 657 mg of sodium per 100 g, 756 mg in one sandwich. The calories are modest, the salt is not. The Dietary Guidelines ask adults to stay under 2,300 mg a day, and one sandwich uses a third of that.
Is a ham sandwich good for weight loss?
At 213 calories a regular ham sandwich fits a 350-450 calorie lunch with room for fruit, and 16.1 g of protein helps it hold. The catch is sodium: 756 mg, 33% of the Daily Value, before anything you put next to it. On wheat bread you also get 3.2 g of fiber, 12% of the Value.
Similar foods
- Sloppy Joe — 342 cal per sandwich
- Gyro — 368 cal per sandwich
- Beef Cube Steak — 299 cal per steak
- Pork Chop — 220 cal per regular chop
- Turkey Sandwich — 215 cal plain, 433 loaded
- Shrimp Shumai — 180 cal for 6 pieces
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the sandwich for you, bread, ham and all.
