Lettuce head calories come to 75 for one medium iceberg head (539 g) and 14 per 100 g. That is the striking part: a whole head, a pile of food most people could not finish in one sitting, covers just 4% of a daily calorie budget. Head size moves the total more than anything else.
75kcal
1 medium head · 539 g, raw, iceberg
22%protein
4.9 gProtein
16 gCarbs
0.8 gFat
How to burn off 75 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Raw, iceberg · per 539 g
Calories
75 kcal
Protein
4.9 g
Carbohydrate
16 g
Fat
0.8 g
Saturated fat
0.1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
54 mg
Potassium
760 mg
Iron
2.2 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 →
Lettuce head: 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 medium head (539 g)
75
4.9 g
16 g
0.8 g
54 mg
4%
1 small head (324 g)
45
2.9 g
9.6 g
0.5 g
32 mg
2%
1 large head (755 g)
106
6.8 g
22.4 g
1.1 g
76 mg
5%
1 cup shredded (72 g)
10
0.6 g
2.1 g
0.1 g
7 mg
1%
3 × 1 medium head (539 g)
226
14.6 g
162 mg
5 × 1 medium head (539 g)
377
24.3 g
270 mg
A whole medium head is a 75-calorie side
Heads of iceberg vary a lot in size, and the calorie count simply follows the weight. A small head (324 g) comes to 45 calories, a medium head (539 g) to 75, and a large head (755 g) to 106. Even the biggest one stays near 5% of a daily calorie budget.
Most people do not eat a whole head in one go. A cup of shredded iceberg weighs 72 g and carries 10 calories, about what sits under a burger patty or inside a taco. Two or three cups make a generous side salad that barely moves the day's total, and a few whole leaves can wrap a sandwich filling for almost nothing in calorie terms.
If you prep for the week, the multiples stay small too. Two medium heads total 151 calories, three come to 226, and even five heads, 2,695 g of lettuce, add up to just 377. Few foods let you scale the portion that far before the number gets interesting. With iceberg, the weight on the scale matters far more than any guess about how much of the head you used.
Carbs supply 71% of the calories, and much of that is fiber
Per 100 g, iceberg has 3 g of carbs, 0.9 g of protein and 0.1 g of fat. Split by calories, that works out to 71% carbs, 22% protein and 8% fat. The fat share is close to nothing, and saturated fat and cholesterol both read 0.
Look closer at those carbs. A medium head holds 16 g of carbohydrate, of which 10.6 g are sugars and 6.5 g are fiber. That sugar is spread across 539 g of watery crunch, so it reads very differently from the same grams in a sweet snack. Per 100 g, sugars sit at 2 g.
Protein is the quiet surprise. At 22% of calories it looks respectable on paper, but a medium head still delivers only 4.9 g, about 10% of the daily value. A whole large head gets you to 6.8 g. Treat lettuce as volume and crunch, and get your protein from whatever you put on top of it.
Fiber is the row worth noticing, sodium is not
With 1.2 g of fiber per 100 g, iceberg is not a fiber-dense food, but the volume adds up quickly. A medium head brings 6.5 g of fiber and a large head 9.1 g. Even a small head gets you 3.9 g for 45 calories, and a single shredded cup adds 0.9 g.
Sodium barely registers. Iceberg has 10 mg per 100 g, so a medium head carries 54 mg, or 2% of the daily value, and a large head 76 mg, or 3%. A cup of shredded leaves rounds to 0%. If you watch sodium, the lettuce is never the problem; the dressing, cheese, croutons and deli meat piled on top are where the salt comes from.
Potassium sits at 141 mg per 100 g. It is a modest figure on its own, but like the fiber, it grows with the size of the bowl. A big salad built on iceberg quietly adds up on both rows without adding much to the calorie column.
Iceberg works best as the base, not the meal
Because a medium head is only 75 calories, iceberg rarely decides whether a meal is light or heavy. The toppings do. A wedge salad, a chopped salad or a lettuce-wrapped burger can land almost anywhere on the calorie scale, depending on the dressing, cheese and protein you add.
If you want a salad to keep you full, pair the lettuce with a protein source such as chicken, eggs, tuna or beans, since the head itself offers only 4.9 g. Measure the dressing with a spoon instead of pouring from the bottle. Then the lettuce does its job: a lot of volume for very few calories.
For logging, weigh the lettuce or count cups rather than guessing a fraction of a head. Bagged options like First Street Shredded Iceberg Lettuce or Dole Just Lettuce Iceberg and Romaine make cup counts easy. BodyPal can log lettuce from a photo, and you can track the toppings separately, since that is where most of the plate's calories sit.
How does lettuce head compare?
Here is how a head of iceberg stacks up against iceberg lettuce by weight, loose lettuce leaves and romaine, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories per bite, iceberg wins at 14 per 100 g, against 15 for lettuce leaves and 17 for romaine. If you want a little more protein, lettuce leaves at 1.4 g or romaine at 1.2 g edge ahead, but the gaps are small enough that you should simply pick the crunch you like.
Most popular lettuce head brands in the United States
Bagged and shredded lettuce is the same raw product, so its label numbers land within a couple of calories per 100 g of the head above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Lettuce head FAQs
How many calories are in a head of lettuce?
A medium head of iceberg lettuce (539 g) is about 75 calories. A small head (324 g) is 45 calories and a large head (755 g) is 106.
Is lettuce good for weight loss?
Iceberg lettuce has 14 calories per 100 g, so a cup of shredded lettuce (72 g) is about 10 calories with 0.1 g of fat.
Lettuce head vs romaine: which has fewer calories?
Iceberg lettuce has 14 calories per 100 g and romaine has 17, a difference of 3 calories per 100 g.
How many carbs are in a head of lettuce?
A medium head (539 g) has about 16 g of carbohydrate, including 6.5 g of fiber and 10.6 g of sugars, plus 4.9 g of protein.
How many calories are in a whole head of iceberg lettuce?
A whole medium head of iceberg (539 g) has 75 calories. A small head (324 g) comes to 45 and a large head (755 g) to 106, so even the biggest size stays around 5% of a daily calorie budget.
What are the nutrition facts for a head of lettuce?
A medium head (539 g) has 75 calories, 4.9 g protein, 16 g carbs, 0.8 g fat and 54 mg sodium. It also brings 6.5 g fiber and 10.6 g sugars, with saturated fat and cholesterol at 0.
How much fiber is in a head of lettuce?
A medium head of iceberg has 6.5 g of fiber. A small head has 3.9 g and a large one 9.1 g, while a cup of shredded lettuce gives 0.9 g. Per 100 g, iceberg has 1.2 g.
How much sugar is in a head of lettuce?
A medium head of iceberg has 10.6 g of sugars out of 16 g of total carbs. That works out to 2 g per 100 g, and a cup of shredded lettuce has just 1.4 g.
Is a head of lettuce high in sodium?
No. A medium head has 54 mg of sodium, 2% of the daily value, and iceberg holds just 10 mg per 100 g. Even a large head reaches only 76 mg, or 3%.
