How many calories are in a loaded potato?
One medium loaded potato weighs 315 g and carries 482 calories, or 153 calories per 100 g. That is a baked potato eaten skin and all, under melted cheese. Plain, the USDA medium baked potato is 265 calories. So the melted cheese accounts for 217 of those calories, almost as much again as the potato underneath.
You'd need to walk about 96 minutes to burn the 482 calories in one medium potato (315 g).
How long does it take to burn off loaded potato?
One medium potato (315 g) is 482 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 482 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 36 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 1 hr |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 9 min |
| Jogging | 57 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 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 (315 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Loaded potato quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a large potato
- Toppings, from butter to bacon
- Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
- How does a loaded potato compare?
- Most popular loaded potato brands
- Loaded potato FAQs
Loaded potato quick facts
The number above comes from FNDDS 2709527, "Potato, baked, peel eaten, with cheese", the USDA survey record for a baked potato eaten with its skin under melted cheese. It is the closest match to the thing on the plate: a whole potato plus a dairy topping, weighed together. The bare SR Legacy rows for baked potatoes describe the vegetable alone, which is a different food once the cheese hits it.
USDA does not publish a single record for cheddar plus bacon plus sour cream all at once. The cheese row is the anchor here, and the bacon and sour cream versions get their own numbers further down, so you can pick the one that matches your plate.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 medium potato (315 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 153 | 482 | — |
| Total fat | 7.69 g | 24.2 g | 31% |
| Saturated fat | 4.32 g | 13.6 g | 68% |
| Carbohydrate | 17.43 g | 54.9 g | 20% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.7 g | 5.4 g | 19% |
| Total sugars | 1.27 g | 4.0 g | — |
| Protein | 4.09 g | 12.9 g | 26% |
| Sodium | 225 mg | 709 mg | 31% |
% 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 are missing on purpose: FNDDS does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this dish, so there is nothing honest to print. Cholesterol comes to 69 mg per medium potato, 23% of the Daily Value, and potassium is the quiet win at 1,399 mg, or 30% DV. Those Daily Values are the FDA's, set against a 2,000-calorie day.
US servings, from one ounce to a large potato
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 43 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 153 kcal |
| 1 cup, chopped | 160 g | 245 kcal |
| 1 small potato | 260 g | 398 kcal |
| 1 medium potato | 315 g | 482 kcal |
| 1 large potato | 445 g | 681 kcal |
Small, medium, large and the cup are USDA household measures for this record. The one-ounce line is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving, and it is mostly useful as a mental unit: every extra ounce of loaded potato is about 43 calories.
The cup is where people go wrong. A cup of scooped loaded potato is 160 g and 245 calories, which is roughly half a medium potato, not one. Log "a cup" when you actually ate a whole medium and you have hidden 237 calories. Steakhouse potatoes are usually the large one, 445 g and 681 calories before anyone brings extra butter.
Toppings, from butter to bacon
USDA keeps a separate survey record for each topping style, and on the same 315 g potato the spread runs 110 calories, from butter at 394 to bacon at 504.
| Version | fdc_id | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With bacon or other meat | 2709528 | 160 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 504 kcal |
| With melted cheese | 2709527 | 153 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 482 kcal |
| With cheese, skin left on the plate | 2709520 | 153 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 482 kcal |
| With sour cream only | 2709526 | 131 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 413 kcal |
| With butter only | 2709525 | 125 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 394 kcal |
| Plain, skin eaten | 2709524 | 93 kcal | 1 medium, 285 g | 265 kcal |
Bacon edges out cheese, which surprises most people. A meat-topped potato is 160 calories per 100 g against 153 for the cheese version, and 504 against 482 on a medium. It also brings the most sodium of the group at 257 mg per 100 g. Butter alone is the gentlest of the real toppings at 394 calories, with sour cream just above it at 413.
Leaving the skin on the plate saves you nothing. USDA lists the same 153 calories per 100 g either way, so the potato is still 482. What you lose is fiber: 5.4 g with the skin, about 3.8 g without it. That is a pure downgrade.
Store versions run on their own scale, because they are mostly topping and shell. Farm Rich Loaded Potato Skins list 210 calories for two pieces, 91 g, which is 231 calories per 100 g, half again as dense as a scratch loaded potato. A Schnucks Loaded Potato package of 363 g is 439 calories at 121 per 100 g, and Tasteful Selections sells the raw kit at 73 calories per 100 g before anything melts.
Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
Calories are not the interesting part of this food. Saturated fat is. A medium loaded potato with cheese carries 13.6 g, which is 68% of the FDA Daily Value in one side dish. A plain baked potato with the skin has 0.03 g per 100 g, essentially none. Going from bare potato to loaded potato takes saturated fat from a rounding error to two thirds of a day.
Sodium follows: 709 mg per medium, 31% DV, and closer to 809 mg if the topping is bacon. If you want that in kitchen terms, 709 mg is about a third of a teaspoon of table salt, before anyone reaches for the shaker. The Dietary Guidelines cap for adults is 2,300 mg a day, so one potato is roughly a third of it.
The upside is real too. Potassium at 1,399 mg per medium is 30% DV, more than most people get from a banana-sized snack, and 5.4 g of fiber is 19% DV. Protein at 12.9 g, 26% DV, is respectable for something that started as a vegetable. If you are watching saturated fat, the sour cream or butter version keeps the fiber while cutting the fat load; if you are watching calories only, portion size moves the number more than the topping does.
How does a loaded potato compare?
| Version | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loaded potato, with cheese | 153 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 482 kcal |
| Loaded with meat or bacon | 160 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 504 kcal |
| Loaded with sour cream only | 131 kcal | 1 medium, 315 g | 413 kcal |
| Plain baked potato, skin eaten | 93 kcal | 1 medium, 285 g | 265 kcal |
Our take: the plain baked potato is the only row here under 100 calories per 100 g, and it is the one worth defending. If you are cutting calories, order the potato plain and add one topping yourself rather than four, because sour cream alone still lands 69 calories under the cheese version and keeps saturated fat far lower. If you want the meal to hold you until evening, the loaded version earns its keep: 12.9 g of protein and 5.4 g of fiber is a real lunch, not a side. What you should not do is treat a large loaded potato as a side dish next to a steak. At 681 calories it is the entree.
Most popular loaded potato 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) |
|---|---|
| Tasteful Selections Loaded Potato | 73 cal |
| Schnucks Loaded Potato | 121 cal |
| Farm Rich Loaded Potato Skins | 231 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Loaded potato FAQs
How many calories are in a loaded baked potato?
A medium loaded baked potato weighing 315 g carries 482 calories, from the USDA row for a baked potato eaten with the skin under melted cheese. That works out to 153 calories per 100 g. Swap the cheese for bacon and the same potato reads 504 calories.
How many calories in a large loaded potato?
A large loaded potato of 445 g comes to 681 calories, 199 more than the 315 g medium at 482. The extra weight is mostly potato, though the topping usually scales up with it. A small one, 260 g, is 398 calories on the same USDA figures.
Is a loaded potato healthy?
One medium delivers 5.4 g of fiber, 19% of the Daily Value, plus 12.9 g of protein and 1,399 mg of potassium, which is 30% DV. The catch is 13.6 g of saturated fat, 68% DV, and 709 mg of sodium. Good foundation, heavy topping.
How much protein is in a loaded baked potato?
A medium loaded potato with cheese has 12.9 g of protein, 26% of the Daily Value, from 4.09 g per 100 g. A plain baked potato of similar size gives about 7.1 g, so the cheese is doing roughly half the work. The bacon version is slightly higher again.
How many carbs are in a loaded potato?
A medium loaded potato holds 54.9 g of carbohydrate, 20% of the Daily Value, of which 5.4 g is fiber and only 4.0 g is sugar. Per 100 g that is 17.43 g. The topping adds fat and sodium rather than carbs, so the number barely moves.
Does eating the skin change the calories?
Barely. USDA lists 153 calories per 100 g whether the peel is eaten or left on the plate, so a 315 g potato is 482 calories either way. Fiber is what changes: 5.4 g with the skin against about 3.8 g without it. Eat the skin.
How many calories does cheese and bacon add to a baked potato?
A plain baked potato with the skin runs 93 calories per 100 g, the cheese version 153 and the meat-topped version 160. The USDA plain medium weighs 285 g for 265 calories; the loaded medium is 315 g for 482. Topping accounts for most of that gap.
How many calories in loaded potato skins?
Frozen loaded potato skins are denser than a whole potato. Farm Rich lists 210 calories for two pieces, 91 g, which is 231 calories per 100 g against 153 for a scratch loaded potato. You lose the watery flesh and keep the cheese, so density climbs.
Similar foods
- Potato wedges — 138 cal for 3 oz
- Ear of Corn — 99 cal per medium ear
- Sweet Potato — 103 cal per medium, baked
- Papaya salad — 190 cal per plate
- Carrot — 53 cal per cup chopped
- Onion — 46 cal per cup sliced
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the potato and everything melted on top of it.
