How many calories are in macaroni and cheese?
A 1-cup serving of macaroni and cheese made from a box mix runs 310 calories, and the same dish is 164 calories per 100 g. That cup also brings 12.6 g of protein, 43.7 g of carbohydrate and 869 mg of sodium. The sodium is the number most people miss.
You'd need to walk about 62 minutes to burn the 310 calories in a 1-cup (189 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off mac and cheese?
A 1-cup (189 g) serving is 310 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 310 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 2 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 39 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 44 min |
| Jogging | 36 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 9 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 (189 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Macaroni and cheese quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to two cups
- Frozen, canned and straight from the box
- Homemade and baked mac and cheese
- Sodium is the row to watch, not fat
- How does macaroni and cheese compare?
- Most popular macaroni and cheese brands
- FAQ
Macaroni and cheese quick facts
The row on this page is USDA SR Legacy 169770, "Macaroni and cheese, box mix with cheese sauce, prepared". That is the blue box after it has been drained, stirred with the cheese packet and served: the plate an American is actually holding when they look this up. The other USDA records for this dish measure a different state of the same food, not a different food, and they get their own sections below.
One point up front, because it trips people constantly. The calories printed on the side of the box are for the dry contents, before milk and butter go in. The numbers here are for the finished dish.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup prepared (189 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 164 | 310 | — |
| Total fat | 4.99 g | 9.4 g | 12% |
| Saturated fat | 1.64 g | 3.1 g | 15% |
| Carbohydrate | 23.1 g | 43.7 g | 16% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.2 g | 2.3 g | 8% |
| Total sugars | 1.57 g | 3.0 g | — |
| Protein | 6.68 g | 12.6 g | 25% |
| Sodium | 460 mg | 869 mg | 38% |
% 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 →
There is no added sugars row here because USDA does not publish added sugars for this SR Legacy record. Total sugars are tiny anyway at 3.0 g a cup, most of it lactose from the milk and the cheese powder rather than anything sweetened. Cholesterol comes to 15 mg a cup, 5% of the Daily Value, and potassium to 151 mg, about 3%.
The protein row is the pleasant surprise. A cup covers a quarter of the day's protein target, which is more than most people expect from a bowl of pasta, and it comes from the milk solids in the sauce as much as from the wheat.
US servings, from one ounce to two cups
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 46 kcal |
| 1/2 cup prepared | 94.5 g | 155 kcal |
| 4 oz | 113 g | 185 kcal |
| One cup prepared | 189 g | 310 kcal |
| Two cups prepared | 378 g | 620 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 164 kcal |
Only the 1 cup line is a USDA household measure. The half cup, the 4 oz portion, the two-cup plate and the ounce are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
Two cups is where this dish quietly gets expensive. A box of the original blue-box style makes roughly three cups prepared, so finishing two-thirds of the box in one sitting is 620 calories, again by our own arithmetic from the same 164 per 100 g. That is a full dinner's worth of calories from a side dish, which is exactly how mac and cheese usually gets logged wrong: as a spoonful next to the chicken, when the bowl held closer to a cup and a half.
The cup is also heavier than people picture. At 189 g it outweighs a cup of cooked plain pasta, because the sauce fills the gaps between the elbows. If you are eyeballing rather than weighing, the safer default is to assume you took more than a cup, not less.
Frozen, canned and straight from the box
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box mix prepared with cheese sauce | 164 kcal | 1 cup (189 g) | 310 kcal |
| Frozen entree | 149 kcal | 1 cup (137 g) | 204 kcal |
| Canned entree | 82 kcal | 1 serving (244 g) | 200 kcal |
| Canned, microwavable cup | 134 kcal | 7.5 oz (213 g) | 285 kcal |
| Boxed dinner, dry as packaged | 379 kcal | 1 serving (70 g) | 265 kcal |
| Box mix, dry, cheese-sauce type | 334 kcal | 1 serving as packaged (37 g) | 124 kcal |
The two dry rows are the ones that cause arguments. USDA 173340, the boxed dinner as packaged, is 379 calories per 100 g, which is 2.3 times the density of the finished plate at 164. Nothing has been added yet; the dry noodles simply hold almost no water. A 70 g serving of that dry mix is 265 calories before a drop of milk or a pat of butter, and both of those add more.
Frozen is the version people assume is worst and it is not. USDA 173342, frozen entree, is 149 calories per 100 g and its cup weighs 137 g, so a cup is 204 calories, about a third less than the prepared box mix. The portion is smaller and the tray sets a hard limit, which is most of the difference.
Canned looks like the diet option at 82 calories per 100 g, just over half the density of frozen. It is not. The canned serving is 244 g against the frozen cup's 137 g, so the plates land at 200 and 204 calories: the same lunch, reached from opposite directions. Density per 100 g tells you nothing until you multiply it by what actually goes in the bowl.
The microwavable canned cup sits apart from its shelf neighbor at 134 calories per 100 g and 285 calories for a 7.5 oz cup, because it is built with more cheese and less sauce water.
Boxed brands as packaged are close to each other and to that USDA dry row. Kraft Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner and Market Pantry Macaroni & Cheese Dinner both label 250 calories for a 70 g serving, Big Win labels 220 for a 58 g package, and Market Pantry Deluxe Shells with Creamy Cheese Sauce comes in at 370 for a 113 g serving. All four are dry weights.
Homemade and baked mac and cheese
USDA has no from-scratch baked macaroni and cheese record, so anyone quoting one precise number for grandma's casserole is guessing. The closest honest stand-in is USDA 173341, dry mix prepared with 2% milk and stick margarine, at 190 calories per 100 g against 164 for the same box prepared the standard way. Fat rises from 4.99 g to 8.28 g per 100 g. Scaled to the same 189 g cup, our own arithmetic puts that at about 359 calories.
That 26-calorie-per-100-g gap is the whole story of homemade versions. The pasta and the cheese powder do not change; the fat you stir in does. A baked dish with extra shredded cheddar, cream instead of milk and a buttered breadcrumb top will sit above 190 per 100 g, not below it. Budget 350 to 450 calories a cup for a rich baked casserole and you will rarely be far off.
Sodium is the row to watch, not fat
One cup of prepared mac and cheese carries 869 mg of sodium, 38% of the Daily Value. Saturated fat, the row most people brace for, is 3.1 g or 15%. So a single cup uses more than a third of the day's sodium allowance and only a seventh of the saturated fat allowance. That ratio is unusual for a comfort food and it is the most useful thing on this page.
In salt terms, 869 mg of sodium is about a third of a teaspoon of table salt in one cup. Two cups puts you past 1,700 mg, which is most of a day for anyone watching blood pressure. The FDA's Daily Value reference sets the sodium limit at 2,300 mg, and the cheese powder in a boxed mix is where most of this dish's share of that comes from.
If sodium is your constraint, the frozen entree at 290 mg per 100 g is the better pick over the box mix at 460 mg per 100 g. If it is not, the box mix wins on protein per calorie. On the grains-and-dairy accounting that MyPlate uses, a cup of this counts as a grain serving with a modest dairy contribution, not as your vegetable.
How does macaroni and cheese compare?
| Version | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macaroni and cheese, box mix prepared | 164 kcal | 1 cup (189 g) | 310 kcal |
| Frozen entree | 149 kcal | 1 cup (137 g) | 204 kcal |
| Canned entree | 82 kcal | 1 serving (244 g) | 200 kcal |
| Canned, microwavable | 134 kcal | 7.5 oz (213 g) | 285 kcal |
Our take: if you are counting calories, the frozen entree is the easiest win of the four, because 204 calories comes with a tray that stops you at one portion. If you want the meal to hold you until dinner, the prepared box mix is the better trade at 310 calories, since it delivers 12.6 g of protein against the canned entree's 8.2 g for roughly the same fullness. The canned entree is the one we would skip: 200 calories that arrive in the softest, least satisfying form of the four. And whichever you pick, measure the bowl once with a scale, because the gap between a cup and a cup and a half here is 155 calories.
Most popular macaroni and cheese 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) |
|---|---|
| KRAFT Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner | 357 cal |
| Market Pantry Macaroni & Cheese Dinner | 357 cal |
| Big Win Macaroni & Cheese Dinner | 379 cal |
| Market Pantry Deluxe Shells with Creamy Cheese Sauce | 327 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Macaroni and cheese FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of macaroni and cheese?
310 calories in a 1-cup serving of box mix prepared with cheese sauce, which weighs 189 g. That works out to 164 calories per 100 g. The same cup carries 43.7 g of carbohydrate, 12.6 g of protein, 9.4 g of fat and 869 mg of sodium, which is 38% of the Daily Value.
How many calories in a box of Kraft mac and cheese?
250 calories per 70 g serving as packaged, and the label calls that a third of the box, so the dry contents run about 750 calories by our own arithmetic. Prepared with milk and butter it makes roughly three cups, closer to 930 calories in total. The box number is always the dry number.
Is macaroni and cheese high in sodium?
Yes, one prepared cup holds 869 mg of sodium, 38% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, or about a third of a teaspoon of table salt. Per 100 g the box mix is 460 mg against 290 mg for the frozen entree, so the frozen version is the lower-sodium choice of the two.
How many calories in homemade baked mac and cheese?
USDA has no from-scratch baked record; the closest one, dry mix prepared with 2% milk and margarine, is 190 calories per 100 g, or roughly 359 for a 189 g cup by our own arithmetic. A casserole with extra cheddar, cream and a buttered crumb top will sit above that, near 350 to 450 a cup.
How much protein is in mac and cheese?
12.6 g in a 1-cup prepared serving, 25% of the Daily Value, from 6.68 g per 100 g. That is more than most pasta dishes, because the sauce contributes milk protein alongside the wheat. The canned entree gives less, 3.38 g per 100 g, though its bigger 244 g serving brings it to about 8.2 g.
Frozen vs boxed mac and cheese, which has fewer calories?
Frozen, on both counts: it is 149 calories per 100 g against 164 for prepared box mix, and its cup weighs 137 g rather than 189 g, so a frozen cup is 204 calories against 310. The tray portion, not the recipe, is doing most of that work.
How many calories in half a cup of mac and cheese?
155 calories for a 94.5 g half cup, our own arithmetic from the USDA figure of 164 per 100 g rather than a USDA serving. That half cup also carries about 435 mg of sodium and 6.3 g of protein. It is a realistic side-dish portion next to a piece of chicken.
How many carbs are in macaroni and cheese?
43.7 g of carbohydrate in a 1-cup prepared serving, 16% of the Daily Value, from 23.1 g per 100 g. Fiber accounts for 2.3 g of that and total sugars for 3.0 g. Dry as packaged the boxed dinner is far denser at 70.12 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, since no water has been added.
Similar foods
- Penne pasta — 169 cal per cup
- Pasta — 168 cal per cup penne
- Baba ganoush — 110 cal for 1/4 cup
- Prosciutto — 55 cal for 3 thin slices
- Rice — 205 cal per cup, cooked
- Quinoa — 222 cal per cup cooked
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the bowl and BodyPal counts the mac and cheese for you, sauce and all.
