How many calories are in mashed potatoes with gravy?
A 1-cup serving of mashed potatoes with gravy weighs 229 g and carries 243 calories, or 106 calories per 100 g. The potatoes do most of that work. Sodium is the number that surprises people: 682 mg in that cup, 30% of a day's limit, before the gravy ladle touches the plate.
You'd need to walk about 49 minutes to burn the 243 calories in a 1-cup (229 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off 243 kcal of mashed potatoes with gravy?
A 1-cup (229 g) serving is 243 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 243 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 49 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 30 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 35 min |
| Jogging | 29 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 54 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 (229 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Mashed potato quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a 700-gram tub
- Homemade, instant and frozen versions
- Sodium and saturated fat are the rows to watch
- How do mashed potatoes with gravy compare?
- Most popular mashed potatoes brands
- Mashed potatoes FAQs
Mashed potato quick facts
There is no USDA record called "mashed potatoes with gravy." The only entry in the database that carries gravy is a whole frozen turkey dinner with stuffing and vegetables, and its protein and sodium belong to the turkey, not to your side dish. So the numbers below come from SR Legacy 169768, "Potatoes, mashed, ready-to-eat" — the tub of mash that sits under the gravy on most American plates.
That record also lines up with what the refrigerated tubs actually declare: store brands run from 89 to 129 calories per 100 g, and 106 sits comfortably inside that spread.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (229 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 106 | 243 | — |
| Total fat | 5.01 g | 11.5 g | 15% |
| Saturated fat | 2.63 g | 6.0 g | 30% |
| Carbohydrate | 13.29 g | 30.4 g | 11% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.9 g | 4.4 g | 16% |
| Total sugars | 1.76 g | 4.0 g | — |
| Protein | 1.97 g | 4.5 g | 9% |
| Sodium | 298 mg | 682 mg | 30% |
% 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 →
Added sugars are not shown because USDA does not publish an added sugars value for this record. Cholesterol comes to 30 mg a cup, 10% of the Daily Value, and potassium to 627 mg, 13%. Trans fat is on the record and it is small: 0.13 g per 100 g, so 0.3 g in a cup.
US servings, from one ounce to a 700-gram tub
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 30 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 106 kcal |
| Half a cup | 115 g | 122 kcal |
| 1 cup | 229 g | 243 kcal |
| One container | 700 g | 742 kcal |
The cup and the container are USDA's own household measures for this record. The half cup and the ounce are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
Watch the half cup. It is the serving printed on nearly every refrigerated tub — Old Home, Bob Evans, Reser's and Wellsley Farms all declare 1/2 cup — and at 110 to 150 calories it reads harmlessly. A spoon-filled dinner plate is closer to the full cup, which doubles everything on the label in one motion. The 700 g container is the whole tub, 742 calories, and it disappears fast at a table of four.
Homemade, instant and frozen versions
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-eat, the main record | 106 kcal | 1 cup (229 g) | 243 kcal |
| Home-prepared, whole milk and butter | 113 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 32 kcal |
| Home-prepared, whole milk and margarine | 113 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 32 kcal |
| Home-prepared, whole milk only | 83 kcal | 1 cup (210 g) | 174 kcal |
| From instant flakes, milk and butter | 97 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 27 kcal |
| Instant potato flakes, dry as sold | 354 kcal | 1 cup dry (60 g) | 212 kcal |
| Frozen turkey dinner with gravy | 128 kcal | 1 serving (385 g) | 493 kcal |
The ounce servings on the home-prepared rows are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figures; USDA lists cup measures only for some of these entries.
Two versions come in under the ready-to-eat tub, and neither is the one people expect. Mash made with whole milk and nothing else is 83 per 100 g, and a full cup of it is 174 calories — 69 fewer than the tub. Mash rebuilt from instant flakes with milk and butter is 97. The butter and margarine versions of homemade sit highest of the three home rows at 113, which is where that extra +36% over milk-only goes.
Dry flakes are the trap. The box reads 354 calories per 100 g, and shoppers who log the box number log three and a half times the truth. Water is what changes: prepared from flakes with milk and butter, the same product is 97 per 100 g. The label measures powder, the plate holds a dish.
The frozen dinner is a different food altogether. At 493 calories a tray it is double a cup of mash, and its 6.97 g of protein per 100 g comes from the turkey beside the potatoes.
Sodium and saturated fat are the rows to watch
Calories are the mild number here. A cup is 243, about 12% of a 2,000-calorie day. Sodium and saturated fat both land at 30% of the FDA Daily Value — 682 mg against a 2,300 mg limit, 6.0 g against 20 g. That is two and a half times faster than the calories, and the gravy has not been poured yet.
To picture 682 mg: about a third of a teaspoon of table salt, in a side dish nobody thinks of as salty.
Butter or margarine barely moves either the calories or the sodium. Whole milk with butter is 113 per 100 g at 317 mg sodium; with margarine, 113 at 333 mg. The saturated fat is the real split: 2.61 g per 100 g with butter, 0.74 g with margarine. If you are watching saturated fat, that swap is the one that pays.
On the credit side, potatoes count toward the vegetables group on MyPlate, and the cup brings 4.4 g of fiber, 16% of the Daily Value, plus 627 mg of potassium.
How do mashed potatoes with gravy compare?
| Dish | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mashed potatoes, ready-to-eat | 106 kcal | 1 cup (229 g) | 243 kcal |
| Frozen turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy | 128 kcal | 1 serving (385 g) | 493 kcal |
| Macaroni and cheese, canned | 134 kcal | 7.5 oz (213 g, our arithmetic) | 285 kcal |
| Rice and vermicelli mix, beef flavor, prepared | 129 kcal | 1 oz (28 g, our arithmetic) | 37 kcal |
Our take: mashed potatoes are the lightest of these four per gram, and it is not close — 106 against 128, 129 and 134. The damage comes from the size of the scoop, not the density of the food. If you want the mash and you are counting, serve half a cup, 122 calories, and let the gravy be the flavor rather than the volume. If you want to be full on the same budget, the canned mac and cheese buys you more protein per calorie but costs you a quarter more per gram, and the frozen dinner doubles the plate for a portion of turkey you could add yourself for less.
Most popular mashed potatoes 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) |
|---|---|
| Old Home Premium Mashed Potatoes | 115 cal |
| Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes | 121 cal |
| Hormel Garlic Mashed Potatoes | 120 cal |
| Wellsley Farms Red Skin Mashed Potatoes | 89 cal |
| Reser's Creamy Mashed Potatoes | 113 cal |
| Good & Gather Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes | 129 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Mashed potatoes FAQs
How many calories are in mashed potatoes with gravy?
About 243 calories for a 1-cup (229 g) serving, using USDA's ready-to-eat mashed potato record at 106 calories per 100 g. USDA has no standalone record for brown gravy in this set, so treat 243 as the potatoes on the plate and add a modest ladle on top.
How many calories in 1 cup of mashed potatoes?
243 calories in a 1-cup (229 g) serving of ready-to-eat mashed potatoes. Half a cup, 115 g, works out to 122 calories by our own arithmetic from the 100 g figure. Home-prepared mash made with whole milk and no added fat drops to 174 calories a cup.
How much sodium is in mashed potatoes with gravy?
682 mg in a 1-cup serving, which is 30% of the FDA Daily Value of 2,300 mg and roughly a third of a teaspoon of table salt. Per 100 g the figure is 298 mg. Gravy, canned or from a packet, pushes the plate higher still.
How many carbs are in mashed potatoes with gravy?
30.4 g of carbohydrate in a 1-cup (229 g) serving, 11% of the Daily Value, of which 4.4 g is fiber and 4.0 g total sugars. Per 100 g that is 13.29 g. Home-prepared mash with whole milk runs higher, at 17.57 g per 100 g.
Are mashed potatoes with gravy healthy?
One cup gives you 4.4 g of fiber, 16% of the Daily Value, plus 627 mg of potassium. The trouble is 682 mg of sodium and 6.0 g of saturated fat, 30% of the Daily Value each. Potatoes count toward the MyPlate vegetables group; the butter and the salt are the part to watch.
Do instant mashed potatoes have more calories than homemade?
Prepared, no — instant flakes made up with milk and butter come to 97 calories per 100 g, below home-prepared mash with milk and butter at 113. Dry flakes read 354 per 100 g because the water is gone; a 60 g cup of dry flakes is 212 calories.
How much protein is in mashed potatoes?
4.5 g in a 1-cup (229 g) serving, 9% of the Daily Value, from 1.97 g per 100 g. That is low for a plate filler this size. The frozen turkey dinner version reads 6.97 g per 100 g, but the protein there comes from the turkey, not the potatoes.
Is butter or margarine lower in calories in mashed potatoes?
Neither: both come in at 113 calories per 100 g in USDA's home-prepared records. The difference is saturated fat, 2.61 g per 100 g with butter against 0.74 g with margarine, and sodium, 317 mg against 333 mg. Skipping both and using milk alone drops it to 83.
Similar foods
- Ear of Corn — 99 cal per medium ear
- Sweet Potato — 103 cal per medium, baked
- Papaya salad — 190 cal per plate
- Potato wedges — 138 cal for 3 oz
- 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 mash and the gravy for you.
