How many calories are in a Nathan's hot dog?
One Nathan's Famous beef frank weighs 57 g and carries 170 calories. Per 100 g the link runs 298 calories, almost all of it from fat: 16 g in a single frank, against 6 g of protein and 1 g of carbohydrate. Two on the grill puts you at 340 before a bun or a squeeze of mustard.
You'd need to walk about 34 minutes to burn the 170 calories in one link (57 g).
How long does it take to burn off 170 kcal of Nathan's hot dog?
One link (57 g) is 170 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 170 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 34 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 21 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 24 min |
| Jogging | 20 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 38 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 (57 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Nathan's hot dog quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to two links
- Skinless, natural casing, low-fat and generic franks
- Does grilling change the number?
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does a Nathan's frank compare?
- Most popular nathan's hot dog brands
- FAQ
Nathan's hot dog quick facts
The numbers below come from the branded USDA record for the product you actually pick up in the meat case: Beef Frankfurters, Nathan's Famous, GTIN 888313917419. Its label serving is one link, 57 g, and that is the figure people are looking for when they hold the package. Generic USDA frankfurter records describe a different-sized sausage, so they sit in a table further down rather than in this panel.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 link (57 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 298 | 170 | — |
| Total fat | 28.07 g | 16.0 g | 21% |
| Carbohydrate | 1.75 g | 1.0 g | 0% |
| Protein | 10.53 g | 6.0 g | 12% |
| Sodium | 982 mg | 560 mg | 24% |
% 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 →
Three rows you would expect are missing on purpose. The branded extract for this GTIN does not carry saturated fat, total sugars or dietary fiber, so putting a figure there would mean borrowing from a different food, and we don't do that. For scale only: the generic USDA beef frankfurter runs 11.59 g of saturated fat and 0 g of fiber per 100 g, which is our own arithmetic away from about 6.6 g of saturated fat in a 57 g link — a different record, not Nathan's own panel. Read it as a ballpark, not as the label.
What the panel does say is blunt. Fat supplies most of the 170 calories, protein supplies a little, and carbohydrate is a rounding error until the bun arrives.
US servings, from one ounce to two links
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 83 kcal |
| One link, label serving | 57 g | 170 kcal |
| 3 oz | 85 g | 253 kcal |
| Two links, a normal cookout plate | 114 g | 340 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 298 kcal |
Only the 57 g link is a USDA serving. The ounce, the 3 oz portion and the two-link plate are our own arithmetic from the 298-calories-per-100-g figure, scaled straight off the same record.
That two-link line is the one worth internalizing. Two franks are 340 calories of beef before anything joins them, which is already a light lunch, and a cookout plate rarely stops at two naked links. Buns, chili, cheese sauce and slaw all sit on top of that number rather than inside it, so log them as separate items instead of guessing at a combined hot dog.
Skinless, natural casing, low-fat and generic franks
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical link | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan's Famous beef frank, skinless | 298 kcal | 1 link, 57 g | 170 kcal |
| Nathan's Original Coney Island, natural casing | 298 kcal | 1 link, 57 g | 170 kcal |
| Beef frankfurter, heated, generic | 322 kcal | 1 frankfurter, 48 g | 155 kcal |
| Beef frankfurter, unheated, generic | 315 kcal | 1 hot dog, 49 g | 154 kcal |
| Low-fat beef frankfurter | 140 kcal | 1 frankfurter, 57 g | 80 kcal |
| Fat-free beef, pork and turkey frank | 109 kcal | 1 frank, 57 g | 62 kcal |
The skinless and the natural casing Nathan's franks share one panel. Both are 298 calories per 100 g with a 57 g link, so the snap of the casing is a texture decision, not a calorie decision.
The generic USDA frankfurter looks lighter at 155 calories, and people read that as a leaner sausage. It isn't. The generic link weighs 48 g against Nathan's 57 g; per 100 g the generic is actually the denser of the two. Size explains the gap, recipe doesn't.
Recipe explains the bottom two rows. A low-fat beef frank is 140 calories per 100 g, so the same 57 g link lands at 80 — a saving of 90 calories per frank, our arithmetic from that record's 100 g figure. The fat-free blend goes further to 62, though it pays for it with 11.21 g of carbohydrate per 100 g from starch, where the beef frank has 1.75 g.
Other national brands sit close. Ball Park's uncured beef frank matches Nathan's at 298 per 100 g and 170 per 57 g link; Sabrett is a touch denser at 304 but sells a 46 g frank, so the label reads 140; Boar's Head is the lightest per gram of the group at 267, with 120 in a 45 g frank. Hebrew National's panel is 297 per 100 g, but its labeled frank is 91 g, which is why the package says 270.
Does grilling change the number?
Barely, and not in the direction most people assume. USDA lists the same beef frankfurter twice: heated at 322 calories per 100 g and unheated at 315. Heat looks like it adds calories, but nothing is added — water leaves. The frank gets a little denser per gram while the link itself gets lighter.
Follow it to the plate and the effect cancels. The heated link is listed at 48 g and 155 calories, the unheated one at 49 g and 154. One calorie apart. Grilling, boiling or pan-searing a hot dog is a texture choice; the calories ride on the sausage you unwrapped, so log the link, not the cooking method. What genuinely moves the total is what goes around it.
Sodium is the row to watch
Calories are not the interesting part of a hot dog. Sodium is. One 57 g Nathan's link carries 560 mg, which is 24% of the FDA Daily Value of 2,300 mg — roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt in a sausage you finish in six bites. Two links reach 1,120 mg, close to half a day, and that is before a salted bun, mustard, relish or pickles.
For context, CDC notes that most people in the US take in well over the 2,300 mg mark already, and processed meats are one of the categories doing the heavy lifting. If you are watching sodium, the practical move is not skipping the frank but keeping the rest of the plate low: plain bun, no cheese sauce, no extra pickles.
The protein line deserves a note too. Six grams per link is 12% of the Daily Value, so a hot dog does count toward the MyPlate protein group — but with 16 g of fat riding along, it is a fat food that carries protein rather than a protein food that carries fat. For weight loss, one link plus a bun and a big pile of sauerkraut works; for satiety per calorie, a leaner cut does more with the same 170.
How does a Nathan's frank compare?
| Sausage | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan's beef frank | 298 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 253 kcal |
| Bratwurst, pork and beef | 323 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 275 kcal |
| Smoked link sausage, pork and beef | 320 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 272 kcal |
| Kielbasa, fully cooked | 325 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 276 kcal |
Our take: on an ounce-for-ounce basis the hot dog is the lightest of the four, and by a real margin — 298 against 320 to 325 per 100 g. But it wins on portion more than on density. A bratwurst or a kielbasa link is typically a 3 oz piece, while a Nathan's frank is 57 g, so the sausage most people finish is 170 calories rather than 275. If you want the cookout to cost less, the frank is the pick; if you are eating by weight, all four are the same neighborhood.
Most popular nathan's hot dog 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) |
|---|---|
| Nathan's Famous Beef Frankfurters | 298 cal |
| Nathan's Famous Original Coney Island | 298 cal |
| Hebrew National Beef Frankfurters | 297 cal |
| Ball Park Uncured Beef Frankfurters | 298 cal |
| Sabrett Skinless Beef Frankfurters | 304 cal |
| Boar's Head Beef Frankfurters | 267 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Nathan's hot dog FAQs
How many calories are in a Nathan's hot dog?
170 calories in one Nathan's Famous beef frank, the 57 g link on the label. That works out to 298 calories per 100 g. Sixteen grams of that is fat and 6 g is protein. The bun, chili, cheese or slaw you add sits on top of the 170.
How many calories in a Nathan's hot dog with a bun?
170 calories is the link alone. We did not pull a USDA bun record for this page, so this page puts no number on the bread. Read the bag: every bun label prints its own count and its own weight. Add that to the 170 from the frank and log the total, not the frank alone.
How much sodium is in a Nathan's hot dog?
560 mg of sodium in one link, 24% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value the FDA sets. That is roughly a quarter teaspoon of table salt in a single frank. Two links reach 1,120 mg, and that is before mustard, relish or a salted bun joins the plate.
How many calories are in two Nathan's hot dogs?
340 calories for two Nathan's links, 114 g of beef frank together. Doubling the link doubles everything: 32 g of fat, 12 g of protein and 1,120 mg of sodium, just under half a day's worth. Two franks with buns and toppings land closer to a full meal than a snack.
Is a Nathan's hot dog high in protein?
6 g of protein per link, 12% of the Daily Value, against 16 g of fat in the same 57 g. A hot dog is a fat food that carries some protein, not a protein food. MyPlate counts it in the protein group, but leaner cuts do the same job with far less fat.
Nathan's vs Hebrew National hot dog calories?
270 calories in one Hebrew National beef frankfurter against 170 in a Nathan's link, and the gap is size, not recipe. Hebrew National's labeled frank weighs 91 g; Nathan's weighs 57 g. Per 100 g they are within one calorie of each other, 297 against 298. Weigh the frank, not the brand.
Do skinless and natural casing Nathan's franks differ in calories?
170 calories either way. Nathan's Famous skinless beef franks and the Original Coney Island natural casing franks carry the same USDA panel: 298 calories per 100 g, a 57 g link, 16 g of fat and 560 mg of sodium. The casing changes the snap when you bite it, not the count.
How many carbs are in a Nathan's hot dog?
1 g of carbohydrate per link, from 1.75 g per 100 g, which is under 1% of the Daily Value. A beef frank on its own is close to a zero-carb food; the bun is where the carbohydrate lives. If you are counting carbs rather than calories, the frank is not the part to worry about.
Similar foods
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- Mozzarella — 334 cal per cup, shredded
- Chuck Roast — 257 cal per 3 oz
- Ribeye Steak — 495 cal per 8 oz steak
- Burger — 418 cal per hamburger
- Sausage — 210 cal per link
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the franks, the bun and the toppings for you.
