Orange peel calories come to 6 for 1 tbsp (6 g) of raw peel and 97 per 100 g. The number worth noticing is fiber, not energy: 100 g of peel carries 10.6 g of it, while a tablespoon of zest adds so few calories that it barely registers in a day's log.
6kcal
1 tablespoon · 6 g, raw
6%protein
0.1 gProtein
2 gCarbs
0 gFat
How to burn off 6 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Raw · per 6 g
Calories
6 kcal
Protein
0.1 g
Carbohydrate
1.5 g
Fat
0 g
Saturated fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
0 mg
Potassium
13 mg
Iron
0 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 →
Orange peel: 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 tbsp (6 g)
6
0.1 g
1.5 g
0 g
0 mg
0%
1 tsp (2 g)
2
0 g
0.5 g
0 g
0 mg
0%
100 g
97
1.5 g
25 g
0.2 g
3 mg
5%
Whole fruit with peel (159 g)
100
2.1 g
24.6 g
0.5 g
3 mg
5%
3 × 1 tbsp (6 g)
17
0.3 g
1 mg
5 × 1 tbsp (6 g)
29
0.5 g
1 mg
A tablespoon of zest is a 6-calorie garnish
Most orange peel ends up as zest, grated over cake batter, a marinade, oatmeal or a bowl of yogurt. At 1 tbsp (6 g) it adds 6 calories, 1.5 g of carbs and 0.6 g of fiber. A 1 tsp (2 g) pinch is 2 calories, which shows up as 0% of the daily value for calories. In practice, zest is a flavor you can use freely without doing any math.
Scaling up hardly moves the total. Two tablespoons (12 g) come to 12 calories, three tablespoons (18 g) to 17, and five tablespoons, a full 30 g, reach just 29. Even that generous pile carries only 0.5 g of protein and 1 mg of sodium. Few recipes ask for that much peel, so the realistic range for a single dish sits at the low end of these rows.
The 100 g row works mostly as a reference point. At 97 calories it would be 5% of the daily value, but 100 g of raw peel is far more than anyone grates into one meal. Candied or chocolate-dipped peel is a different food with added sugar or chocolate, and these raw numbers do not describe it.
Carbs supply 93% of the calories
Orange peel is a carbohydrate food through and through. Carbs account for 93% of its calories, protein for 6% and fat for just 2%. Per 100 g that works out to 25 g of carbs, 1.5 g of protein and 0.2 g of fat, with 0 g of saturated fat and 0 mg of cholesterol.
What makes those carbs unusual is how much of them is fiber. Of the 25 g of carbs in 100 g, 10.6 g is fiber, a far bigger slice than you find in most fruit flesh. That is why peel tastes bitter and chewy rather than sweet and juicy, and why it behaves more like a seasoning than a snack.
Protein is not a reason to eat it. A tablespoon carries 0.1 g, and even 100 g only reaches 1.5 g, or 3% of the daily value. If you want orange peel to do anything in a meal beyond flavor, its job is fiber and aroma, while protein and most of the calories have to come from the rest of the plate.
Fiber is the row that stands out
Measured against a daily value of 28 g of fiber, the 10.6 g in 100 g of peel would cover well over a third of it. At kitchen portions the numbers shrink: 0.6 g per tablespoon and 0.2 g per teaspoon. Zest is a small fiber bonus, not a fiber source you can lean on by itself.
The peel also explains why eating an orange whole changes the picture. A whole fruit with peel (159 g) comes to 100 calories, 24.6 g of carbs, 2.1 g of protein and 7.2 g of fiber. Gram for gram the peel is denser in fiber than the fruit as a whole, which is why recipes that keep the skin, such as whole-orange cakes or marmalade, carry more of it than juice ever does.
The other rows are quiet. Sodium is 3 mg per 100 g against a daily value of 2300 mg, so it rounds to 0%. Potassium is 212 mg per 100 g against a daily value of 4700 mg. Fat and cholesterol barely register. If you watch sodium, saturated fat or cholesterol, raw peel gives you nothing to worry about.
Use peel as flavor, not as a food
The smartest way to think about orange peel is as a way to make lean food taste richer. Grated over plain yogurt, oatmeal, roasted carrots or grilled chicken, a tablespoon lifts the whole dish for 6 calories. It can stand in for some of the sugar or butter you might otherwise add to get flavor, though the peel itself does not cancel calories elsewhere on the plate.
Watch the products that pair peel with sweets. Chocolate bars and candied strips, like Chocolove Orange Peel In Dark Chocolate or Sweet Smiles Dark Chocolate With Orange Peel Bar, take their calories mostly from chocolate and sugar, not from the peel. Plain dried strips such as The Fresh Market Orange Peel Strips or Melissa's Orange Peels are closer to the raw food, but check the label of the package you buy.
For logging, the tablespoon row is the one to use for zest, and the whole fruit row if you bite into an orange skin and all. BodyPal can log orange peel or a whole orange from a photo, which saves weighing a few grams of zest on a kitchen scale.
How does orange peel compare?
Here is raw orange peel next to garlic clove, chicken stock and Orange Leaf frozen yogurt, compared per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: As a flavoring, orange peel is the lighter pick per 100 g than garlic at 149, and both are rounding errors next to a 278-calorie cup of Orange Leaf frozen yogurt. If you are watching sodium, peel and garlic beat chicken stock, which carries 143 mg per 100 g.
Most popular orange peel brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Sweet Smiles Dark Chocolate With Orange Peel Bar3 pieces · 30 g533 kcal
2Nutty & Fruity Orange Peel50 g374 kcal
3The Fresh Market Orange Peel Strips6 g100 kcal
4Melissa's Orange Peels1 tbsp · 10 g300 kcal
5Chocolove Orange Peel In Dark Chocolate1/3 bar · 30 g500 kcal
Packaged peel is dried or candied and some is coated in chocolate, so those labels read far above the 97 calories per 100 g of fresh raw peel. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Orange peel FAQs
How many calories are in orange peel?
A tablespoon of grated peel (6 g) is about 6 calories and a teaspoon (2 g) is 2 calories. Raw orange peel is 97 calories per 100 g.
Is orange peel good for weight loss?
A tablespoon adds only about 6 calories, and 100 g of raw peel has 10.6 g of fiber with 0.2 g of fat.
Does orange peel have more calories than a whole orange?
Raw peel is 97 calories per 100 g, while an orange eaten with the peel is 63 calories per 100 g, or about 100 calories for a 159 g fruit.
How much fiber is in orange peel?
Raw orange peel has 10.6 g of fiber per 100 g, about 0.6 g in a tablespoon. The same 100 g also has 25 g of carbs and 1.5 g of protein.
How much fiber is in a tablespoon of orange peel?
A tablespoon of raw orange peel (6 g) has 0.6 g of fiber. A teaspoon (2 g) has 0.2 g, and 100 g has 10.6 g, which is well over a third of the 28 g daily value.
Does orange peel have calories at all?
Yes, raw orange peel has 97 calories per 100 g, almost all from carbs. At normal portions it is close to nothing: 1 tsp (2 g) is 2 calories and 1 tbsp (6 g) is 6 calories.
How many calories are in a whole orange eaten with the peel?
A whole orange with peel (159 g) has 100 calories, 24.6 g of carbs, 2.1 g of protein and 7.2 g of fiber. That is 5% of the daily value for calories.
How many calories are in five tablespoons of orange zest?
Five tablespoons of raw orange peel (30 g) come to 29 calories, with 0.5 g of protein and 1 mg of sodium. Three tablespoons (18 g) are 17 calories.
Does orange peel have fat or sodium?
Barely. Raw orange peel has 0.2 g of fat and 3 mg of sodium per 100 g, with 0 g of saturated fat and 0 mg of cholesterol. Carbs supply 93% of its calories.
