How many calories are in peppermint?
Fresh peppermint runs 70 calories per 100 g, and a full ounce of leaves (28.4 g) is 20 calories. The 2 tbsp of chopped leaf USDA counts as a household serving is 2. The candy that shares the name is a different story: one York Peppermint Pattie is 165.
On this page
- Peppermint quick facts
- US servings, from two leaves to a full ounce
- Peppermint candy and the York Peppermint Pattie
- Peppermint bark, the December version
- Peppermint vs spearmint
- Fiber is the row that surprises people
- How does peppermint compare?
- Most popular peppermint brands
- FAQ
Peppermint quick facts
The generic food called peppermint in USDA FoodData Central is the fresh herb, not the candy. The record is SR Legacy 173474, "Peppermint, fresh", and it is the only unbranded peppermint entry with household measures attached to it. Everything else filed under the word peppermint is a manufactured product with sugar as its first ingredient, and those sit further down this page as their own sections.
The column below is one ounce, 28.4 g of leaves. That is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure rather than a USDA serving, and it is deliberately generous — an ounce of fresh mint is a fistful, far more than anyone chops onto a salad or drops into a pitcher of water.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28.4 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 70 | 20 | — |
| Total fat | 0.94 g | 0.3 g | 0% |
| Saturated fat | 0.25 g | 0.1 g | 0% |
| Carbohydrate | 14.89 g | 4.2 g | 2% |
| Dietary fiber | 8 g | 2.3 g | 8% |
| Protein | 3.75 g | 1.1 g | 2% |
| Sodium | 31 mg | 9 mg | 0% |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 569 mg | 162 mg | 3% |
% 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 sugar row here on purpose. USDA does not publish total or added sugars for this fresh peppermint record, so rather than borrow a number from a different food, we leave the line out. The Daily Values used in the last column come from the FDA label rules, which is also why total sugars would show a dash even if the figure existed.
US servings, from two leaves to a full ounce
Fresh mint is measured in leaves and spoonfuls, and the weights are tiny. USDA's own household measure is 2 tbsp chopped at 3.2 g. The one-ounce and one-tablespoon lines below are our own arithmetic from the 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 2 leaves | 0.1 g | 0 kcal |
| 1 tbsp chopped | 1.6 g | 1 kcal |
| 2 tbsp chopped | 3.2 g | 2 kcal |
| 1 oz | 28.4 g | 20 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 70 kcal |
Two leaves round to zero. Two tablespoons round to 2. If you are logging a mojito, an herb salad or a bowl of Vietnamese noodles, the mint is not the part worth typing in — the sugar syrup, the dressing or the noodles are. Fresh peppermint belongs to the small group of foods where the honest entry is a shrug.
That changes the moment the word peppermint appears on a wrapper.
Peppermint candy and the York Peppermint Pattie
The USDA record for York Peppermint Pattie is 384 calories per 100 g. A standard 1.5 oz patty weighs 43 g, so it costs 165 calories. That is 5.5 times the fresh leaf gram for gram, and the difference is the product, not the database: one is a leaf, the other is a fondant center in dark chocolate.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peppermint, fresh | 70 kcal | 1 oz, 28.4 g | 20 kcal |
| York Peppermint Pattie | 384 kcal | one patty, 1.5 oz (43 g) | 165 kcal |
| Ghirardelli peppermint bark | 542 kcal | two squares, 24 g | 130 kcal |
Inside that patty: 34.8 g of carbohydrate, 27.4 g of it sugars, 0.9 g of protein, 12 mg of sodium and 1.9 g of saturated fat — 9% of the Daily Value from a single piece of candy. The saturated fat is the line most people miss, because a patty reads as the light option next to a candy bar.
Here is the comparison that sticks. One patty is 165 calories. To reach that with leaves you would need about eight ounces of fresh peppermint — 227 g, roughly 159 calories by our own arithmetic from the 100 g figure — and that is more than 70 of USDA's two-tablespoon garnishes.
Peppermint bark, the December version
Peppermint bark is the heaviest thing wearing this name. The Ghirardelli squares record family in USDA's branded data runs from 533 to 583 calories per 100 g depending on format, with the standard squares at 542. Two squares, the 24 g label serving, are 130 calories. A single small square (12 g) is 70 — the same as a full 100 g of fresh peppermint.
Formats sold under the same bark name land at 130 calories for two squares, 160 for four minis (29 g), 200 for three assortment squares (35 g) and 270 for five snowmen pieces (48 g). The per-piece number moves with the piece size, not with the recipe, so the only question worth asking at the bowl is how many you have taken.
At 542 calories per 100 g, bark is nearly eight times the fresh herb. Peppermint is the flavor; white chocolate and sugar are the food.
Peppermint vs spearmint
The two fresh mints are not interchangeable on a nutrition label. Spearmint, fresh is 44 calories per 100 g against peppermint's 70, which makes an ounce 12 calories instead of 20.
Peppermint is the denser leaf in every direction: more carbohydrate (14.89 g vs 8.41 g per 100 g), more fiber (8 g vs 6.8 g), more protein (3.75 g vs 3.29 g) and slightly more fat. Spearmint is simply wetter. Both are so light in real portions that swapping one for the other changes a day's total by nothing at all — pick by flavor, since peppermint is the sharper, cooler one and spearmint the softer.
Fiber is the row that surprises people
Eight grams of fiber per 100 g is a genuinely high number: 29% of the 28 g Daily Value, better per gram than most vegetables in the MyPlate vegetable group. It is also the most misleading number on this page.
Nobody eats 100 g of mint. At one ounce you get 2.3 g of fiber, 8% DV, and at the realistic 2 tbsp garnish you get 0.3 g. The gap between "high-fiber food" and "meaningful fiber in your day" is entirely a portion problem, and peppermint sits at the far end of it.
What the leaf does contribute is potassium, 162 mg per ounce, and essentially no sodium — 9 mg, next to nothing against the 2,300 mg Daily Value. If you are cooking with less salt, herbs like this are the standard trade, since flavor arrives without the sodium. Peppermint oil, a concentrated extract rather than the leaf, is a separate product with its own evidence base, summarized by NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
How does peppermint compare?
| Herb | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peppermint, fresh | 70 kcal | 1 oz, 28.4 g | 20 kcal |
| Spearmint, fresh | 44 kcal | 1 oz, 28.4 g | 12 kcal |
| Basil, fresh | 23 kcal | 1 oz, 28.4 g | 7 kcal |
| Thyme, fresh | 101 kcal | 1 oz, 28.4 g | 29 kcal |
Our take: peppermint sits in the middle of the fresh-herb pack, lighter than thyme, heavier than basil and spearmint, and none of the four is worth logging at garnish weight. The number that deserves your attention is the one on the candy shelf. If you are watching calories in December, treat "peppermint" as two separate foods — the leaf at 70 calories per 100 g, which you can ignore, and the bark at 542, which you cannot. Two squares of bark cost more than six ounces of fresh leaves.
Most popular peppermint 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) |
|---|---|
| Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares | 542 cal |
| Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Square | 583 cal |
| Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Minis | 552 cal |
| Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Assortment | 571 cal |
| Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Kit | 533 cal |
| Ghirardelli Snowmen Peppermint Bark | 562 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Peppermint FAQs
How many calories are in peppermint?
Fresh peppermint is 70 calories per 100 g, so a full ounce (28.4 g) is 20 calories and the 2 tbsp chopped that USDA lists as a household measure is 2. Peppermint candy is a different food entirely at 384 calories per 100 g.
How many calories are in a York Peppermint Pattie?
One 1.5 oz patty (43 g) is 165 calories, from a USDA record at 384 calories per 100 g. It carries 34.8 g of carbohydrate, 27.4 g of that as sugars, and 1.9 g of saturated fat, which is 9% of the Daily Value from one piece.
How many calories are in peppermint bark?
Two Ghirardelli peppermint bark squares (24 g) are 130 calories, from a product that runs 542 calories per 100 g. That is the densest peppermint item on the shelf, nearly eight times the fresh leaf, and one small 12 g square already costs 70 calories.
Does peppermint have carbs?
Fresh peppermint has 14.89 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, but 8 g of that is fiber, so more than half the total. An ounce brings 4.2 g of carbohydrate and 2.3 g of fiber, and the amount you actually sprinkle on food is close to nothing.
How much fiber is in fresh peppermint?
Fresh peppermint carries 8 g of fiber per 100 g, which is 29% of the 28 g Daily Value. The catch is portion size: 1 oz gives 2.3 g, or 8% DV, and a realistic 2 tbsp garnish gives 0.3 g. It is a dense source nobody eats in bulk.
Peppermint vs spearmint: which has fewer calories?
Spearmint is lighter, at 44 calories per 100 g against peppermint's 70, so an ounce is 12 calories instead of 20. Peppermint carries more fiber, 8 g against 6.8 g per 100 g, and slightly more protein. At garnish portions the gap is a rounding error.
Does peppermint tea have calories?
The leaves are 70 calories per 100 g, but USDA has no record for brewed peppermint tea in this dataset, so we will not put a number on the drink here. What is on record: 2 tbsp chopped (3.2 g) is 2 calories. Steeped and unsweetened, the tea is negligible; sugar or syrup is what adds calories.
How much is 2 tbsp of chopped peppermint in grams?
USDA lists 2 tbsp of chopped peppermint as 3.2 g, which is 2 calories. One tablespoon is 1.6 g and 1 calorie, and two leaves weigh 0.1 g and round to zero. Those small weights are why fresh herbs almost never move a daily total.
Similar foods
- Papaya salad — 190 cal per plate
- Sweet Potato — 103 cal per medium, baked
- Carrot — 53 cal per cup chopped
- Ear of Corn — 99 cal per medium ear
- Onion — 46 cal per cup sliced
- Broccoli — 55 cal per cup chopped
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts it for you, leaf or candy.
