Popped popcorn calories come to 31 for a 1 cup (8 g) serving of plain air-popped popcorn and 387 per 100 g. What stands out is how much volume you get: 3 cups stay at 93 calories, and every 100 g carries 14.5 g of fiber with only 8 mg of sodium.
31kcal
1 cup · 8 g, air-popped, plain
13%protein
1 gProtein
6 gCarbs
0.4 gFat
How to burn off 31 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Air-popped, plain · per 8 g
Calories
31 kcal
Protein
1 g
Carbohydrate
6.2 g
Fat
0.4 g
Saturated fat
0.1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
1 mg
Potassium
26 mg
Iron
0.3 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 →
Popped popcorn: 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 cup (8 g)
31
1 g
6.2 g
0.4 g
1 mg
2%
Oil-popped cup (11 g)
55
1 g
6.3 g
3.1 g
97 mg
3%
1 oz portion (28 g)
108
3.6 g
21.8 g
1.3 g
2 mg
5%
100 g
387
12.9 g
77.8 g
4.5 g
8 mg
19%
3 × 1 cup (8 g)
93
3.1 g
2 mg
5 × 1 cup (8 g)
155
5.2 g
3 mg
Five cups of popcorn come to 155 calories
A cup of air-popped popcorn weighs just 8 g and holds 31 calories, about 2% of the daily value for calories. That light weight explains everything about this snack. Popcorn is mostly air, so a bowl that looks generous is still a small amount of food by weight.
Totals climb slowly as the bowl grows. Two cups come to 62 calories, 3 cups to 93, and 5 cups, a real movie-night bowl at 40 g, reach 155. Even that big bowl adds only 5.2 g of protein, so the calorie count stays low but so does the protein.
Weight is where people get caught out. A 1 oz portion is 28 g, which comes to 108 calories, and a full 100 g is 387 calories, or 19% of the daily value. If you weigh popcorn instead of scooping it, those are the numbers to log. A kitchen scale turns a vague handful into a figure you can trust.
Carbs supply 77% of the calories, and much of it is fiber
The calorie split is 77% carbs, 13% protein and 10% fat. Per 100 g that works out to 77.8 g of carbs, 12.9 g of protein and only 4.5 g of fat, of which 0.6 g is saturated. Cholesterol is 0 mg.
The carb figure looks heavy until you read the fiber row. Every 100 g brings 14.5 g of fiber, while sugars stay at 0.9 g. A 1 oz portion gives 4.1 g of fiber against a daily value of 28 g, and a single cup adds 1.2 g. That fiber, plus all that volume, is why a bowl feels more substantial than its calorie count suggests.
Protein is respectable for a grain at 12.9 g per 100 g, but real portions are small. One cup carries 1 g, just 2% of the daily value. Popcorn works as a snack, not as a protein source, and it makes sense to treat it that way when you plan the rest of the day.
Oil nearly doubles a cup, and salt comes with it
Popping in oil changes the numbers fast. USDA lists an oil-popped cup at 11 g and 55 calories, against 31 for an air-popped cup. Fat jumps from 0.4 g to 3.1 g per cup, while carbs barely move at 6.3 g versus 6.2 g.
Sodium is the other shift. Plain air-popped popcorn has just 8 mg per 100 g and 1 mg per cup, which rounds to 0% of the daily value. The oil-popped cup lists 97 mg, or 4% of the daily value, because salt usually goes on with the oil.
Butter and flavor coatings change a bowl the most, and the plain figures do not cover them. Bagged versions such as Smartfood Air Popped Popcorn White Cheddar or SkinnyPop Popped Popcorn carry their own labels, so read those instead of borrowing the plain numbers. If you watch sodium, air-popping and seasoning lightly keeps that row close to zero.
Plain popcorn works best next to a protein
With zero cholesterol, almost no sodium and very little fat, plain popcorn fits easily into a snack slot. The gap is protein. Even 5 cups bring only 5.2 g, so a bowl on its own is light on the nutrient that does most to keep you satisfied.
Pairing it with a protein food such as a cheese stick, Greek yogurt or a small handful of nuts rounds it out. Simple seasonings like black pepper, chili powder, cinnamon or nutritional yeast add flavor without pushing the per-cup number far past 31. Melted butter and sweet coatings are where the count climbs quickly.
Volume is the real advantage. A big bowl looks like plenty of food in front of a screen, which makes plain popcorn a practical swap for denser snacks. BodyPal can log your bowl from a photo, so you can see whether you poured 3 cups or 5.
How does popped popcorn compare?
Here is how plain air-popped popcorn stacks up against microwave popcorn, movie theater popcorn and an Andes mint, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For weight loss, air-popped popcorn wins clearly at 387 calories per 100 g, against 518 for a bag of microwave popcorn and 603 for movie theater popcorn, which also carries 762 mg of sodium per 100 g. A medium theater order runs 862 calories, so if you want a big bowl, make it at home.
Most popular popped popcorn brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Sexypop Gourmet Air Popped Popcorn Black Pepper18 g500 kcal
2Smartfood Air Popped Popcorn White Cheddar3.5 cups · 28 g464 kcal
5Wise Air Popped Popcorn White Cheddar1 oz · 28 g536 kcal
6Wise Premium Air-Popped Popcorn White Cheddar1 bag · 28 g536 kcal
Bagged snack popcorn is seasoned and coated in oil, so the label numbers run well above the plain air-popped figures above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Popped popcorn FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of popped popcorn?
About 31 calories in one cup of air-popped popcorn (8 g). Three cups come to 93 calories.
Is popcorn good for weight loss?
A cup of air-popped popcorn is 31 calories and has about 1.2 g of fiber, so a 3-cup serving is 93 calories with roughly 3.5 g of fiber.
Popped popcorn vs microwave popcorn: which has more calories?
Air-popped popcorn is 387 calories per 100 g, while oil-popped microwave popcorn is 583 per 100 g. That is 31 calories for an air-popped cup against 64 for a microwave cup (11 g).
How much protein is in popped popcorn?
Air-popped popcorn has 12.9 g of protein per 100 g, so a cup (8 g) gives 1 g and a 1 oz portion (28 g) gives 3.6 g.
How many calories are in 100 g of popped popcorn?
Plain air-popped popcorn has 387 calories per 100 g, about 19% of the daily value. That same 100 g carries 12.9 g of protein, 14.5 g of fiber and only 8 mg of sodium.
How many calories are in 3 cups of popcorn?
Three cups of plain air-popped popcorn have 93 calories. They weigh just 24 g and provide 3.1 g of protein and 2 mg of sodium, so the bowl stays light unless you add butter or oil.
How many calories are in 5 cups of air-popped popcorn?
Five cups of air-popped popcorn come to 155 calories. That bowl weighs 40 g and gives 5.2 g of protein with just 3 mg of sodium, which keeps it a modest snack for its size.
Does air-popped popcorn have fewer calories than oil-popped?
Yes. An air-popped cup has 31 calories, while an oil-popped cup has 55. The oil-popped cup also carries 3.1 g of fat and 97 mg of sodium, against 0.4 g and 1 mg for air-popped.
How many calories are in an ounce of plain popped popcorn?
A 1 oz portion of plain air-popped popcorn, or 28 g, has 108 calories. It also supplies 3.6 g of protein and 4.1 g of fiber, with only 0.2 g of sugars.
