How many calories are in potato salad?
A 1-cup serving of classic potato salad made with mayonnaise weighs 275 g and carries 462 calories. Per 100 g it runs 168 calories. That cup is a full meal's worth of calories sitting next to the burger, and most of it comes from the dressing rather than the potato.
You'd need to walk about 92 minutes to burn the 462 calories in a 1-cup (275 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off potato salad?
A 1-cup (275 g) serving is 462 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 462 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 32 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 58 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 6 min |
| Jogging | 54 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 43 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 (275 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Potato salad quick facts
- US servings from a deli scoop to a full cup
- Lighter dressings change the number
- German potato salad is the outlier
- Deli and restaurant potato salad
- Potato salad with egg
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does potato salad compare?
- Most popular potato salad brands
- FAQ
Potato salad quick facts
The record that matches the bowl on an American picnic table is FNDDS 2709543, "Potato salad, made with mayonnaise". It is cubed potato in a real mayonnaise dressing, the version you scoop out of a tub or make the night before a cookout, and it comes with a household measure already attached: 1 cup weighs 275 g.
Other USDA records exist for the same words on a menu. They differ by preparation, not by source, and each gets its own section further down.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (275 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 168 | 462 | — |
| Total fat | 11.14 g | 30.6 g | 39% |
| Saturated fat | 1.75 g | 4.8 g | 24% |
| Carbohydrate | 15.81 g | 43.5 g | 16% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.5 g | 4.1 g | 15% |
| Total sugars | 1.29 g | 3.5 g | — |
| Protein | 1.51 g | 4.2 g | 8% |
| Sodium | 179 mg | 492 mg | 21% |
| Cholesterol | 6 mg | 17 mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 261 mg | 718 mg | 15% |
% 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 →
Two rows you would see on a supermarket tub are missing here on purpose. USDA does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this record, so neither line is guessed. Everything else on a Nutrition Facts panel is above.
The number that surprises people is protein. A whole cup delivers 4.2 g, 8% of the Daily Value, which is less than a single large egg. Potato salad is a starch-and-fat side dish wearing the word "salad."
US servings from a deli scoop to a full cup
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28.4 g | 48 kcal |
| 1/3 cup | 92 g | 155 kcal |
| 4 oz deli scoop | 113 g | 190 kcal |
| 1/2 cup | 138 g | 232 kcal |
| 1 cup | 275 g | 462 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 168 kcal |
The 1-cup and 1/2-cup weights are USDA household measures for this record. The 1 oz, 1/3 cup and 4 oz lines are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
This is where most calorie counts go wrong. Potato salad is dense and heavy, so a cup of it weighs 275 g, roughly the weight of a can of soda. The single scoop a deli worker drops in a tub is closer to 4 oz, 113 g, and 190 calories. Log the cup when you took the scoop and you have added 272 calories that never left the counter.
Packaged brands lean on the smaller measure too. Most tubs list 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup, so a Texas Kitchen Baked Potato Salad at 214 calories per 100 g and a Read German Potato Salad at 96 are separated by more than double before you even pick a spoon size.
Lighter dressings change the number
Swapping the dressing moves the total more than anything else you can do to the recipe. The potato underneath barely changes.
| Version | Per 100 g | Serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made with mayonnaise | 168 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 462 kcal |
| Made with creamy dressing | 140 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 385 kcal |
| Made with light mayonnaise | 105 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 289 kcal |
| Made with fat-free dressing | 81 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 223 kcal |
Light mayonnaise takes the fat from 11.14 g per 100 g down to 3.65 g, about a third, and the cup falls from 462 to 289 calories. The fat-free version at 81 calories per 100 g is the lightest USDA record on this page, and a full cup of it costs less than half a cup of the classic. Carbohydrate stays put across all four: 16.98 g per 100 g in the light version against 15.81 g in the original.
German potato salad is the outlier
German-style potato salad is dressed with vinegar, broth and bacon instead of mayonnaise. FNDDS 2709541 puts it at 108 calories per 100 g, with 3.22 g fat and 2.92 g protein.
The bigger effect is the weight. A cup of German potato salad is 175 g, not 275 g, because the pieces sit in a thin dressing rather than a thick one. So the real comparison is 189 calories a cup against 462, nearly two and a half times apart, and the German bowl still brings more protein: 5.1 g against 4.2 g. It also carries more fiber per 100 g, 1.9 g against 1.5 g.
If you like potato salad and you are watching the total, this is the swap with the largest payoff.
Deli and restaurant potato salad
FNDDS 2709542, "Potato salad, from restaurant", runs 178 calories per 100 g, so a 1-cup serving is 490 calories. That is only 28 calories above the homemade mayonnaise version, which is not the interesting part.
The interesting part is salt. The restaurant record carries 361 mg of sodium per 100 g against 179 mg at home. A cup is 993 mg, 43% of the Daily Value, against 492 mg and 21%. Kitchens season for flavor at the counter, and potato absorbs it without tasting salty.
A 4 oz deli scoop of the restaurant version is 201 calories and 408 mg of sodium, our own arithmetic from the 100 g figures rather than a USDA serving.
Potato salad with egg
Adding hard-boiled egg is the most common home variation. The homemade version, FNDDS 2709532, is 157 calories per 100 g, so a cup is 432 calories, slightly below the plain mayonnaise version at 462.
Protein goes up to 1.96 g per 100 g, which is 5.4 g in a cup, and total sugars jump to 4.95 g per 100 g, the highest of any record here, because the dressings used in these recipes are usually sweetened. Total sugars have no Daily Value on the US label, so there is no percentage to quote against them. The restaurant version with egg sits at 175 calories per 100 g with 3.04 g protein.
Sodium is the row to watch
Look at the quick facts table again. Total fat in a cup is 30.6 g, 39% of the Daily Value, which sounds alarming until you see saturated fat at 4.8 g, only 24%. Mayonnaise is mostly unsaturated soybean oil, so the fat is not the saturated kind the FDA Daily Value reference caps at 20 g a day.
Sodium is the row that moves with where you bought it: 492 mg at home, 993 mg from a restaurant kitchen. That single cup from the deli counter is close to half a day's sodium before the sandwich arrives.
There is a credit column, too. Potato is a starchy vegetable, and MyPlate counts it in the vegetable group. A cup brings 718 mg of potassium, 15% of the Daily Value, and 4.1 g of fiber, another 15%, which is more fiber than most side dishes at this calorie level. If you are watching sodium, the homemade mayonnaise version is the better pick over the deli tub by a wide margin.
How does potato salad compare?
| Version | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potato salad, made with mayonnaise | 168 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 462 kcal |
| Potato salad, from restaurant | 178 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 490 kcal |
| Potato salad, light mayonnaise | 105 kcal | 1 cup (275 g) | 289 kcal |
| Potato salad, German style | 108 kcal | 1 cup (175 g) | 189 kcal |
Our take: portion size beats recipe every time here. Cutting the classic cup in half saves 230 calories, more than switching to light mayonnaise saves at full volume. For weight loss, take the German style or hold the classic to a 4 oz scoop at 190 calories. For a side that actually fills you up, none of these are the answer, because a whole cup carries only 4.2 g of protein. Put the potato salad next to something with protein in it and keep the scoop small.
Most popular potato salad 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) |
|---|---|
| Tuv Taam Deli Style Potato Salad | 136 cal |
| Read German Potato Salad | 96 cal |
| Texas Kitchen Baked Potato Salad | 214 cal |
| Lunds & Byerlys Potato Salad | 143 cal |
| Lidl Classic Potato Salad | 164 cal |
| Reser's Deviled Egg Potato Salad | 171 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Potato salad FAQs
How many calories are in 1 cup of potato salad?
462 calories in 1 cup of classic potato salad made with mayonnaise, which USDA weighs at 275 g. That works out to 168 calories per 100 g. A cup is heavy for a side dish, roughly the weight of a can of soda, so it lands closer to a main course than a garnish.
How many calories are in 1/2 cup of potato salad?
232 calories in a 1/2-cup serving, which weighs 138 g. That is the measure most supermarket tubs print on the label, so it is the number to compare against a package. It brings 15.3 g of fat, 21.8 g of carbohydrate and 246 mg of sodium, about 11% of the Daily Value.
How many calories in deli potato salad?
490 calories in a 1-cup serving of restaurant or deli potato salad, at 178 calories per 100 g. The usual 4 oz scoop from a counter is 113 g and 201 calories. The bigger difference from homemade is salt: 361 mg of sodium per 100 g against 179 mg.
Does German potato salad have fewer calories?
Yes, 189 calories a cup against 462 for the mayonnaise version. Two things do it: 108 calories per 100 g instead of 168, and a lighter cup at 175 g instead of 275 g. The vinegar-and-bacon dressing carries 3.22 g of fat per 100 g, roughly a third of mayonnaise-dressed potato salad.
How many calories in potato salad with egg?
432 calories in a 1-cup serving of homemade potato salad with egg, at 157 calories per 100 g. The restaurant version is higher per gram at 175. Egg lifts protein to 1.96 g per 100 g, about 5.4 g in a cup, which is still modest for something that eats like a meal.
How much sodium is in potato salad?
492 mg of sodium in a 1-cup homemade serving, 21% of the Daily Value, and 993 mg in the same cup from a restaurant, 43%. That deli figure is close to half a day's sodium in one side dish. Potato takes on salt without tasting salty, which is what makes it easy to miss.
How many carbs are in potato salad?
43.5 g of carbohydrate in a 1-cup serving, 16% of the Daily Value, from 15.81 g per 100 g. Fiber accounts for 4.1 g of that. Carbohydrate barely moves between versions, so switching to light mayonnaise cuts calories through fat, not starch: 16.98 g of carbohydrate per 100 g.
Is potato salad healthy?
A cup delivers 4.1 g of fiber and 718 mg of potassium, 15% of the Daily Value each, and MyPlate counts potato in the vegetable group. It also brings 462 calories and only 4.2 g of protein. Treat it as a starchy side, not a salad.
Similar foods
- Potato wedges — 138 cal for 3 oz
- Ear of Corn — 99 cal per medium ear
- Sweet Potato — 103 cal per medium, baked
- Papaya salad — 190 cal per plate
- 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 potato salad for you, dressing and all.
