How many calories are in potato soup?
A 1-cup serving of potato soup weighs 255 g and carries 230 calories, which works out to 90 calories per 100 g. That is a cream-based, chunky bowl, the kind with visible potato pieces. Thin the canned version with water instead and the same cup drops to 73. Most of that gap is dairy and fat, not potato.
You'd need to walk about 46 minutes to burn the 230 calories in a 1-cup (255 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off potato soup?
A 1-cup (255 g) serving is 230 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 230 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 46 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 29 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 33 min |
| Jogging | 27 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 51 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 (255 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Potato soup quick facts
- US servings from one ounce to a whole can
- Cream of potato soup with milk or with water
- Potato soup with meat and loaded bowls
- Condensed and instant potato soup
- Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
- How does potato soup compare
- Most popular potato soup brands
- Potato soup FAQs
Potato soup quick facts
The anchor number here comes from the USDA record FNDDS 2709556, "Soup, potato", a ready-to-eat, cream-based soup with household measures attached: one cup, one individual container, one can. That is the bowl a person actually holds, so it is the anchor here. The canned condensed products and the dry mix behave differently once water or milk goes in, so they sit further down as their own sections rather than being blended into one average.
USDA does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this record, so both rows are left out of the table below instead of being estimated.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (255 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 90 | 230 | — |
| Total fat | 4.71 g | 12.0 g | 15% |
| Saturated fat | 2.48 g | 6.3 g | 32% |
| Carbohydrate | 10.53 g | 26.9 g | 10% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.2 g | 3.1 g | 11% |
| Total sugars | 1.01 g | 2.6 g | — |
| Protein | 1.51 g | 3.9 g | 8% |
| Sodium | 240 mg | 612 mg | 27% |
% 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 more rows worth knowing: cholesterol is 12 mg per 100 g, or 31 mg in a cup, 10% of the Daily Value, and potassium is 227 mg per 100 g, or 579 mg in a cup, 12% of the Daily Value. The potassium is the potato showing up; MyPlate counts white potatoes in the vegetable group for exactly that reason.
US servings from one ounce to a whole can
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 25 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 90 kcal |
| Half a cup | 128 g | 115 kcal |
| 1 cup | 255 g | 230 kcal |
| 1 individual container | 440 g | 396 kcal |
| 1 can | 525 g | 473 kcal |
The cup, the container and the can are USDA household measures for this record. The half cup and the ounce are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
Here is the trap most people fall into. A cup of soup is 255 g, not 240 g and not 100 g, because soup is denser than water. So the per-100-g number on the back of a can is not "roughly a cup" — you have to multiply it by about 2.5. Read 90 calories per 100 g, log 230, and the day balances.
The second trap is the container. A single-serve tub is 440 g, which is 396 calories, and it does not look meaningfully bigger than a cup when it is poured into a bowl. That is 166 extra calories for the same eating experience.
Cream of potato soup with milk or with water
This is the single biggest lever on the whole page, and it costs nothing to pull. One can of condensed cream of potato soup prepared with an equal volume of milk is 60 calories per 100 g. Prepared with water it is 30. Exactly double, from the same can, decided at the stove.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cream of potato, made with milk | 60 kcal | 1 cup (248 g) | 149 kcal |
| Cream of potato, made with water | 30 kcal | 1 cup (244 g) | 73 kcal |
Milk is not simply the worse choice, though. It carries the protein: 2.33 g per 100 g against 0.72 g with water, and 2.6 g of fat against 0.97 g. A cup made with water is the lightest bowl of potato soup on this page by a wide margin, but it is also the one least likely to keep you full until dinner. If the soup is the meal, use milk and eat less bread with it. If the soup is a starter, water is free calories saved.
Potato soup with meat and loaded bowls
Add bacon, ham or sausage and the record changes. USDA's potato soup with meat sibling entry runs 109 calories per 100 g against 90 for the plain version, with 6.43 g of fat and 3.78 g of protein per 100 g. Scaled to a 255 g bowl that is about 278 calories — our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving.
| Version | Per 100 g | Serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potato soup, plain | 90 kcal | 1 cup (255 g) | 230 kcal |
| Potato soup with meat | 109 kcal | 1 cup (255 g), our arithmetic | 278 kcal |
| Chunky chicken, vegetable, potato and cheese | 65 kcal | 1 cup (245 g) | 159 kcal |
The supermarket "loaded baked potato" cans land lower than most people guess. Marie Callender's Loaded Baked Potato Soup with bacon is 72 calories per 100 g, 181 per labeled cup; Wolfgang Puck Organic Old Fashioned Potato Soup is 69 per 100 g, 169 per cup; Campbell's Chunky Steak & Potato Soup is 49 per 100 g, 120 per cup; and Progresso's light creamy potato with bacon and cheese is 39 per 100 g, 99 per cup. Every one of those is lighter than the 230-calorie USDA cup, because canned soups carry more water than a pot of homemade does. Homemade is where cream, butter and cheese get added by eye, and that is what the 90-calorie USDA record reflects.
Condensed and instant potato soup
Two records here are easy to log wrong, because neither is eaten in the state USDA measures it.
| Version | Per 100 g | Serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condensed cream of potato, undiluted | 74 kcal | half a cup (124 g) | 92 kcal |
| Instant potato soup, dry mix | 343 kcal | 1/3 cup dry (39 g) | 134 kcal |
Condensed soup straight from the can is 74 calories per 100 g and 604 mg of sodium per 100 g — more than double the sodium of the ready-to-eat soup, since it is meant to be cut in half. The instant dry mix is the densest record on this page at 343 calories per 100 g, but you only ever eat about 39 g of powder, so the finished mug is around 134 calories. Log the powder by weight, not the mug by volume, and you will not be off.
Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
Potato soup is a light food with two heavy rows. A single cup delivers 32% of the FDA Daily Value for saturated fat (6.3 g of a 20 g limit) and 27% of the sodium DV (612 mg of 2,300 mg, about a quarter teaspoon of table salt). Meanwhile the carbohydrate row is only 10% and protein is 8%.
That inversion is the real story of this bowl. People treat potato soup as a carb problem and it is a dairy-fat problem: cream and butter drive the number, the potato barely moves it. If you are watching saturated fat, the water-prepared version at 0.5 g per 100 g is the obvious swap. If you are watching sodium, the ready-to-eat soup at 240 mg per 100 g beats condensed at 604 mg and instant mix at 2,400 mg without contest.
How does potato soup compare
| Soup | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potato soup, cream-based | 90 kcal | 1 cup (255 g) | 230 kcal |
| Cream of potato with milk | 60 kcal | 1 cup (248 g) | 149 kcal |
| Cream of potato with water | 30 kcal | 1 cup (244 g) | 73 kcal |
| Chunky chicken, vegetable, potato and cheese | 65 kcal | 1 cup (245 g) | 159 kcal |
Our take: the homemade-style cream soup is the heaviest cup of the four, and it is heaviest by a factor of three over the water-prepared can. For calorie counting alone, the water version wins on every row that matters. For a cup that actually works as lunch, the chunky chicken and vegetable soup is the better buy at 159 calories, because it brings pieces of food rather than thickened liquid. The plain 230-calorie bowl is not expensive by lunch standards — it just needs something with protein next to it.
Most popular potato soup 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) |
|---|---|
| Progresso Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon & Cheese Light | 39 cal |
| Wolfgang Puck Organic Old Fashioned Potato Soup | 69 cal |
| Marie Callender's Loaded Baked Potato Soup | 72 cal |
| Campbell's Chunky Steak & Potato Soup | 49 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Potato soup FAQs
How many calories in a cup of potato soup?
A 1-cup serving of cream-based potato soup is 230 calories at 255 g, using the USDA FNDDS record. Half a cup is about 115 calories, our own arithmetic from the 100 g figure. Canned cream of potato prepared with milk is lighter at 149 calories per cup.
How many calories are in a bowl of potato soup?
A deep bowl is closer to the 440 g individual container, which is 396 calories. A full 525 g can is 473 calories. USDA lists all three household sizes for the same soup, so the number you log depends entirely on how much of the pot ends up in the bowl.
Is potato soup good for weight loss?
At 90 calories per 100 g, potato soup is not calorie-dense, and a 255 g cup at 230 calories fits inside most lunches. The catch is 6.3 g of saturated fat and only 3.9 g of protein per cup. If you want the soup to hold you, put a protein next to it.
How many calories in loaded baked potato soup?
Loaded versions run higher: USDA's potato soup with meat is 109 calories per 100 g, or about 278 calories in a 255 g bowl by our own arithmetic. Canned brands are lighter than homemade, with Marie Callender's Loaded Baked Potato Soup at 72 calories per 100 g and 181 per labeled cup.
Does cream of potato soup have more calories with milk or water?
Milk doubles it: the same canned condensed soup is 60 calories per 100 g prepared with milk and 30 prepared with water, so a cup is 149 calories against 73. Milk also lifts protein from 0.72 g to 2.33 g per 100 g, which is the trade you are making.
How much sodium is in potato soup?
A 255 g cup carries 612 mg of sodium, 27% of the FDA Daily Value of 2,300 mg, or about a quarter teaspoon of table salt. Condensed soup before dilution is 604 mg per 100 g, and instant dry mix is 2,400 mg per 100 g before any water goes in.
How many carbs are in potato soup?
A cup has 26.9 g of carbohydrate, 10% of the Daily Value, alongside 3.1 g of fiber and 2.6 g of total sugars. Per 100 g that is 10.53 g. Potato soup is less carb-heavy per gram than most people expect, because most of the bowl is liquid.
Is potato soup high in protein?
No — a 255 g cup has 3.9 g of protein, 8% of the Daily Value, which is low for a dish eaten as a meal. Cream of potato made with milk gives 2.33 g per 100 g against 1.51 g for the plain version, and adding meat lifts it to 3.78 g per 100 g.
Similar foods
- Sweet Potato — 103 cal per medium, baked
- Papaya salad — 190 cal per plate
- Ear of Corn — 99 cal per medium ear
- Carrot — 53 cal per cup chopped
- Onion — 46 cal per cup sliced
- Broccoli — 55 cal per cup chopped
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the bowl and BodyPal counts the soup for you, cream and all.
