Pretzel rod calories come to 108 for a 1 oz (28 g) serving and 384 per 100 g. Almost all of that energy is starch, with very little fat. The number to notice is sodium: one ounce carries 347 mg, or 15% of the daily value, and it climbs quickly once you keep reaching into the bag.
108kcal
1 1 oz serving · 28 g, hard, plain, salted
10%protein
2.8 gProtein
23 gCarbs
0.8 gFat
How to burn off 108 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Hard, plain, salted · per 28 g
Calories
108 kcal
Protein
2.8 g
Carbohydrate
23 g
Fat
0.8 g
Saturated fat
0.1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
347 mg
Potassium
62 mg
Iron
1.3 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 →
Pretzel rod: 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 oz (28 g)
108
2.8 g
22.5 g
0.8 g
347 mg
5%
Chocolate coated (28 g)
128
2.1 g
19.9 g
4.7 g
159 mg
6%
100 g
384
10 g
80.4 g
2.9 g
1,240 mg
19%
3 × 1 oz (28 g)
323
8.4 g
1,042 mg
5 × 1 oz (28 g)
538
14.1 g
1,736 mg
Three ounces of rods is a 323-calorie snack
A single ounce of pretzel rods is a modest snack at 108 calories, about 5% of the daily value for energy. The trouble is that rods are long, crunchy and easy to eat one after another while doing something else. The labeled serving is rarely what ends up eaten.
Watch how the total moves. Two ounces (56 g) bring 215 calories and 694 mg of sodium. Three ounces (84 g) reach 323 calories and 1,042 mg of sodium. Five ounces, or 140 g, add up to 538 calories and 1,736 mg of sodium, which is a meal's worth of energy from a snack bag.
Protein barely keeps pace: 5.6 g at two ounces, 8.4 g at three, 14.1 g at five. That is why rods feel light even as the calories stack up in a steady line. The simplest control is boring and effective: count out a serving into a bowl and close the bag before you start.
Carbs supply 83% of the calories
Pretzel rods are a carbohydrate food, plain and simple. Per 100 g they hold 80.4 g of carbs, 10 g of protein and 2.9 g of fat. In calorie terms that splits into 83% carbs, 10% protein and 7% fat.
Very little of that carbohydrate is sugar. Plain rods carry 2.2 g of sugars per 100 g, which is just 0.6 g per ounce, so nearly all of the carbs are starch. Fiber is modest too: 3.4 g per 100 g and 1 g per ounce. Saturated fat sits at 0.4 g per 100 g, and cholesterol is 0.
So the low fat number is real, but it does not make rods a light food by weight. At 384 calories per 100 g they are energy-dense because they are dry and baked hard. One ounce gives 2.8 g of protein, only 6% of the daily value, so rods will not do much to keep you full on their own.
Sodium is the row to watch
Salt is the defining feature of a hard pretzel, and the card shows it. Per 100 g, plain salted rods carry 1,240 mg of sodium, which is 54% of the daily value. One ounce delivers 347 mg, or 15%, from a snack that only covers 5% of your daily calories.
That gap is the real story. Sodium grows three times faster than calories relative to the daily values, so a bigger handful hits the salt line long before it hits the calorie line. Five ounces bring 1,736 mg of sodium, a large share of a full day's allowance from one bag session.
If you watch sodium, treat rods as a measured side rather than the main event, and keep the rest of that meal on the low-salt side. Potassium is only 223 mg per 100 g, so rods do little to balance the salt themselves. Unsalted nuts, fresh fruit or plain yogurt alongside a single ounce make a more rounded snack than a second ounce of rods.
Chocolate coating trades salt for sugar and fat
Chocolate-covered pretzel rods, such as those from Gardners Candies or Sarris Candies, change the profile more than the calorie count. A 28 g serving comes to 128 calories against 108 for plain rods. The bigger shifts are in the other rows.
Fat jumps from 0.8 g to 4.7 g per 28 g, and sugars go from 0.6 g to 10.9 g. Sodium falls to 159 mg, or 7% of the daily value, because part of the weight is now chocolate instead of salted dough. Protein dips slightly to 2.1 g and fiber to 0.7 g.
So the coated version is a candy that happens to contain a pretzel. If sodium is your concern it is actually the lower-salt choice, but if you are tracking sugar the plain rods from Utz or Bachman win by a wide margin. Either way, the ounce is the unit to log, and BodyPal can log a pretzel rod straight from a photo.
How does pretzel rod compare?
Here is how pretzel rods stack up against soft pretzels, pretzel bites and pretzel crisps, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: Pretzel bites and pretzel crisps match rods exactly at 384 calories and 1,240 mg of sodium per 100 g, so pick whichever shape you find easiest to portion. If sodium matters most, the soft pretzel is the better pick at 345 calories and 775 mg of sodium per 100 g, though its usual serving is a full 100 g.
Most popular pretzel rod brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Lidl Pretzel Rods1 oz · 28 g393 kcal
2Utz Pretzel Rods3 pretzels · 30 g400 kcal
3Bachman Pretzel Rods1 package · 54 g390 kcal
4Utz Old Fashioned Pretzel Rods3 pretzels · 30 g367 kcal
Plain rod labels land within a few calories of the 384 per 100 g above, while the chocolate covered rods sit far higher because of the coating. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Pretzel rod FAQs
How many calories are in one pretzel rod?
About 40 calories. Utz lists three rods, 30 g, as a 120 calorie serving, and a 1 oz serving of hard pretzels is 108 calories.
Are pretzel rods good for weight loss?
A 1 oz serving is 108 calories with 2.8 g of protein and only 0.8 g of fat. The sodium is the trade-off, at 347 mg per ounce.
Pretzel rods vs soft pretzels: which has more calories?
Per 100 g the hard rods are higher, 384 calories against 345 for a soft pretzel. One medium soft pretzel weighs 115 g, so it comes to about 397 calories.
How many carbs are in pretzel rods?
A 1 oz serving has 22.5 g of carbs and about 1 g of fiber. Per 100 g that is 80.4 g of carbs and 2.2 g of sugar.
What are the nutrition facts for pretzel rods?
A 1 oz (28 g) serving of pretzel rods has 108 calories, 22.5 g carbs, 2.8 g protein, 0.8 g fat, 1 g fiber and 0.6 g sugars. Sodium is 347 mg, which is 15% of the daily value.
How many calories are in three ounces of pretzel rods?
Three ounces (84 g) of pretzel rods come to 323 calories, with 8.4 g of protein and 1,042 mg of sodium. Two ounces are 215 calories, and five ounces reach 538.
How many calories are in 100 g of pretzel rods?
100 g of pretzel rods has 384 calories, 19% of the daily value for energy. The same amount carries 1,240 mg of sodium, or 54% of the daily value, and 10 g of protein.
How many calories are in chocolate-covered pretzel rods?
A 28 g serving of chocolate-covered pretzel rods has 128 calories, compared with 108 for plain. It also brings 4.7 g of fat and 10.9 g of sugars, but less sodium at 159 mg.
How much sugar is in a pretzel rod?
Plain pretzel rods have just 0.6 g of sugars per 1 oz (28 g) serving and 2.2 g per 100 g. Nearly all of the carbohydrate is starch rather than sugar.
