How many calories are in a steak dinner?
A steak dinner in the USDA sense is the 11 oz tray of Salisbury steak, gravy, potatoes and a vegetable, and it comes to 456 calories. The food itself runs 146 calories per 100 g. That record covers the whole tray, sides included, not a bare steak on a plate, and the sides are what move the number.
You'd need to walk about 91 minutes to burn the 456 calories in one 11 oz meal (312 g).
How long does it take to burn off a steak dinner?
One 11 oz meal (312 g) is 456 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 456 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 31 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 57 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 5 min |
| Jogging | 54 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 41 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 (312 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Steak dinner quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to the whole tray
- Salisbury, beef dinner and pepper steak
- Saturated fat, not calories, is the row to watch
- How does a steak dinner compare?
- Most popular steak dinner brands
- FAQ
Steak dinner quick facts
The row behind this page is FNDDS 2707098, "Salisbury steak dinner, NFS, frozen meal". It is the only USDA entry filed under the phrase itself, and it is built the way the meal is actually eaten: meat, gravy, a starch and a vegetable in one tray, with a household measure of 1 meal at 11 oz. A steakhouse plate with a rib eye, a baked potato and a side is a different animal, and no single USDA record covers it, so the tray is the honest starting point for anyone typing the phrase into a search box.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 meal (312 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 146 | 456 | — |
| Total fat | 8.4 g | 26.2 g | 34% |
| Saturated fat | 3.88 g | 12.1 g | 60% |
| Carbohydrate | 10.94 g | 34.1 g | 12% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.2 g | 3.7 g | 13% |
| Total sugars | 1.35 g | 4.2 g | — |
| Protein | 6.82 g | 21.3 g | 43% |
| Sodium | 268 mg | 836 mg | 36% |
% 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 box are missing here: added sugars and trans fat. The FNDDS edition behind this record does not publish either nutrient for composite meals, so listing them would mean guessing. Cholesterol and potassium are published: one tray carries 128 mg of cholesterol (43% DV) and 558 mg of potassium (12% DV), from 41 mg and 179 mg per 100 g.
The number that catches people out is the weight. At 146 calories per 100 g, this looks like a light food, lighter per gram than most sandwiches. Then the tray turns out to weigh 312 g, and the total lands a little over three times the per-100-g figure. Density and dinner are not the same question.
US servings, from one ounce to the whole tray
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 41 kcal |
| 4 oz | 113 g | 165 kcal |
| Half a tray, 5.5 oz | 156 g | 228 kcal |
| 8 oz | 227 g | 331 kcal |
| One tray, 11 oz | 312 g | 456 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 146 kcal |
Only two lines here are USDA's own: the 11 oz meal, which is the household measure attached to the record, and the per-100-g figure. The ounce weights and the half tray are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g number, not USDA servings, which is worth knowing if you split a tray with someone or eat half and save the rest.
Half a tray at 228 calories is the useful lever. It is the difference between a dinner that fits inside a 350-calorie budget with a salad next to it, and one that does not. Four ounces, at 165 calories, is closer to a side portion than a meal, and it is the size people usually mean when they log "some of the leftovers."
Salisbury, beef dinner and pepper steak
FNDDS files four descriptions of the frozen tray under one nutrient profile, so the calories do not move between them. What does move is the dish once you drop the sides and keep the meat.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury steak with gravy, potatoes and vegetable | 146 kcal | 1 meal (312 g) | 456 kcal |
| Beef dinner, frozen meal | 146 kcal | 1 meal (312 g) | 456 kcal |
| Frozen dinner, NFS | 146 kcal | 1 meal (312 g) | 456 kcal |
| Pepper steak | 145 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 164 kcal |
| Beef burgundy | 148 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 167 kcal |
| Beef and rice, no sauce | 146 kcal | 4 oz (113 g) | 165 kcal |
Per gram these six are almost indistinguishable, spanning 145 to 148 calories per 100 g. The protein tells a different story. The tray gives 6.82 g of protein per 100 g, pepper steak gives 11.88 g, and beef burgundy, which is meat in sauce with no starch alongside it, gives 18.48 g. Same calories, nearly triple the protein, because the potatoes and gravy in the tray are doing a large share of the weight.
Beef and rice, no sauce is the mirror image: 17.23 g of carbohydrate per 100 g against the tray's 10.94 g, with 5 g of fat instead of 8.4 g. If you are choosing between them on macros rather than calories, that is the axis that matters.
Store brands spread further than the generic record does. Banquet's 12.5 oz Salisbury Steak Dinner is listed at 460 calories per meal, Marie Callender's Salisbury Steak Dinner at 508 for a 397 g tray, and its 15 oz Country Fried Beef Steak Dinner at 531. Healthy Choice's 11.5 oz Home Style Salisbury Steak Dinner sits at 280 calories, 86 per 100 g against Banquet's 130. Two trays of nearly the same weight, roughly 180 calories apart.
Saturated fat, not calories, is the row to watch
At 456 calories, one tray is an unremarkable dinner. The saturated fat is not. One meal carries 12.1 g, which is 60% of the FDA Daily Value of 20 g, while returning 21.3 g of protein, or 43% of the 50 g DV. The tray spends more of your day's saturated fat than it gives back in protein, and the Dietary Guidelines advice is to keep saturated fat under 10% of daily calories.
Sodium runs the same direction: 836 mg, or 36% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, which is roughly a third of a teaspoon of table salt sitting in one dinner. Add a roll and a soda and you are past half the day's sodium before dessert.
There is an easy fix, and it does not involve eating less. Half a tray plus a serving of plain protein foods such as grilled chicken or beans lands near the same calories with far less saturated fat, because the fat in this record travels with the gravy and the breading rather than with the lean meat. The lighter national brand at 280 calories also starts 180 calories below Banquet's 460, which leaves more room for the rest of the day.
How does a steak dinner compare?
| Dish | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steak dinner, frozen tray | 146 kcal | one 11 oz meal, 312 g | 456 kcal |
| Salisbury steak with gravy, potatoes, vegetable | 146 kcal | one 11 oz meal, 312 g | 456 kcal |
| Pepper steak | 145 kcal | 4 oz, 113 g | 164 kcal |
| Venison or deer with gravy | 147 kcal | 4 oz, 113 g | 166 kcal |
Our take: per gram, these four are the same food, separated by two calories per 100 g across the whole table. The serving size is doing all the work, and so is the protein. Venison with gravy gives 25.48 g of protein per 100 g against the tray's 6.82 g, which is close to four times as much for the same calories. If protein per calorie is what you are after, the meat without the tray wins by a wide margin; if convenience is the point, eat half the tray and put something lean next to it.
Most popular steak dinner 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) |
|---|---|
| Banquet Salisbury Steak Dinner | 130 cal |
| Marie Callender's Salisbury Steak Dinner | 128 cal |
| Marie Callender's Country Fried Beef Steak Dinner | 125 cal |
| Healthy Choice Home Style Salisbury Steak Dinner | 86 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Steak dinner FAQs
How many calories are in a steak dinner?
A standard 11 oz frozen steak dinner tray holds 456 calories, working out to 146 calories per 100 g. That single tray also carries 21.3 g of protein, 26.2 g of fat and 836 mg of sodium, so it sits in the range of an ordinary dinner plate rather than a light meal.
How many calories in a frozen Salisbury steak dinner?
USDA lists the frozen Salisbury steak dinner at 456 calories for one 11 oz meal, the same figure as the generic beef tray, because FNDDS gives both descriptions a single profile of 146 calories per 100 g. Store brands spread wider: Healthy Choice sits at 280, Banquet at 460.
How much protein is in a steak dinner?
One 11 oz tray gives 21.3 g of protein, 43% of the 50 g Daily Value, from 6.82 g per 100 g. That is well below what a plain steak of the same weight would give, because a large share of the tray is potato, gravy and vegetables rather than beef.
How much sodium is in a frozen steak dinner?
One tray carries 836 mg of sodium, 36% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, or 268 mg per 100 g. That is about a third of a teaspoon of table salt in a single dinner, before any bread, sauce or drink you have alongside it.
Is a steak dinner high in saturated fat?
Yes — one 11 oz tray has 12.1 g of saturated fat, 60% of the 20 g Daily Value, from 3.88 g per 100 g. Two trays in a day would clear the limit on their own, which makes that row more interesting than the 456 calories.
How many calories in a Banquet Salisbury steak dinner?
The 12.5 oz Banquet Salisbury Steak Dinner is listed at 460 calories for the whole meal, or 130 calories per 100 g. It weighs 354 g, more than the 312 g generic tray, and still lands within four calories of it because the label runs a little leaner per gram.
Which frozen steak dinner has the fewest calories?
Healthy Choice Home Style Salisbury Steak Dinner, at 280 calories for an 11.5 oz meal, is the lightest of the four national trays here. It runs 86 calories per 100 g against 125 to 130 for Banquet and Marie Callender's, a gap of roughly 180 to 250 calories per meal.
How many calories in 4 oz of steak dinner?
Four ounces is 113 g and 165 calories, our own arithmetic from the USDA figure of 146 calories per 100 g rather than a USDA serving. That portion holds about 7.7 g of protein and 9.5 g of fat, roughly a third of the 11 oz tray.
Similar foods
- Eggnog — 112 cal for 1/2 cup
- Steak — 368 cal per regular steak
- Protein Shake — 156 cal per cup
- Bubble Tea — 239 cal per drink
- Apple cider — 114 cal per cup
- Root beer — 152 cal for 12 fl oz glass
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the tray and BodyPal counts the steak, the gravy and the sides together.
