How Many Calories Are in a Taco?
A regular beef taco weighs 105 g and carries 258 calories. Per 100 g the number is 246 calories, with 16.1 g of protein and 385 mg of sodium in that one taco. Shrink it to a miniature and you are at 123; order the large and you are at 394.
You'd need to walk about 52 minutes to burn the 258 calories in one regular taco (105 g).
How long does it take to burn off a taco?
One regular taco (105 g) is 258 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 258 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 52 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 32 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 37 min |
| Jogging | 30 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 57 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 (105 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Taco quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a large taco
- Soft, hard shell, chicken, fish and bean tacos
- Sodium is the row that catches people
- How does a taco compare?
- Most popular taco brands
- Taco FAQs
Taco quick facts
The number above comes from the USDA record FNDDS 2708514, "Taco, NFS" — the generic American taco, meaning a shell or tortilla, seasoned ground beef and cheese, with whatever lettuce and tomato came with it. That is what most people are holding when they look this up, so it is the row this page leads with. Every more specific record — corn shell, flour tortilla, chicken, fish, beans — is a variant of it, and each one gets its own numbers further down.
The USDA household portion for that record is one small/regular taco at 105 g. It is a real taco, not a restaurant platter: about the size of a stuffed corn tortilla you can eat in four bites.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per one regular taco (105 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 246 | 258 | — |
| Total fat | 13.56 g | 14.2 g | 18% |
| Saturated fat | 4.18 g | 4.4 g | 22% |
| Carbohydrate | 15.62 g | 16.4 g | 6% |
| Dietary fiber | 2.2 g | 2.3 g | 8% |
| Total sugars | 0.33 g | 0.3 g | — |
| Protein | 15.31 g | 16.1 g | 32% |
| Sodium | 367 mg | 385 mg | 17% |
% 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 will not see here: added sugars and trans fat. FNDDS does not publish either for this record, so listing them would mean guessing. Cholesterol and potassium do exist: 47 mg (16% DV) and 228 mg (5% DV) per taco. Daily Values follow the FDA nutrition label reference amounts.
The row worth staring at is protein. A taco is 258 calories and delivers 32% of a day's protein — a ratio most handheld foods do not touch.
US servings, from one ounce to a large taco
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 69 kcal |
| One miniature taco | 50 g | 123 kcal |
| One regular taco | 105 g | 258 kcal |
| One large taco | 160 g | 394 kcal |
| 1 cup, chopped or crumbled | 120 g | 295 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 246 kcal |
The miniature, regular, large and cup portions are USDA household measures for this record. The 1 oz line is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving — useful only if you are weighing a partial taco.
Here is the finding that matters more than any topping debate: the same taco spans 123 to 394 calories, a 3.2-fold swing, purely on size. A street-cart mini and a dinner-plate taco are not the same food for counting purposes, and calling both "a taco" in a food log is where the day's math goes wrong. Weigh one taco once. After that you will know which of these three lines is yours.
Two regular tacos make a 516-calorie lunch with 32.2 g of protein. Three make 774 calories. That third taco is usually the one people forget to log.
Soft, hard shell, chicken, fish and bean tacos
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft taco, flour tortilla, beef and cheese | 257 kcal | one regular, 105 g | 270 kcal |
| Hard-shell taco, corn tortilla, beef and cheese | 249 kcal | one regular, 105 g | 261 kcal |
| Chicken taco, corn tortilla and cheese | 211 kcal | one regular, 105 g | 222 kcal |
| Fish taco | 275 kcal | one taco, 100 g | 275 kcal |
| Bean taco, no cheese | 167 kcal | one taco, 100 g | 167 kcal |
| Taco salad with meat | 179 kcal | one medium bowl, 315 g | 564 kcal |
Soft or hard shell is the question people ask most, and the calorie answer is boring: flour tortilla 257 per 100 g against corn shell 249. Nine calories on a taco. What actually changes is the rest of the label. Corn carries 2.1 g of fiber per 100 g and 375 mg of sodium; flour drops fiber to 1.3 g and pushes sodium to 444 mg. If you want the fiber and the lower salt, corn wins on both counts while the calories stay level.
Chicken is the real saving. At 211 per 100 g it takes a regular taco down to 222, and almost the entire difference is fat — 9.6 g per 100 g against 13.56 g in the beef version — while protein holds at 16.23 g.
Fish tacos are the surprise. People order them as the light choice; at 275 per 100 g they are the heaviest of the common styles. Batter and fry do that: carbohydrate climbs to 22.99 g per 100 g and fat to 15.29 g, while protein drops to 11.62 g. Grilled fish is a different food, but the USDA record here is the fried one.
Beans with no cheese is the lightest taco on this list at 167 calories, and it brings 4.5 g of fiber per 100 g, 16% of the Daily Value in one taco. Protein falls to 5 g, so it fills a fiber gap rather than a protein one — MyPlate's protein guidance counts beans in both columns for a reason.
Taco salad deserves the warning label. One medium bowl at 315 g is 564 calories, more than two regular tacos, because the fried tortilla bowl and the dressing come along for the ride.
Frozen and refrigerated taco snacks sit in the same range: Old El Paso Taco Bites are 300 calories per 100 g, Delimex rolled tacos 275, and store-brand mini tacos around 259 — close enough to the USDA generic that the freezer aisle does not change your math much.
Sodium is the row that catches people
One taco is 385 mg of sodium, 17% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value — call it a sixth of a teaspoon of table salt. That reads harmless. Three tacos do not: 1,155 mg, 50% of the day's sodium, in one sitting, before salsa, chips or a margarita. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans put the 2,300 mg limit on adults, and a three-taco dinner spends half of it on 774 calories.
Saturated fat is the second row to watch: 4.4 g per taco, 22% DV. Two tacos put you at 44% before anything else on the plate. If you are watching either number, the chicken taco is the better pick — it cuts saturated fat to about 2.6 g per taco while keeping the protein.
How does a taco compare?
| Taco | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taco, NFS (this page) | 246 kcal | one regular taco, 105 g | 258 kcal |
| Restaurant soft taco, ground beef and cheese | 219 kcal | one taco, 134 g | 293 kcal |
| Fast-food hard-shell taco, beef and cheese | 226 kcal | one taco, 69 g | 156 kcal |
| Taco, cheese only | 275 kcal | one regular taco, 70 g | 193 kcal |
Our take: the fast-food hard-shell taco looks like the diet option at 156 calories, but that is a 69 g taco — half the weight of the restaurant version. Per gram it is 226, right in the middle of this table. The restaurant soft taco is the lightest per 100 g at 219 and the heaviest per serving at 293, purely because it is bigger. The cheese-only taco is the densest food here at 275 per 100 g despite having no meat. Count by weight, not by the word "taco", and order two chicken tacos over one taco salad any day you are watching the number.
Most popular taco 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) |
|---|---|
| Old El Paso Taco Bites Beef and Cheese | 300 cal |
| Old El Paso Taco Bites Chicken and Cheese | 280 cal |
| Delimex Beef & Cheddar Rolled Tacos | 275 cal |
| Cabo Real Beef & Cheese Taco Snack | 260 cal |
| Market Pantry Beef & Cheese Mini Tacos | 259 cal |
| Meijer Beef & Cheese Mini Tacos | 259 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Taco FAQs
How many calories are in one taco?
One regular taco weighs 105 g and carries 258 calories, from USDA's generic beef-and-cheese taco at 246 calories per 100 g. A miniature taco drops to 123 calories and a large one climbs to 394. The size of the shell decides more than the filling does.
How many calories in a soft taco vs a hard shell taco?
A soft flour-tortilla taco is 270 calories at 105 g; the hard corn-shell version is 261. That nine-calorie gap is noise. What really changes is fiber, 1.3 g per 100 g for flour against 2.1 g for corn, and sodium, 444 mg against 375 mg.
How many calories in a chicken taco?
A chicken taco with corn tortilla and cheese runs 211 calories per 100 g, so a regular 105 g taco is 222 calories. That is 36 fewer than the beef version, and the saving is almost all fat: 9.6 g per 100 g against 13.56 g. Protein stays at 16.23 g.
How many calories in a fish taco?
A fish taco is 275 calories per 100 g, the heaviest of the common styles, so a 100 g taco is 275 calories. Batter explains it: carbohydrate climbs to 22.99 g per 100 g and fat to 15.29 g, while protein falls to 11.62 g. Sodium lands at 447 mg.
How many calories in 3 tacos?
Three regular tacos come to 774 calories and 1,155 mg of sodium, which is 50% of the FDA Daily Value in one sitting. You also collect 48.3 g of protein. Add chips, rice or a soda and the plate clears 1,000 calories without much effort.
How much protein is in a taco?
A regular 105 g taco carries 16.1 g of protein, 32% of the 50 g Daily Value, which is high for a 258-calorie item. Beef and cheese do most of the work. The chicken version is similar at 16.23 g per 100 g; a bean taco without cheese falls to 5 g.
How much sodium is in a taco?
One regular taco holds 385 mg of sodium, 17% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, or roughly a sixth of a teaspoon of table salt. A soft flour-tortilla taco is higher, about 466 mg. Three tacos put you at half a day's sodium before any salsa or chips.
Are tacos good for weight loss?
They work if you count them. At 258 calories each with 16.1 g of protein, two make a 516-calorie lunch that holds. The bean taco without cheese is the lightest style at 167 calories, while a 315 g taco salad with meat is 564 and eats like a full meal.
Similar foods
- Asada taco — 243 cal per taco
- Street Taco — 125 cal per street taco
- Top Sirloin Steak — 413 cal per 6 oz steak
- Tempura shrimp — 109 cal for 6 large shrimp
- Caesar Chicken Wrap — 643 cal per wrap
- Chicken — 203 cal for 3 oz roasted
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the tacos for you, shell and filling included.
