How many calories are in a pork tamale?
One pork tamale weighs 140 g and carries 244 calories. Per 100 g the masa-and-pork bundle runs 174 calories, which is lighter than most people expect from something steamed in a husk. The catch is the salt: that single tamale brings 662 mg of sodium, 29% of a day's limit.
You'd need to walk about 49 minutes to burn the 244 calories in one tamale (140 g).
How long does it take to burn off a pork tamale?
One tamale (140 g) is 244 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 244 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 49 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 30 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 35 min |
| Jogging | 29 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 54 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 (140 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Pork tamale quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to two tamales
- Beef, chicken and restaurant tamales
- Sodium, not calories, is the row to watch
- How does a pork tamale compare?
- Most popular pork tamale brands
- Pork tamale FAQs
Pork tamale quick facts
The row behind every number here is FNDDS 2708572, "Tamale, pork", from the USDA's 2021-2023 survey release. It was picked over the restaurant entries because it is the tamale a person actually holds: made at home, bought frozen, or handed over in foil at a stand. It is also the only pork tamale record that ships with household measures, so both "one tamale" and "one cup" come straight from USDA rather than from guesswork.
FNDDS calls its item portion "1 tamale, any size" and weighs it at 140 g. That is a fair mid-size tamale, a little heavier than a small Texas-style one and a little lighter than the fat 142 g restaurant piece.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 tamale (140 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 174 | 244 | — |
| Total fat | 9.04 g | 12.7 g | 16% |
| Saturated fat | 2.69 g | 3.8 g | 19% |
| Carbohydrate | 15.8 g | 22.1 g | 8% |
| Dietary fiber | 2.4 g | 3.4 g | 12% |
| Total sugars | 0.46 g | 0.6 g | — |
| Protein | 7.38 g | 10.3 g | 21% |
| Sodium | 473 mg | 662 mg | 29% |
| Cholesterol | 20 mg | 28 mg | 9% |
| Potassium | 152 mg | 213 mg | 5% |
% 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 label rows are missing on purpose. USDA does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this FNDDS record, so listing them would mean inventing them. Total sugars stay at 0.6 g per tamale, which is close enough to nothing that the sugar question answers itself. Daily Values follow the FDA's current reference amounts.
US servings, from one ounce to two tamales
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 49 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 174 kcal |
| One tamale, any size | 140 g | 244 kcal |
| One piece, restaurant size | 142 g | 247 kcal |
| 1 cup, shredded out of the husk | 170 g | 296 kcal |
| Two tamales, a normal plate | 280 g | 487 kcal |
Only two of those are USDA household measures: the 140 g tamale and the 170 g cup. The two-tamale plate, the ounce and the 142 g restaurant piece are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
That cup is the trap on this page. People log a cup of tamale because the app offers it, but a cup of shredded tamale weighs 170 g against a whole tamale's 140 g, so it lands 21% higher at 296 calories. If you unwrapped one tamale and chopped it into a bowl, you did not eat a cup. Weigh it, or log the item.
Two tamales is where most plates actually sit, and 487 calories puts a plain pair above a normal 350-450 calorie lunch before anything joins it. Add beans and rice and you are past 800 without touching the third tamale.
Beef, chicken and restaurant tamales
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical USDA piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant pork tamale | 174 kcal | 1 piece, 142 g | 247 kcal |
| Beef tamale | 174 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 49 kcal |
| Chicken tamale | 174 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 49 kcal |
| Tamale, NFS (filling unspecified) | 174 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 49 kcal |
| Hopi masa and pork tamale | 168 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 48 kcal |
| Tamale casserole with meat | 174 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 49 kcal |
Here is the finding that surprises people: USDA gives pork, beef, chicken and unspecified tamales the identical 174 calories per 100 g. The filling is a thin ribbon inside a lot of masa, and the masa is where the fat and the calories live. Scale any of those three to a 140 g tamale and you land on the same 244 calories by our own arithmetic. So swapping pork for chicken to save calories saves nothing; making the tamale smaller does.
The one real outlier is the Hopi record, masa with pork filling at 168 calories per 100 g. It carries 13.19 g of protein per 100 g against 7.38 g in the standard pork tamale, roughly 80% more, on about half the fat at 4.7 g versus 9.04 g. Leaner pork and less lard in the dough, and the calories barely move because the protein replaces the fat.
Store brands sit above USDA. Across six US labels the range is 177 to 240 calories per 100 g: Dos Ranchitos at 177, Del Real Foods pork tamales in red sauce at 204, H-E-B at 211, Texas Tamale Company at 212, Tucson Tamale red chile pork at 218 and Goya at 240. Every one of them is heavier per gram than the 174 in the USDA record, so a frozen tamale is not the same food as a homemade one. A Tucson Tamale piece at 142 g is 310 calories on its own label, 63 more than the USDA restaurant piece of the same weight.
Sodium, not calories, is the row to watch
Calories are the reason people look this food up, and they are not the problem. One tamale is 244 calories, about 12% of a 2,000-calorie day. The sodium is 662 mg, 29% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, which is a little more than a quarter teaspoon of table salt in one hand-sized item. Two tamales put you at 1,324 mg before any salsa, and the CDC's sodium guidance is the reason that matters more than the calorie line.
The upside is the protein and fiber. A tamale gives 10.3 g of protein, 21% of the Daily Value, and 3.4 g of fiber, 12%. That fiber comes from the corn masa, 2.4 g in every 100 g of the tamale. As a MyPlate protein food it is a reasonable one, just a salty one.
Saturated fat is the third line to check: 3.8 g per tamale, 19% of the Daily Value. Two tamales clear a third of the day. If you are watching sodium or saturated fat, one tamale with beans is the better plate than two tamales alone.
How does a pork tamale compare?
| Tamale | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork tamale | 174 kcal | one tamale, 140 g | 244 kcal |
| Beef tamale | 174 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 49 kcal |
| Chicken tamale | 174 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 49 kcal |
| Hopi masa and pork tamale | 168 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 48 kcal |
Our take: three of these four records are the same number, so pick your filling on taste and not on the count. For weight loss, the lever is size and count, not meat, since a 140 g tamale is 244 calories no matter what is inside it. For satiety per calorie the Hopi-style masa-and-pork tamale wins outright, with 13.19 g of protein and only 298 mg of sodium per 100 g against 473 mg in the standard record. If someone in your house makes them with leaner pork and less lard, that is the version worth asking for.
Most popular pork tamale 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) |
|---|---|
| Dos Ranchitos Pork Tamales | 177 cal |
| Goya Pork Tamales | 240 cal |
| Del Real Foods Pork Tamales in Red Sauce | 204 cal |
| Tucson Tamale Red Chile Pork Tamale | 218 cal |
| H-E-B Pork Tamales | 211 cal |
| Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Pork Tamales | 212 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Pork tamale FAQs
How many calories are in one pork tamale?
One pork tamale of 140 g has 244 calories, based on the USDA FNDDS record at 174 calories per 100 g. That single tamale also carries 10.3 g of protein, 22.1 g of carbohydrate and 12.7 g of fat. Store-bought tamales run heavier, from 177 to 240 calories per 100 g.
How many calories are in 2 pork tamales?
Two pork tamales come to 487 calories at 280 g total, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure of 174 calories. That pair also brings 1,324 mg of sodium, which is 58% of the Daily Value, plus 20.6 g of protein. Rice and beans on the side push the plate past 800.
How much protein is in a pork tamale?
A 140 g pork tamale has 10.3 g of protein, 21% of the Daily Value, from 7.38 g per 100 g. That is decent for a corn-based dish, since the masa contributes some of it. The Hopi masa-and-pork record is far higher at 13.19 g per 100 g, on leaner pork.
How much sodium is in a pork tamale?
One tamale has 662 mg of sodium, 29% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, from 473 mg per 100 g. That is a little more than a quarter teaspoon of table salt in one item. Two tamales reach 1,324 mg. If you are watching sodium, this is the number to plan around, not the calories.
Do pork tamales have more calories than beef tamales?
No. USDA gives pork, beef, chicken and unspecified tamales the same 174 calories per 100 g, so a 140 g tamale is 244 calories whatever the filling. The masa carries most of the fat and the starch, and the meat ribbon inside is thin. Size changes the count; the filling does not.
How many carbs are in a pork tamale?
A 140 g pork tamale has 22.1 g of total carbohydrate, 8% of the Daily Value, of which 3.4 g is fiber and only 0.6 g is sugar. Per 100 g that is 15.8 g of carbohydrate. For a corn-dough food it is a modest number, because a tamale is smaller than it looks.
Are pork tamales healthy?
One tamale is 244 calories with 10.3 g of protein and 3.4 g of fiber, which is a sound trade. The weak spots are 662 mg of sodium at 29% of a day and 3.8 g of saturated fat at 19%. One tamale with beans reads better than two tamales alone.
How many calories in a Del Real pork tamale?
Del Real Foods pork tamales in red sauce are 204 calories per 100 g, so the 4 oz label serving of 113 g is 231 calories. That is denser than the USDA record at 174 per 100 g. Among six US brands the range runs 177 to 240 calories per 100 g, with Goya at the top.
Similar foods
- Cosmopolitan — 224 cal per cocktail
- Martini — 241 cal per drink
- Shot Of Tequila — 97 cal per shot (1.5 fl oz)
- Prosecco — 135 cal per glass
- Cider — 202 cal per can or bottle (12 fl oz)
- Beer — 155 cal for 12 fl oz can
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the tamales for you, husk off and sauce included.
