Tamale calories come to 244 for one 140 g tamale with meat filling, or 174 per 100 g. The number to notice is sodium: a single tamale carries 662 mg, 29% of the daily value, while fat supplies 47% of the calories. How many tamales land on your plate decides almost everything.
244kcal
1 tamale · 140 g, with meat filling
17%protein
10.3 gProtein
22 gCarbs
12.7 gFat
How to burn off 244 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
With meat filling · per 140 g
Calories
244 kcal
Protein
10.3 g
Carbohydrate
22 g
Fat
12.7 g
Saturated fat
3.8 g
Cholesterol
28 mg
Sodium
662 mg
Potassium
213 mg
Iron
1.2 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
🛡️
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 →
Tamale: 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 tamale (140 g)
244
10.3 g
22.1 g
12.7 g
662 mg
12%
Meatless (140 g)
260
4.9 g
37.4 g
10.1 g
388 mg
13%
1 cup (170 g)
296
12.5 g
26.9 g
15.4 g
804 mg
15%
100 g
174
7.4 g
15.8 g
9 g
473 mg
9%
3 × 1 tamale (140 g)
731
31 g
1,987 mg
5 × 1 tamale (140 g)
1,218
51.7 g
3,311 mg
Two tamales make a 487-calorie plate
One tamale with meat filling weighs about 140 g and comes in at 244 calories, 12% of a 2,000-calorie daily value. On its own that is a modest number, closer to a snack than a full meal. The trouble is that tamales rarely travel alone. They come by the dozen, they are easy to eat, and a plate of two or three goes down fast.
Two tamales total 487 calories with 20.7 g of protein. Three reach 731 calories and 31 g of protein. Five, which is not unusual at a holiday table, add up to 1,218 calories. If you measure tamale filling and masa by volume instead, 1 cup (170 g) lands at 296 calories, a little more than one whole tamale.
The practical move is to decide your count before you unwrap the husks. Size varies a lot between home cooks and brands, so a big homemade tamale can outweigh the 140 g reference. If yours look larger, weigh one once and you will know how far off the standard number is.
Fat supplies nearly half the calories
Tamales look like a carb food, since masa is corn dough, but the calorie split says otherwise. Fat delivers 47% of the calories, carbs 36% and protein 17%. That fat comes from the lard or shortening beaten into the masa and from the meat filling, and it is why a tamale is denser than its size suggests.
Per 100 g you get 9 g of fat, 15.8 g of carbs and 7.4 g of protein, with 2.7 g of saturated fat. Fiber is 2.4 g and sugars barely register at 0.5 g. For one tamale, that works out to 12.7 g of fat, 22.1 g of carbs and 10.3 g of protein.
That protein figure covers 21% of the daily value, which is respectable but not high for 244 calories. A tamale is better thought of as a filling starch with some meat inside than as a protein dish. If staying full matters to you, the meat count inside the husk is doing less work than the masa around it.
Sodium is the row to watch
At 473 mg per 100 g, tamales are a salty food. One tamale carries 662 mg of sodium, 29% of the daily value, and 1 cup brings 804 mg, or 35%. Seasoned masa, salted meat and chili sauce all stack on top of each other.
The numbers climb quickly with a second and third tamale. Two deliver 1,324 mg of sodium, three reach 1,987 mg, and five hit 3,311 mg, well past a full day's daily value from one dish. Canned tamales in chili sauce, such as those from Hormel, add the sauce on top, so treat the label as your guide.
If you watch sodium, the easiest control is the count, not the recipe. Keep it to one or two, skip extra salsa or cheese on top, and let the rest of the plate be low-salt foods. Cholesterol, by contrast, is low at 20 mg per 100 g, so sodium is the line that really deserves your attention.
Meatless tamales trade protein for sugar
A meatless tamale of the same 140 g size has 260 calories, slightly more than the meat version's 244. The makeup shifts sharply. Protein drops to 4.9 g, only 10% of the daily value, while carbs rise to 37.4 g and sugars jump to 10.4 g, against just 0.6 g in the meat tamale. Fat comes down a bit to 10.1 g.
Meatless does win on two rows. Sodium falls to 388 mg, 17% of the daily value, and fiber rises to 4.5 g compared with 3.4 g. Sweet tamales and vegetable versions, like Cedarlane Roasted Vegetable Tamales, fall into this broad group, though fillings vary.
For a balanced plate, pair either kind with something that fills the gaps. Black beans or a cabbage slaw add fiber and volume for few calories, and a side of grilled chicken or eggs lifts protein. BodyPal can log a plate of tamales from a photo, which helps when the count gets fuzzy at a party.
How does tamale compare?
Here is how a meat tamale stacks up against a chicken tamale, carne asada and a quesadilla, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories per bite, the tamale and chicken tamale tie at 174 per 100 g, well under the quesadilla's 316, which also carries 676 mg of sodium per 100 g. For staying full, carne asada wins easily with 30 g of protein and only 63 mg of sodium per 100 g, even at 264 calories a portion.
Most popular tamale brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Hormel Hot'n Spicy Beef Tamales in Chili Sauce3 tamales with sauce · 213 g85 kcal
2Hormel Beef Tamales in Chili Sauce3 tamales · 213 g89 kcal
3Hormel Chicken Tamales in Chili Sauce213 g61 kcal
7Casa Fiesta Beef Tamales Wrapped in Parchment Paper2 tamales with sauce · 140 g200 kcal
8Del Real Foods Chicken Tamales in Red Sauce113 g177 kcal
Canned tamales are weighed together with their chili sauce, so their per 100 g numbers read lower than a plain steamed tamale. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Tamale FAQs
How many calories are in one tamale?
One tamale of 140 g is about 244 calories, with 10.3 g protein, 22.1 g carbs and 12.7 g fat.
Are tamales good for weight loss?
One 140 g tamale is 244 calories and a meatless tamale the same size is 260, so a plate of two comes to 488 calories.
Tamale vs quesadilla: which has fewer calories?
Per 100 g a tamale has 174 calories and a quesadilla has 316, so the tamale is the lighter of the two by weight.
How much protein is in a tamale?
A tamale has 7.38 g protein per 100 g, which is 10.3 g in a 140 g tamale. The same tamale carries 662 mg sodium.
How many calories are in two tamales?
Two meat tamales of 140 g each contain 487 calories. They also bring 20.7 g of protein and 1,324 mg of sodium, so a two-tamale plate is a full meal in both calories and salt.
How much sodium is in a tamale?
One 140 g meat tamale has 662 mg of sodium, which is 29% of the daily value. Per 100 g that is 473 mg, so tamales count as a salty food, especially when you eat several.
Does a meatless tamale have fewer calories than a meat tamale?
No. A 140 g meatless tamale has 260 calories versus 244 for the meat version. It is lower in sodium at 388 mg but has far less protein, 4.9 g, and more sugar, 10.4 g.
How many carbs are in a tamale?
One meat tamale has 22.1 g of carbs, with 3.4 g of fiber and 0.6 g of sugars. Carbs supply 36% of its calories, less than fat at 47%.
How many calories are in a cup of tamale?
A 1 cup (170 g) portion of tamale has 296 calories. It also has 12.5 g of protein, 15.4 g of fat and 804 mg of sodium, which is 35% of the daily value.
