How many calories are in tofu?
A quarter of a standard block of firm tofu weighs 81 g and carries 63 calories. Per 100 g that is 78 calories, with 9.04 g of protein along for the ride. Tofu is one of the few foods where the calorie number barely moves and the water content moves everything.
You'd need to walk about 13 minutes to burn the 63 calories in a 1/4 block (81 g).
How long does it take to burn off tofu?
A 1/4 block (81 g) is 63 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 63 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 13 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 8 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 9 min |
| Jogging | 7 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 14 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 (81 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Tofu quick facts
- US servings from one ounce to half a cup
- Every tofu style from soft to dried-frozen
- Why one USDA firm tofu is 78 and another is 144
- Protein is the reason to log tofu
- How does tofu compare?
- Most popular tofu brands
- FAQ
Tofu quick facts
The record on this page is USDA SR Legacy 172448, "Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride (nigari)". That is the block most Americans actually pick up: a water-packed tub from the refrigerated case, firm enough to cube, wet enough that it still drips. US labels on those tubs land between 82 and 94 calories per 100 g, which sits close to this record's 78 and nowhere near the 144 of the heavily pressed USDA row.
It also carries real household measures — a quarter block, a fifth of a block, half a cup of cubes — instead of forcing everything through a bare 100 g figure.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1/4 block (81 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 78 | 63 | — |
| Total fat | 4.17 g | 3.4 g | 4% |
| Saturated fat | 0.79 g | 0.6 g | 3% |
| Carbohydrate | 2.85 g | 2.3 g | 1% |
| Dietary fiber | 0.9 g | 0.7 g | 3% |
| Total sugars | 0.6 g | 0.5 g | — |
| Protein | 9.04 g | 7.3 g | 15% |
| Sodium | 12 mg | 10 mg | 0% |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 148 mg | 120 mg | 3% |
% 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 →
There is no added sugars row here because the SR Legacy edition does not publish one for this record. Plain tofu is soybeans, water and a coagulant, so the tub in your hand will show 0 g added sugars on its own label. The 0.6 g of total sugars per 100 g comes from the beans themselves.
US servings from one ounce to half a cup
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 22 kcal |
| 1/4 block | 81 g | 63 kcal |
| 3 oz label serving | 85 g | 66 kcal |
| 1/5 block | 91 g | 71 kcal |
| 1/2 cup, 1/2-inch cubes | 126 g | 98 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 78 kcal |
The quarter block, the fifth of a block and the half cup of cubes are USDA household measures. The 1 oz and 3 oz lines are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings — but 3 oz is what almost every American tub prints as one serving, so it is the line most people need.
Here is the trap. Half a cup of cubes is 126 g. The label serving is 85 g. Log a cup measure when you meant a label serving and you have quietly added 48 percent more food: 98 calories instead of 66. Tofu cubes pack loosely and wetly, so a cup is a soft measure at the best of times. If you are cooking from a recipe written in cups and logging from a label written in ounces, the scale settles the argument in two seconds.
Every tofu style from soft to dried-frozen
Tofu is not one food with one number. It is a spectrum defined almost entirely by how much water was pushed out of it.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft tofu, nigari | 61 kcal | 1/4 block, 116 g | 71 kcal |
| Regular tofu, calcium sulfate | 76 kcal | 1/2 cup, 124 g | 94 kcal |
| Firm tofu, nigari | 78 kcal | 1/4 block, 81 g | 63 kcal |
| Extra firm tofu, nigari | 83 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 71 kcal |
| Hard tofu, Asian style | 145 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 123 kcal |
| Fried tofu | 270 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 77 kcal |
| Dried-frozen tofu, koyadofu | 477 kcal | 1 oz, 28 g | 135 kcal |
Soft tofu at 61 per 100 g is the lightest thing in the case, and it stays soft because nothing was pressed out of it — good for miso soup and smoothies, hopeless in a stir-fry. Extra firm at 83 is barely heavier than firm; the water it lost is water, not calories, and 5 calories per 100 g is inside the noise of one tub to the next.
Then the line breaks. Hard Asian-style tofu is 145 per 100 g, roughly double firm, because the block has been pressed to a fraction of its original volume. Fried tofu is 270 — a single ounce of golden puffs, 77 calories, costs more than three ounces of the plain block. Fat goes from 4.17 g per 100 g to 20.18 g, and that is where essentially all the difference lives.
Dried-frozen koyadofu is the extreme case at 477 per 100 g, six times the plain block. Almost nothing is left but soy solids, so it reads like a nut on paper. Rehydrate it and a single ounce swells into what looks like half a normal serving.
Why one USDA firm tofu is 78 and another is 144
Search USDA for firm tofu and you get two answers. This page's record is 78 calories per 100 g. The record labeled "Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate" is 144 — with 17.27 g of protein and 8.72 g of fat per 100 g. Same word on the front of the package, almost double the number on the back.
Nothing was added to the second block. It was pressed harder, and pressing removes water, which weighs a lot and contains no calories. Whatever is left is denser per gram. That is why the word "firm" is useless for logging on its own, and why the calorie line on the actual tub beats any generic database entry.
US brands make the same point. House Foods Organic Firm lists 82 calories per 100 g and Nasoya Organic Extra Firm 94, both close to the record here. Sunrise Extra Firm reports 153 and Soyganic Organic Extra Firm 165 — those are drained, vacuum-packed blocks that behave like the pressed USDA row, not like a water-packed tub. Mori-Nu Silken Firm, packed in a shelf-stable carton, sits at the other end at 59.
Protein is the reason to log tofu
A quarter block gives 7.3 g of protein for 63 calories, which is 15 percent of the 50 g Daily Value for about 3 percent of a 2,000-calorie day. Very few foods in the produce or dairy aisle return that ratio, and MyPlate counts tofu inside the protein foods group rather than as a vegetable side.
Sodium is the row that surprises people. Plain tofu carries 12 mg per 100 g — 10 mg in a quarter block, which rounds to 0 percent of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. If you are watching sodium, plain tofu is close to free, and everything you taste as salty came out of the pan, the marinade or the sauce bottle.
Fermented tofu is a completely different food on that row. USDA's fuyu record runs 2,873 mg of sodium per 100 g — 125 percent of the Daily Value in a cube the size of a die. It is a condiment, and it should be logged as one.
Saturated fat stays quiet too: 0.6 g per quarter block, 3 percent of the Daily Value, with no cholesterol at all. That combination of high protein, low sodium and low saturated fat is unusual, and it holds only until the tofu meets oil.
How does tofu compare?
| Tofu | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm, nigari | 78 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 66 kcal | 7.7 g |
| Soft, nigari | 61 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 52 kcal | 6.1 g |
| Extra firm, nigari | 83 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 71 kcal | 8.5 g |
| Fried | 270 kcal | 3 oz, 85 g | 230 kcal | 16.0 g |
The 3 oz figures in this table are our own arithmetic from each record's 100 g value, scaled to the label serving American tubs use.
Our take: choose by texture, not by calories, until the fryer gets involved. Soft, firm and extra firm span 52 to 71 calories per 3 oz, a range so narrow it will never decide a day for you — cook with the one the recipe calls for. Of the eight USDA tofu records, only two are lighter than firm, and both are lighter because they hold more water, not because they are leaner. Fried tofu is the one real decision on the list: 230 calories per 3 oz against 66, three and a half times the plain block, for the same protein you could have had with a hot pan and a teaspoon of oil.
Most popular tofu 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) |
|---|---|
| Sunrise Tofu Extra Firm | 153 cal |
| Soyganic Organic Tofu Extra Firm | 165 cal |
| House Foods Organic Firm Tofu | 82 cal |
| House Foods Organic Super Firm Bulk Tofu | 118 cal |
| Mori-Nu Silken Firm Tofu | 59 cal |
| Nasoya Organic Extra Firm Tofu | 94 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Tofu FAQs
How many calories are in a block of tofu?
A quarter block is 81 g and 63 calories, so a full 324 g block comes to about 253 calories, and the larger 455 g block USDA also lists lands near 355. Both totals are our own arithmetic from the 78-calories-per-100-g figure. Check the net weight printed on your tub.
How many calories in 1/2 cup of tofu?
Half a cup of half-inch cubes weighs 126 g and carries 98 calories. That is 48 percent more food than the 3 oz label serving on the tub, which is 85 g and 66 calories. Cup measures and label servings are not interchangeable for tofu, so weigh the cubes when the number matters.
Is firm tofu higher in calories than silken tofu?
Yes, but not by much: firm nigari tofu is 78 calories per 100 g, soft tofu 61, and Mori-Nu Silken Firm reports 59 on its label. Across a 3 oz serving that gap is 66 calories against 50 to 52, so the texture matters more for cooking than for your daily total.
How much protein is in 3 oz of tofu?
About 7.7 g of protein in 3 oz (85 g) of firm tofu, which is 15 percent of the 50 g Daily Value, for 66 calories. Extra firm gives 8.5 g for 71 calories. That is a better protein-per-calorie ratio than most plant foods sold in the same refrigerator case.
Does pressing tofu change the calories?
Pressing does not burn calories, it removes water: USDA lists firm nigari tofu at 78 calories per 100 g and a pressed firm block at 144, extra firm at 83 and hard at 145. Same gram weight, almost double the calories, because pressing leaves less water in it.
How many calories in fried tofu?
Fried tofu is 270 calories per 100 g, so a single ounce is 77 and a 3 oz portion 230. Fat climbs from 4.17 g per 100 g in firm tofu to 20.18 g, which is where almost all the extra calories come from. Protein rises too, to 18.82 g.
Is tofu good for weight loss?
Firm tofu is 78 calories per 100 g with 9.04 g of protein, one of the lowest calorie-to-protein ratios in the refrigerator case. If you are watching calories, that combination makes it an easy swap for higher-calorie proteins. How it is cooked decides the rest: fried tofu is 270 per 100 g.
Does tofu have sodium?
Barely: firm tofu carries 12 mg of sodium per 100 g, or 10 mg in a quarter block, which rounds to 0 percent of the 2,300 mg Daily Value. Fermented tofu is a different food: USDA puts fuyu at 2,873 mg per 100 g, 125 percent of the Daily Value in one small cube.
Similar foods
- Pomegranate — 72 cal for 1/2 cup arils
- Ceviche — 158 cal per cup
- Clam Chowder — 237 cal per cup
- Chinese Chicken and Broccoli — 206 cal per cup
- Pork And Beans — 273 cal per cup
- Turkey deli meat — 89 cal for 3 slices
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the tofu for you, cubes, sauce and all.
