How many calories are in tomato sauce?
A 1-cup (245 g) serving of canned tomato sauce carries 59 calories, and per 100 g the sauce runs 24 calories, one of the lightest things you can ladle over pasta. The quarter-cup measure printed on most cans is 15 calories. What changes from can to can is not the calories. It's the sodium.
You'd need to walk about 12 minutes to burn the 59 calories in a 1-cup (245 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off tomato sauce?
A 1-cup (245 g) serving is 59 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 59 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 12 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 7 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 8 min |
| Jogging | 7 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 13 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 (245 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Tomato sauce quick facts
- US servings, from a quarter cup to the whole can
- Salted cans, cooked sauces and canned ravioli
- Sodium is the row that moves, not calories
- How does tomato sauce compare?
- Most popular tomato sauce brands
- FAQ
Tomato sauce quick facts
The numbers below come from SR Legacy 169074, "Tomato sauce, canned, no salt added". That record was picked for two reasons. It is the only entry for plain canned sauce that carries a full panel, with fat, saturated fat, sugars and fiber all populated, and it comes with a documented 1-cup household measure of 245 g, which is what people actually pour.
There is a second USDA entry for canned sauce with salt added. It lands in nearly the same place on calories, but it leaves sugars and saturated fat blank, so it cannot carry a nutrition table on its own. It shows up further down, where it belongs, in the sodium discussion.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (245 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 24 | 59 | — |
| Total fat | 0.3 g | 0.7 g | 1% |
| Saturated fat | 0.04 g | 0.1 g | 0% |
| Carbohydrate | 5.31 g | 13.0 g | 5% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.5 g | 3.7 g | 13% |
| Total sugars | 3.56 g | 8.7 g | — |
| Protein | 1.2 g | 2.9 g | 6% |
| Sodium | 11 mg | 27 mg | 1% |
% 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 of this record does not publish one. Cholesterol is 0 mg, as you would expect from a vegetable. Potassium is the number worth circling: 297 mg per 100 g, which is 728 mg in a full cup, or 15% of the Daily Value. The FDA Daily Value reference sets that mark at 4,700 mg a day.
Put differently, a cup of this sauce spends 59 calories and buys back 13% of a day's fiber and 15% of a day's potassium. Very few things in the pantry trade that well.
US servings, from a quarter cup to the whole can
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28.4 g | 7 kcal |
| 1/4 cup, the label serving | 61 g | 15 kcal |
| 1/2 cup | 122.5 g | 29 kcal |
| 1 can, 8 oz | 227 g | 54 kcal |
| 1 cup | 245 g | 59 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 24 kcal |
Only the 1-cup line and the 100 g line are USDA figures. The quarter cup, half cup, ounce and 8 oz can are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
Here is the trap that catches people logging by can. An 8 oz can is 8 ounces by weight, 227 g, while a measuring cup of sauce weighs 245 g. So the small can is a little less than a cup, 54 calories against 59, and if you log "one can" as "one cup" you are five calories off. Trivial for sauce. Not trivial when you carry the same habit over to peanut butter or oil.
The other useful reference point is the ounce: 28.4 g and 7 calories. Two tablespoons of sauce spooned over eggs or a burger is roughly an ounce. You would need to spoon out more than eight ounces of it to reach the calories in a single tablespoon of olive oil.
Salted cans, cooked sauces and canned ravioli
"Tomato sauce" on a label covers several different foods, and the gap between them is wide.
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canned, no salt added | 24 kcal | 1 cup (245 g) | 59 kcal |
| Canned, with salt added | 34 kcal | 1/4 cup (61 g) | 21 kcal |
| Sauce prepared for vegetables | 104 kcal | per cup of vegetables (60 g) | 62 kcal |
| Canned cheese ravioli in tomato sauce | 77 kcal | 1 cup (246 g) | 189 kcal |
| Canned meat ravioli in tomato sauce | 97 kcal | 1 cup (251 g) | 244 kcal |
The salted can is Foundation record 2685579 at 34 calories per 100 g, ten calories above the unsalted version. That gap is a measurement difference more than a recipe difference, and 21 calories for a quarter cup, our own arithmetic from that 34 calories per 100 g rather than a USDA serving, is still nothing.
The row that should get your attention is the prepared sauce. FNDDS 2710247, tomato sauce for use with vegetables, runs 104 calories per 100 g, more than four times the canned sauce, because it has been built with fat and sugar: 6.15 g of fat per 100 g against 0.3 g, and 11.4 g of sugars against 3.56 g. A sauce that has been cooked with butter or oil is a different food from the can, whatever the jar says on the front.
Canned ravioli in tomato sauce is a third category again. At 189 calories a cup for the cheese version and 244 for the meat version, almost all of it is pasta and filling. The sauce is the cheapest thing in the bowl.
Store brands land where you would expect. The USDA Branded records for Tuttorosso, Red Pack and Vine Ripe sauce all sit at 25 calories per 100 g, which is 15 calories for the 1/4 cup on the label. Red Gold, Clover Valley and Fresh Finds run thicker at 33 calories per 100 g, or 20 calories a quarter cup. Five calories a serving is not a reason to switch brands.
Sodium is the row that moves, not calories
This is the number to shop on. No-salt-added canned sauce is 11 mg of sodium per 100 g, or 27 mg in a full cup, barely 1% of the Daily Value. The salted canned version is 417 mg per 100 g. Same vegetable, ten calories apart, roughly 38 times the sodium.
Run that out to a real dinner. A cup of salted canned sauce over pasta is in the neighborhood of 1,000 mg of sodium before you add cheese, our own arithmetic from the 417 mg per 100 g figure rather than a USDA serving, against 27 mg for the unsalted can, and the FDA sets the Daily Value at 2,300 mg. The prepared sauce for vegetables is worse still at 965 mg per 100 g. If you're watching sodium, this is one of the rare swaps where you give up nothing in flavor you cannot put back with a pinch of your own salt, oregano and black pepper, and you control the amount.
Nothing else on the panel argues with the sauce. It has no cholesterol, 0.1 g of saturated fat in a cup against a 20 g Daily Value, and it counts toward the vegetable group in MyPlate, where most Americans are short. Protein is the one thing it does not deliver: 2.9 g in a cup is 6% of the Daily Value, so the sauce is a vehicle, not a meal.
How does tomato sauce compare?
| Food | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato sauce, canned | 24 kcal | 1 cup, 245 g | 59 kcal |
| Tomato sauce for vegetables | 104 kcal | per cup of vegetables, 60 g | 62 kcal |
| Cheese ravioli in tomato sauce | 77 kcal | 1 cup, 246 g | 189 kcal |
| Meat ravioli in tomato sauce | 97 kcal | 1 cup, 251 g | 244 kcal |
Our take: plain canned tomato sauce is the lightest food per gram in this table by a wide margin, and it is the only one of the four you can pour freely without doing arithmetic. Treat the can as a free ingredient and spend your calorie budget on what goes under it. The moment the sauce has been cooked with fat, as in the prepared version, it stops being free at 104 calories per 100 g, and once it arrives in a can with pasta already in it you are logging a meal, not a condiment.
Most popular tomato sauce 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) |
|---|---|
| Tuttorosso Tomato Sauce | 25 cal |
| Red Pack Tomato Sauce | 25 cal |
| Vine Ripe Tomato Sauce | 25 cal |
| Red Gold Tomato Sauce | 33 cal |
| Clover Valley Tomato Sauce | 33 cal |
| Fresh Finds Tomato Sauce | 33 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Tomato sauce FAQs
How many calories are in tomato sauce?
Tomato sauce is 24 calories per 100 g, so a full 1-cup (245 g) serving is 59 calories. The quarter-cup measure most cans print on the label is 15. Those figures come from the USDA record for canned tomato sauce with no salt added, the plain sauce sold in the 8 oz can.
How many calories in 1 cup of tomato sauce?
One cup of canned tomato sauce weighs 245 g and holds 59 calories. That cup also brings 13.0 g of carbohydrate, 3.7 g of fiber, 2.9 g of protein and 0.7 g of fat. It is the rare cup of anything that stays under 60 calories while covering 13% of the Daily Value for fiber.
How many calories in 1/4 cup of tomato sauce?
A quarter cup of tomato sauce is 61 g and 15 calories, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure rather than a USDA serving. That is the measure printed on Tuttorosso, Red Pack and Vine Ripe cans. Thicker store brands at 33 calories per 100 g land at 20 for the same quarter cup.
Is tomato sauce high in sodium?
No-salt-added tomato sauce is 11 mg of sodium per 100 g, or 27 mg in a full cup, which is 1% of the Daily Value. The salted canned version is a different story at 417 mg per 100 g. Same vegetable, ten calories apart, roughly 38 times the sodium. Read the can, not the calorie count.
How many carbs are in tomato sauce?
Tomato sauce has 5.31 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, which works out to 13.0 g in a 1-cup (245 g) serving, or 5% of the Daily Value. Of that cup, 3.7 g is fiber and 8.7 g is naturally occurring sugar from the tomatoes, so the starch load is very small.
Does tomato sauce have sugar?
A cup of canned tomato sauce carries 8.7 g of total sugars, from 3.56 g per 100 g. All of it is the sugar that was already in the tomatoes. The SR Legacy edition of this record does not publish an added sugars figure, and plain canned sauce is tomatoes and nothing else.
Is canned tomato sauce healthy?
One cup is 59 calories, 3.7 g of fiber and 728 mg of potassium, which is 15% of the Daily Value. The catch is sodium: the no-salt-added can is 27 mg a cup, the salted one far higher. If you're watching sodium, the no-salt-added can is the better pick. Tomato sauce counts toward the vegetable group either way.
How much potassium is in tomato sauce?
A 1-cup (245 g) serving delivers 728 mg of potassium, 15% of the Daily Value and the biggest single number on the panel. Per 100 g that is 297 mg. Potassium is a nutrient many Americans fall short on, and a cup of sauce over pasta is a cheap way to add some.
Similar foods
- Salad — 23 cal per side salad
- Cabbage — 22 cal per cup chopped
- Cauliflower — 27 cal per cup chopped
- Mushrooms — 15 cal per cup sliced
- Bell Pepper — 31 cal per medium
- Bell Pepper — 24 cal green, 31 red
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the sauce, the pasta under it and everything else in the bowl.
