White beans calories come to 249 for one cup (179 g) boiled without salt, or 139 per 100 g. The detail worth noticing is the protein: that cup carries 17.4 g, 35% of the daily value, with almost no fat and only 11 mg of sodium.
249kcal
1 cup · 179 g, boiled, unsalted
27%protein
17.4 gProtein
45 gCarbs
0.6 gFat
How to burn off 249 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Boiled, unsalted · per 179 g
Calories
249 kcal
Protein
17.4 g
Carbohydrate
45 g
Fat
0.6 g
Saturated fat
0.2 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
11 mg
Potassium
1004 mg
Iron
6.6 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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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 →
White beans: 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 cup (179 g)
249
17.4 g
44.9 g
0.6 g
11 mg
12%
From canned (180 g)
302
19.5 g
55.6 g
1 g
621 mg
15%
100 g
139
9.7 g
25.1 g
0.4 g
6 mg
7%
3 × 1 cup (179 g)
746
52.3 g
32 mg
5 × 1 cup (179 g)
1,244
87.1 g
54 mg
One cup is 249 calories, and cups add up fast
A cup of boiled white beans weighs 179 g and lands at 249 calories, 12% of the daily value. It also brings 44.9 g of carbs and 11.3 g of fiber. That is a real side dish or the base of a lunch bowl, not a garnish.
Scale it up and the math stays simple. Two cups come to 498 calories and 34.8 g of protein; three cups reach 746 calories and 52.3 g. A big pot of soup built on 5 cups of beans holds 1,244 calories before you add any oil, stock or meat, with 87.1 g of protein spread across the bowls.
If you are measuring, weigh rather than scoop. Beans settle and pack differently in a cup, and 100 g of cooked beans is a cleaner reference at 139 calories and 9.7 g of protein. Sodium stays tiny at every size when the beans are cooked without salt: 32 mg even for three cups.
Carbs are 70% of the calories, protein most of the rest
Per 100 g, boiled white beans give 25.1 g of carbs, 9.7 g of protein and just 0.4 g of fat. Turned into calories, that is 70% carbs, 27% protein and 2% fat. Few plant foods put this much of their energy into protein without bringing fat along.
The carbs are not the sugary kind. Sugars sit at 0.3 g per 100 g, while fiber is 6.3 g, so the carbohydrate is mostly starch and fiber. Saturated fat is 0.1 g and cholesterol is 0.
For protein, a cup supplies 17.4 g, 35% of the 50 g daily value. That is less dense than meat by weight, but it arrives with fiber and potassium attached. If you build meals around protein, a cup of white beans can carry a real share of the load.
Canned white beans run higher in calories and far higher in sodium
The canned entry is a different USDA row, and the numbers show it. A 180 g serving from canned comes to 302 calories, 19.5 g of protein and 55.6 g of carbs, against 249 calories for a boiled cup of 179 g. Sugars climb from 0.6 g to 3.7 g.
Sodium is the bigger shift. Boiled unsalted beans carry 11 mg per cup, 0% of the daily value. The canned serving carries 621 mg, 27% of the daily value in a single side dish.
If you watch sodium, cooking dried beans without salt keeps that row near zero. If you rely on cans, read the label and compare brands, since products differ. Brands listed on this page include Sclafani, La Preferida and Granoro.
Fiber and potassium make white beans a filling base
A cup of boiled white beans holds 11.3 g of fiber against a daily value of 28 g. Potassium is high too: 561 mg per 100 g, set against a daily value of 4700 mg.
That mix is why beans work as the anchor of a meal rather than an afterthought. They stretch soups, stews and salads with volume and protein while adding little fat. Tossed with greens, tomatoes and a spoon of olive oil, or simmered with garlic and broth, they make a dish that feels substantial for its calories.
The flip side is that the calories are real. At 249 per cup, beans are not a free food, and the oils and toppings you add count as well. BodyPal can log a bowl of white beans from a photo, which helps when the portion is a guess.
How does white beans compare?
Here is how white beans stack up against black beans and pinto beans, per 100 g and per usual one-cup serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories pick black beans, at 132 per 100 g and 227 per cup versus 139 and 249 for white beans. For protein, white beans lead with 9.7 g per 100 g against 9 g for pinto and 8.9 g for black, so they are the pick when protein is the goal.
Most popular white beans brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Sclafani White Beans1/2 cup · 130 g85 kcal
2Iberia Premium Small White Beans1/2 cup · 130 g115 kcal
3Schnucks Great Northern White Beans1/2 cup · 130 g108 kcal
4La Preferida Small White Beans1/2 cup · 130 g85 kcal
5SunVista White Beans1/2 cup · 130 g85 kcal
6Granoro White Beans100 g58 kcal
Canned labels cover beans packed in liquid, so they read lower per 100 g than beans boiled from dried. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
White beans FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of white beans?
A cup of white beans boiled from dried (179 g) is 249 calories. A cup from canned with no added fat (180 g) is 302 calories.
Are white beans good for weight loss?
One cup has 249 calories, 11.3 g fiber and 0.6 g fat, so the calories come mainly from 44.9 g of carbs and 17.4 g of protein.
White beans vs pinto beans: which has fewer calories?
Prepared the same way from canned with fat added, white beans are 211 calories per 100 g and pinto beans 188. White beans carry more protein, 10.4 g versus 7.4 g per 100 g.
How much protein is in white beans?
Boiled white beans have 9.7 g of protein per 100 g, which is 17.4 g in a 179 g cup.
How many calories are in canned white beans?
A 180 g serving from canned white beans has 302 calories, compared with 249 for a cup of boiled unsalted beans. The canned serving also carries 621 mg of sodium, 27% of the daily value.
What are the macros in white beans?
Per 100 g, boiled white beans have 25.1 g of carbs, 9.7 g of protein and 0.4 g of fat. By calories that works out to 70% carbs, 27% protein and 2% fat.
What is the nutrition of white beans per 100 g?
100 g of boiled white beans has 139 calories, 6.3 g of fiber, 0.3 g of sugars, 6 mg of sodium and 561 mg of potassium, with 0 cholesterol and 0.1 g of saturated fat.
How many calories are in a cup of beans?
It depends on the bean. A cup of cooked white beans has 249 calories, a cup of pinto beans 245 and a cup of black beans 227.
Which beans give the most protein for their calories?
White beans have 9.7 g of protein per 100 g for 139 calories, pinto beans 9 g for 143 and black beans 8.9 g for 132. White and pinto are close, with white beans slightly ahead.
