The Calorie Density Chart: Best and Worst Foods for Volume Eating (80+ Foods Ranked)

If you have ever wondered why some diets let you eat enormous plates of food while others leave you starving on tiny portions, the answer is calorie density.

Calorie density is the number of calories per 100g of a food. It is the single most useful number in nutrition for anyone trying to lose weight — and almost nobody talks about it.

Once you understand calorie density, you stop thinking about "eating less" and start thinking about "eating smarter." You can eat a physically larger volume of food, feel more satisfied, and still create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight.

This is the core principle behind the Smart Portion Guide — and the reason the

What Is Calorie Density?

Calorie density (also called energy density) measures how many calories are packed into a given weight of food:

Calorie Density = Calories ÷ Weight (per 100g)

A food with low calorie density gives you a lot of physical volume for relatively few calories. A food with high calorie density gives you very little physical volume for a lot of calories.

Your stomach detects physical volume, not calories. This is why calorie density matters so much: eating the same weight of low-density foods leaves you feeling just as full — or fuller — while consuming significantly fewer calories.

The Calorie Density Chart: 80+ Foods Ranked

Use this chart to understand where common foods fall on the calorie density spectrum. Foods under 100 cal/100g are your volume eating foundation. Foods over 400 cal/100g need to be weighed carefully.

Vegetables — The Volume Eating Champions

Food	Calories per 100g	Category
Cucumber	15	Very Low
Zucchini / Courgette	17	Very Low
Spinach (raw)	23	Very Low
Celery	14	Very Low
Cabbage (raw)	25	Very Low
Lettuce (iceberg)	14	Very Low
Broccoli	34	Very Low
Capsicum / Bell pepper	31	Very Low
Mushrooms	22	Very Low
Tomatoes	18	Very Low
Asparagus	20	Very Low
Cauliflower	25	Very Low
Carrot (raw)	41	Low
Onion	40	Low
Sweet potato (cooked)	90	Low

Fruits

Food	Calories per 100g	Category
Watermelon	30	Very Low
Strawberries	32	Very Low
Blueberries	57	Low
Raspberries	52	Low
Apple	52	Low
Orange	47	Low
Banana	89	Low
Grapes	67	Low
Mango	60	Low
Avocado	160	Medium
Dates (dried)	277	High

Proteins

Food	Calories per 100g	Protein per 100g	Category
Egg whites (raw)	52	11g	Low
Cottage cheese (low-fat)	72	12g	Low
Non-fat Greek yoghurt	59	10g	Low
Chicken breast (cooked)	165	31g	Medium
Tuna (canned in water)	116	26g	Low-Medium
White fish (cod/tilapia)	90	20g	Low
Shrimp/Prawns (cooked)	99	24g	Low
Turkey breast (cooked)	135	30g	Medium
Lean ground beef 93/7 (cooked)	172	28g	Medium
Whole eggs (large)	143	13g	Medium
Salmon (cooked)	208	25g	Medium-High
Regular ground beef (cooked)	254	26g	High

Dairy

Food	Calories per 100g	Category
Skim milk	34	Very Low
Low-fat milk (1%)	42	Low
Whole milk	61	Low
Low-fat cheddar cheese	173	Medium
Regular cheddar cheese	403	Very High
Parmesan cheese	431	Very High
Feta cheese (low-fat)	177	Medium

Carbohydrates and Grains

Food	Calories per 100g	Notes
Cauliflower rice (raw)	25	Excellent rice substitute
Zucchini noodles (raw)	17	Excellent pasta substitute
Oats (dry)	389	Expands 3-4x when cooked — cooked = ~71 cal/100g
Cooked oats	71	Volume eating friendly
White rice (cooked)	130	Medium density cooked
Brown rice (cooked)	112	More fibre than white
Whole wheat pasta (cooked)	131	Higher fibre than regular pasta
White bread	265	High density, low volume
Whole grain bread	247	More fibre, similar density
Quinoa (cooked)	120	Complete protein source
Black beans (cooked)	132	High fibre, filling

Fats and Oils — Handle With Precision

Food	Calories per 100g	Notes
Olive oil	884	1 tbsp = ~120 cal — always weigh
Coconut oil	862	Same trap as olive oil
Butter	717	Adds up fast in cooking
Peanut butter	588	2 tbsp ≈ 190 cal — weigh it
Almonds (raw)	579	30g is a serving — not a handful
Walnuts	654	Dense — easy to over-eat
Chia seeds	486	Expand in liquid — use sparingly
Sesame oil	884	Used for flavour — 5-10g max
Avocado	160	Lowest density fat source

Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments

Food	Calories per 100g	Notes
Sriracha	93	Low density — good flavour choice
Soy sauce (low-sodium)	53	High sodium — use in small amounts
Hot sauce (Tabasco)	12	Essentially calorie-free
Mustard (yellow)	66	Low density condiment
Tomato paste	82	Concentrated flavour, low density
Low-fat ranch dressing	128	Use measured amounts
Regular ranch dressing	321	High density — watch serving size
Mayonnaise (regular)	680	Almost as dense as pure oil
Low-fat mayonnaise	218	Still measure — only use 15-30g
Caesar dressing	360	Common diet saboteur
Balsamic vinegar	88	Good low-density option
Honey	304	Natural but calorie-dense
Maple syrup	260	A small drizzle = 5g = 13 cal

How to Use This Chart in Practice

The Volume Plate Formula

Use calorie density to build every meal on this simple framework:

• 50% of your plate by weight: Very low density vegetables (under 40 cal/100g) — spinach, cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, lettuce, broccoli, mushrooms
• 30% of your plate by weight: Lean protein (under 175 cal/100g) — chicken breast, egg whites, cottage cheese, tuna, Greek yoghurt, shrimp
• 15% of your plate by weight: Moderate carbohydrates — cooked oats, sweet potato, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, black beans
• 5% of your plate by weight: Calorie-dense flavour boosters — olive oil, cheese, nuts, avocado (weighed precisely)

A plate built this way can physically weigh 600-800g — a genuinely substantial meal — while landing between 450-600 calories depending on your protein and carb choices.

The Hidden Calorie Density Traps

These are the foods that catch people out most often:

• Oils in cooking: "A drizzle of olive oil" looks like nothing but can easily be 20-30g = 180-270 calories. This is the single biggest source of hidden calories for most home cooks.
• Nuts and trail mix: Almonds are 579 cal/100g. A "small handful" is typically 40-50g = 230-290 calories. The package serving size is 28g.
• Cheese: Regular cheddar is 400+ cal/100g. A generous sprinkle on a salad can easily be 40-60g = 160-240 calories that you barely taste.
• Salad dressings: Regular Caesar or ranch dressing at 300-360 cal/100g. A restaurant portion can be 60-80g = 180-290 calories on a salad that has only 100 calories of vegetables.
• Dried fruit: Dates are 277 cal/100g vs fresh fruit at 30-90 cal/100g. The dehydration removes water and triples the calorie density without changing the sugar content.

Why You Need a Scale to Apply This

This chart is only useful if you know how much you are actually eating. Visual estimation consistently fails with high-density foods — a tablespoon of peanut butter looks the same whether it is 15g (90 cal) or 35g (205 cal).

The

Once you have been weighing food for 2-3 weeks, you develop an intuitive understanding of calorie density that changes how you shop and cook permanently. You stop reaching for high-density foods by habit and start building meals around volume automatically.

The Full Volume Eating System

The calorie density chart gives you the knowledge. The

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes that are designed to be genuinely filling at under 400-500 calories per serve. No starvation, no tiny portions, no white-knuckling it through hunger. Just larger plates of smarter food.

The scale + the ebook is the complete system for anyone who wants to lose weight without feeling like they are permanently on a diet.

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