Chicken eggs are the type of eggs most often consumed in cuisines around the world. Eggs can be eaten raw, fried, boiled, poached, cooked in a microwave, or baked in a variety of dishes. Eggs are well known as being a fantastic source of many nutrients including protein, vitamins and minerals. For those of us that are trying to stick to a diet or nutritional program however, we need to know how many calories in an egg so that we can plan our eating routine. Even for those of us who aren’t on a diet, it’s still good to know how many calories are in an egg, as the calories in an egg can certainly add up if you eat them frequently.

This page has detailed information regarding the calories in eggs, and this information has been sourced directly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This organization has studied the various nutritional aspects of many different foods, including the calories in eggs, and you will find these figures presented on this site.

Calories in an Egg

These numbers are based on the calories eggs have when nothing else has been added to them. That means that these calories are either for a raw egg, a boiled egg, a microwaved egg, or a poached egg. The calories in an egg will be higher if the egg is cooked in oil, or fried in butter, or turned into an omelette with cheese, milk, ham etc. It might not seem like a lot, but the calories in an egg increase significantly once you start add extra ingredients. The calories in a large egg are a very reasonable 74 calories. Even an XX large egg has less than 100 calories, which is not a whole lot. Once you take into account the high quantity of vitamins and nutrients, eggs really are hard to beat! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the egg pun!)

Calories in an Egg White

Approximately 75% of the calories in an egg come from the yellow part of the egg, called the egg yolk. The egg white itself is extremely lean and accounts for a very small percentage of the calories in an egg. The egg yolk also contains the greater percentage of the fat in an egg. A well-known way to reduce the calories in an egg or egg dish is to use predominately egg whites in your cooking. Even when making egg dishes such as egg salad or an omelette you can use several egg whites for each whole egg you use. This way you can still enjoy the flavour and colour or the eggs, without having to deal with the full amount of calories in eggs. This chart lists the protein and calories in egg whites. Egg whites contain more than 10% protein, and yet still contain less than 1% fat, which is why so many sports people use egg whites as their main protein source. Skipping the egg yolk entirely may decrease the calories in an egg; unfortunately it will also decrease the amount of vitamins in an egg as well. The egg yolk is the part of the egg that stores vitamins A and E. Egg yolks are also a natural source of vitamin D. As a side note, the technical name of egg white is “albumen”.

Calories in Eggs

Let’s discuss how calories in eggs are affected by the method that is used to cook the eggs. How many calories in an egg will tend to stay uniform provided that the method of cooking doesn’t require anything additional to cook the eggs. The calories in fried eggs for example, tend to be much higher than in a hard-boiled egg, even though there are no other ingredients added to the egg. The reason for this is that even the small amount of butter or oil that is used to coat the pan can be absorbed into the egg itself, not only increasing how many calories are in an egg, but also increasing the fat in an egg as well.

A relatively modern method of cooking eggs (modern when compared to how long eggs have been used as a food source) is the microwave. Throw an egg or two into a bowl, and then heat the eggs in a microwave until they are cooked. Not very complicated, and perhaps not the most sophisticated culinary method of preparing eggs, but this method certainly keeps the calories in eggs low, which is important for anyone who is trying to decrease the calories they consume on a daily basis.

Another common method of eating eggs is in an omelette. The calories in an omelette will depend largely on what ingredients are added to the omelette; obviously low calorie ingredients will result in a low calorie omelette. An omelette made with 1 whole egg, two or three egg whites, peppers, onions, and tomatoes will make a delicious and low calorie omelette. Conversely, an omelette made with 2 whole eggs, cheese, milk, butter, and slices of bacon will be much higher in calories.

It’s important to know how many calories you are aiming to eat each day. If you are trying to gain weight, or just maintain your current weight, the optimal amount of calories you need to consume will almost certainly be higher than someone who is trying to lose weight. If you have ever asked yourself “How many calories should I eat a day?” you can use this calculator to work out the answer based on your height, age, gender and weight target. Combine this with nutritional information (including how many calories in an egg) and you have a recipe for attaining whatever health and weight loss goals you set.

Vitamins in an Egg

So far we have focused on the protein and calories in an egg, but there are also other nutritional aspects to eggs. There are a multitude of vitamins in an egg, including vitamins A and D. On the chart below we have listed the vitamins in 2 cooked eggs.

• Vitamin C – 0.2 mg
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine) – 0.063 mg
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) – 0.533 mg
• Niacin – 0.096 mg
• Pantothenic Acid – 1.229 mg
• Vitamin B6 – 0.144 mg
• Folate – 37 mcg
• Vitamin E – 1.33 mg
• Vitamin A – 642 IU
• Vitamin B12 – 0.94 mcg
• Vitamin K – 4.9 mcg
• Vitamin D – 59 IU

How Many Minerals and Calories in Eggs

Minerals are another factor that affects how nutritional a particular food source is, and in terms of minerals eggs get top marks. Like the vitamins in an egg, most of the minerals are stored in the egg yolk as well. Just as with the list of vitamins in eggs, we have included the mineral amounts for two cooked eggs:

• Potassium – 168 mg
• Iron – 1.46 mg
• Calcium – 87 mg
• Sodium – 342 mg
• Phosphorus – 207 mg
• Magnesium – 15 mg
• Manganese – 0.027 mg
• Zinc – 1.22 mg

The calories in one egg aren’t going to ruin your diet, but it’s still good to know how many calories are in an egg so that your eating decisions are more egg-ucated! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one!) If you are on a nutritional plan that involves eating a lot of protein, then eggs and egg white in particular will most likely form some part of your diet. Eggs are a fantastic food, and as long as you account for the calories in eggs by getting sufficient egg-ercise, then you should be fine. (Last pun! I promise I’m done now!)