Scale a medium raw head at about 608 grams and you’ll see roughly 200 to 215 calories on the counter, breaking down to around 34 calories per 100 grams. A small 250-gram head drops to 85–90 calories, while a large 900-gram head climbs to 300–320 calories.
You’ll find the actual weight a grocery-store “head” carries, how steaming or boiling shifts those numbers, and which parts of the broccoli deliver the protein and fiber that matter for a real meal plan. The goal is simple: accurate tracking without surprises on the scale.
What Counts as a Head of Broccoli and Why It Matters for Calorie Counts
The crown with the stalk still attached is the “head,” the intact bushy vegetable before anyone breaks it into florets, spears, or cups. USDA FoodData Central uses 608 grams as its reference weight for a medium raw head, the figure most nutrition labels and tracking apps pull from when you log “broccoli.”
Florets, cups, and spears aren’t heads, and swapping the two units is the single biggest source of miscounting. A cup of chopped raw broccoli weighs about 91 grams and delivers only 31 calories, while a head delivers 200-plus. Logging a floret as a head, or a head as a cup, can push your daily total off by hundreds of calories without warning.
Standard weights for accurate tracking
Broccoli heads vary more than most vegetables. A small head from a typical grocery store can weigh as little as 250 grams, while an oversized bunch from a farmers’ market can hit 900 grams or more. The stalk makes up roughly a third of that weight, so even if you trim heavily, the calorie math still works off the whole-crown figure.
| Head size | Approximate weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Small | ~250 g | ~85–90 |
| Medium (USDA reference) | ~608 g | ~200–215 |
| Large | ~900 g | ~300–320 |
Because calorie content scales linearly with weight, you can recalculate any broccoli portion on the fly: multiply 34 calories by the grams you’re working with, then divide by 100. That single rule covers every recipe, snack, and meal-prep container you’ll ever fill.
Calorie Totals for Small, Medium, and Large Heads
Most households default to a “medium” mental image when they picture a head of broccoli, and the USDA’s 608-gram reference is the safest number to anchor on. A small head cuts the total to roughly 85 to 90 calories, easy to eat the whole thing as a side dish without touching your calorie budget.
Large heads around 900 grams show up often at warehouse stores and during peak season. At about 300 to 320 calories, a single large head can anchor multiple meals or feed a family of four with leftovers, and the per-gram cost stays identical to smaller heads.
The 100-gram shortcut for any portion
When you don’t have a food scale, remember the universal rule: 100 grams of raw broccoli equals 34 calories. This is the figure embedded in most nutrition databases, including MyPlate and the NIH’s dietary resources, so any recipe or tracker that lists grams will work back to that anchor. A cupped handful of florets is roughly 50 to 60 calories, a generous side portion around 100 grams hits 34 calories, and a full dinner plate of broccoli tops out near 100 calories.
Raw vs. Cooked: Does Preparation Change the Number
Cooking changes the weight of broccoli more than the calorie count. Steamed, boiled-and-drained, or roasted broccoli still sits at roughly 35 calories per 100 grams, essentially identical to the raw 34. Water replaces some of the mass that heat drives off, but no fat or sugar gets added in plain cooking methods.
What shifts dramatically is volume. A cup of raw chopped broccoli weighs about 91 grams and delivers 31 calories, while a cup of cooked broccoli weighs 156 grams and delivers about 54 calories. The cooked cup looks like more food in the bowl, so people tend to under-log it, then wonder why their totals run high.
| Form | Weight per cup | Calories per cup | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw, chopped | ~91 g | ~31 | ~34 |
| Cooked, boiled, drained | ~156 g | ~54 | ~35 |
| Cooked, steamed | ~150 g | ~52 | ~35 |
Track by grams, not by cup, and the raw-versus-cooked confusion disappears entirely.
Where the Calories Come From: Macronutrient Breakdown
Carbohydrates supply about 70 percent of broccoli’s calories, protein contributes roughly 20 to 25 percent, and fat makes up less than 5 percent. That ratio makes broccoli a “carb-forward” vegetable, but the carbs in question are mostly fiber and natural sugars, not the starch that drives blood-sugar spikes.
A medium head delivers around 50 to 60 grams of carbohydrates, 20 to 25 grams of protein, and only 2 to 3 grams of fat. For a 200-calorie food, that protein count is unusually high. Most green vegetables hover around 10 to 15 grams per head, which is part of why broccoli shows up in plant-forward meal plans more often than lettuce or zucchini.
Fiber and slow-release energy
Dietary fiber accounts for a large slice of those carbohydrates, roughly 12 to 15 grams across a whole medium head. Fiber doesn’t convert to usable energy the way starch does, so the net carb load is lower than the label suggests. That same fiber also slows digestion, which keeps you full longer and smooths out any blood-sugar response from the rest of the meal.
Broccoli Beyond Calories: Micronutrients That Change the Equation
A single medium head provides more than 400 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin C, plus a strong dose of vitamin K and meaningful folate. Those numbers come from USDA FoodData Central and explain why dietitians treat broccoli as a “nutrient-dense” food rather than just a low-calorie filler.
The fiber-to-calorie ratio matters as much as the vitamin load. A medium head delivers roughly 20 grams of fiber for about 200 calories, a ratio that supports satiety far better than calorie-dense vegetables like peas or corn. That fullness-per-calorie effect is one reason broccoli anchors so many weight-loss plans.
Compounds that don’t show up on the label
Sulforaphane, a sulfur-containing compound concentrated in broccoli, has been studied for its role in supporting the body’s natural detoxification pathways. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts share this family of plant compounds. Standard calorie math misses this layer entirely, which is part of why “broccoli is good for you” stays true even when the calorie number looks unremarkable.
Fitting a Head of Broccoli Into a Weight-Loss or Meal-Plan Budget
A whole medium head at about 200 calories can anchor an entire low-calorie meal when paired with a lean protein like grilled chicken, white fish, or tofu. The fiber and water content fill the plate visually, so most people feel satisfied after eating a fraction of what they would with rice or pasta in the same role.
Because the same head yields roughly six cups of florets, it stretches across multiple meals at near-zero calorie cost. Roast half on Sunday for lunches, steam the rest for a midweek side, and you’ve gotten a week of vegetables from one purchase. The NIH’s MyPlate guidelines recommend filling a quarter of your plate with vegetables like broccoli at every meal, and a single head easily covers that across several days.
Practical tracking tips
- Use a food scale: Weigh in grams, then multiply by 0.34 for raw or 0.35 for cooked broccoli. The math stays exact no matter the portion size.
- Log before cooking: Raw weight is easier to standardize, and most apps convert cooked weights back to raw automatically.
- Pair with protein early: Starting a meal with broccoli and a lean protein curbs overall intake more reliably than saving the vegetable for last.
- Batch-prep on Sunday: One head becomes four to five side portions, each at roughly 40 to 50 calories, ready to reheat through the week.
- Skip the butter: Olive oil spray, lemon juice, and garlic add flavor for under 15 calories per serving, leaving the broccoli’s nutrition profile intact.
Common Mistakes and Smart Fixes When Counting Broccoli Calories
Logging a “cup of broccoli” without specifying raw or cooked can throw your count off by 75 percent or more. A cup of raw chopped broccoli is 31 calories; a cup of cooked is 54. The same serving size, two different totals, and most tracking apps default to one or the other without asking.
Forgetting oil, butter, or cheese quietly doubles the calorie total of an otherwise light vegetable. A single tablespoon of olive oil adds 120 calories, more than half a medium head’s base total. Garlic, herbs, lemon, and vinegar deliver flavor at near-zero cost and keep the broccoli nutrition profile intact.
Watch out for these common errors
- Assuming uniform calories across greens: Broccoli sits well below peas and corn on the calorie scale and slightly above cucumber or celery. A cup of peas runs about 60 calories higher than a cup of broccoli.
- Trusting eyeballed portions: A “handful” of florets can range from 30 to 80 grams depending on hand size. A $15 kitchen scale removes the guesswork permanently.
- Ignoring the stalk: The stalk is the same 34 calories per 100 grams as the florets. Leaving it on the cutting board wastes food and miscounts your plate.
- Double-counting in recipes: If a stir-fry recipe calls for “2 cups broccoli,” weigh the raw florets before cooking and log that single number, not the raw amount plus a separate cooked entry.
Bottom Line
A medium head of raw broccoli delivers about 200 to 215 calories for 608 grams of food, with 34 calories per 100 grams as the universal anchor. Cooking barely shifts the per-gram total but changes cup weights, so logging in grams removes the confusion. The real story is what comes with those calories: 20-plus grams of protein, a full day’s vitamin C, and a fiber load that fills you up faster than almost any other vegetable in the produce aisle.
FAQ
How many calories are in a whole head of broccoli?
Toss a 608-gram medium raw head on the scale and the total lands at approximately 200 to 215 calories. Smaller heads around 250 grams run 85–90 calories, and larger heads near 900 grams hit 300–320 calories.
How many calories are in a head of raw broccoli?
At about 34 calories per 100 grams raw, a 608-gram medium head adds up to roughly 200–215 calories in total. A 100-gram serving (about 1 cup of chopped florets) contains 34 calories.
How many calories are in a head of cooked broccoli?
Even after steaming, the count hovers near 35 calories per 100 grams, leaving a medium head at roughly 200–215 calories overall. The catch is volume: a cooked cup weighs 156 grams and delivers 54 calories, compared with 91 grams and 31 calories for raw.
How much does an average head of broccoli weigh?
USDA FoodData Central uses 608 grams as the reference weight for a medium head. Grocery-store heads range from about 250 grams (small) to 900 grams (large), with the stalk making up roughly a third of the total.
Is it healthy to eat a whole head of broccoli?
Eating a whole medium head in one sitting is safe for most people and delivers about 200 calories, 20-plus grams of protein, and more than 400 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin C. Spread it across meals if the fiber causes bloating, and pair it with a variety of other vegetables for balanced nutrition.
How many calories are in 2 heads of broccoli?
Two medium heads at 608 grams each deliver roughly 400 to 430 calories combined. That scales linearly: double the weight, double the calories, since broccoli holds steady at about 34 calories per 100 grams.
