Calories in
couscous, dry
376 kcal per 100 g Couscous, dry contains 376 calories per 100 grams, or about 650 calories per cup. Per 100 g it provides 12.8 g protein, 77.4 g carbohydrate and 0.6 g fat.
By calories that splits 85% carbohydrate, 14% protein, 2% fat — dissected below.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·FDC 169699·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The 4·4·9 shorthand adds to 367 kcal; USDA publishes 376 kcal — −9 kcal, 2.4% apart. That gap is expected, not an error: USDA derives energy with food-specific factors and, for many items, discounts the fibre that the shorthand still counts at four. The published figure is the better one, so the axis above is scaled to it and the shares are what the shorthand is genuinely good at.
Source—USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy—FDC 169699—retrieved 2026-07
How this is worked out
- USDA measures every nutrient per 100 g of edible portion. That row is published here unchanged — nothing is rounded up, smoothed or "adjusted".
- The energy figure is USDA's own, derived with food-specific factors. This site never computes the calorie count it publishes.
- The Atwater shorthand 4 · 4 · 9 is applied to the protein, carbohydrate and fat grams only to split that energy into shares — and where the shorthand disagrees with the published figure, the gap is printed rather than hidden.
- A serving is a straight proportional conversion of the per-100 g row, using USDA's own household measures for the grams.
- The walking figure uses MET 4.0 at 70 kg, the same equation the sister site publishes.
per serving = per 100 g × serving grams ÷ 100 energy shares = 4·P + 4·C + 9·F (P, C, F in grams) walk minutes = kcal ÷ (4.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200)
Calories in a typical serving
Per-100 g figures are useful for comparison but nobody eats 100 g of anything on purpose. These are the USDA's own household measures.
| Serving | Grams | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 173.0 g | 650 | 22.1 g | 134.0 g | 1.1 g |
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Full nutrition, per 100 g and per cup
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per cup |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 376 kcal | 650 kcal |
| Protein | 12.8 g | 22.1 g |
| Total fat | 0.6 g | 1.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.1 g | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 77.4 g | 134.0 g |
| Fibre | 5.0 g | 8.7 g |
| Sodium | 10.0 mg | 17.3 mg |
| Potassium | 166.0 mg | 287.2 mg |
| Calcium | 24.0 mg | 41.5 mg |
| Iron | 1.1 mg | 1.9 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0.0 mg | 0.0 mg |
| Vitamin A | 0.0 µg | 0.0 µg |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg | 0.0 mg |
| Water | 8.6 g | 14.8 g |
A dash means the nutrient was not measured for this item, which is not the same as zero.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·FDC 169699·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How couscous, dry compares
Among the 49 cereal grains and pasta items on this site, couscous, dry ranks 6 of 49 by calorie density, against a category average of 291 kcal per 100 g — so it is about 29% more calorie-dense than typical for its group.
It carries 3.4 g of protein per 100 calories, so it is not a meaningful protein source.
To burn off one cup (650 kcal), a 70 kg adult would walk for roughly 133 minutes — see the walking calculation on our sister site, or pick a different activity. Treat that as a sense of scale rather than a rule: eating and moving are not a simple ledger.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·REVIEWED JUL 2026
A reference table describes the average couscous, dry. Yours was grown somewhere, picked at some ripeness, and cooked by you.
Questions this entry settles
How many calories are in couscous, dry?
Couscous, dry contains 376 calories per 100 g, which works out to about 650 calories per cup. It also provides 12.8 g of protein, 77.4 g of carbohydrate and 0.6 g of fat per 100 g.
What is the macro breakdown of couscous, dry?
By calories, couscous, dry is roughly 85% carbohydrate, 14% protein and 2% fat. That makes it a predominantly carbohydrate-based food.
How long does it take to burn off a cup?
About 133 minutes of ordinary walking for a 70 kg adult (MET 4.0). That is a rough guide for scale, not a prescription — appetite and activity interact in ways a simple subtraction does not capture.
Is this figure exact for the couscous, dry I bought?
No. These are USDA reference values, averaged across samples. Real foods vary with variety, ripeness, growing conditions, cut, brand and how they were cooked — 10–20% either way is normal. Use them for planning, not precision.
Neighbouring entries
The 6 foods that sit closest to couscous, dry on the calorie-density shelf, all within cereal grains and pasta.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy — public domain, reviewed JUL 2026. Full USDA description: "Couscous, dry". General information only — not medical or nutrition advice. Values are averages for a food type and vary by brand, ripeness and preparation.
