Calories in
molasses
290 kcal per 100 g Molasses contains 290 calories per 100 grams, or about 977 calories per cup. Per 100 g it provides 0.0 g protein, 74.7 g carbohydrate and 0.1 g fat.
By calories that splits 100% carbohydrate, 0% protein, 0% fat — dissected below.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·FDC 168820·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The 4·4·9 shorthand adds to 300 kcal; USDA publishes 290 kcal — +10 kcal, 3.4% 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 168820—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 | 337.0 g | 977 | 0.0 g | 251.8 g | 0.3 g |
| 1 serving 1 tbsp | 20.0 g | 58 | 0.0 g | 14.9 g | 0.0 g |
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Full nutrition, per 100 g and per cup
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per cup |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 290 kcal | 977 kcal |
| Protein | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Total fat | 0.1 g | 0.3 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.0 g | 0.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 74.7 g | 251.8 g |
| Fibre | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| Sugars | 74.7 g | 251.8 g |
| Sodium | 37.0 mg | 124.7 mg |
| Potassium | 1,464.0 mg | 4,933.7 mg |
| Calcium | 205.0 mg | 690.9 mg |
| Iron | 4.7 mg | 15.9 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 | 21.9 g | 73.7 g |
A dash means the nutrient was not measured for this item, which is not the same as zero.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·FDC 168820·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How molasses compares
Among the 89 sweets items on this site, molasses ranks 61 of 89 by calorie density, against a category average of 372 kcal per 100 g — so it is about 22% less calorie-dense than typical for its group.
It carries 0 g of protein per 100 calories, so it is not a meaningful protein source.
To burn off one cup (977 kcal), a 70 kg adult would walk for roughly 199 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 molasses. Yours was grown somewhere, picked at some ripeness, and cooked by you.
Questions this entry settles
How many calories are in molasses?
Molasses contains 290 calories per 100 g, which works out to about 977 calories per cup. It also provides 0.0 g of protein, 74.7 g of carbohydrate and 0.1 g of fat per 100 g.
What is the macro breakdown of molasses?
By calories, molasses is roughly 100% carbohydrate, 0% protein and 0% fat. That makes it a predominantly carbohydrate-based food.
How long does it take to burn off a cup?
About 199 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 molasses 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 molasses on the calorie-density shelf, all within sweets.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy — public domain, reviewed JUL 2026. Full USDA description: "Molasses". General information only — not medical or nutrition advice. Values are averages for a food type and vary by brand, ripeness and preparation.
