Calories in
spices, saffron
310 kcal per 100 g Spices, saffron contains 310 calories per 100 grams, or about 7 calories per tbsp. Per 100 g it provides 11.4 g protein, 65.4 g carbohydrate and 5.9 g fat.
By calories that splits 73% carbohydrate, 13% protein, 15% fat — dissected below.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·FDC 170934·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The 4·4·9 shorthand adds to 360 kcal; USDA publishes 310 kcal — +50 kcal, 16.1% 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 170934—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 tsp | 0.7 g | 2 | 0.1 g | 0.5 g | 0.0 g |
| 1 tbsp | 2.1 g | 7 | 0.2 g | 1.4 g | 0.1 g |
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Full nutrition, per 100 g and per tbsp
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per tbsp |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 310 kcal | 7 kcal |
| Protein | 11.4 g | 0.2 g |
| Total fat | 5.9 g | 0.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.6 g | 0.0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 65.4 g | 1.4 g |
| Fibre | 3.9 g | 0.1 g |
| Sodium | 148.0 mg | 3.1 mg |
| Potassium | 1,724.0 mg | 36.2 mg |
| Calcium | 111.0 mg | 2.3 mg |
| Iron | 11.1 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Vitamin C | 80.8 mg | 1.7 mg |
| Vitamin A | 27.0 µg | 0.6 µg |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg | 0.0 mg |
| Water | 11.9 g | 0.2 g |
A dash means the nutrient was not measured for this item, which is not the same as zero.
SOURCE·USDA SR Legacy·FDC 170934·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How spices, saffron compares
Among the 15 spices and herbs items on this site, spices, saffron ranks 3 of 15 by calorie density, against a category average of 167 kcal per 100 g — so it is about 86% more calorie-dense than typical for its group.
It carries 3.7 g of protein per 100 calories, so it is not a meaningful protein source.
To burn off one tbsp (7 kcal), a 70 kg adult would walk for roughly 1 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 spices, saffron. Yours was grown somewhere, picked at some ripeness, and cooked by you.
Questions this entry settles
How many calories are in spices, saffron?
Spices, saffron contains 310 calories per 100 g, which works out to about 7 calories per tbsp. It also provides 11.4 g of protein, 65.4 g of carbohydrate and 5.9 g of fat per 100 g.
What is the macro breakdown of spices, saffron?
By calories, spices, saffron is roughly 73% carbohydrate, 13% protein and 15% fat. That makes it a predominantly carbohydrate-based food.
How long does it take to burn off a tbsp?
About 1 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 spices, saffron 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 spices, saffron on the calorie-density shelf, all within spices and herbs.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy — public domain, reviewed JUL 2026. Full USDA description: "Spices, saffron". General information only — not medical or nutrition advice. Values are averages for a food type and vary by brand, ripeness and preparation.
