How Many Calories in a Tamale? Pork, Chicken, Cheese and Sweet
On USDA data and store labels, a tamale has roughly 115 to 390 calories, and its size and lard decide most of that. USDA puts a 140 g pork, chicken or beef tamale at 244 calories, all three with one shared profile, a 179 g restaurant cheese tamale at 387 and a 70 g sweet tamale at 181. Packaged tamales run from 115 calories for a 57 g piece to 320 for a 144 g one, and a 140 g sweet corn tamale is 240.
- Pork/chicken, 140 g
- 244 kcal (USDA)
- Cheese, 179 g
- 387 kcal (USDA)
- Sweet tamale, 70 g
- 181 kcal (USDA)
- Packaged, per tamale
- 115 to 320 kcal
- PlateLens
- logs a tamale from a photo, no scale
Calories in a tamale by filling, from USDA
USDA's survey database (FNDDS), the one it uses to score what Americans report eating, weighs “1 tamale, any size” at 140 g and gives it 244 calories, with 12.7 g of fat, 22.1 g of carbohydrate, 10.3 g of protein and 662 mg of sodium. It lists pork, chicken and beef tamales separately, but all three carry one identical nutrient profile. A meatless tamale is a little denser, and a sweet one is the densest of the lot. USDA's older SR Legacy data adds a restaurant cheese tamale and two regional tamales.
| Tamale | kcal per 100 g | Fat | Protein | Carbs | USDA piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navajo tamale (FDC 167636) | 153 | 6.1 g | 6.3 g | 18.1 g | 186 g | 285 |
| Hopi tamale, masa and pork (FDC 169007) | 168 | 4.7 g | 13.2 g | 18.3 g | 113 g | 190 |
| Pork, chicken or beef (FDC 2708570) | 174 | 9.0 g | 7.4 g | 15.8 g | 140 g | 244 |
| No meat (FDC 2708574) | 186 | 7.2 g | 3.5 g | 26.7 g | 140 g | 260 |
| Restaurant cheese tamale (FDC 169856) | 216 | 12.0 g | 9.0 g | 18.0 g | 179 g | 387 |
| Sweet tamale (FDC 2708038) | 259 | 12.6 g | 2.2 g | 35.6 g | 35 g or 70 g | 91 or 181 |
The filling changes less than the name suggests. USDA gives pork and chicken identical numbers, and the Hopi tamale, masa with pork, stands out for its protein, 13.2 g per 100 g against 7.4 in the generic one. Cheese is what lifts a savory tamale per gram: the restaurant cheese tamale is 216 kcal per 100 g against 174. USDA's restaurant pork, sweet corn and cheese tamales also sit beside tacos and enchiladas in calories in Mexican food.
Packaged tamales: calories per tamale on the label
Store tamales come in very different sizes, and the label's serving is sometimes two of them. Per piece, these labels run from 57 g to 144 g and from about 115 to 320 calories. Where a serving is two tamales, the table halves it.
| Tamale | Piece | Calories | Fat | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-E-B Mi Tienda chicken (2 in 114 g) | 57 g | 115 | 6.5 g | 4.5 g |
| Trader Joe's chicken & green chile (2 in 170 g) | 85 g | 150 | 7.5 g | 7 g |
| Kroger Mercado chicken | 85 g | 180 | 10 g | 6 g |
| Dona Adela habanero | 114 g | 190 | 9 g | 6 g |
| Fillo's corn poblano rajas | 113 g | 190 | 8 g | 3 g |
| Del Real chicken in red sauce | 113 g | 210 or 230 | 11 or 14 g | 6 or 9 g |
| Goya sweet corn | 140 g | 240 | 5 g | 4 g |
| Del Real pork in red sauce | 113 g | 200 or 260 | 10 or 18 g | 9 or 8 g |
| Del Real cheese & green chili | 113 g | 260 or 290 | 18 or 20 g | 9 or 8 g |
| Tucson Tamales green chile & cheese | 142 g | 280 | 19 g | 9 g |
| 100% Artisan Foods chicken & salsa verde | 144 g | 320 | 16 g | 16 g |
| Cedarlane sweet corn | 142 g | 320 | 17 g | 10 g |
Two things stand out. Weight explains most of the spread: the 57 g H-E-B tamale and the 144 g chicken and salsa verde one differ by more than two and a half times in both size and calories. And fat, most of it in the masa, swings the density: Del Real lists lard in its masa, and its 113 g pork tamale is 260 calories with 18 g of fat on the retail product page but 200 with 10 g on its foodservice spec sheet, while Fillo's corn and poblano tamale is 190 for the same weight. Before you log a package, check whether its serving is one tamale or two.
Tamales in Mexico: verde, rojo and rajas
Mexico's national food composition table, compiled by the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ) and published online by CONABIO, has analysed tamales by filling and by state. It reports each sample per 100 g with no piece weight, so the last column below uses USDA's 140 g piece. Several types have more than one sample, and they disagree.
| Tamal | kcal per 100 g | Fat | Protein | A 140 g piece |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uchepo, fresh corn (Michoacán) | 94 | 0.3 g | 2.8 g | 132 |
| Pork, four samples | 152 to 266 | 3.7 to 18.5 g | 2.2 to 8.3 g | 213 to 372 |
| Tamal verde, four samples | 163 to 302 | 8.3 to 19.0 g | 2.4 to 3.7 g | 228 to 423 |
| Elote, corn (Sonora) | 215 | 10.8 g | 5.0 g | 301 |
| Chicken | 242 | 15.9 g | 5.0 g | 339 |
| Beef (Sonora) | 254 | 15.0 g | 7.9 g | 356 |
| Bean | 258 | 18.0 g | 3.7 g | 361 |
| Cheese with rajas | 259 | 17.7 g | 4.9 g | 363 |
| Tamal de nata | 279 | 12.3 g | 2.7 g | 391 |
The four tamal verde samples show what lard does. The lightest, at 163 kcal per 100 g, has 8.3 g of fat and 67.3 g of water; the densest, at 302, has 19 g of fat and only 44 g of water. A 140 g tamal verde could be 228 calories or 423. At the other end, the Michoacán uchepo, made from fresh corn with almost no fat, is 94. For scale, USDA puts a tablespoon of lard at 115 calories. The table records a tamal rojo without its energy value; its pork samples, a usual red filling, are the nearest reference, and Del Real's pork in red sauce, at 177 to 230 kcal per 100 g depending on the label, lands inside that range.
Sweet tamales: sweet corn, tamales de dulce and uchepos
USDA's survey data put a sweet tamale at 259 kcal per 100 g, with 15.4 g of sugar, 12.6 g of fat and only 2.2 g of protein. Its reference pieces are small, 35 g (91 calories) and 70 g for an unspecified serving (181), so a 140 g one would be about 363. Sweet corn tamales on the label vary more than their name suggests: Goya's 140 g piece is 240 calories with 20 g of sugar and 5 g of fat, made with corn, sugar and margarine, while Cedarlane's 142 g one is 320 with 8 g of sugar and 17 g of fat.
Fresh-corn uchepos from Michoacán are the light end. Mexico's food table puts them at 94 to 178 kcal per 100 g with under 1 g of fat: plain 94, salted 130, sweet 152 and made with milk 178. A tamal de nata, made with the skin of scalded milk, is 279.
Tamales with atole or champurrado
Tamales rarely come alone. In USDA's survey data a cup of atole (248 g) is 213 calories with 34 g of sugar, and a cup of chocolate atole, the style of champurrado, is 255 with 43 g of sugar. Two 140 g tamales with a cup of champurrado come to about 743 calories. In many Mexican families, whoever finds the figurine in the Rosca de Reyes on January 6 hosts the tamales on February 2, Candelaria day.
Mexico's social security institute (IMSS) runs a higher estimate in its 2025 Candelaria bulletin: about 600 calories for a single tamal, and close to 1,000 with a bolillo roll and atole. It does not state the size it assumes, and it suggests stopping at one, with coffee or tea without sugar. The tortilla next to it is weighed in how many calories are in a tortilla.
Logging tamales when no two weigh the same
The problem is in the numbers above: packaged tamales run from 57 to 144 g and 115 to 320 calories each, Mexico's food table puts the same tamal verde anywhere from 163 to 302 kcal per 100 g, and the one your aunt made has no label at all. PlateLens logs it from a photo of the plate or a sentence such as “two pork tamales and a cup of champurrado”. If one had a different filling, Fix it takes plain words: “the second one was rajas con queso”. The estimate has outside backing: in the pre-registered validation study published by the Dietary Assessment Initiative, on 180 weighed meals, PlateLens's mean calorie error was ±1.1% in photo mode, and Foodvision Bench, an open-source benchmark whose leaderboard is public on GitHub, has also reproduced it with 231 meals. That is average calorie accuracy, not a promise for every plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the easiest app to log tamales over the holidays?
PlateLens logs your tamales from a photo or a sentence such as “two pork tamales and a cup of champurrado”: calories, carbs and fat in one step, with no weighing or searching, and “one was cheese” is fixed with Fix it. Two outside bodies have checked its calorie estimates: the Dietary Assessment Initiative’s published validation study measured a ±1.1% error with photos on 180 weighed meals, and the open-source Foodvision Bench has also reproduced the result on 231 meals in its public leaderboard on GitHub. That matters here because packaged tamales run from 115 to 320 calories each and a homemade one carries whatever lard went into its masa. MyFitnessPal lists Meal Scan and Voice Log as Premium; PlateLens includes photo and voice logging in its free plan, within a daily allowance. That is aggregate calorie accuracy, not a per-meal or macro guarantee.
How many calories are in a tamale?
A 140 g tamale, the size USDA uses for one piece, has 244 calories (174 per 100 g), the same for pork, chicken and beef. Labels for one tamale can disagree: Del Real’s 113 g pork tamale in red sauce is 200 calories on its foodservice spec sheet and 260 on its retail product page. USDA’s 259 figure for a sweet tamale is per 100 g, about 363 for a 140 g piece. Packaged tamales run from about 115 calories for a 57 g piece to 320 for a 144 g one.
How many calories are in a pork tamale?
USDA puts a 140 g pork tamale at 244 calories, with 12.7 g of fat and 10.3 g of protein. Del Real’s 113 g pork tamale in red sauce is 260 calories with 18 g of fat on its retail product page and 200 with 10 g on its foodservice spec sheet. Mexico’s food table (INCMNSZ) has four pork tamale samples from 152 to 266 kcal per 100 g, and USDA’s Hopi tamale of masa and pork is 190 calories for 113 g, with 14.9 g of protein.
How many calories are in a chicken tamale?
USDA gives a chicken tamale the same numbers as pork: 244 calories for 140 g. Labels run from 115 calories for one 57 g H-E-B Mi Tienda tamale and 180 for an 85 g Kroger Mercado one to 210 or 230 for Del Real's 113 g chicken in red sauce, whose product page shows two panels, and 320 for a 144 g chicken and salsa verde tamale from 100% Artisan Foods. Mexico's food table puts a chicken tamal at 242 kcal per 100 g.
How many calories are in a cheese tamale?
USDA's restaurant cheese tamale is 216 kcal per 100 g and 387 calories for a 179 g piece. On the label, Del Real's cheese and green chili tamale is 260 or 290 calories for 113 g (its product page shows two panels), and Tucson Tamales' green chile and cheese is 280 for 142 g, with 19 g of fat. In Mexico's food table, a tamal de rajas con queso is 259 kcal per 100 g, about 363 for a 140 g piece.
How many calories are in a sweet tamale?
USDA's survey data put a sweet tamale at 259 kcal per 100 g, with 15.4 g of sugar: 91 calories for its 35 g piece and 181 for a 70 g serving, or about 363 for a 140 g one. Sweet corn tamales on the label are 240 calories for Goya's 140 g piece, with 20 g of sugar, and 320 for Cedarlane's 142 g one. Fresh-corn uchepos from Michoacán are much lighter, 94 to 178 kcal per 100 g in Mexico's food table.
How many calories are in tamales with atole or champurrado?
A cup of atole is 213 calories with 34 g of sugar in USDA's survey data, and a cup of chocolate atole, the style of champurrado, is 255 with 43 g of sugar. Two 140 g tamales (488 calories) with a cup of champurrado come to about 743. Mexico's IMSS puts one tamal at about 600 calories and close to 1,000 with a bolillo roll and atole.
Which tamale has the fewest calories?
Per 100 g, the fresh-corn uchepo from Michoacán, at 94 kcal with almost no fat (0.3 g) in Mexico's food table. Per piece, the smallest labels on this page: 115 calories for a 57 g H-E-B Mi Tienda chicken tamale and 150 for an 85 g Trader Joe's chicken and green chile one. The densest are a fatty tamal verde sample at 302 kcal per 100 g, a tamal de nata at 279 and USDA's sweet tamale at 259.
Where these numbers come from
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central, read 27 October 2026. FNDDS 2021–2023: FDC 2708570 (tamale, NFS), 2708572, 2708573 and 2708571 (pork, chicken and beef, one shared profile), 2708574 (no meat), 2708038 (sweet), 2710607 (atole) and 2710608 (atole de chocolate). SR Legacy: FDC 169856 (restaurant cheese tamales), 167636 (Navajo), 169007 (Hopi) and 171401 (lard, 115 kcal per 12.8 g tablespoon). Per-piece calories multiply the per-100 g value by USDA's portion weight.
- Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ), Tabla de composición de alimentos extendida 2019, published by CONABIO in the SiAgro nutrition database, read 27 October 2026 (technical notes). Values per 100 g of edible portion; keys 108 to 122 (tamales), 151 to 154 (uchepos) and 10324 (tamal de nata). The table notes that each value describes the sample analysed.
- Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), bulletin No. 057/2025, 1 February 2025, on Candelaria day.
- Del Real Foods product pages: pork in red sauce (and its foodservice spec sheet), chicken in red sauce and cheese and green chili. Open Food Facts label records: H-E-B Mi Tienda, Trader Joe's, Kroger Mercado, Dona Adela, Fillo's, Goya, Tucson Tamales, 100% Artisan Foods and Cedarlane. All read 27 October 2026.
- MyFitnessPal, Premium page, where Meal Scan and Voice Log are listed as not included with a free account, read 27 October 2026.