How Many Calories in a Tortilla? Corn vs Flour, by Size
A tortilla is somewhere between 39 and 358 calories, and the word alone does not tell you where. Corn or flour is the first split: flour is 40 percent denser. Size is the bigger one: USDA weighs corn tortillas from 18 g to 65 g and flour tortillas from 30 g to 117 g, so “a tortilla” spans a factor of nine before anything goes inside it. Both ladders are below, with the chips, the lime and, for readers in Spain, the other tortilla.
A corn tortilla is 218 kcal per 100 g and a flour tortilla 306 (USDA FoodData Central, FDC 175036 and 175037): one 24 g corn tortilla is 52 kcal, a 6-inch flour tortilla (30 g) is 92 kcal and a 12-inch burrito tortilla (117 g) is 358 kcal. Tortilla chips run 472 to 497 kcal per 100 g. PlateLens logs the count and size you describe.
Corn tortilla calories by size
USDA’s SR Legacy record for a corn tortilla, FDC 175036, reads 218 kcal per 100 g, with 5.7 g of protein, 2.9 g of fat, 44.6 g of carbohydrate and 6.3 g of fibre. Its standard portion is one 24 g tortilla: 218 × 24 ÷ 100 = 52 kcal. The newer Survey (FNDDS) record for the same tortilla, FDC 2707823, carries identical values and adds four household sizes.
| Size | USDA weight | Calories | Protein | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (street-taco size) | 18 g | 39 kcal | 1.0 g | 1.1 g |
| USDA standard tortilla | 24 g | 52 kcal | 1.4 g | 1.5 g |
| Medium | 28 g | 61 kcal | 1.6 g | 1.8 g |
| Large | 44 g | 96 kcal | 2.5 g | 2.8 g |
| Extra large | 65 g | 142 kcal | 3.7 g | 4.1 g |
Three medium corn tortillas under taco fillings are 183 kcal; three small ones are 117. That is a packaged tortilla. A hand-made comal tortilla has no USDA record: its thickness and diameter depend on who made it. Use the density, 218 kcal per 100 g, and a kitchen scale for one minute.
Flour tortilla calories by size
USDA has three flour-tortilla records, between 297 and 325 kcal per 100 g (FDC 167535, 175037 and 173242). This page uses the refrigerated one, FDC 175037, at 306 kcal per 100 g, because it carries diameters: 8.2 g of protein, 8.0 g of fat, 49.4 g of carbohydrate, 3.5 g of fibre and 736 mg of sodium per 100 g.
| Diameter | USDA weight | Calories | Protein | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-inch (15 cm), taco | 30 g | 92 kcal | 2.5 g | 2.4 g |
| 7–8-inch (18–20 cm), soft taco or fajita | 49 g | 150 kcal | 4.0 g | 3.9 g |
| 10-inch (25 cm), wrap | 72 g | 220 kcal | 5.9 g | 5.8 g |
| 12-inch (30 cm), burrito | 117 g | 358 kcal | 9.6 g | 9.3 g |
Burrito size: 306 × 117 ÷ 100 = 358 kcal. Doubling the diameter from 6 to 12 inches quadruples the area, and USDA’s weights track that almost exactly (117 ÷ 30 = 3.9), the same geometry as a slice of pizza. Chipotle publishes its flour burrito tortilla at 320 kcal and 8 g of protein and its taco-size tortilla at 80, figures we walk through in the highest-protein Chipotle order.
Corn vs flour: per 100 g and per tortilla
| Corn tortilla | Flour tortilla | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories per 100 g | 218 kcal | 306 kcal |
| One taco-size tortilla | 24–28 g, 52–61 kcal | 30 g, 92 kcal |
| Protein | 5.7 g | 8.2 g |
| Fat | 2.9 g | 8.0 g |
| Fibre | 6.3 g | 3.5 g |
| Sodium | 45 mg | 736 mg |
| Calcium | 81 mg | 146 mg (39 mg without added calcium, FDC 173242) |
Per gram, flour is 40 percent denser (306 ÷ 218), and the reason is fat: almost three times as much, from the lard or shortening in the dough. Per tortilla the gap is wider, 52 to 61 kcal against 92, because a taco-size flour tortilla also weighs more. Corn wins on fibre by nearly double and on sodium by a factor of 16. Flour’s calcium lead is fortification: USDA’s no-added-calcium record reads 39 mg. The corn tortilla’s 81 mg is not.
Nixtamalization: why a corn tortilla has calcium, and no extra calories
A corn tortilla is not ground corn. In the words of FAO’s Maize in human nutrition (Rome, 1992), “the conversion of maize into tortillas involves a process in which water, heat and calcium hydroxide are used,” and “lime treatment at 96°C for about 55 minutes hydrolyses the pericarp, which is removed during washing.” That is nixtamalization.
What the lime does to the nutrition: “Because of the use of calcium hydroxide in converting maize into tortillas, the calcium content of the product increases significantly, up to about 400 percent.” “The alkaline treatment of maize has been reported to destroy its pellagragenic factor,” and niacin is “slightly more available from lime-treated maize than from raw maize.” And on calories: “Digestible and metabolizable energy were similar in maize processed with and without lime.” It changes the minerals and vitamins, not the calories.
Tortilla chips vs tortilla
A tortilla chip is a corn tortilla with the water fried out and oil fried in. USDA’s plain salted yellow-corn chips read 497 kcal per 100 g (FDC 173143) and white-corn chips 472 (FDC 167558): 2.2 to 2.3 times the tortilla, with about seven times the fat (20.7 to 22.3 g per 100 g against 2.9). The Survey record, FDC 2708202, supplies household sizes.
| Portion | USDA weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| One chip | 3 g | 14 kcal |
| One ounce, yellow corn | 28.35 g | 141 kcal |
| One cup | 30 g | 142 kcal |
| Large single-serving bag | 85 g | 401 kcal |
A 28 g corn tortilla is 61 kcal; 28 g of chips is 132 to 141: same corn, same weight, more than twice the calories.
Tortilla de patatas: the Spanish tortilla, estimated from its parts
In Spain “tortilla” means a thick potato omelette, and USDA has never measured one. Its closest record, an egg-led American potato-and-onion omelet at 172 kcal per 100 g (FDC 2707277, Survey), does not describe the dish. So this is an estimate from four USDA components for a four-egg recipe. The oil is the assumption: potatoes are fried in far more olive oil than they keep, and we assume 40 g retained, about three tablespoons.
| Ingredient | kcal per 100 g | Amount | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potato, peeled, raw (FDC 2346403) | 71.6 | 400 g | 286 kcal | 7.2 g |
| Eggs, whole, raw (FDC 171287) | 143 | 4 large, 200 g | 286 kcal | 25.2 g |
| Onion, yellow, raw (FDC 790646) | 38 | 100 g | 38 kcal | 0.8 g |
| Olive oil retained (FDC 171413) | 884 | 40 g, assumed | 354 kcal | 0 g |
| Whole tortilla (740 g raw) | 964 kcal | 33 g | ||
| One quarter | 241 kcal | 8.3 g | ||
| One eighth (a bar-size wedge) | 120 kcal | 4.2 g |
Oil: 884 × 40 ÷ 100 = 354 kcal, 37 percent of the total and the one number nobody knows. At 20 g the whole tortilla is 787 kcal; at 60 g it is 1,141. The finished tortilla weighs less than 740 g, because the potatoes lose water in the pan, but the calories do not leave with the water. How many calories are in an egg covers what frying does to each of the four.
How to log a tortilla
- Count them. Tacos often come on two tortillas, and the second is another 52 to 92 kcal.
- Name the size. “Taco” and “burrito” are 92 and 358 kcal in the same flour; “small” and “extra large” are 39 and 142 in the same corn.
- Say corn or flour: a 40 percent difference per gram, and count chips by the cup (142 kcal), not the basket.
That is why PlateLens logs from a photo or from what you type or say: “three small corn tortillas with carnitas” is a loggable sentence, and if the estimate assumed two, “Fix it” corrects the count in one line. It runs on a free plan with daily limits, with a paid tier that removes them.
A note before you change how you eat
This is a page of food-composition arithmetic, not dietary advice. If you are planning to change what or how much you eat, talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian first — particularly if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, managing diabetes or kidney disease, or have a history of disordered eating. And if working out the calories in a tortilla is making eating feel stressful rather than clearer, that is a reason to stop counting and talk to someone, not a reason to count more carefully.
Where these numbers come from
USDA FoodData Central, retrieved 5 September 2026. SR Legacy (2019): FDC 175036 Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn; FDC 175037 Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, flour, refrigerated; FDC 167535 and FDC 173242, other flour records; FDC 173143 tortilla chips, yellow, plain, salted; FDC 167558 tortilla chips, white corn, salted; FDC 171287 egg, whole, raw; FDC 171413 olive oil. Foundation Foods: FDC 2346403 potatoes, gold, without skin, raw; FDC 790646 onions, yellow, raw. Survey (FNDDS): FDC 2707823 tortilla, corn; FDC 2708202 tortilla chips, plain; FDC 2707277 egg omelet with potatoes and/or onions, fat added. Figures are USDA values per 100 g × USDA portion weights, rounded; the tortilla de patatas assumes 40 g of retained oil.
Chipotle’s 320 and 80 kcal tortillas are the chain’s published US figures, reproduced in our Chipotle protein guide. Nixtamalization: FAO, Maize in human nutrition (Rome, 1992), Chapter 5, Lime-treated maize (part I) and part II; quotations verbatim.
Log the tortillas you actually ate
Snap the plate or describe it — how many, corn or flour, taco or burrito. PlateLens works from what you tell it, not a fixed “1 tortilla” row that picked a size for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories are in a corn tortilla?
USDA’s standard corn tortilla is 24 g and 52 kcal, at 218 kcal per 100 g (FDC 175036, SR Legacy). The Survey record for the same tortilla (FDC 2707823) adds four household sizes: 18 g and 39 kcal, 28 g and 61, 44 g and 96, 65 g and 142. A hand-made comal tortilla has no USDA record; use the density, 218 kcal per 100 g, and a scale.
How many calories are in a flour tortilla?
A 6-inch flour tortilla (30 g) is 92 kcal, a 7-to-8-inch one (49 g) 150 kcal, a 10-inch (72 g) 220 kcal and a 12-inch burrito tortilla (117 g) 358 kcal, all from USDA FDC 175037 at 306 kcal per 100 g. Chipotle publishes its burrito tortilla at 320 kcal.
Corn or flour: which tortilla has fewer calories?
Corn, both ways you can count it. Per 100 g it is 218 kcal against 306 for flour, mostly because the flour tortilla carries nearly three times the fat (8.0 g against 2.9 g per 100 g). Per taco-size tortilla it is 52 to 61 kcal against 92 for a 6-inch flour one, because the flour one also weighs more.
How many calories are in tortilla chips?
472 to 497 kcal per 100 g for plain salted corn chips (USDA FDC 167558 and 173143), 2.2 to 2.3 times the tortilla they are made from. One ounce (28 g) is 132 to 141 kcal, and USDA’s large single-serving bag (85 g) about 401 kcal (FDC 2708202).
How many calories does a Spanish tortilla de patatas have?
USDA has never measured one, so this is an estimate from its parts: a four-egg tortilla with 400 g of peeled potato, 200 g of egg, 100 g of onion and 40 g of retained olive oil comes to about 964 kcal and 33 g of protein, or 241 kcal a quarter and about 120 kcal for a bar-size wedge. The oil is an assumption and 37 percent of the total.