Contents
About 540 kcal per 100 g
Ordinary potato chips have 510-550 kcal per 100 g, and a third of their weight is oil. A small 25-28 g bag therefore comes to 130-150 kcal, a 50-60 g bag to 270-320, a 90 g bag to 470-490, the big 140 g bag to 730-770 and a 150 g bag to 780-820. Flavour hardly matters: sour cream and herbs, crab or plain salted, the difference is 10-20 kcal per 100 g.
Table: calories in a bag of chips
The figures assume an average of 540 kcal per 100 g, and if your bag says 500 or 560, multiply that by the weight and divide by 100:
| Bag | kcal | Fat, g | Salt, g |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 g | 135 | 8-9 | 0.3-0.5 |
| 50 g | 270 | 16-17 | 0.7-1 |
| 70 g | 380 | 22-24 | 1-1.4 |
| 90 g | 485 | 28-31 | 1.2-1.8 |
| 140 g | 755 | 44-48 | 1.8-2.8 |
| 150 g | 810 | 47-51 | 2-3 |
| 225 g, large | 1,215 | 70-77 | 3-4.5 |
A big 140 g bag has about as many calories as a kilo of boiled potatoes, with one difference: nobody manages a kilo of potatoes during an episode of a TV series, while a bag of chips goes without anyone noticing.
Which chips are lighter
| Type | kcal per 100 g | What is different |
|---|---|---|
| Classic and ridged potato chips | 510-550 | deep-fried, 30-35% fat |
| Stackable chips from potato dough, in a tube | 520-540 | same calories as regular |
| Corn chips, nachos | 480-510 | slightly less fat, more starch |
| Vegetable chips, beet and carrot | 480-530 | also fried in oil |
| Baked potato chips | 400-450 | 2-3 times less fat |
| Bread and lavash chips | 420-480 | depends on oil and seasoning |
| Apple chips, dried without oil | 300-350 | mostly fruit sugar |
Baked chips really are 15-25% lighter. "Vegetable" and "natural" chips, though, are usually as caloric as potato ones: they are fried too.
Why chips are so hard to stop eating
Chips are a textbook example of food engineered to a "bliss point": a combination of fat, salt and crunch at which the brain gets no signal of fullness. They contain 5-7 g of protein and 3-4 g of fibre per 100 g and almost no water. So 750 kcal from a bag does not fill you up the way 750 kcal of normal food does, and an hour later you are hungry again.
Another effect: an open bag gets eaten to the bottom. In studies, people given chips in large packages ate noticeably more than from small ones, without feeling any fuller.
Chips while losing weight: how not to wipe out the day
You do not have to ban chips completely, but it is worth managing the portion.
- Buy small bags. 25-50 g is 135-270 kcal, easy to fit into your target.
- Pour them into a bowl. Pour a handful, put the bag away. That is easier than stopping with the bag in your hands.
- Do not eat in front of a screen. During a film or a game the bag "disappears" unnoticed.
- Choose baked. Minus 100-150 kcal on a medium bag.
- Eat them with protein. Chips alongside chicken breast or a cottage cheese dip are more filling than on their own.
If you want something crunchy instead of chips, rye crispbread (32 kcal per piece) or air-popped popcorn work well.
How to log chips
In MyFoodMate AI you can photograph the bag and let the app recognise the product, or just type "chips 90 g". If you ate half a bag, say exactly that, "half a 140 g bag", and 70 g goes into the diary.
Frequently asked questions
A 90 g bag at an average of 540 kcal per 100 g has about 485 kcal, and for the exact figure multiply the number on the label by 0.9. Sour cream and onion chips are no lighter or heavier than plain ones at 510-550 kcal per 100 g, since the seasoning is only 2-4% of the bag. A handful of chips weighs 10-15 g, roughly 55-80 kcal, and a 140 g bag holds about 10-12 handfuls.
We check blog materials against current WHO recommendations.
