Contents
About 500 kcal per bar
Almost any chocolate has 520-580 kcal per 100 g. So:
- a 90 g bar: 470-520 kcal;
- a 100 g bar: 530-580 kcal;
- a small 20-25 g bar: 105-145 kcal;
- one square (4-6 g): 22-35 kcal.
Dark chocolate is not lighter than milk chocolate, and is sometimes even more caloric: it has more cocoa butter.
Table: calories in chocolate by type
Average figures from reference data and labels of mass-market brands. The exact number for a particular bar is always on the wrapper.
| Chocolate | kcal per 100 g | Sugar, g | Fat, g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk | 530-560 | 50-56 | 30-34 |
| Milk with whole nuts | 540-570 | 45-50 | 34-38 |
| Aerated milk | 530-550 | 52-56 | 30-33 |
| Filled (caramel, yoghurt, cream) | 500-530 | 50-58 | 26-30 |
| White | 540-560 | 55-60 | 32-35 |
| Dark 50-60% | 520-550 | 35-45 | 32-36 |
| Dark 70% | 580 | 25-30 | 42-43 |
| Dark 85-90% | 590-620 | 10-15 | 46-52 |
Catalog pages: Dark 70%.
The higher the cocoa percentage, the less sugar but the more fat, and calories barely change. The advantage of dark chocolate lies elsewhere: it is hard to eat a lot of it, and it has half the sugar.
How many calories in chocolate of different sizes
| Size | Weight | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| One square | 4-6 g | 22-35 |
| Three squares | 15 g | 80-87 |
| Mini bar | 15-20 g | 80-115 |
| Small bar | 25 g | 130-145 |
| Candy bar | 35-50 g | 170-250 |
| Bar | 85-90 g | 450-520 |
| Bar | 100 g | 530-580 |
| Large bar | 200 g | 1,060-1,160 |
A whole bar in an evening is a quarter of the daily target for many women on a deficit, plus 10-15 g of saturated fat.
Dark or milk: which to choose when losing weight
In calories there is almost no difference. But there are three reasons to choose dark:
- Less sugar. 70% dark has 25-30 g of sugar per 100 g against 50-56 g in milk chocolate.
- Harder to overeat. Dark chocolate satisfies through its flavour, so two or three squares are usually enough, whereas milk chocolate tempts you to finish the bar.
- Cocoa polyphenols. Dark chocolate has more of them, and studies link cocoa flavanols to a slight drop in blood pressure, though the effect is too modest to be a reason to eat chocolate for your health.
How much chocolate a day
Chocolate fits into any sensible target as long as you count it. A handy amount is 15-30 g a day, three to six squares or 80-175 kcal, which is easy to build into your day without wiping out a calorie deficit. The pattern that works worst is "no, no, no, then the whole bar", and a small planned portion of something sweet usually keeps you steadier than a strict ban. Break off the squares and put the bar back in the cupboard, because eating from the bar "one at a time" is the quickest way to get through half of it. Chocolate with tea after lunch satisfies more than chocolate instead of a snack, and a small 25 g bar is a ready-made portion, while a big one is much harder to stop.
How to log chocolate
In MyFoodMate AI you can photograph the squares or type "3 squares of dark chocolate", and the app fills in an average weight and calories, which become exact once you correct the weight from the wrapper of the brand you usually buy. The breakdown also makes it obvious why chocolate gets a low FoodMate Score even in a small portion.
Frequently asked questions
A 15-20 g mini bar has 80-115 kcal and a small 25 g bar 130-145. White chocolate comes to 540-560 kcal per 100 g, the same as milk chocolate, and while it's full of cocoa butter, it also carries more sugar than any other kind, 55-60 g per 100 g. Dark chocolate is fine while losing weight if you count it, as three squares, 15 g, are about 87 kcal, and for many people that's an easy way to deal with a sweet craving without a big portion. Candy bars with nougat, caramel and peanuts run at 480-500 kcal per 100 g, so an ordinary 50 g bar is about 240-250 kcal.
We check blog materials against current WHO recommendations.
