How Many Calories Are There In 1 Tomato? | Quick Facts

Calories In A Single Tomato By Size And Type

Calorie counts swing with weight. A medium round fruit is listed at 25 calories for a 148 g serving. Small cherry and grape pieces land far lower per piece because they weigh less; big beefsteaks land higher for the same reason. The clean way to estimate any tomato is simple: use 18 calories per 100 g, then multiply by the grams you actually eat.

To help you pin down numbers for the kinds you grab most, here’s a broad table built from real weights and that 18-per-100 g baseline. Values round to the nearest whole calorie.

Calories By Common Tomato Types

Type	Typical Weight	Calories Each
Grape	8–10 g	1–2
Cherry	15–20 g	3–4
Campari	60–70 g	11–13
Roma / Plum	60–110 g	11–20
Medium Round	148 g	25
Large Beefsteak	180–220 g	33–40
On-The-Vine (each)	120–140 g	22–25

These numbers come from a straightforward method: pair the 18-calories-per-100 g baseline with typical weights for each variety. A listed medium fruit at 148 g works out neatly to 25 calories, matching the federal vegetable chart for a standard medium serving. If you like tighter tracking, weigh yours before slicing, then use the same 18-per-100 g rule.

Portion planning gets easier once you set your daily calorie needs. That way, the 10–40-calorie range here fits cleanly into meals without guesswork.

How Weight, Prep, And Serving Size Change The Count

Raw fruit carries a lot of water, so the energy density stays low. Most of the time, the big swings you see in trackers come down to two things: different weights and different serving styles. A cup of chopped pieces weighs more than a cup of halves. A thick slice weighs more than a thin one. Oil or cheese on top adds energy that doesn’t come from the tomato at all.

For a standard reference, the baseline used in nutrition databases is 18 calories per 100 g of raw tomato. When a label or a tracker lists a medium fruit at 148 g and 25 calories, it’s applying that same ratio. If your serving isn’t “medium,” switch to grams and the math stays honest.

Quick Math You Can Use

• Per gram: 0.18 calories (18 per 100 g).
• Per ounce: ~5 calories (since 28 g ≈ 1 oz).
• Two thick slices (40 g): ~7–8 calories.

Serving Examples You’ll Meet In The Kitchen

Home cooks bounce between cups, pieces, and slices. The table below converts common kitchen measures to grams and calories using the same baseline. A medium whole fruit is included for context, as are cup measures you’ll see in recipes.

A standard medium entry uses 148 g and 25 calories, matching the FDA vegetable chart. For chopped pieces and cup measures, the gram weights come from common lab references and the same 18-per-100 g baseline.

Calories By Common Serving

Serving	Weight (g)	Calories
1 Medium Whole	148	25
1 Cup Cherry (whole)	149	27
1 Cup Chopped	180	32
1 Thick Slice	20	4
2 Thick Slices	40	7–8
Half A Large Beefsteak	100–110	18–20

Raw Versus Cooked: What Changes, What Doesn’t

Cooking doesn’t change the raw fruit’s energy per gram; it changes water content and serving weight. Roast halves for long enough and they lose water, so the same spoonful becomes denser and the spoonful holds more calories. The tomato itself didn’t “gain” energy; the portion just weighs more fruit per bite.

Sauces add a twist. A basic pan sauce from fresh fruit has the same 18-per-100 g baseline for the fruit portion, then you add energy from oil, butter, or cheese. If your recipe uses two tablespoons of olive oil, that alone brings about 238 calories before any pasta hits the pot. Keep an eye on the non-tomato add-ins and your numbers stay honest.

Nutrients Beyond Calories

You’re not just chasing a number on a tracker. Tomatoes bring potassium, vitamin C, and carotenoids. Lycopene—the red pigment—draws plenty of attention in research. Cooking with a little oil can raise lycopene uptake, which is one reason a simple sauce tastes good and works well nutritionally. If you’d like a quick reference for baseline macros and minerals, this USDA-derived entry summarizes the profile clearly: USDA tomato data.

Smart Ways To Weigh And Track

Kitchen scales make this simple. Weigh the portion, apply 0.18 calories per gram, then add any extras from oil, cheese, or bread. If you don’t have a scale, use slices and cups as rough guides and stick to the ranges in the tables above.

Practical Meal Ideas Within A Calorie Budget

Five-Minute Sandwich

Two thick slices on toasted whole-grain bread with a smear of light mayo and cracked pepper. The fruit adds about 7–8 calories, leaving most of the budget to the bread and spread. Salt lightly; the flavor pops without much effort.

Sheet-Pan Roasted Halves

Line a tray, halve medium fruits, and roast with a drizzle of olive oil. Count the oil first, then add the fruit at 18 per 100 g. Toss with cooked grains and herbs for a quick bowl that scales cleanly for the week.

Simple Skillet Sauce

Sweat garlic in a measured amount of oil, add chopped fruit, and simmer. Measure by cup when you portion leftovers. The result lands light on energy and heavy on flavor, with lycopene made more available during the simmer.

FAQ-Style Clarifications (Without The FAQ Block)

Is A “Small” Tomato Always Fewer Calories?

Yes, if it weighs less. A small round fruit might weigh 90–110 g, landing in the 16–20 calorie range. Two or three cherry pieces can match one thick slice, so piece counts aren’t reliable unless you pair them with grams.

Do Heirloom Varieties Change The Math?

Flavor varies a lot; the baseline energy doesn’t. Whether it’s a purple Cherokee or a striped Green Zebra, raw fruit sits near 18 calories per 100 g. The variety you choose mainly shifts taste, water, and serving size.

What About Canned Or Sun-Dried?

Canned fruit packed in juice or puree stays close to the same per 100 g. Sun-dried pieces lose most of the water, so the calories per spoonful jump. If oil is part of the pack, count it—oil brings most of the energy in those jars.

Method Notes You Can Trust

This page uses the widely cited 18-calories-per-100 g reference for raw fruit and the standard 148 g, 25-calorie listing for a medium piece. Cup measures for cherry fruit (149 g) align with common lab entries. Where you see ranges, they reflect realistic weights you’ll meet in markets and kitchens. That keeps your plate math grounded in real servings—not textbook portions.

Bring It All Together

Here’s the simplest path to accurate counts: weigh what you eat when you can; when you can’t, use a medium piece at 25 calories, a cup of chopped at ~32, and cherry cups at ~27. Round to the nearest calorie for day-to-day tracking and spend your attention on sauces, oils, and breads, which carry most of the energy in tomato-based meals.

Want a deeper primer on low-energy picks for meals and snacks? Try our low calorie foods guide.