How Many Calories Are In One Yellow Potato? | Quick Facts

Calories In A Medium Yellow Potato — Sizes And Methods

Calories hinge on two things: how big the spud is and how you cook it. A handy baseline comes from raw potato numbers: per 100 g, plain potato averages about 77 kcal, drawn from a standard reference dataset widely used in nutrition work. That gives you quick math for home weighing, and it aligns with typical nutrition panels for unseasoned potatoes. Source data for the 100 g baseline appears here: raw potato, flesh + skin (77 kcal/100 g).

Size terms on bags can be fuzzy. Produce grading sets rough ranges that retailers use for “small,” “medium,” and “large,” which helps when you’re eyeballing. You’ll often see small around 100 g, medium in the 140–160 g lane, and larger baking types closer to 250–300 g. The United States standards outline common size designations for market potatoes; see the federal potato size tables for the official language.

Yellow Potato Calorie Estimates By Size

Use this as a quick planning chart. Numbers reflect plain potato without butter, oil, or toppings.

Typical Size & Raw Weight	Estimated Calories (Raw Basis)	Estimated Calories When Baked (Flesh Only, No Fat)
Small (~100 g)	~77–80 kcal	~90–95 kcal per 100 g flesh; small tuber ≈ ~90 kcal
Medium (~148 g)	~110–120 kcal	~130–140 kcal for cooked flesh at similar weight
Large (~300 g)	~230–240 kcal	~270–285 kcal for cooked flesh at similar weight

Those baked estimates reference per-100-gram cooked values from lab-based compilations: plain baked potato flesh averages about 93 kcal/100 g, while plain boiled flesh averages about 87 kcal/100 g. You’ll find both numbers in standard nutrition tables such as MyFoodData’s cooked entries for baked potato, no skin and boiled potato, flesh without salt.

Portion Reality: What Changes Your Count

Cooking Method

Water shifts during heating change calorie density per gram. Boiling pulls some minerals into the water and leaves the flesh a touch less dense by weight, which is why boiled flesh sits near ~87 kcal/100 g. Baking dries the interior more, so the same weight of cooked flesh trends to ~93 kcal/100 g. These differences are small in a home meal, but they stack up across a week of batch cooking.

Peel On Or Off

The peel adds fiber and trace minerals. Calories barely move with peel decisions, but fiber and potassium do. Harvard’s overview points out that potatoes deliver potassium and vitamin C, and that wet cooking can lower some minerals compared with dry heat. Read a neutral summary at Harvard’s Nutrition Source: potatoes nutrition.

Added Fat And Toppings

Butter, oil, cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits send the total up fast. One tablespoon of butter adds ~100 kcal. A tablespoon of olive oil adds ~119 kcal. If you’re tracking intake, measure small pours and spreads once, then replicate by sight.

Smart Ways To Weigh And Log

Weigh Raw For Consistency

Weighing raw gives the cleanest baseline because databases list raw values per 100 g. From there, you can map to the cooked values you actually eat.

Cook Once, Use Many Times

Batch baking plain potatoes keeps the math easy. Add toppings in measured amounts at the table. If you prefer boiling, cook a pot, chill overnight, and use for salads or quick sides. Chilling turns a share of starch into resistant starch, which behaves a bit like fiber in the gut.

Match Your Daily Targets

Portions land better once you set your daily calorie needs. After that, slot a small or medium potato where it fits and save higher-fat toppings for meals that have room.

How Yellow Compares With Other Common Types

Texture And Uses

Yellow potatoes (often sold as Yukon-type) have a naturally creamy texture, so they taste richer even without added fat. That trait helps with calorie control because you can keep toppings light and still feel satisfied.

Nutrient Profile: The Overlap

Across white, red, russet, and yellow, raw calorie density is close—hovering near 77 kcal per 100 g. Differences show up more in texture and moisture than in energy per gram. Plain cooking methods keep those numbers aligned across varieties.

Calorie Math You Can Trust

Per 100 g Baselines

Here are the most common lab-based baselines you’ll use in a kitchen log:

Preparation	Calories Per 100 g
Raw, flesh + skin	~77 kcal
Boiled, flesh without salt	~87 kcal
Baked, flesh (no fat)	~93 kcal

Numbers above come from widely used nutrient compilations that pull from federal datasets (77 kcal/100 g raw potato; ~87 kcal/100 g boiled flesh; ~93 kcal/100 g baked flesh). You can view the specific cooked entries here: boiled flesh without salt and baked flesh without skin. For raw potato baseline, see the raw potato profile.

Practical Examples

Lunch Bowl With A Small Potato

Roast a small yellow potato (~100 g) with a quick spray of oil on parchment, then pair with grilled chicken and steamed greens. The potato brings ~80–95 kcal depending on moisture loss; add a teaspoon of olive oil if you want a glossy finish (that’s ~40 kcal).

Weeknight Tray Bake

Cut two medium potatoes into wedges, toss with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and spices, then bake until crisp. You’ll add ~80–90 kcal from oil across the pan; divide by portions and log it. Keep skins on for extra fiber.

Make-Ahead Potato Salad

Boil cubed potatoes until tender, chill, then dress lightly with yogurt, mustard, and dill. Chilled cubes slot near ~87 kcal/100 g before dressing, so you can budget the mix-ins precisely.

Label Literacy For Spuds

Why Numbers Don’t Match Exactly

Different databases sample different lots and varieties. Soil, storage, and moisture sway the results. That’s why you’ll see a medium potato listed near 110–120 kcal in many places even when your kitchen math from grams lines up near the same range.

How Stores Describe Size

Produce size standards were written for commercial trade, not home logging. They still help with ballparks. “Medium” sits in the 2-¼″ to 3-¼″ diameter band in those tables, which often maps to the 140–160 g bagged sizes you see in stores. The federal reference is here: potato grading and size.

How To Keep Calories In Check Without Losing Flavor

Season Bold, Add Fat Light

Lean on salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, lemon, and herbs. Brush or spray oil instead of pouring. Finish with a teaspoon of olive oil or a spoon of Greek yogurt instead of butter pools.

Balance The Plate

Pair a potato with lean protein and greens. This keeps the meal steady and reduces the urge to drown the spud in cheese.

Batch, Chill, Reheat

Cook extra and chill for salads or quick hash. Reheating keeps the resistant starch bump from chilling, while holding calories steady.

Bottom Line For Yellow Potato Calories

Plan by weight. Think ~77 kcal per 100 g raw, ~87–93 kcal per 100 g cooked flesh. A small tuber lands near ~80–95 kcal, a medium near ~110–120 kcal, and a big baker near ~230–285 kcal before toppings. Keep skins on, go light on fat, and you get comfort with a tidy calorie line.

Want a longer walk-through on intake targets? Try our calorie deficit guide next.