One large egg contains about 72 calories. That’s based on a standard large egg weighing 50 grams, which is the size most recipes and nutrition labels reference. It’s a surprisingly nutrient-dense package for fewer calories than a medium apple.
Calories by Egg Size
Egg sizes are standardized by weight, and the calorie difference between them is straightforward:
- Small (38 g): 54 calories
- Medium (44 g): 63 calories
- Large (50 g): 72 calories
- Extra-large (56 g): 80 calories
- Jumbo (63 g): 90 calories
If you’re tracking calories and your carton says “large,” you can reliably use 72. Jumbo eggs add roughly 25% more calories per egg, which can matter if you’re eating two or three at a time.
Where the Calories Come From
A large egg has 6.3 grams of protein and 5.3 grams of fat, with barely any carbohydrate (about half a gram). Protein and fat split the calorie load roughly evenly, though fat is slightly more calorie-dense per gram. There’s about 1.6 grams of saturated fat in one egg, with the rest coming from unsaturated fats.
Yolk vs. White
The calorie split between the two parts of an egg isn’t even close. The white provides about 17 calories and 3.6 grams of protein. The yolk carries the remaining 55 or so calories along with nearly all the fat, cholesterol, vitamins, and minerals. If you’re watching calories closely, swapping one whole egg for an extra white in a two-egg scramble saves about 55 calories while still giving you plenty of protein.
That said, the yolk is where most of the nutrition lives. Tossing it means losing the vitamin B12, selenium, choline, calcium, and other micronutrients that make eggs worth eating in the first place. One large egg delivers 22% of your daily selenium needs and a meaningful dose of choline, a nutrient most people don’t get enough of that plays a key role in brain function and liver health.
How Cooking Changes the Count
A raw or boiled egg stays close to that 72-calorie baseline. Hard-boiled comes in around 78 calories per large egg, with the slight increase likely due to minor water loss concentrating the nutrients by weight. Frying bumps it up to about 90 calories because the egg absorbs some of the cooking fat. If you fry in a generous amount of butter or oil, the real number could climb higher depending on how much fat the egg soaks up.
Poaching and soft-boiling add no extra fat, keeping you near the baseline. Scrambling with milk or butter will add calories proportional to whatever you mix in. For the most accurate count, measure your added fats separately rather than guessing.
Eggs, Fullness, and Weight Management
Eggs punch above their caloric weight when it comes to keeping you full. A crossover study from the University of South Australia tested this directly: 50 overweight or obese adults ate either an egg breakfast or a cereal breakfast with the same number of calories. After the egg breakfast, participants ate significantly fewer calories at lunch four hours later, consuming roughly 18% less than they did after the cereal morning. They also reported feeling less hungry throughout the morning.
The combination of protein and fat in eggs slows digestion compared to carbohydrate-heavy breakfasts, which helps explain why two eggs at 144 calories can hold you over longer than a bowl of cereal with the same energy content.
Cholesterol and How Many You Can Eat
One large egg contains about 186 mg of cholesterol, all of it in the yolk. For years, dietary guidelines capped cholesterol intake at 300 mg per day, which made eggs a frequent target. Current evidence has shifted that thinking. The American Heart Association’s 2026 dietary guidance notes that dietary cholesterol is no longer a primary target for cardiovascular risk reduction for most people, and that moderate egg consumption fits within a heart-healthy eating pattern.
The bigger concern, according to the same guidance, is what you eat alongside your eggs. Bacon, sausage, and processed meats paired with eggs at breakfast carry more cardiovascular risk than the eggs themselves. For most healthy adults, one to three eggs per day is a common range supported by current nutrition research.