One cup of chopped raw broccoli contains about 31 calories. That makes it one of the lowest-calorie vegetables you can eat, delivering a surprising amount of protein, fiber, and vitamins for those 31 calories.
Calories by Serving Size
Most calorie counts for broccoli are based on one cup of chopped raw broccoli, which weighs about 91 grams (roughly 3.2 ounces). At 31 calories per cup, a single floret or small side portion will run you even less. A large head of broccoli weighing around 500 grams comes in at roughly 170 calories total.
Cooked broccoli looks like it has more calories per cup, but that’s mostly because it shrinks. One cup of boiled, drained broccoli (156 grams) has about 55 calories. You’re just fitting more broccoli into the same measuring cup. Gram for gram, cooking doesn’t meaningfully add or remove calories.
What Else Is in Those 31 Calories
Broccoli packs more nutrition into its low calorie count than most vegetables. One cup of raw chopped broccoli gives you:
- Protein: 2.5 to 3 grams
- Carbohydrates: 6 grams
- Fiber: 2 to 2.5 grams
- Fat: 0.3 grams
That protein number is notable for a vegetable. Most greens have a gram or less per serving. Broccoli won’t replace chicken, but it contributes more than you’d expect.
The vitamin content is where broccoli really stands out. A single raw cup provides 90% of your daily vitamin C and 77% of your daily vitamin K. You’d need to eat several oranges to match the vitamin C in two cups of broccoli, and those oranges would carry far more calories and sugar.
Stalks vs. Florets
If you’ve been tossing the stalks, you’re throwing away food that’s nutritionally identical to the florets. Research comparing the two parts of the broccoli head found almost equivalent nutrient values, including vitamins and antioxidants. The stalks have a slightly different texture, but peeling the tough outer layer reveals a tender core that works well sliced thin in stir-fries or shredded into slaws.
How Cooking Changes the Numbers
Steaming and boiling don’t significantly change the calorie content per gram, but they do affect the nutrient profile. Cooked broccoli actually delivers more fiber per cup (4.8 grams versus 2.2 grams raw) because you’re eating a denser, more compact serving. On the flip side, boiling broccoli in water leaches some vitamin C into the cooking liquid. Steaming preserves more of those water-soluble vitamins while still softening the texture.
If you roast broccoli with oil, that’s where the calorie count can climb. A tablespoon of olive oil adds about 120 calories to the pan. It’s still a low-calorie meal component, but the oil matters more than the broccoli itself when you’re counting.
Broccoli vs. Cauliflower
Cauliflower is broccoli’s closest nutritional relative, and the two are nearly interchangeable in calorie terms. One cup of raw cauliflower (107 grams) has 27 calories compared to broccoli’s 31. The fiber and protein are similar too. The real gap is in vitamins: broccoli delivers 90% of your daily vitamin C versus cauliflower’s 57%, and 77% of daily vitamin K versus cauliflower’s 14%. Cauliflower edges ahead slightly in B vitamins. If you’re choosing between them purely for calories, it’s a wash. For overall nutrient density, broccoli wins.
Why Broccoli Helps With Weight Management
Broccoli’s combination of high fiber, high water content, and low calories makes it unusually filling for what it costs you calorically. The fiber slows digestion and helps control appetite between meals. Research on fiber and body weight suggests that people who eat 19 to 30 grams of fiber daily tend to lose weight even without other dietary changes. One cup of cooked broccoli gets you about a quarter of the way there on its own.
Because broccoli is so low in calorie density, you can eat a large volume of it without much impact on your daily total. Two full cups of raw broccoli is a generous portion, visually filling a plate, and it still comes in under 65 calories. That volume-to-calorie ratio is what makes it a staple in most weight loss plans.