How many calories in 1 banana?
How many calories in 1 banana? One medium fruit (118 g without the peel) is about 105 kcal, 27 g carbohydrate, and 1 g protein on USDA FoodData Central rows. One large banana (136 g) is about 121 kcal. Size moves the number more than peel color — weigh once or pick the USDA size row that matches what you peeled. For daily carb budgets, use the carbohydrate calculator; for walking off a snack, try the steps calorie calculator.
Calories in 1 banana by size (USDA)
Raw banana calories scale with edible weight — flesh only, peel discarded. You do not need a banana-specific formula; you need a portion habit so the next ten snacks are not a guess. USDA-style portion rows are the cleanest way to log one banana without inventing a number.
| Size (USDA habit) | Edible weight | kcal | Carbohydrate | Fiber | Net carb (carb − fiber) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra small / mini | ~80–90 g | ~70–80 | ~18–21 g | ~2 g | ~16–19 g |
| Small | ~101 g | ~90 | ~23 g | ~2.6 g | ~20 g |
| Medium | ~118 g | ~105 | ~27 g | ~3.1 g | ~24 g |
| Large | ~136 g | ~121 | ~31 g | ~3.5 g | ~27 g |
| Extra large | ~152 g | ~135 | ~35 g | ~3.9 g | ~31 g |
Per 100 g edible banana, USDA lists about 89 kcal and 23 g carbohydrate. Put the peeled fruit on a kitchen scale when the bunch at your store runs large — then reuse that gram number all week.
If you track net carbs the Atkins way, one medium banana is about 24 g net. That can be an entire 25 g daily cap. It still fits a moderate carb day; it does not fit a strict keto morning unless the rest of the day stays nearly starch-free.
Key takeaway: "1 banana" without a gram weight treats 90 kcal and 135 kcal as the same snack. Name the size or weigh the edible part.
Protein, carbs, and what one banana is not
Banana calories are almost all carbohydrate. Fat stays under half a gram per medium fruit on USDA rows. Protein is about 1 g — enough to round a label, not enough to hit a lifting target.
| Nutrient (medium, ~118 g) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | ~105 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | ~27 g |
| Fiber | ~3 g |
| Protein | ~1 g |
| Fat | ~0.4 g |
Potassium is why people reach for the fruit — a medium banana carries on the order of 400+ mg. That is useful context and still not a reason to skip the calorie line in MyFitnessPal or Cronometer.
If the snack had to deliver 25–40 g protein, yogurt, cottage cheese, or a shake wins. The banana wins when you needed portable carbs before a session and no fridge was nearby. For a side-by-side on protein per calorie, see protein per meal.
Key takeaway: One banana is a ~105 kcal carb snack with ~1 g protein. Pair it when the meal needed protein; do not treat it as a protein food.
Ripeness, cooking, and hidden calories
Green bananas taste starchier. Yellow and spotted bananas taste sweeter because starch converts toward sugar. For a daily food log, that conversion does not create a new USDA food. Energy per gram stays in the same neighborhood as the raw row.
What does change the total:
- Butter, sugar, or oil in baked banana dishes
- Dried chips — less water, more kcal per handful
- Blender add-ins — milk, oats, nut butter stacked on top of the fruit
Frozen banana in a blender is still a banana. "Nice cream" from two large bananas is about 240 kcal of fruit before cocoa, peanut butter, or milk enter the jar. Protein powder and oats are not banana calories — they belong in a separate smoothie calories line.
Key takeaway: Ripeness is a taste and glycemic note, not a calorie discount. Added fat and drying concentrate energy; the plain peeled fruit follows the size table.
Banana versus snacks people swap it for
A banana is easy to carry. That is why it lands in the same slot as yogurt, apples, and toast.
| Snack | Typical portion | Approx. kcal | Carbohydrate | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium banana | 118 g | 105 | 27 g | 1 g |
| Apple | 1 medium (~180 g) | ~95 | ~25 g | 0.5 g |
| Plain nonfat Greek yogurt | 170 g cup | ~100 | ~6 g | ~17 g |
| Slice of wheat bread | 1 slice (~40 g) | ~80 | ~14 g | ~4 g |
| 2 tbsp peanut butter | 32 g | ~190 | ~7 g | ~8 g |
The banana is not "high calorie" in the pizza sense. It is carbohydrate-dense for its size, and it is easy to eat two. Yogurt wins when the job was protein. Banana wins when you needed carbs before training.
Choosing banana versus a sweet potato side? Run both through the food comparison tool on the portions you actually buy — not a textbook 100 g row you never eat.
Key takeaway: A medium banana is a ~100 kcal carb snack. Peanut butter on top is another log line, not a free topping.
How trackers get banana calories wrong
Cronometer, MacroFactor, and MyFitnessPal all accept 118 g or 136 g if you type it. The miss is rarely chemistry. It is portion theater — the default "1 banana" row does not know what was in your bag.
| What got logged | What was eaten | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| "1 banana" medium (105 kcal) | Supermarket large ~136 g (121 kcal), twice daily | +32 kcal/day — small, real over a month |
| "Banana smoothie" as one fruit | Medium banana + 300 ml 2% milk + 2 tbsp peanut butter | ~105 logged vs ~440+ eaten before oats |
| Green banana as "low carb" | Still ~23–27 g carbohydrate | Peel color is not a carb discount |
Worked example: You peel one large banana (~136 g) for pre-workout and log medium (105 kcal). You under-count by 16 kcal once — boring. Do that twice a day for thirty days and you are ~960 kcal off the log without changing a recipe.
Weigh one peeled banana this week. Save the grams as a custom food in MacroFactor or a note in Cronometer. Reuse until the bunch size at your store changes.
Two medium bananas are about 210 kcal and 54 g carbohydrate. That can fuel a long run. It can also be breakfast plus a second unlogged fruit at the desk.
Key takeaway: Trackers only know the row you tapped. Match grams or USDA size to the fruit you peeled.
When one banana fits your day — and when three do not
On a moderate carb target from the carbohydrate calculator, one medium banana is a clean snack or pre-workout carb. On a 1,800 kcal cut from the calorie calculator, it still fits if the rest of the day is honest.
Common patterns:
- Pre-workout, training day. One medium banana ~105 kcal, 15–45 minutes before lifting. Carbohydrate is doing a job; protein still comes from the next meal.
- Desk snack, repeat. Banana at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. is 210 kcal if both are medium. Fine — log both.
- Blender breakfast. The banana is the smallest line once oats and nut butter show up.
- "I only had fruit." Four medium bananas is about 420 kcal and 108 g carbohydrate. That can be planned; it is not invisible.
This guide is educational food math, not medical advice. If you follow a prescribed carb cap from a clinician, use the gram table with whoever set the plan.
Key takeaway: One banana is a snack. Three bananas, or one banana inside a nut-butter smoothie, is a meal — name which pattern you ran today.
A simple logging method
- Peel the banana. Weigh it, or pick small / medium / large from the table above.
- In MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, or MacroFactor, enter grams or the USDA size that matches.
- If it went into a blender, log every other ingredient. Do not stop at the fruit.
- Reuse the gram number while the bunch size stays the same.
When you want a second opinion on banana versus another snack you repeat weekly, use the food comparison tool and compare the portions on your receipt — not a generic database ghost entry.
Key takeaway: Weigh one peeled banana, save the grams, reuse that row. Compare snacks on what you buy, not on a 100 g textbook line you never eat.