How many calories are in a bacon sandwich?
Two rashers of grilled back bacon in two slices of buttered white bread comes to about 485 kcal. The butter is 150 of that. Most people would guess the bacon was the expensive part and it is not by much.
The plate, as served
Two slices of white bread with butter and two rashers of grilled back bacon.
Where the calories come from
| Nutrient | Grams | Calories | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 19g | 76 | 16% |
| Carbs | 36g | 144 | 31% |
| Fat | 28g | 252 | 53% |
| Fibre | 2g | counted within carbs | |
The ring is sized by calories, not grams: protein and carbs are 4 kcal a gram, fat is 9. Drawn by grams, fat would look like a sliver of what it actually contributes.
What is on the plate
| White bread x2One medium slice, about 36 g | 190 kcal |
| Butter x2A thin spread, about 10 g | 150 kcal |
| Bacon, grilledTwo back rashers, about 50 g cooked | 145 kcal |
The same dish, several ways
This is where the calories actually move. Not the ingredient, the cooking.
- Four rashers630+145
A proper one. Bacon is 145 kcal for two, so this is the cheaper way to make it bigger.
- With an egg in it565+80
Eighty kcal for 6 g of protein, a good trade at breakfast.
- Two slices of white bread with butter and two rashers of grilled back bacon.As served485
- Without butter335-150
Sauce instead. It saves 150 kcal, more than the rashers cost.
Where each number comes from
Composition tables list ingredients, not dinners. There is no row anywhere for this plate, so it is built from its parts, and the preparation assumed for each part is written next to it, because that assumption is usually worth more calories than the ingredient.
| Component | Portion and preparation | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| White bread x2 | One medium slice, about 36 gPlain, untoasted. Toasting changes almost nothing; what you put on it does. | 190 |
| Butter x2 | A thin spread, about 10 gOn toast, or melted over vegetables. | 150 |
| Bacon, grilled | Two back rashers, about 50 g cookedGrilled, fat left on. | 145 |
| Total | 485 | |
Sources: USDA FoodData Central. Every figure is an estimate with a range around it, and is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal rather than pretending to a precision that does not exist.
Why you will see 300 to 700 kcal quoted for this
Rasher count, bread thickness and whether it was buttered. All three vary and none of them are usually stated.
Which is why this page shows the sum instead of asserting a total. Build the plate you actually eat and the number is yours rather than an average of strangers.
Build your own plateCommon questions
- How many calories are in a bacon sandwich?
- About 485 kcal for two rashers on two buttered slices of white bread. Without the butter it is 335.
- How many calories are in two rashers of bacon?
- About 145 kcal grilled, with the fat left on. Grilling rather than frying is what keeps it there.
- Is a bacon sandwich bad for you?
- It is a normal breakfast with about 19 g of protein in it. The butter and the bread thickness move it more than the bacon does.
- How do I make a lower calorie bacon sandwich?
- Skip the butter, worth 150 kcal, and use sauce. Add a rasher if you want it bigger, and it is still fewer calories overall.
Point the camera at anything.
The coach reads the plate rather than the packet, and it plans around the food you have told it you will never give up.
Other plates
The coach knows this dish, and every other you eat. It works in any cuisine, and in none of them exclusively.