How many calories are in a hummus mezze plate?
A mezze with hummus, four falafel, grilled vegetables, pita and a drizzle of olive oil comes to about 845 kcal. Everything on it is a small dish, which is exactly why it gets underestimated: five modest things are still five things.
The plate, as served
Two tablespoons of hummus, four falafel, a portion of grilled vegetables, one pita and a drizzle of olive oil.
Where the calories come from
| Nutrient | Grams | Calories | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | 24g | 96 | 11% |
| Carbs | 82g | 328 | 38% |
| Fat | 49g | 441 | 51% |
| Fibre | 12g | 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
| FalafelFour balls, about 100 g | 330 kcal |
| Pita breadOne large white pita, about 60 g | 165 kcal |
| Grilled vegetables in oilAbout 120 g | 130 kcal |
| Olive oil, drizzledOne tablespoon, about 14 g | 120 kcal |
| HummusTwo tablespoons, about 60 g | 100 kcal |
The same dish, several ways
This is where the calories actually move. Not the ingredient, the cooking.
- Two tablespoons of hummus, four falafel, a portion of grilled vegetables, one pita and a drizzle of olive oil.As served845
- Without the finishing oil725-120
A tablespoon poured over the top at the end. It is 120 kcal and it is invisible.
- Without the falafel515-330
The deep-fried item on an otherwise grilled plate.
- Hummus, vegetables and pita only395-450
The two heaviest items removed. Mezze is also meant to be shared, which halves whatever you land on.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Falafel | Four balls, about 100 gDeep-fried. Baked falafel is roughly a third less. | 330 |
| Pita bread | One large white pita, about 60 gPlain white pita. | 165 |
| Grilled vegetables in oil | About 120 gCourgette, pepper and aubergine grilled in olive oil. | 130 |
| Olive oil, drizzled | One tablespoon, about 14 gFinishing drizzle, on top of whatever was cooked in it. | 120 |
| Hummus | Two tablespoons, about 60 gStandard shop-bought hummus. | 100 |
| Total | 845 | |
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 1200 kcal quoted for this
Mezze is a category rather than a dish, so every published figure describes a different set of small plates. Whether it was shared is the other half of it.
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 mezze plate?
- About 845 kcal for hummus, four falafel, grilled vegetables, a pita and a drizzle of olive oil. Shared between two, about 420 each.
- How many calories is hummus?
- About 100 kcal in two tablespoons. It is chickpeas and tahini, so it is not light, but the portion is usually small.
- Is mezze healthy?
- The components are good food. The trouble is arithmetic: five small dishes are still five dishes, and nobody adds them up at the table.
- What is the highest calorie thing on a mezze plate?
- The falafel, at about 330 kcal for four, then the finishing olive oil at 120 a tablespoon. Both are easy to miss.
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