How Many Calories in a Banana? Official USDA Numbers by Size
A medium banana is about 105 calories with 27g of carbs, by USDA data. Calories by size, what ripeness does and does not change, banana meal math, and an FAQ.
A medium banana, the standard 7-inch fruit, is about 105 calories, with 27 grams of carbs, 1.3g of protein, and almost no fat, by USDA FoodData Central data. Per 100 grams, bananas run 89 calories, which makes them denser than most fruit but still cheap next to almost any packaged snack. The honest range across real banana sizes is roughly 90 to 135 calories, and that range, not ripeness or color, is what actually moves the number.
Official USDA numbers
| Portion | Weight | Calories | Carbs | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100g | 100g | 89 | 22.8g | 1.1g |
| Medium banana (7 to 7 7/8 in) | 118g | 105 | 27g | 1.3g |
Smaller and larger fruit scale with weight: a small banana around 100g lands near 89 calories, and a large one around 150g near 134. If a banana looks unusually big, it probably is, and the bigger-portion logging rule from restaurant meals applies to fruit bowls too.
Banana math in real meals
- Banana + peanut butter (2 tablespoons): the banana is 105; the peanut butter is roughly double the banana. The spread is the meal, the fruit is the garnish.
- Banana in oatmeal: adds about 105 and turns a 150-calorie bowl into a 255 one, cheap for how much better it makes it.
- Two bananas pre-workout: about 210 calories of fast carbs, which is the use case bananas are genuinely built for.
- A smoothie with banana, milk, and protein powder: the banana is often the smallest number in the cup; describe the whole recipe and let the estimate itemize it.
Bananas are a carb food, which is neither praise nor accusation: in the protein-first framing of How to Track Macros, they spend from your flexible carb budget, and 27g is a meaningful but ordinary spend.
What ripeness changes (and what it does not)
A ripening banana converts starch to sugar, which changes taste and how fast it digests, but the calories are effectively the same fruit: nothing is added or removed by ripening. Green versus spotted is a texture and blood-sugar-curve conversation, not a calorie one. Size is the only variable worth logging.
How I log fruit in Nouri
Fruit is where tracking should be effortless, and mostly is: "banana" is a complete log. The place it goes wrong is inside recipes, the smoothie with a banana, milk, honey, and peanut butter that gets logged as "smoothie, healthy." In Nouri the recipe is the sentence, "smoothie with a banana, whole milk, scoop of whey, spoon of peanut butter," and it comes back itemized so the honey and peanut butter are visible numbers. Nouri is iPhone (iOS only), and you can try it free.
FAQ
How many calories in one banana?
About 105 for a medium 118g banana, per USDA. Small fruit runs near 90, large near 134.
How many carbs in a banana?
About 27 grams for a medium, which is most of its calories; protein and fat are near zero.
Are bananas good for weight loss?
They fit fine: 105 calories is a real snack with fiber and potassium attached. What decides weight loss is the day's total, covered in Calorie Counting 101, not any single fruit.
Do ripe bananas have more calories?
Effectively no; ripening converts starch to sugar without adding energy. Size is the variable that matters.
How many calories in half a banana?
About 52 for half a medium.
How many calories in a large banana?
Around 134 for a 150g fruit, scaling from USDA's 89 per 100g.
Is a banana a good pre-workout snack?
It is the classic one: about 27g of quick carbs, easy to digest, around 105 calories. Two bananas is a legitimate pre-training carb dose.
How many calories in banana bread?
Not a banana question anymore: flour, sugar, and butter dominate, and a bakery slice commonly runs several times a banana. Log the slice, not the fruit it contains.
Are bananas high in sugar?
They contain natural sugars as part of their 27g of carbs, packaged with fiber. Whole fruit is a different logging category from added-sugar drinks; see Common Food Logging Mistakes for where sugar actually hides.
How many bananas a day is okay for tracking?
However many fit your carb and calorie budget; at 105 each, two or three a day is an ordinary spend for most active people.
How many calories in a banana smoothie?
The banana is 105; everything else is the question. Milk, honey, and nut butter routinely triple the cup, so describe the full recipe.
Should I weigh bananas for tracking?
No need: USDA's size categories are accurate enough, and consistency beats precision. "Large banana" logged consistently keeps your trend readable.
Log the fruit by its size in one line in Nouri, and when it goes in a blender, log the recipe, not the color of the drink. Foundations in Calorie Counting 101.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Bananas, raw (FDC 173944), including USDA's own portion weight for a medium fruit, fdc.nal.usda.gov (checked September 26, 2026)
- Values rounded from USDA per-100g figures times portion weights
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