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How Many Calories in Ground Beef? USDA Numbers by Lean %

80/20 ground beef is 287 calories per 4 oz raw and 231 per 3 oz cooked, by USDA data. Every lean percentage, raw vs cooked, patties, and ground turkey.

AJ
Alain Jacks
October 3, 2026

The most common ground beef, 80/20, is 287 calories per 4 ounces raw and about 231 calories per 3 ounces cooked as pan-browned crumbles, by USDA FoodData Central data, with 23g of protein in that cooked portion. Leaner blends drop fast: 4 ounces of raw 93/7 is 172. Whether you weigh it raw or cooked matters as much as the lean percentage.

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Official USDA numbers

Raw, at USDA's 4-ounce portion (113g), which is the way the package is labeled:

Lean / fat Calories Protein Fat Per 100g raw
70/30 375 16.3g 33.9g 332
80/20 287 19.4g 22.6g 254
85/15 243 21.0g 16.9g 215
90/10 199 22.6g 11.3g 176
93/7 172 23.5g 7.9g 152
95/5 155 24.2g 5.6g 137

Cooked, pan-browned crumbles, at USDA's 3-ounce portion (85g), which is what is on your plate:

Lean / fat Calories Protein Fat Per 100g cooked
70/30 230 21.8g 15.2g 270
80/20 231 22.9g 14.8g 272
85/15 218 23.5g 13.0g 256
90/10 196 24.1g 10.2g 230
93/7 178 24.6g 8.1g 209
95/5 164 24.8g 6.4g 193

Look at the top three cooked rows. Raw, 70/30 is 132 calories per 4 ounces more than 85/15. Cooked and browned, the 3-ounce portions sit within 13 calories of each other. Fattier beef loses much more fat into the pan, so the lean percentage on the label overstates the gap between blends once the meat is cooked. Below 85/15 the gap holds up: 95/5 is still about 67 calories per 3 ounces cooked less than 80/20.

Burger patties

USDA also lists patties cooked in a pan (pan-broiled), at the same 3-ounce cooked portion:

Patty, pan-broiled 3 oz cooked Protein
70/30 202 19.5g
80/20 209 20.4g
85/15 197 20.9g
90/10 173 21.4g
93/7 155 21.8g
95/5 139 21.9g

For a home quarter-pounder, USDA gives the yield directly: a 1/4-pound raw 85/15 patty cooks down to an 83-gram patty at about 193 calories and 20g of protein. Raw, that same quarter pound is about 244 calories on the label math. Two of those patties for a double are 193 + 193 = 386 calories before the bun, cheese, or sauce. For how restaurant burgers compare, see the Five Guys, In-N-Out, and McDonald's guides.

The raw versus cooked trap

Ground beef loses water and fat as it cooks, so the same piece of meat weighs less and has a different calorie density afterward. USDA measured how much is left:

That is why the fattiest blends shrink the most, and why a pan of 70/30 leaves a pool of grease. If you pour that fat off, you did not eat it, and logging the raw label overcounts the meat. If you cook it into a sauce and eat the drippings, the raw number is closer to the truth.

The opposite mistake undercounts. Weigh 113 grams of cooked 93/7 crumbles, log it against a raw 93/7 entry, and the log says 172 when USDA's cooked figure is 236. That is 64 calories missing from one portion, every time.

The fix is the same as with chicken breast: match the weight to the entry. Raw weight goes with a raw entry, cooked weight with a cooked entry. If you cook a pound for the family, weighing the raw package and dividing is the easiest honest method, as long as you note whether the fat was drained.

Ground turkey, compared honestly

USDA lists ground turkey at two lean levels:

Ground turkey 4 oz raw 3 oz cooked crumbles Protein (cooked)
85/15 203 219 21.3g
93/7 170 181 23.0g

Put those next to beef at the same lean percentage. Cooked 93/7 turkey is 181 calories per 3 ounces and cooked 93/7 beef is 178. Cooked 85/15 turkey is 219 and 85/15 beef is 218. At the same lean percentage, cooked ground turkey and ground beef are effectively the same food by calories. The savings people expect from turkey come from buying a leaner blend, which you can do with beef too.

Why I never trust a photo of ground beef

This is the clearest case I know of the camera not seeing what matters. A taco filled with 70/30 and a taco filled with 95/5 look identical. Raw, 4 ounces of one is 375 calories and 4 ounces of the other is 155, and no photo can tell them apart. It is the same gap that pushed me off photo-only trackers: the camera cannot see the thing that changes the number most.

So with ground beef, the easiest fix is to put the number from the package into the log: "4 ounces of 85/15 ground beef, browned and drained, in two tacos." Nouri itemizes it and shows why it landed where it did, and if I forgot to say drained, I add that and it recalculates. Nouri is iPhone (iOS only), and you can try it free.

A photo is still a fine place to start when the plate is ready, since Nouri turns the picture into a sentence I can fix before it counts anything, and the fix is usually just the lean percentage. With greasy hands over a skillet, "Hey Siri, track food in Nouri" logs the same line from the lock screen and shows what is left for the day right away. On Sunday evening the Nouri Report shows average protein and fat against your targets and names your MVP food of the week.

Numbers are good. Answers are better.Log on 3 days and Nouri builds your first personal report: your Health Score, days on target, wins, slips, and one clear focus.Get your first Nouri Report

FAQ

How many calories in 4 oz of 80/20 ground beef?

About 287 calories raw, with 19.4g of protein and 22.6g of fat, per USDA. That is the package math. Cooked and browned, the meat from that 4 ounces weighs less and the calories are lower if the fat stays in the pan.

How many calories in 1 lb of ground beef?

For 80/20, about 1,152 calories raw. For 85/15 it is about 975, for 90/10 about 798, and for 93/7 about 689. Split a cooked pound by the number of servings to log a family meal.

How many calories in a ground beef patty?

A 1/4-pound raw 85/15 patty cooks to 83 grams at about 193 calories and 20g of protein, per USDA. Per 3 ounces cooked, pan-broiled patties run from 139 for 95/5 to 209 for 80/20.

Should I weigh ground beef raw or cooked?

Either, as long as the entry matches. Raw is easiest because the package tells you the weight. Cooked is more exact if you drain the fat, since USDA's cooked numbers reflect what stays in the meat.

Does draining ground beef reduce calories?

Yes, for the fattier blends. USDA's data shows half a pound of 70/30 going from about 753 calories raw to about 375 in the cooked crumbles, with roughly 43 grams of fat left behind. For 90/10, the drop is far smaller, about 45 calories.

How much protein is in ground beef?

About 22 to 25 grams per 3 ounces cooked, across every lean percentage USDA lists. The protein barely changes with the blend; the fat does. That makes leaner beef the better protein-per-calorie choice, as covered in How to Track Macros.

Is 93/7 ground beef worth it over 80/20?

By calories, yes: 178 against 231 per 3 ounces cooked, a 53-calorie difference with slightly more protein. Over a week of daily portions that adds up. Taste and price are the trade.

Is ground turkey healthier than ground beef?

By calories at the same lean percentage, it is nearly identical: 93/7 turkey is 181 per 3 ounces cooked and 93/7 beef is 178. Choose by taste. The calorie win comes from the lean percentage, not the animal.

How many calories in 70/30 ground beef?

About 375 per 4 ounces raw, the highest on the shelf. Cooked and browned with the fat drained off, 3 ounces is about 230, close to cooked 80/20.

How many calories in taco meat?

Start with the beef: 3 ounces of browned 85/15 is about 218 calories. Shells, cheese, and sour cream are separate items worth logging on their own, and if you eat out, the Taco Bell calorie guide has official numbers.

Why is cooked ground beef higher in calories per gram than raw?

Water leaves during cooking, so what remains is denser. Lean 93/7 goes from 152 per 100 grams raw to 209 cooked. The meat did not gain calories; the same calories now sit in fewer grams.

What is the easiest way to track ground beef calories?

Read the lean percentage off the package and put it in the sentence: "two burgers, 80/20, quarter pound each, cooked in a pan," typed or said to Siri. Nouri prices the beef with its reasoning visible, and your weekly Nouri Report shows how those dinners shaped your protein and fat for the week.

Ready to see what your week actually looks like?Try Nouri free for 3 days. Then $39.99/year or $9.99/month.Download Nouri on the App Store

The lean percentage and the raw-or-cooked question decide your number, so put both in the log. One line in Nouri holds both, and Common Food Logging Mistakes covers the rest of the hidden-fat traps. Making spaghetti with it tonight? The pasta guide has the noodle math.

Sources

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