Vegetables

Celery nutrition, by serving and by method.

Weigh out 1 medium stalk of celery and you are looking at 6 calories, with 0.3 g of protein inside them. In USDA’s database this is “Celery, raw”. Preparation shifts it more than most tables admit, from 14 calories per 100 g at the low end to 18 at the top. Choose how much you are eating and the panel does the arithmetic from there.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Source data is USDA FoodData Central (169988, 169989). The sums run on your device and nothing leaves it.

Celery calories by portion

6 calories is the figure for 1 medium stalk of celery; 14 is the figure per 100 g. Below are the remaining portions USDA measured.

Celery and its protein content

1 medium stalk of celery carries 0.3 g of protein, which is 1 percent of the 50 g Daily Value. Celery is not a protein food in any sense. What it supplies is carbohydrate.

Energy-wise, protein contributes 17 percent, fat 9 percent and carbohydrate 73 percent, which makes it mostly a carbohydrate.

Does the method change celery?

There is a 29 percent spread between raw celery (14 calories per 100 g) and boiled (18). The cause is water leaving, which concentrates everything that remains.

Weight is fixed at 40 g throughout, so the rows differ only in how the celery was prepared.

Buying, cooking and using celery

Celery is a marshland plant cultivated for its crisp, ribbed stalks. You will find it sold as whole heads, pale hearts, or pre-cut sticks. Look for bunches with tight, rigid stalks that do not bend easily. Avoid heads with split bases, yellowing leaves, or hollow inner stems, which indicate old age.

When cooked, celery softens and loses its sharp bite, becoming sweet and translucent. High heat collapses its cellular structure quickly, while slow simmering coaxes out its savoury flavour. The most common mistake is failing to peel the tough outer ridges of older stalks, which leaves stringy threads in your finished dish.

Raw celery provides crunch in Waldorf salad or when filled with blue cheese. Raw stalks also act as scoops for savoury dips. Cooked, it forms the aromatic base for French mirepoix, Italian soffritto, and Cajun dishes, pairing naturally with onions, carrots, bell peppers, and slow-braised meats.

Micronutrients in celery

Nothing in celery reaches a large share of a Daily Value per serving. The full record is tabulated below and follows the panel.

Celery against a daily budget

Against the standard 2,000 calorie reference, 1 medium stalk of celery takes up 0 percent of the energy and supplies 1 percent of the protein. For a figure that fits you, start with the TDEE calculator, then set grams with the macro calculator.

Recipes that start with celery

These are the Calorie Counter Team’s recipes for celery. Their nutrition panels are arithmetic: ingredient weights multiplied through USDA records, divided by servings.

Lunch · British

Celery and Blue Cheese Soup

A smooth, pale green soup with a sharp cheese finish.

25 min · serves 2

231kcal

8gprotein

16gfat

16gcarbs

Ingredients

• Celery, chopped 300 g
• Potato, peeled and diced 100 g
• Unsalted butter 20 g
• Vegetable broth 400 g
• Blue cheese, crumbled 50 g
• Table salt 3 g
• Black pepper 1 g

Method

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the celery and potato to the pan and sweat for 10 minutes.
3. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring the liquid to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
5. Blend the mixture until smooth, then stir in the blue cheese, salt and black pepper.

Per serving, from 7 USDA FoodData Central records. Cooking changes weight and some nutrients; treat these as close rather than exact.

Dinner · Chinese

Pork and Celery Stir-Fry

A quick stir-fry where celery provides a crisp texture to contrast with tender pork.

15 min · serves 2

233kcal

23gprotein

13gfat

4.5gcarbs

Ingredients

• Celery, sliced diagonally 250 g
• Pork loin, thinly sliced 200 g
• Vegetable oil 15 g
• Soy sauce 15 g
• Ginger root, grated 5 g
• Table salt 2 g

Method

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over high heat.
2. Add the pork slices and ginger, cooking for 3 minutes until the meat changes colour.
3. Toss in the celery slices and cook for 3 minutes while stirring constantly.
4. Pour the soy sauce and salt over the mixture.
5. Stir-fry for 1 final minute, then transfer the contents to plates.

6 USDA records went into this total. It describes the ingredients as weighed, not the dish after cooking losses.

Side · French

Celery and Walnut Salad

A crisp raw salad with celery, apple and walnuts in a simple vinaigrette.

10 min · serves 2

238kcal

3.9gprotein

21gfat

13gcarbs

Ingredients

• Celery, thinly sliced 200 g
• Apple, cored and sliced 100 g
• Walnuts, chopped 40 g
• Olive oil 15 g
• Lemon juice 10 g
• Table salt 2 g

Method

1. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Add the celery and apple slices to the dressing.
3. Toss the ingredients until they are evenly coated.
4. Scatter the chopped walnuts over the top before serving.

Built from 6 USDA ingredient records. A cooked dish never matches its raw sum exactly, but it stays close.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

One meal, costed: celery

To see how celery adds up in a meal, here it is beside two ordinary companions, all three from USDA figures.

Celery beside its neighbours

All figures are for 100 g. Check the form column before comparing a raw food with a cooked one.

Common questions on celery

How many calories are in 1 medium stalk of celery?

USDA measures 1 medium stalk of celery at 6 calories, or 14 calories for each 100 g. The record used is “Celery, raw” (FDC 169988).

How much protein is in celery?

1 medium stalk of celery has 0.3 g of protein. By weight that is 0.7 g per 100 g, and the serving covers 1 percent of the Daily Value.

Do the calories in celery change with how it is prepared?

Yes. At 40 g, raw is 6 calories and boiled is 7. The table above compares each preparation of celery covered on this page.

Is celery good for weight loss?

No food causes or prevents weight loss on its own. The useful facts are that 1 medium stalk of celery is 6 calories with 0.3 g of protein, which makes 20 percent of its calories protein; which means it needs a protein-rich partner on the plate.

How do you keep celery crisp in the fridge?

Wrap the whole head tightly in aluminium foil before storing it in the vegetable drawer. Unlike plastic, foil allows the natural ripening gas to escape while retaining essential moisture, keeping the stalks crisp and firm.

Can you use the green celery leaves?

Yes, celery leaves have an intense flavour and should not be discarded. Chop them like parsley to garnish soups, stir them into salads, or blend them into pesto for a sharp, herbal kick.

Sources

• Celery, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169988
• Celery, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169989
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9