Fruit

Cherries nutrition, weighed and measured.

Weigh out 1 cup of cherries (with pits) and you are looking at 87 calories, with 1.5 g of protein inside them. In USDA’s database this is “Cherries, sweet, raw”. Between the lightest and heaviest preparation listed here, 100 g differs by 20 calories. The panel underneath takes any serving and any amount, and the vitamin and mineral table tracks what you pick.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Every value traces to USDA FoodData Central (171719, 167770); Daily Values follow the FDA label rules.

Cherries calories by portion

The short answer is 87 calories for 1 cup of cherries (with pits). By weight that is 63 per 100 g, and the table gives the other common portions.

Protein in cherries, measured

There are 1.5 g of protein in 1 cup of cherries (with pits), or 3 percent of the 50 g the FDA uses as a daily reference. Cherries is not a protein food in any sense. What it supplies is carbohydrate.

Of every 100 calories, 6 come from protein, 3 from fat and 91 from carbohydrate.

Cherries, method by method

Per 100 g, canned cherries carries 32 percent more calories than raw — 83 against 63. The difference is how it is processed.

Each line compares 138 g of cherries, prepared a different way.

Choosing and using cherries

Look for plump cherries with green, pliable stems still attached. Dry, brown stems indicate older fruit. Choose deep mahogany sweet varieties like Bing, or bright scarlet sour Morellos. Avoid soft, bruised skins or damp patches at the bottom of the punnet, which lead to rapid mould. The fruit should feel heavy and firm to the touch.

Heat coaxes juice from sweet cherries and softens their tough skins. Sour cherries require sugar to balance their intense acidity when heated. The common mistake is failing to pit them before cooking, which ruins the texture of pies and jams. Overcooking turns the flesh mushy and dulls their distinct, almond-like stone fruit flavour.

Serve raw sweet cherries chilled on ice. In French pastry, bake them whole in clafoutis. Their sharp acidity cuts through rich meats, making them excellent in German pan sauces for duck or venison. They pair naturally with dark chocolate, almond paste, goat cheese, and fresh tarragon.

The complete cherries breakdown

No single nutrient dominates here. The complete USDA breakdown is below, scaled to whatever serving you set.

Fibre runs to 2.1 g per 100 g, or 8 percent of the Daily Value.

13 g of the 16 g of carbohydrate in 100 g is sugar. Eaten whole, it comes packaged with water and fibre, which slows the whole thing down.

Where cherries fits in a day

1 cup of cherries (with pits) uses 4 percent of a 2,000 calorie day and returns 3 percent of the protein reference. Your own budget is probably not 2,000; the TDEE calculator works it out, and the macro calculator splits it into protein, carbs and fat.

Three recipes built around cherries

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

Breakfast · British

Warm Cherry and Cinnamon Compote

A warm fruit compote made with cherries and cinnamon to spoon over porridge or yoghurt.

15 min · serves 4

68kcal

0.8gprotein

0.2gfat

17gcarbs

Ingredients

• Fresh cherries, pitted 300 g
• Water 30 g
• Lemon juice 15 g
• Caster sugar 20 g
• Ground cinnamon 1 g

Method

1. Place the cherries, water, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon into a saucepan.
2. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the liquid begins to bubble.
3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes until the cherries soften.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the compote to cool before serving.

Nutrition per serving, calculated across 5 USDA ingredient records. Expect small differences once cooked.

Lunch · French

Cherry and Goat's Cheese Salad

A fresh green salad featuring halved sweet cherries, soft goat's cheese, and toasted walnuts.

10 min · serves 2

326kcal

11gprotein

26gfat

15gcarbs

Ingredients

• Fresh cherries, pitted and halved 150 g
• Soft goat's cheese 80 g
• Walnut halves 30 g
• Rocket salad leaves 60 g
• Olive oil 15 g
• Red wine vinegar 10 g
• Fine sea salt 1 g

Method

1. Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 minutes.
2. Whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Add the salad leaves and halved cherries to the bowl and toss to coat.
4. Divide the dressed salad between two plates.
5. Scatter the crumbled goat's cheese and toasted walnuts over the top of each portion.

Figures are per serving and come from 7 USDA FoodData Central entries; cooking will shift them slightly.

Dinner · British

Pork Chops with Cherry and Thyme Sauce

Pork chops pan-seared and served with a pan sauce made from cherries, shallots, and thyme.

25 min · serves 2

391kcal

36gprotein

20gfat

17gcarbs

Ingredients

• Boneless pork loin chops 300 g
• Fresh cherries, pitted and halved 150 g
• Shallots, finely chopped 40 g
• Chicken broth 100 g
• Olive oil 15 g
• Unsalted butter 15 g
• Fresh thyme leaves 2 g
• Fine sea salt 2 g

Method

1. Season the pork chops on both sides with the salt.
2. Sear the pork chops in the olive oil over medium-high heat for 4 minutes per side.
3. Remove the pork chops from the pan to rest on a plate.
4. Sauté the shallots in the same pan for 2 minutes until soft.
5. Pour in the chicken broth, cherries, and thyme, then simmer for 5 minutes to reduce.
6. Stir in the butter and spoon the sauce over the pork chops.

Summed from 8 USDA records and divided by servings. Heat alters weight and a few nutrients, so read it as a close figure.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

A plate built around cherries

Here is cherries as part of a plate, with each component taken from its own USDA record and the total added up.

Cherries or something else?

Each food is shown per 100 g, in the form named beside it.

Common questions on cherries

How many calories does 1 cup of cherries (with pits) have?

Count 87 calories. The source is the USDA record “Cherries, sweet, raw” (FDC 171719), which lists 63 calories per 100 g.

Is there much protein in cherries?

1 cup of cherries (with pits) has 1.5 g of protein. By weight that is 1.1 g per 100 g, and the serving covers 3 percent of the Daily Value.

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

It does. The same 138 g is 87 calories raw and 115 canned, with the other preparations listed here falling in between.

Can you eat cherries when trying to lose weight?

Weight change comes from the whole week’s intake. 1 cup of cherries (with pits) contributes 87 calories and 1.5 g of protein (7 percent of its energy), useful alongside a protein source rather than as one.

How do you pit cherries without a cherry pitter?

Push stiff metal straws or clean pastry tips through the stem end of the cherry. The stone pops out of the opposite side. Alternatively, use unfolded paperclips to hook the stones out from the top.

Why should cherries be stored with their stems on?

Removing the stem tears the skin and exposes the flesh to air. This speeds up decay, allows mould to enter, and causes the cherry to lose its moisture and shrivel much faster in storage.

Sources

• Cherries, sweet, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 171719
• Cherries, sweet, canned, pitted, heavy syrup, drained — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 167770
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9