Vegetables

Cucumber nutrition, every number, sourced.

For 1 cucumber, count 45 calories. The protein in that portion is 2 g. USDA files this under “Cucumber, with peel, raw”, and that is the record used here. What it supplies in quantity is vitamin K. Choose how much you are eating and the panel does the arithmetic from there.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Drawn from USDA FoodData Central, FDC 168409. No account, no upload, percentages against FDA Daily Values.

How many calories does cucumber have?

1 cucumber supplies 45 calories, which scales to 15 per 100 g. Each serving listed underneath was weighed by USDA rather than estimated.

How much protein does cucumber provide?

The protein count for 1 cucumber is 2 g, equal to 4 percent of the Daily Value. Protein is close to absent in cucumber. Its calories come from carbohydrate instead.

By calories rather than by weight the split is 14 percent protein, 5 percent fat and 80 percent carbohydrate, so in practice it is mostly a carbohydrate rather than anything else.

Buying, cooking and using cucumber

This trailing vine fruit is sold as long, smooth-skinned ridge cucumbers, ribbed English greenhouse types, or short, bumpy gherkins. Choose specimens that feel heavy for their size and firm to the touch, especially at the tips. Avoid any with dull, yellowish skins or soft, yielding patches, which indicate bitter flesh and large, woody seeds.

High water content means cucumber collapses quickly when heated, losing its crispness. Gentle sweating in butter softens the flesh while preserving its delicate green colour. The common error is failing to salt and drain raw slices beforehand; skipping this step dilutes dressings and turns salads soggy.

This cool flesh pairs naturally with soured cream, dill, and vinegar in Northern European salads. In Asian kitchens, cooks smash the flesh to absorb sesame oil and chilli dressings. It also tempers spicy curries when grated into yoghurt tzatziki or raita.

Cucumber: the full nutrient profile

Top of the list for 1 cucumber: vitamin K at 41 percent of a day. The remaining nutrients are tabulated underneath and update live.

Where cucumber fits in a day

Budget-wise, 1 cucumber costs 2 percent of a 2,000 calorie day and pays back 4 percent of the day’s protein. The TDEE calculator and macro calculator will tell you what those percentages look like against your own targets.

Recipes that start with cucumber

Each of these comes from the Calorie Counter Team, and each carries nutrition worked out from its ingredients’ USDA entries rather than estimated from the finished dish.

Lunch · Greek

Chilled Cucumber and Yogurt Soup

A chilled, blended soup made with cucumber, Greek yogurt and fresh dill.

15 min · serves 2

180kcal

14gprotein

8.2gfat

13gcarbs

Ingredients

• Cucumber 400 g
• Greek yogurt 250 g
• Olive oil 15 g
• Garlic 6 g
• Lemon juice 15 g
• Fresh dill 5 g
• Salt 3 g

Method

1. Peel the cucumber and chop it into rough chunks.
2. Place the cucumber, Greek yogurt, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt into a food processor.
3. Blend the mixture for two minutes until it is completely smooth.
4. Stir in the chopped fresh dill.
5. Pour the soup into bowls and chill in the refrigerator for one hour before serving.

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

Dinner · Chinese

Stir-Fried Pork and Cucumber

A hot stir-fry pairing sliced cucumber with marinated pork loin and fresh ginger.

20 min · serves 2

201kcal

23gprotein

9.4gfat

6.7gcarbs

Ingredients

• Cucumber 300 g
• Pork loin 200 g
• Soy sauce 15 g
• Ginger root 10 g
• Vegetable oil 14 g
• Salt 2 g

Method

1. Slice the pork loin into thin strips and mix with the soy sauce.
2. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds and slice into five-millimetre pieces.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat.
4. Add the ginger and pork, then stir-fry for three minutes until the pork changes colour.
5. Add the cucumber slices and salt, then stir-fry for a further two minutes.

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

Side · Japanese

Pressed Cucumber Salad

A salted cucumber salad dressed with rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil.

25 min · serves 2

95kcal

1.5gprotein

6.2gfat

9.8gcarbs

Ingredients

• Cucumber 350 g
• Salt 5 g
• Rice vinegar 20 g
• Sesame oil 10 g
• White sugar 6 g
• Sesame seeds 4 g

Method

1. Slice the cucumber into thin rounds using a sharp knife or a mandoline.
2. Toss the cucumber slices with the salt in a colander and leave to drain for fifteen minutes.
3. Squeeze the excess water from the cucumber using your hands.
4. Whisk the rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar together in a small bowl.
5. Combine the drained cucumber, dressing and sesame seeds in a serving bowl.

Per serving, from 6 USDA FoodData Central records. Cooking changes weight and some nutrients; treat these as close rather than exact.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

A plate built around cucumber

A worked example, every line from the same USDA data as the table above. Swap any of it; the arithmetic is the point, not the menu.

Cucumber against other vegetables

Same weight for every row, 100 g, so differences are not portion effects. The form column shows whether a row is raw, cooked or as sold.

Cucumber: common questions

How many calories does 1 cucumber have?

Count 45 calories. The source is the USDA record “Cucumber, with peel, raw” (FDC 168409), which lists 15 calories per 100 g.

How much protein is in cucumber?

2 g in 1 cucumber, or 0.7 g per 100 g. That is 4 percent of the 50 g Daily Value.

Can you eat cucumber when trying to lose weight?

It can fit any calorie target; no single food decides the outcome. What matters here is that 1 cucumber costs 45 calories and returns 2 g of protein, so 17 percent of its energy is protein — useful alongside a protein source rather than as one.

Is cucumber high in carbs?

Expect 11 g of carbs from 1 cucumber, including 1.5 g of fibre and 5 g of sugar.

Why do some cucumbers taste bitter?

Stress on the vine causes the build-up of organic compounds called cucurbitacins. This bitterness concentrates near the stem and directly under the skin, so peeling the cucumber deeply often removes the unpleasant taste completely.

Should you remove the seeds before using cucumber?

Remove them if you want to prevent your dish from becoming watery. Scrape a metal spoon down the length of a split cucumber to scoop out the watery core easily, leaving the firm outer flesh.

Sources

• Cucumber, with peel, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 168409
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9