Beans and soy

Kidney beans nutrition, raw, cooked and everything between.

1 cup of boiled kidney beans lands at 225 calories and brings 15 g of protein with it. Specifically, this is the USDA record “Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt”. Cook it differently and that moves: the spread across the forms below is 124 to 337 calories per 100 g. Set the serving below and the panel works it out, with the full nutrient table following your choice.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Every value traces to USDA FoodData Central (175194, 173744, 174285); Daily Values follow the FDA label rules.

Kidney beans calories by portion

The short answer is 225 calories for 1 cup of boiled kidney beans. By weight that is 127 per 100 g, and the table gives the other common portions.

What kidney beans offers in protein

There are 15 g of protein in 1 cup of boiled kidney beans, or 31 percent of the 50 g the FDA uses as a daily reference. About 27 percent of its calories are protein. That is a useful contribution rather than a protein source you would build a meal around.

Divide its calories by source and you get 27 percent from protein, 3 percent from fat and 70 percent from carbohydrate.

How preparation changes kidney beans

Go from canned to raw and 100 g of kidney beans climbs from 124 to 337 calories. That 172 percent rise is down to water absorbed during cooking, which dilutes every gram.

The table holds the weight constant at 177 g, which leaves the preparation as the single variable.

What to know before you cook kidney beans

These large, kidney-shaped legumes come in deep red, light red, and white varieties, which are often called cannellini. You will find them dried in packets or pre-cooked in tins. When choosing dried beans, look for bright, even colour and smooth skins. Avoid packets with cracked jackets or dusty debris at the bottom.

Dried kidney beans require thorough boiling to soften their tough skins and render them digestible. Cook them at a vigorous boil before simmering until tender. The most common mistake is cooking them in acidic liquids like tomatoes too early, which keeps the skins tough forever. Always salt the cooking water late in the process.

These beans absorb strong flavours well. In Tex-Mex cooking, they are simmered with chillies, cumin, and minced beef. In Indian cookery, they form the basis of rajma, a thick curry cooked with ginger, garlic, and onions. They also pair well with cold vinaigrettes in mixed bean salads.

Everything USDA measures in kidney beans

Top of the list for 1 cup of boiled kidney beans: folate at 58 percent of a day, iron at 29 percent of a day, thiamin at 24 percent of a day. The remaining nutrients are tabulated underneath and update live.

Kidney beans packs 7.4 g of fibre into 100 g, covering 26 percent of what the label rules call a day’s worth.

How far kidney beans goes in a day

On a 2,000 calorie day, 1 cup of boiled kidney beans is 11 percent of the budget and 31 percent of the protein Daily Value. Whether that is a lot depends on your own numbers rather than on 2,000: the TDEE calculator gives you what you burn, and the macro calculator turns a target into grams.

Three ways to cook kidney beans

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

Side · British

Cold Kidney Bean and Herb Salad

A cold salad of kidney beans, raw red onion, and lemon dressing.

15 min · serves 2

227kcal

10gprotein

8.8gfat

28gcarbs

Ingredients

• Canned kidney beans, drained 240 g
• Red onion, finely chopped 40 g
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped 10 g
• Olive oil 15 g
• Lemon juice 15 g
• Fine sea salt 2 g

Method

1. Drain the canned kidney beans.
2. Place the drained beans, chopped onion, and parsley into a bowl.
3. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt in a small cup.
4. Pour the oil mixture over the beans.
5. Stir the ingredients until they are combined.

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

Dinner · British

Kidney Bean and Tomato Stew

A warm vegetable stew with kidney beans and chopped tomatoes.

30 min · serves 2

415kcal

20gprotein

9.8gfat

67gcarbs

Ingredients

• Canned kidney beans in water 400 g
• Canned chopped tomatoes 400 g
• Carrots, diced 100 g
• Brown onion, diced 80 g
• Vegetable oil 14 g
• Garlic cloves, minced 6 g
• Fine sea salt 3 g

Method

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the diced onion, carrots, and garlic to the pan.
3. Cook the vegetables for five minutes until they soften.
4. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, and salt.
5. Simmer the mixture on low heat for twenty minutes.

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

Breakfast · British

Spiced Kidney Bean Mash on Toast

Spiced mashed kidney beans served on toasted wholemeal bread.

10 min · serves 2

317kcal

14gprotein

9.5gfat

46gcarbs

Ingredients

• Canned kidney beans, drained 240 g
• Unsalted butter 15 g
• Ground cumin 2 g
• Chilli powder 1 g
• Wholemeal bread, toasted 80 g
• Fine sea salt 1 g
• Water 30 g

Method

1. Melt the unsalted butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
2. Stir the ground cumin and chilli powder into the melted butter.
3. Add the drained kidney beans, salt, and water to the pan.
4. Mash the beans with a fork while cooking for three minutes.
5. Spread the warm bean mixture onto the toasted bread.

Per serving, from 7 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 kidney beans

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.

Kidney beans or something else?

Compared gram for gram, with the form of each food stated. Follow any link for that food’s full page.

Questions about kidney beans

What is the calorie count for 1 cup of boiled kidney beans?

1 cup of boiled kidney beans is 225 calories. That comes from the USDA record “Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt” (FDC 175194), which is 127 calories per 100 g.

How much protein is in kidney beans?

You get 15 g from 1 cup of boiled kidney beans, equal to 31 percent of the daily reference amount; 100 g holds 8.7 g.

Do the calories in kidney beans change with how it is prepared?

It does. The same 177 g is 219 calories canned and 596 raw, with the other preparations listed here falling in between.

Does kidney beans fit a calorie deficit?

It can fit any calorie target; no single food decides the outcome. What matters here is that 1 cup of boiled kidney beans costs 225 calories and returns 15 g of protein, so 27 percent of its energy is protein — useful alongside a protein source rather than as one.

Can you cook dried kidney beans in a slow cooker?

Do not cook raw, dried kidney beans from scratch in a slow cooker. The low heat fails to break down the starch properly, leaving them tough and indigestible. You must boil them rapidly on the hob before using a slow cooker.

Why do my cooked kidney beans have split skins?

Skins split when beans are boiled too violently for the entire cooking duration. To keep the skins intact, bring the pot to a rapid boil briefly, then lower the heat so the water gently simmers until they are tender.

Sources

• Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 173744
• Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 175194
• Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, canned, drained solids — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 174285
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9