Grains and starches

Rice cake nutrition, the complete picture.

1 rice cake is 35 calories and 0.7 g of protein. In USDA’s database this is “Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, plain, unsalted”. The selector beneath handles other portions, and the nutrient table responds to it.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Numbers come from USDA FoodData Central record 170250 and are worked out locally, with no sign-up.

How many calories are in rice cake?

The short answer is 35 calories for 1 rice cake. By weight that is 387 per 100 g, and the table gives the other common portions.

Rice cake and its protein content

There are 0.7 g of protein in 1 rice cake, or 1 percent of the 50 g the FDA uses as a daily reference. You would not choose rice cake for protein: just 8 percent of its calories come from it.

Looked at as a share of calories: carbohydrate 85 percent, fat 7 percent, protein 9 percent.

Kitchen notes on rice cake

East Asian rice cakes, made from pounded rice, are sold fresh, refrigerated, or frozen. Look for cylindrical sticks or thin, diagonal slices. Fresh cakes should feel soft and pliable through the packaging. Avoid packets containing excess moisture, which leads to mould, or dry, cracked pieces that will split during preparation.

Rice cakes gelatinise and soften when heated, absorbing surrounding flavours while retaining a chewy texture. Boiling too long dissolves the starch, turning the cooking water cloudy and making the cakes unpleasantly mushy. Cook them until they float and feel tender. Keep them moving in the pan to prevent them sticking together.

These cakes suit both sweet and savoury dishes. In Korean cooking, they are simmered in spicy, pungent chilli paste sauces. In Chinese cuisine, stir-fry the sliced variety with cabbage, pork, and dark soy sauce. They pair well with ingredients that offer textural contrast, such as crisp vegetables or toasted sesame seeds.

Micronutrients in rice cake

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

There are 4.2 g of fibre in 100 g, roughly 15 percent of the daily figure.

Where rice cake fits in a day

If you eat 2,000 calories a day, 1 rice cake accounts for 2 percent of them, and for 1 percent of the 50 g protein benchmark. To replace 2,000 with your real number, use the TDEE calculator; to turn that into targets, the macro calculator.

Three ways to cook rice cake

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

Breakfast · British

Puffed Rice Cakes with Avocado and Egg

Puffed rice cakes topped with mashed avocado and sliced hard-boiled egg.

10 min · serves 2

176kcal

5.4gprotein

10gfat

17gcarbs

Ingredients

• 30g puffed brown rice cakes 30 g
• 100g avocado 100 g
• 10g lemon juice 10 g
• 2g table salt 2 g
• 50g hard-boiled egg 50 g
• 1g black pepper 1 g

Method

1. Mash the avocado with the lemon juice and salt in a bowl.
2. Spread the avocado mixture evenly over the puffed rice cakes.
3. Slice the hard-boiled egg.
4. Place the egg slices on top of the avocado.
5. Season with the black pepper.

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

Lunch · Chinese

Pan-fried Rice Cakes with Vegetables

Sliced rice cakes stir-fried with cabbage, carrots, and soy sauce.

23 min · serves 2

582kcal

12gprotein

11gfat

109gcarbs

Ingredients

• 250g sliced rice cakes 250 g
• 15g sesame oil 15 g
• 100g white cabbage 100 g
• 50g carrot 50 g
• 20g soy sauce 20 g
• 6g garlic clove 6 g

Method

1. Soak the sliced rice cakes in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat.
3. Add the shredded cabbage and sliced carrot, then cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add the drained rice cakes and minced garlic to the pan.
5. Pour in the soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 minutes until the rice cakes are tender.

Figures are per serving and come from 6 USDA FoodData Central entries; cooking will shift them slightly.

Breakfast · British

Savoury Avocado and Egg Rice Cakes

Puffed rice cakes topped with seasoned mashed avocado and sliced boiled eggs.

15 min · serves 2

222kcal

8.8gprotein

13gfat

20gcarbs

Ingredients

• 4 plain puffed rice cakes 36 g
• 1 raw avocado 100 g
• 2 large raw eggs 100 g
• table salt 2 g
• ground black pepper 1 g

Method

1. Boil the eggs in water for nine minutes, then peel and slice them.
2. Mash the avocado flesh in a bowl with the salt and black pepper.
3. Spread the mashed avocado evenly over the four rice cakes.
4. Top the avocado with the sliced boiled eggs.

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

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

One meal, costed: rice cake

What a meal containing rice cake comes to, using USDA numbers for every part of it.

Grains and starches: where rice cake sits

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.

Common questions on rice cake

What is the calorie count for 1 rice cake?

1 rice cake is 35 calories. That comes from the USDA record “Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, plain, unsalted” (FDC 170250), which is 387 calories per 100 g.

How much protein is in rice cake?

1 rice cake has 0.7 g of protein. By weight that is 8.2 g per 100 g, and the serving covers 1 percent of the Daily Value.

Does rice cake fit a calorie deficit?

Weight change comes from the whole week’s intake. 1 rice cake contributes 35 calories and 0.7 g of protein (8 percent of its energy), so pair it with something that carries more protein.

How much carbohydrate does rice cake contain?

Carbohydrate comes to 7.3 g per serving of 1 rice cake: 0.1 g as sugar and 0.4 g as fibre.

Should frozen rice cakes be soaked before cooking?

Yes, soak frozen rice cakes in cold water before cooking. This hydrates the starch, which prevents the outer layer from splitting when heated. It also ensures they cook evenly to the centre, keeping the texture soft and chewy.

How should leftover cooked rice cakes be stored and reheated?

Store leftover cooked rice cakes in an airtight container in the fridge. They will harden as they cool. Reheat them by steaming or simmering in sauce until they become soft again; microwaving often makes them tough.

Sources

• Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, plain, unsalted — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 170250
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9