A large egg contains about 72 calories. That’s based on a standard large egg weighing roughly 50 grams, which works out to about 144 calories per 100 grams of whole raw egg. Most of those calories come from the yolk, not the white.
Yolk vs. White: Where the Calories Are
The yolk of a large egg has about 55 calories, while the white has only 17. That means the yolk packs more than three times the energy of the white, despite being physically smaller. This is because the yolk contains nearly all of the egg’s fat (about 5 grams per large egg), while the white is almost pure protein and water.
If you’re making an egg-white omelet, you’re looking at roughly 17 calories per egg used. Swap in two whole eggs and two whites for a four-egg omelet, and you’re at about 178 calories before adding anything to the pan.
Calories by Egg Size
Not all eggs in the carton are the same weight, and egg sizes are standardized by minimum weight per dozen. Here’s what you can expect:
- Small (about 42g): ~54 calories
- Medium (about 49g): ~63 calories
- Large (about 50g): ~72 calories
- Extra-large (about 56g): ~80 calories
- Jumbo (about 63g): ~90 calories
These are all proportional. Since the calorie density of a whole raw egg is about 144 calories per 100 grams, you can estimate any egg’s calories by weighing it (without the shell) and multiplying.
How Cooking Changes the Count
A hard-boiled large egg comes in at about 78 calories, just slightly above raw. Frying bumps that up to around 90 calories per large egg, an increase of about 12 calories. That difference comes almost entirely from the fat you cook in. One teaspoon of butter or oil adds roughly 35 to 40 calories, but not all of it gets absorbed by the egg.
Poaching lands close to boiling since no added fat is involved. Scrambled eggs tend to fall somewhere between boiled and fried, depending on how much butter, oil, or milk you add to the pan. If you’re tracking calories closely, the cooking fat matters more than the egg itself.
What Else You Get for 72 Calories
Eggs are unusually nutrient-dense for their calorie count. A single medium egg provides about 56% of the daily reference value for vitamin B12, 32% for vitamin D, and 36% for choline. Choline is a nutrient most people don’t get enough of, and eggs are one of the richest food sources available.
A large egg also delivers about 6 grams of protein split between the yolk and white, along with small but meaningful amounts of iron, selenium, and vitamin A. The protein in eggs is considered “complete,” meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids your body can’t produce on its own. For a food that fits in the palm of your hand, that’s a lot of nutrition per calorie.
Eggs and Feeling Full
Eggs have a reputation for being especially filling, and their high protein content is the usual explanation. However, research from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when egg protein was compared to other protein sources (like soy, pea, or wheat protein) in a mixed meal with similar total calories, there was no measurable difference in how full people felt or how much they ate over the next 24 hours. The takeaway: eggs are satiating because they’re a good source of protein and fat, not because egg protein is uniquely special. Any meal with a similar protein and calorie content will likely keep you full for a similar amount of time.
Duck, Quail, and Goose Eggs
If you cook with eggs beyond the standard chicken variety, the calorie counts shift considerably because the eggs themselves are very different sizes.
A single quail egg weighs only about 9 grams and contains roughly 14 calories. They’re often used as garnishes or appetizers, and you’d need five or six to match one chicken egg. At the other end, a goose egg weighs around 144 grams (nearly three times a large chicken egg) and contains approximately 266 calories. Gram for gram, goose eggs are slightly more calorie-dense than chicken eggs at about 185 calories per 100 grams, compared to chicken eggs at 144. Duck eggs fall in between, typically weighing around 70 grams and running about 130 calories each.
The nutritional profiles also differ. Duck and goose eggs tend to have proportionally larger yolks relative to their whites, which means more fat and more calories per gram than chicken eggs. For everyday cooking, though, chicken eggs remain the standard reference point.