Calories in lemon

Raw, without peel. 29 kcal (121 kJ) per 100 g. Choose a portion below and every figure on the page updates.

Lemons are rarely eaten whole, but the peeled fruit is low in energy at 29 kcal (121 kJ) per 100 g, mostly from carbohydrate, which here includes citric acid as well as natural sugars. Their standout nutrient is vitamin C, at 53 mg per 100 g. In practice most people use lemon as juice, zest or a wedge, so the calories involved are tiny.

Where the energy comes from

Share of total energy contributed by each macronutrient, using the standard 4/4/9 kcal per gram factors:

Things worth knowing

• One whole peeled lemon (58 g) has about 17 kcal (70 kJ) and 31 mg of vitamin C, about a third of the Daily Value; a wedge is around 2 kcal.
• Lemon juice on its own has about 22 kcal per 100 g, so a tablespoon squeezed over food or into water adds only around 3 kcal.
• The peel is where much of the vitamin C and fibre sit: raw lemon peel has 129 mg of vitamin C and 10.6 g of fibre per 100 g, though zest is used in small amounts.
• Lemons taste sour because of citric acid, but they are also genuinely low in sugar, with 2.5 g per 100 g.

Converting these figures

One 1 lemon (2 1/8 in) of lemon is 17 kcal, which is 70 kJ. To convert any other figure, divide kilojoules by 4.184 for calories, or use the converter on the home page.

It takes 824 g of lemon to reach 1,000 kJ (239 kcal). See how that compares with other foods on the 1000 kJ to calories page.