Calories in oatmeal (porridge)

Oats cooked with water, no salt. 71 kcal (297 kJ) per 100 g. Choose a portion below and every figure on the page updates.

Oatmeal, called porridge in the UK and Australia, is oats cooked in water, and the water is the main reason it is so light per 100 g: 71 kcal (297 kJ), with about 84% water. Most of the energy comes from starch. Oats also bring a little protein, some soluble fibre (including beta-glucan) and a useful amount of manganese.

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

• Dry rolled or quick oats have 379 kcal per 100 g. Cooking does not remove energy; the oats simply absorb several times their weight in water, which spreads the same calories over a much heavier bowl.
• A cup of cooked porridge (234 g) has about 166 kcal (695 kJ). Cooking it with a cup of whole milk instead of water adds roughly 149 kcal (623 kJ).
• Flavoured instant sachets are a different product: a 43 g packet of maple and brown sugar instant oats has about 166 kcal and 13 g of sugar before any milk goes in.
• One cup of cooked oatmeal provides about 1.4 mg of manganese, well over half the Daily Value, plus about 4 g of fibre.

Converting these figures

One 1 cup, cooked of oatmeal is 166 kcal, which is 695 kJ. To convert any other figure, divide kilojoules by 4.184 for calories, or use the converter on the home page.

It takes 337 g of oatmeal to reach 1,000 kJ (239 kcal). See how that compares with other foods on the 1000 kJ to calories page.