Calories in olive oil

Extra virgin. 884 kcal (3,699 kJ) per 100 g. Choose a portion below and every figure on the page updates.

Olive oil is pure fat, which makes it the most calorie-dense food most people cook with: 884 kcal per 100 g and about 119 kcal per tablespoon. It is also the single ingredient most likely to be under-counted when people estimate a meal's calories.

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

• A generous glug when frying is easily 2 to 3 tablespoons, or 240 to 360 kcal, added invisibly to a dish.
• All culinary oils sit within a few kcal of each other, between 880 and 900 kcal per 100 g. Choosing a different oil changes the fat profile, not the calories.
• About 73 percent of olive oil fat is monounsaturated, mostly oleic acid, and only about 14 percent is saturated.
• Extra virgin olive oil retains polyphenols that refined olive oil loses. These are the compounds behind most of its studied health effects.

Converting these figures

One 1 tbsp of olive oil is 119 kcal, which is 499 kJ. To convert any other figure, divide kilojoules by 4.184 for calories, or use the converter on the home page.