Bok choy, also called pak choi or Chinese white cabbage, is one of the lowest-calorie vegetables you can put on your plate. A 100-gram serving of raw bok choy supplies only about 13 calories, along with vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, and calcium. This calculator turns that nutrition data into personalized numbers for any serving size you actually eat.
Enter the amount of bok choy in grams, ounces, or cups, choose whether it is raw or cooked, and optionally add common cooking additions like oil or soy sauce. The tool then shows total calories, exact serving weight, and a full macro breakdown for protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and fat.
It is ideal for calorie tracking, low-carb and keto meal planning, weight-loss recipes, and anyone curious about how much energy a big bowl of leafy greens really contains.
Bok Choy Calories Per Serving
Estimate calories and macros for any serving of bok choy, raw or cooked.
How to Use This Calculator
Start by typing the amount of bok choy you plan to eat. You can enter grams, ounces, or cups of chopped leaves and stems. If you choose cups, set the Form dropdown to Raw or Cooked first, because a cooked cup is packed more densely and weighs more than a raw cup. Next, pick an add-on only if you cook the bok choy with oil, soy sauce, or both. Press Calculate Calories to see the estimated calorie total, serving weight, and approximate protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and fat values. The Reset button clears your inputs and returns the calculator to a 1-gram raw serving.
- Grams or ounces: ideal if you weigh your food on a kitchen scale.
- Cups: a quick volume estimate when a scale isn't available.
- Add-ons: choose the option that matches your cooking method so the calorie estimate stays realistic.
How the Calorie Estimate Works
Formula: Serving calories = (serving weight in grams ÷ 100) × calories per 100 g.
Bok choy is roughly 95% water, which is why it is so low in energy. The calculator uses average nutrition values from USDA data: raw bok choy provides about 13 kcal per 100 g, while boiled or steamed bok choy provides about 12 kcal per 100 g. The difference is small because cooking removes some water and changes the weight-to-volume relationship, but it does not add or remove a meaningful number of calories by itself.
The macro figures are based on the same 100-gram reference. Protein stays near 1.5–1.6 g, carbohydrates near 1.8–2.2 g, and fat near 0.2 g. Fiber is close to 1.0 g per 100 g. Add-on calories for oil and soy sauce are added to your total, but they are shown separately so you can see how much of the final number comes from the vegetable versus your cooking additions.
Reference Nutrition Values for Bok Choy
Values below are per 100 grams of edible portion and are rounded averages; the exact numbers vary slightly by variety and growing conditions.
| State | Energy | Protein | Carbs | Fiber | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | 13 kcal | 1.5 g | 2.2 g | 1.0 g | 0.2 g |
| Cooked (boiled/steamed) | 12 kcal | 1.6 g | 1.8 g | 1.0 g | 0.2 g |
These figures assume no added fat, salt, or sauce. A tablespoon of soy sauce adds roughly 8 kcal, and a teaspoon of cooking oil adds roughly 40 kcal, so seasoning can easily change the final total more than the bok choy itself.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Raw salad serving. One cup of raw chopped bok choy weighs about 70 g. Serving calories = 70 × 13 ÷ 100 = 9.1 kcal. If you dress it with 1 teaspoon of oil, the total becomes roughly 49 kcal. The macros for the bok choy itself are about 1.1 g protein, 1.5 g carbs, 0.7 g fiber, and 0.1 g fat.
Example 2: Cooked stir-fry side. One cup of cooked bok choy weighs about 170 g. Serving calories = 170 × 12 ÷ 100 = 20.4 kcal. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and the total rises to about 28 kcal. Even with both a teaspoon of oil and a tablespoon of soy sauce, a full cooked cup is still only about 68 kcal, making bok choy an excellent base for a low-calorie meal.
Notice how often the vegetable contributes fewer calories than the fat or sauce you cook with. This is exactly why the add-on selector matters for anyone counting calories.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Weigh your serving when accuracy matters. A kitchen scale in grams removes the guesswork from volume-based cup estimates, especially for raw chopped greens, which can be packed loosely or tightly.
- Don't confuse raw and cooked cups. Raw chopped bok choy is airy and fluffy; cooked bok choy collapses into a denser mass. Using the wrong cup weight can shift your estimate by 100 g or more.
- Include cooking fat. Bok choy itself is nearly calorie-free, but oil, butter, and stir-fry sauces add real energy. Track them separately if you use the add-on selector.
- Use bok choy as a volume booster. Because it is so low in calories, it can help you feel full with few calories, making it useful for meal prep and weight-loss meal planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is healthier, raw or cooked bok choy? Both are nutrient-dense. Cooking reduces vitamin C somewhat because it is heat-sensitive, but it can make some minerals and antioxidants easier to absorb. The calorie difference is negligible.
Why does a cooked cup of bok choy weigh more than a raw cup? When raw leaves cook, they shrink and release air, so more plant material fits into the same cup volume. That is why a cooked cup of greens usually weighs more and can contain slightly more calories even though the per-100-gram calorie value is similar.
Is bok choy keto-friendly? Yes. With only about 2 g of total carbohydrates and 1 g of fiber per 100 g, net carbs are around 1 g per 100 g. It is easy to fit into low-carb and ketogenic meal patterns.
How accurate are the add-on calorie estimates? They are based on typical values: 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil or sesame oil ≈ 40 kcal, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce ≈ 8 kcal. Actual brands and measurements vary, so treat them as close approximations.
If you also track other leafy greens, the cabbage calories per cup calculator uses similar serving logic. For a broader nutrition profile of bok choy, try the choy nutrition calculator. For more botanical and culinary background, see Wikipedia's bok choy entry.