Asparagus is one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables you can put on your plate. A 100 g serving of raw spears has only about 20 calories, yet supplies more than 2 g of protein, over 2 g of fiber, and meaningful amounts of vitamin K, folate, and vitamin C. It is naturally low in fat and carbohydrates, which makes it popular for calorie-conscious, low-carb, and plant-forward eating patterns.
This asparagus nutrition calculator estimates the calories, macronutrients, and key micronutrients in any serving size that fits your meal. Enter weight in grams or ounces, measure chopped asparagus in cups, or count individual spears. Switch between raw and cooked asparagus to see how boiling or steaming changes the numbers, and expand the micronutrient panel to check vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, potassium, iron, and vitamin A.
Whether you are logging meals, planning a keto grocery list, or simply curious about this green vegetable, this tool gives you a fast, practical estimate.
🥦 Asparagus Nutrition Calculator
Estimate calories, macros, and micronutrients in any serving of asparagus.
💊 Micronutrients
How to Use This Calculator
Type your serving amount into the input box and choose the matching unit from the dropdown: grams, ounces, US cups of chopped spears, or whole medium spears. The tool converts everything to grams before scaling the nutrition data, so you can jump between units freely. Next, select whether the asparagus is raw or cooked — boiling and steaming change water content and nutrient levels, so this choice genuinely affects the results. Leave the micronutrient checkbox enabled if you want vitamins and minerals; switch it off for a clean calories-and-macros view.
Press Calculate to generate your results, or tap one of the quick-add presets to skip straight to a common serving such as 100 g, one cup, five spears, or eight ounces. The reset button restores the default 100 g raw serving. Every result includes a short calorie breakdown that shows how much energy comes from protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
How the Numbers Are Calculated
This calculator is built on nutrient values from the USDA FoodData Central entry for raw asparagus, cross-referenced with the cooked (boiled, drained) values in the same database. All figures are expressed per 100 g edible portion, so scaling is a simple ratio: multiply every nutrient by your serving weight in grams divided by 100.
Calories are estimated with the standard Atwater 4-4-9 method — 4 kcal per gram of protein, 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate, and 9 kcal per gram of fat. Net carbohydrates are calculated by subtracting fiber from total carbohydrate, which is the metric most low-carb and keto dieters track. Micronutrient percentages use the FDA Daily Values updated in the 2020 nutrition facts labeling rules: 120 µg vitamin K, 400 µg folate, 90 mg vitamin C, 4,700 mg potassium, 18 mg iron, and 900 µg vitamin A as RAE. See FDA Daily Values for the full list.
Worked Examples
Example 1 — 100 g raw asparagus: 20 kcal, 2.2 g protein, 3.9 g carbs, 2.1 g fiber, 1.9 g sugars, 0.1 g fat. Net carbs are 3.9 − 2.1 = 1.8 g. Vitamin K comes to about 41.6 µg, or 35% of the Daily Value.
Example 2 — One US cup of chopped raw spears (134 g): Multiplying by 1.34 gives roughly 27 kcal, 2.9 g protein, 5.2 g carbs, 2.8 g fiber, and 2.4 g net carbs. Folate rises to about 70 µg, covering 17% of the Daily Value.
Example 3 — 150 g cooked asparagus: Cooking concentrates some nutrients: the cooked data give 22 kcal per 100 g, so 150 g delivers about 33 kcal, 3.6 g protein, 6.2 g carbs, and 3.0 g fiber. Vitamin C nearly doubles compared with raw, to about 15 mg.
Reference Values per 100 g
| Nutrient | Raw asparagus | Cooked asparagus |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 20 kcal | 22 kcal |
| Protein | 2.2 g | 2.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 3.9 g | 4.1 g |
| Fiber | 2.1 g | 2.0 g |
| Sugars | 1.9 g | 1.3 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g | 0.2 g |
| Vitamin K | 41.6 µg | 50 µg |
| Folate | 52 µg | 52 µg |
| Vitamin C | 5.6 mg | 10 mg |
| Potassium | 202 mg | 224 mg |
| Iron | 2.1 mg | 1.1 mg |
| Vitamin A | 38 µg RAE | 50 µg RAE |
Values are rounded for readability and are drawn from the USDA FoodData Central database. Actual figures vary by variety, season, and cooking method.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Counting spears as identical. A pencil-thin spear can weigh 10 g while a thick stalk reaches 25 g. For calorie logging, weigh rather than count.
- Mixing up raw and cooked weights. Boiled asparagus loses water, so 100 g cooked represents more raw asparagus than you might expect. Choose the state that matches what you actually ate.
- Ignoring net carbs. If you follow a ketogenic diet, remember that fiber is subtracted, so plain asparagus is very low in net carbs.
- Assuming "cooked" means one method. Steaming preserves more vitamin C than boiling; adding butter or oil changes calories dramatically. This tool covers the vegetable only, not your toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is asparagus keto-friendly? Very much so. A 100 g raw serving contains about 1.8 g net carbs, and even a generous 300 g plate stays under 6 g net carbs — well within a typical keto budget.
Is raw or cooked asparagus more nutritious? It depends on the nutrient. Boiling leaches water-soluble vitamin C and some folate into the cooking water; steaming causes smaller losses. Meanwhile, cooked asparagus delivers more measurable vitamin A-linked carotenoids in some analyses, and the difference in calories between raw and cooked is minor. The best choice is the one you will actually enjoy eating.
Why might my numbers differ from a food label? Labels are rounded to legal serving increments and often use a ½-cup serving rather than a weight, so a quick per-gram comparison can look slightly off. The database values used here are the same ones behind most packaged nutrition panels.
What does "µg RAE" mean for vitamin A? RAE (retinol activity equivalents) accounts for the fact that plant carotenoids like beta-carotene convert to retinol less efficiently than preformed vitamin A from animal foods.
Want to learn more about asparagus nutrition and selection? The Wikipedia asparagus article and the USDA MyPlate vegetable group are solid starting points.