How Many Calories in Mashed Potatoes?

Boiled and beaten to a creamy consistency, mashed potatoes provide a mild-flavored, nutritious side dish often paired with roast turkey, chicken and beef. While fat and protein content vary depending on the ingredients you add to the potatoes during preparation, most of the calories in mashed potatoes typically come from carbohydrates.

One serving of mashed potatoes contains roughly one medium potato. It's not that potatoes that makes mashed potatoes a high calorie food. It's what you put in and on the potatoes that make it high-fat and high-calorie. One serving of mashed potatoes can contain as much as 500 calories.

One medium russet potato contains 168 calories. A medium red potato contains 149 calories. The potato itself is fat-free, and gets most of its calories from carbohydrates.

Mashed potatoes are known as a fatty food because of what people put in the recipe. Typical additions are milk or cream, butter or oil, and cheese. A tbls. of butter contains 102 calories; 1 tbls. of olive oil has 119 calories. A tablespoon of 2% milk contains only nine calories. Heavy cream gives potatoes a creamier texture, but weighs in at 52 calories per tbls. A half oz. of Romano cheese is 55 calories.

A quarter cup of beef gravy contains another 31 calories. A turkey gravy made from a dry mix contains 27 calories. If you plan to make your gravy homemade, the calorie count can be as low as 20 calories if you use mostly broth and very little drippings, or can be as high as 200 calories for old-fashioned sausage gravy. And, again, a tbls. of butter contains 102 calories

How Many Calories in 3/4 Cup of Mashed Potatoes?

A ¾-cup serving of mashed potatoes prepared with whole milk provides approximately 130 calories. Adding butter or margarine alongside whole milk boosts the calorie load to 178 and 175 calories per ¾-cup serving, respectively.

Decrease the number of calories in mashed potatoes by opting for low- or non-fat milk when you prepare the potatoes. Cooking and mashing the potatoes with the skin on boosts the dish's dietary fiber. Increase the potassium, folate, vitamin A and vitamin C in your mashed potatoes by blending well-cooked, mashed cauliflower into the dish.

Like whole potatoes, mashed potatoes are rich in potassium and vitamin C. Other nutrients present in mashed potatoes include calcium, niacin, folate, magnesium, phosphorus and choline.

How Many Calories Are in Mashed Potatoes With Gravy?

Few foods spell comfort like mashed potatoes with gravy. Unfortunately, this favorite can be high in calories and fat, depending on how it is made.

A half-cup of mashed potatoes with gravy contains about 109 calories, and a cup has 217. With milk only, a half-cup of mashed potatoes carries 85 calories and a whole cup has about 170 calories.

Adding butter or margarine to your mashed potatoes will increase the calories. A half-cup of mashed potatoes with butter and gravy contains 139 calories, while a cup has about 278. You can cut down on calories by using margarine instead. A half-cup serving with margarine and gravy contains 125 calories, and a full cup has 251 calories.

For many, mashed potatoes with gravy is a favorite comfort food, so they often eat more than a half-cup serving. If you plan to load up on potatoes, skip the gravy. When making mashed potatoes at home, opt for fat-free milk and low-calorie margarine. Red potatoes, also called new potatoes, contain less sugar than Russet or Idaho potatoes, and sweet potatoes are a great alternative with less sugar and more vitamins and nutrients. Many people prefer mashed potatoes without the skin, but leaving the skin on will help retain nutrients, including fiber, potassium, vitamins C and B, iron and magnesium.

How Many Calories in Homemade Mashed Potatoes With Milk?

A serving of homemade mashed potatoes made with milk can contain as little as 154 calories if you use skim milk and refrain from adding butter, cheese, or some other high-fat ingredient. Adding gravy, however, can easily double the calorie count of mashed potatoes.

A medium potato will yield one serving of mashed potatoes. If you are using red potatoes, a medium potato contains 149 calories. If you are using russet potatoes, a medium potato contains 168 calories.

The butterfat in milk helps make mashed potatoes creamy. However, butterfat also raises the calorie count. A tablespoon of skim milk contains 5 calories. A tablespoon of 2 percent milk contains 9 calories. A tablespoon of whole milk contains 9 calories. A tablespoon of heavy cream contains 52 calories.

If you wish to add butter to your potatoes, 1 tbsp. will add 102 calories. A half-ounce of cheese will add about 55 calories. Gravy also adds calories. Turkey gravy made from a mix contains 27 calories. A quarter of a cup of beef gravy contains 31 calories. Old-fashioned sausage gravy can contain as many as 200 calories per serving.

How Many Calories Are in 2 Tablespoons of Instant Mashed Potatoes?

Instant mashed potatoes are dried potato flakes typically mixed with boiling water, milk, butter and a dash of salt. As a quick-cooking alternative to traditional mashed potatoes, instant mashed potatoes typically derive most of their calories from carbohydrates in the form of starch.

Two tbsp. of plain, dehydrated mashed potato flakes in dry form contain 26.5 calories. Instant mashed potatoes prepared with whole milk and butter provide roughly the same amount of calories at 25.5 calories per 2-tbsp. serving.

The calories in 2 tbsp. of dry mashed potato flakes come from 0.63 g of protein, 0.03 g of fat, 6.09 g of carbohydrates, 0.5 g of sugar and 5.3 g of starch. Prepared with whole milk and butter, 2 tbsp. of instant mashed potatoes have just under 0.5 g of protein, 1.35 g of fat, 0.22 g of dietary fiber, 0.42 g of sugar and 2.23 g of starch.

Reduce fat calories in your instant mashed potatoes by using lower-fat ingredients, like low-fat milk. Boost the fiber and taste by blending diced, sautéed bell peppers and onions into the mashed potatoes during preparation.

Calories in Mashed Potatoes With Chicken Broth

Adding chicken broth instead of milk or cream adds virtually no calories to the potatoes. Mashed potatoes with chicken broth contain as few as 152 calories per serving.

For a medium-sized serving of mashed potatoes, use a medium-sized potato. A medium potato weighs about 213 g, and will yield about 225 g of mashed potatoes. A medium-sized red potato contains 149 calories. A medium-sized russet potato contains 168 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient database. A potato is fat free.

Canned, 99 percent fat free chicken broth contains only nine calories in a cup. For a single serving of potatoes, use a little over a quarter of the cup of chicken broth. The broth will add flavor and approximately three calories. If you use regular chicken broth, not low-fat, a quarter of a cup will add five calories to the recipe.

If you also wish to use butter in your potatoes, 1 tsp. will add 34 calories to your potatoes, and 1 tbsp. will add 102 calories.

Calories in Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Garlic mashed potatoes are a popular twist on a beloved classic. The calories in your dish will depend on the types of ingredients you use.

Fresh garlic mashed potatoes are typically made with firm-fleshed potatoes -- such as Russet or Yukon Gold varieties -- and usually contain butter, cream or milk, salt and pepper. Garlic may be roasted separately and added to the potatoes as a paste, or boiled along with the potatoes.

Mashed potatoes made with 1 to 1 1/4 lbs. of potatoes, 4 tbsp. of butter, 5 oz. of garlic cloves and 1/4 cup of light cream yields four servings and contains approximately 300 calories per serving -- including 130 fat calories.

Cutting the butter by half will save you 50 calories per serving. You can add back flavor and moisture with a bit of chicken stock and dried herbs. Cutting the garlic by half will save you 25 calories per serving and using skim milk rather than cream will cut 15 calories per serving.