How much protein is in an egg
A large egg holds 6.3 g of protein and 72 calories. That is the number most people want, and it is not the number most databases show you first — they show 100 g, which is two eggs, which is where the confusion starts.
Whole raw egg, per 100 g — about two large eggs
By egg size, which is what you actually bought
Egg cartons are graded by weight, and the grades are far apart. A jumbo egg is 66% heavier than a small one — 63 g against 38 g — so "one egg" is a range, not a value.
| Serving | Weight | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 small | 38 g | 54 | 4.8 g | 0.3 g | 3.6 g |
| 1 medium | 44 g | 63 | 5.5 g | 0.3 g | 4.2 g |
| 1 large | 50 g | 72 | 6.3 g | 0.4 g | 4.8 g |
| 1 extra large | 56 g | 80 | 7.0 g | 0.4 g | 5.3 g |
| 1 jumbo | 63 g | 90 | 7.9 g | 0.5 g | 6.0 g |
| 1 cup (4.86 large eggs) | 243 g | 347 | 30.5 g | 1.7 g | 23.1 g |
Shell not included — USDA weights are the edible portion.
Whole, white, boiled, scrambled
Cooking an egg in its shell changes almost nothing except water. Scrambling does, because scrambled-egg records include milk and fat.
| Per 100 g | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole, raw | 143 | 12.6 g | 0.7 g | 9.5 g |
| Whole, hard-boiled | 155 | 12.6 g | 1.1 g | 10.6 g |
| White only, raw | 52 | 10.9 g | 0.7 g | 0.2 g |
| Scrambled (with milk and fat) | 149 | 10.0 g | 1.6 g | 11.0 g |
The white is where the protein-to-calorie ratio lives: 10.9 g of protein for 52 calories per 100 g, against 12.6 g for 143 calories in the whole egg. Two-thirds of a whole egg’s calories come from the yolk, and so does most of its vitamin content — which is the actual trade, not "yolks are bad".
Where egg logging goes wrong
- Logging "1 egg" without a size. Small to jumbo is 38 g to 56 g of edible egg. Across three eggs a day that is a real gap, in the direction of eating more than you logged.
- Using the whole-egg entry for whites. Three large whites is 99 g, about 52 calories. Three whole eggs is 150 g, about 215.
- Logging scrambled as raw. If butter went in the pan, it went in the meal.
Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy release 2018-04. Figures are per 100 g as published; serving weights are USDA’s own. Records used: Egg, whole, raw, fresh (FDC 171287), Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiled (FDC 173424), Egg, white, raw, fresh (FDC 172183), Egg, whole, cooked, scrambled (FDC 172187).
Common questions
A large egg is 50 g of edible egg, which at USDA’s 12.56 g per 100 g works out to about 6.3 g of protein and 72 calories.
Raw egg white is 10.9 g of protein per 100 g. One large white is about 33 g, so roughly 3.6 g of protein for about 17 calories.
No. USDA lists 12.56 g per 100 g raw and 12.58 g hard-boiled — the same within rounding. Boiling in the shell adds nothing and removes nothing.
That is the per-100-g figure, which is about two large eggs. One large egg is 50 g, so halve it: about 72 calories.
Compare it with
| Food | Per 100 g | Protein | The page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 120 raw | 22.5 g | Raw against cooked, and which to weigh |
| Turkey breast | 147 kcal | 30.1 g | Leaner than chicken, by a small real margin |
| Shrimp | 99 kcal | 24.0 g | The best protein-per-calorie ratio here |
All twenty-four are on the food macros index.
Log it without doing this arithmetic
Scan the barcode or weigh it in grams and EatSleepRep does the conversion. The scanner is free forever, there are no ads, and every entry exports as CSV whenever you want it.