How Many Calories in an Egg?

A single large egg contains 72 calories, with 6.3 grams of protein and 4.8 grams of fat. Eggs are one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can buy and among the cheapest sources of high-quality complete protein.

The calorie count changes depending on how you cook them. A boiled egg stays at 72 calories because nothing is added, while a fried egg jumps to around 90 to 105 calories from the cooking oil or butter.

🥚 Calories by Cooking Method

📊 Calories by Egg Size

🟡 How Many Calories in an Egg White vs Yolk?

The white of a large egg has just 17 calories and 3.6 grams of protein with virtually zero fat. The yolk has 55 calories, 2.7 grams of protein and all 4.8 grams of fat. The yolk also holds the vast majority of the vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, B12, choline and selenium.

If you are strictly counting calories, egg whites are one of the purest protein sources out there. But tossing the yolk means losing most of what makes eggs such a nutritional powerhouse.

🍳 How Many Calories in 2 Scrambled Eggs?

Two scrambled eggs made with a splash of milk and a pat of butter come to roughly 220 calories. Made with just oil spray and no milk, they drop to about 170. The eggs themselves are 144 calories total, so the rest comes entirely from what you cook them in.

💪 Are Eggs Good for Building Muscle?

Eggs contain all nine essential amino acids in the exact proportions the human body needs, which is why they are the reference standard for protein quality with a perfect score of 100 on the biological value scale. Two large eggs give you 12.6 grams of protein for just 144 calories, making them one of the most efficient protein sources for anyone trying to build or maintain muscle.

🥚 The Cholesterol Myth That Lasted 50 Years

For decades, health authorities told people to limit eggs because of their cholesterol content (186mg per egg). The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans quietly removed the cholesterol limit, acknowledging that dietary cholesterol has minimal impact on blood cholesterol for most people. The original fear was based on a flawed 1968 study. Millions of people avoided eggs for half a century based on science that turned out to be wrong.