Low-Calorie Snacks: 30 Snacks Under 200 Calories, 21 of Them Under 100

The short answer: the lowest-calorie snacks are fruit, raw vegetables, air-popped popcorn and a few simple sweets. Two cups of watermelon has 91 calories. Three cups of air-popped popcorn has 93. A cup of strawberries has 49. Every snack below is under 200 calories, and 21 of them are under 100.

Every number here comes from the USDA's nutrition database.

What counts as a low-calorie snack?

There's no single rule. On a food label, "low calorie" is a legal term. For most foods, it means 40 calories or less per serving (FDA, 21 CFR 101.60). Very few snacks meet that.

This article uses two simpler cutoffs:

• Under 100 calories: a light snack.
• 100 to 200 calories: a bigger snack that can hold you longer.

A few things to know:

• Brands vary. Hummus, pudding, jerky, pretzels and frozen bars differ by brand. If the package has a Nutrition Facts label, the label wins.
• Protein and fiber are shown to one decimal. Most of these snacks are low in both, and whole grams would hide the differences.
• Calories are rounded to the nearest calorie, and sodium to the nearest milligram.

21 snacks under 100 calories

Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy database. Each food's USDA ID is listed in the sources at the end.

9 bigger snacks, 100 to 200 calories

Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy database.

Low-calorie sweet snacks

• Strawberries (49 calories a cup) and raspberries (64 calories a cup) are two of the lowest-calorie fruits here. Raspberries also have the most fiber on the list, at 8 grams.
• Frozen grapes (104 calories a cup) eat like candy. Freeze them on a tray overnight.
• Dark chocolate (85 calories for 1/2 oz). Break off your portion and put the bar away.
• Fat-free chocolate pudding (105 calories) and light vanilla ice cream (137 calories for 1/2 cup) handle a dessert craving without blowing up your day.
• Sugar-free gelatin (23 calories) is the lowest-calorie sweet on the list.

Low-calorie salty and crunchy snacks

• Air-popped popcorn gives you 3 cups for 93 calories.
• Pickles have almost no calories (8 for two spears), but they're salty, at 566 mg of sodium. Federal guidelines say adults should keep sodium under 2,300 mg a day (FDA).
• Pretzels (109 calories an ounce) are lower in calories than potato chips (151 calories an ounce) but higher in sodium than most snacks here, at 352 mg.
• Beef jerky (116 calories an ounce) has the most protein on the list, at 9.4 grams, and 506 mg of sodium.
• Vegetables and hummus give you crunch and some fiber. Two tablespoons of hummus has 71 calories, so measure it.

What 100 calories looks like

Some snacks give you a lot more food for the same calories. Here's how much of each you get for 100 calories:

Thirty grapes and 71 raisins have the same calories. Drying fruit removes the water, not the calories.

Snacks that add up fast

None of these are forbidden. They're just easy to eat a lot of without noticing:

Half a cup of trail mix has more calories than 3 cups of popcorn, 2 cups of watermelon and an apple combined (279 calories).

Do low-calorie snacks help with weight loss?

They can, if they replace higher-calorie food instead of adding to it.

Eating fruit first can mean eating less overall. In a study of 58 adults, eating a whole apple (125 calories) 15 minutes before lunch reduced total calories at that meal, including the apple, by 15%, about 187 calories, compared with no snack. Whole apple was more filling than applesauce or apple juice with the same calories (Flood-Obbagy and Rolls, Appetite, 2009). That was one meal, not long-term weight loss.

The type of food matters, even at the same calories. In a one-year study of 200 adults on a calorie-reduced diet, people who ate two servings a day of low-calorie-density soup lost 7.2 kg (about 16 pounds). People who ate two servings a day of calorie-dense snack foods, with the same calories as the soup, lost 4.8 kg (about 11 pounds). The comparison group, with no special food added, lost 8.1 kg (about 18 pounds) (Rolls et al., Obesity Research, 2005).

The takeaway: a snack only helps if it fits your daily calories. To find your number, see Know Your Number.

How to make a low-calorie snack more filling

Most of the snacks above are low in protein. If a light snack doesn't hold you, add protein:

• Pair fruit with a protein food, like Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. See High-Protein Snacks: 18 That Actually Give You 10+ Grams of Protein.
• For the most protein per calorie, see High-Protein, Low-Calorie Foods: 30 Best Choices.
• For crunchy vegetables with the most protein, see High-Protein Vegetables.

Common mistakes

• Eating from the bag. Pour one serving into a bowl and put the bag away.
• Trusting "healthy" labels. Trail mix, granola bars and dried fruit sound light. They aren't. Check the calories per serving and the number of servings in the package.
• Forgetting the dip. Two tablespoons of hummus is 71 calories. Two tablespoons of peanut butter is 191.
• Snacking on top of meals instead of in place of food. A snack adds calories unless something else gets smaller.
• Not counting it. Snacks count. If tracking feels like a chore, read How to Count Calories Without Going Crazy.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good low-calorie snack?

Fruit, raw vegetables and air-popped popcorn give you the biggest portions for the fewest calories. Three cups of air-popped popcorn is 93 calories. A cup of strawberries is 49.

Is popcorn a low-calorie snack?

Air-popped popcorn is. Three cups has 93 calories. Butter, oil and movie-theater toppings add a lot more.

What is the lowest-calorie snack?

On this list, dill pickles (8 calories for two spears), sugar-free gelatin (23 calories for 1/2 cup), sugar snap peas (26 calories a cup) and cherry tomatoes (27 calories a cup).

What are good low-calorie sweet snacks?

Strawberries, raspberries, frozen grapes, a frozen fruit juice bar (67 calories), 1/2 oz of dark chocolate (85 calories) and a fat-free pudding cup (105 calories).

What is a filling low-calorie snack?

Pick something with volume, fiber or protein. Raspberries have 8 grams of fiber per cup for 64 calories. An apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter is 190 calories. For more protein, see High-Protein Snacks.

How many calories should a snack be?

There's no official number. This article uses under 100 calories for a light snack and 100 to 200 for a bigger one. What matters most is that your snacks fit your total calories for the day.

The bottom line

Fruit, raw vegetables, air-popped popcorn and a few measured sweets give you the most snack for the fewest calories. Trail mix, chips, cheese puffs and dried fruit add up fast. Measure your portion, count it, and pick snacks that replace food instead of adding to it.

Want a plan built around foods you actually like? Book a free consult.

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About the author: Brian is The Diet Rebel, an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Coach and Certified Weight Management Specialist, with a Precision Nutrition Certificate in Nutrition and Coaching.

This article is for education, not medical advice. If you have diabetes or another medical condition, ask your doctor before changing how you eat.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018 release). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ — USDA food ID (FDC ID) for each food:
   • Grapefruit, raw: 173033
   • Strawberries, raw: 167762
   • Raspberries, raw: 167755
   • Clementines, raw: 168195
   • Pineapple, raw: 169124
   • Kiwifruit, green, raw: 168153
   • Blueberries, raw: 171711
   • Oranges, raw: 169097
   • Sweet cherries, raw: 171719
   • Watermelon, raw: 167765
   • Apple, raw, with skin: 171688
   • Dill pickles: 168558
   • Sugar snap peas (edible-podded peas), raw: 170010
   • Tomatoes, red, raw: 170457
   • Celery, raw: 169988
   • Peanut butter, smooth: 172470
   • Popcorn, air-popped: 167959
   • Red bell pepper, raw: 170108
   • Hummus, commercial: 174289
   • Gelatin dessert, reduced calorie, prepared: 169598
   • Applesauce, unsweetened: 171695
   • Fruit and juice bars, frozen: 169632
   • Dark chocolate, 70-85% cacao: 170273
   • Grapes, raw: 174683
   • Banana, raw: 173944
   • Chocolate pudding, ready-to-eat, fat-free: 168799
   • Baby carrots, raw: 168568
   • Pretzels, hard, salted: 167555
   • Beef jerky: 167536
   • Light vanilla ice cream: 167572
   • Pistachios, dry-roasted: 170185
   • Raisins, seedless: 168165
   • Potato chips, salted: 169677
   • Almonds, dry-roasted: 170158
   • Cheese puffs: 167949
   • Trail mix, regular: 167561
   • Soft chocolate chip granola bar: 169674
   • Chocolate chip cookies: 172716
   • Cheese crackers: 174975
   • Mixed nuts, dry-roasted: 170585
   • Milk chocolate: 167587
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nutrient content claims for the calorie content of foods, 21 CFR 101.60. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-D/section-101.60
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sodium in Your Diet. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/sodium-your-diet
4. Flood-Obbagy JE, Rolls BJ. The effect of fruit in different forms on energy intake and satiety at a meal. Appetite, 2009;52(2):416-422. https://pure.psu.edu/en/publications/the-effect-of-fruit-in-different-forms-on-energy-intake-and-satie/
5. Rolls BJ, et al. Provision of foods differing in energy density affects long-term weight loss. Obesity Research, 2005;13(6):1052-1060. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15976148/

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