Calories in Pizza: a Typical Serving, Broken Down by Ingredient
Quick answer: A slice of 14-inch cheese pizza with regular crust (107 g, one eighth of the pie) is about 285 kcal, with 12 g of protein and 10 g of fat. That is USDA's average for pizza chains. A pepperoni slice is about 315 kcal, and a thin-crust cheese slice is about 230, because the slice is lighter. A homemade 12-inch margherita cut into 8 slices is about 230 kcal a slice, and 57 % of it is the crust.
A typical serving, ingredient by ingredient
A pizza-chain slice can't be split into ingredients: USDA measures it as a whole. So we counted a homemade 12-inch margherita, where every gram is known. Each ingredient comes from one USDA record (SR Legacy); the record number is in the first column.
| Ingredient (USDA NDB No.) | Amount (whole pizza) | kcal | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour (20081) | 250 g (2 cups) | 910 | 26 g | 2.5 g | 191 g |
| Olive oil, in the dough (04053) | 13.5 g (1 tbsp) | 120 | 0 g | 14 g | 0 g |
| Active dry yeast (18375) | 4 g (1 tsp) | 13 | 1.6 g | 0.3 g | 1.7 g |
| Salt (02047) | 6 g (1 tsp) | 0 | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Pizza sauce, canned (06152) | 126 g (½ cup) | 68 | 2.8 g | 1.5 g | 11 g |
| Mozzarella, whole milk (01026) | 200 g | 600 | 44 g | 45 g | 4.4 g |
| Olive oil, drizzled on top (04053) | 13.5 g (1 tbsp) | 120 | 0 g | 14 g | 0 g |
| Fresh basil (02044) | 2.5 g (5 leaves) | 1 | 0.1 g | 0.0 g | 0.1 g |
| Whole pizza | 1830 | 75 g | 76 g | 208 g | |
| One slice (⅛ of the pizza) | 230 | 9.3 g | 9.5 g | 26 g |
How it is calculated: value per 100 g × grams ÷ 100, summed across ingredients; only the totals are rounded. The water in the dough has no calories and is left out, and baking mostly removes water, so one eighth of the pizza carries one eighth of the calories. The flour, oil, yeast, salt, sauce and basil amounts are the household measures in the USDA records; the 200 g of mozzarella is a weighed amount we chose.
Where the calories come from: the dough (flour, oil and yeast) is 57 % of the pizza, the mozzarella 33 %, the olive oil on top 7 % and the sauce 4 %. One slice also has about 500 mg of sodium.
Variations
Each variation is the same homemade 12-inch pizza with one change, per slice (⅛ of the pizza).
| Version | What changes (whole pizza) | kcal | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margherita | Base recipe above | 230 | 9.3 g | 9.5 g | 26 g |
| Pepperoni | + 30 g pepperoni, about 15 pieces of 2 g (07057) | 250 | 10 g | 11 g | 26 g |
| No olive oil on top | − the 1 tbsp drizzle | 215 | 9.3 g | 7.8 g | 26 g |
| Light cheese | 100 g mozzarella instead of 200 g | 190 | 6.6 g | 6.7 g | 26 g |
| Extra cheese | 300 g mozzarella instead of 200 g | 265 | 12 g | 12 g | 26 g |
The crust stays the same in every row, so carbs barely move. Cheese is the topping that changes the number most: each extra 100 g on the pizza adds about 38 kcal a slice.
As served: pizza-chain and frozen pizza
These are USDA's records for whole slices. The pizza-chain records are averages across chains, not any one chain; one slice is one eighth of a 14-inch pizza.
| USDA record (NDB No.) | Slice weight | kcal | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese, regular crust (21299) | 107 g | 285 | 12 g | 10 g | 36 g |
| Cheese, thin crust (21301) | 76 g | 230 | 9.8 g | 11 g | 24 g |
| Cheese, thick crust (21300) | 115 g | 310 | 12 g | 12 g | 38 g |
| Cheese, stuffed crust (21511) | 117 g | 320 | 14 g | 14 g | 35 g |
| Pepperoni, regular crust (21302) | 111 g | 315 | 13 g | 13 g | 36 g |
| Pepperoni, thin crust (21485) | 79 g | 260 | 11 g | 14 g | 23 g |
| Pepperoni, thick crust (21303) | 118 g | 340 | 14 g | 15 g | 38 g |
| Sausage, regular crust (21484) | 116 g | 325 | 13 g | 14 g | 36 g |
| Meat and vegetable, regular crust (21304) | 136 g | 330 | 15 g | 15 g | 35 g |
| Frozen pepperoni pizza, regular crust, ¼ of a 12-inch pizza (22903) | 127 g | 350 | 18 g | 17 g | 31 g |
A whole 14-inch regular-crust cheese pizza (853 g) is about 2270 kcal. Two slices of it are about 570.
Thin crust is the one that confuses people. Per 100 g it has more calories than regular crust (302 against 266 kcal for cheese), because it has less bread and more cheese and fat for its weight. But a thin-crust slice weighs 76 g instead of 107 g, so the slice itself is about 55 kcal lighter.
Our homemade margherita slice (230 kcal) is close to the thin-crust chain slice. For a specific chain, use that chain's own nutrition page: the averages above are not a substitute for it.
What moves the number
- Crust and slice size. The crust is more than half of a margherita. Thick crust adds about 25 kcal per slice over regular in the chain data (310 against 285), and stuffed crust adds 35.
- Cheese. Mozzarella is 300 kcal per 100 g. On a homemade 12-inch pizza, 100 g more or less moves each slice by about 38 kcal.
- Meat toppings. Pepperoni is 504 kcal per 100 g, and one piece weighs about 2 g, so it is about 10 kcal a piece. In the chain data, pepperoni adds about 30 kcal per regular slice compared with cheese.
- Olive oil. A tablespoon drizzled over a homemade pizza is about 120 kcal, or 15 per slice.
- How many slices. This matters more than any topping. Going from two regular cheese slices to three adds about 285 kcal.
How to log it
Photo recognises pizza, the toppings and the number of slices on the plate. It cannot tell how thick the crust is underneath or how big the whole pizza was. Add a voice note: "two slices of a 14-inch pepperoni, regular crust", or "thin crust, three slices".
Voice works on its own: "half of a 12-inch homemade margherita" is enough to log it.
Count the slices you actually ate, not the ones you took. Slices are the biggest source of error with pizza, more than toppings.
FAQ
How many calories are in a slice of pizza? About 285 kcal for a slice of 14-inch cheese pizza with regular crust (107 g, ⅛ of the pie), in USDA's pizza-chain average. Thin crust is about 230 and thick crust about 310.
How many calories are in a slice of pepperoni pizza? About 315 kcal for a regular-crust slice of a 14-inch pizza, 260 for thin crust and 340 for thick crust.
How many calories are in a whole pizza? About 2270 kcal for a whole 14-inch regular-crust cheese pizza from the pizza-chain data, and about 1830 kcal for our homemade 12-inch margherita.
Is thin-crust pizza lower in calories? Per slice, yes: about 230 kcal against 285 for regular crust (cheese). Per 100 g, no: thin crust has 302 kcal per 100 g against 266, because there is more cheese and fat for each gram of bread. The saving comes from the slice weighing less.
Can I eat pizza on a diet? Yes, if the slices fit your daily budget. Two regular cheese slices are about 570 kcal with 24 g of protein. Thin crust or a light-cheese homemade pizza gets the same two slices to about 380–460 kcal. Calorie deficit for weight loss →
Data: recipe calculation and whole-slice records from USDA SR Legacy (NDB numbers): wheat flour, all-purpose, enriched (20081); olive oil (04053); yeast, baker's, active dry (18375); salt, table (02047); pizza sauce, canned (06152); mozzarella, whole milk (01026); basil, fresh (02044); pepperoni, beef and pork (07057); pizza chain, 14-inch pizza (21299, 21300, 21301, 21302, 21303, 21304, 21484, 21485, 21511); frozen pepperoni pizza, regular crust, cooked (22903). Slice and household weights from the same records. Values checked October 2026.
Related: Calories in bread · Calories in pasta and noodles · How much salt per day
CalMePlease logs pizza from a photo of your plate plus a quick voice note about the crust and the size, with protein and fat per slice. Free on the App Store.
