💡 Quick Answer
One medium aloo samosa (about 75 g, deep-fried) has roughly 240 kcal and 4 g protein; baked or air-fried it is about 200 kcal. With green and sweet chutney it is about 285 kcal, and two samosas sharing 1 tbsp of each chutney come to about 530 kcal. These are calculated from a stated recipe and assumed oil absorption.
- Small: ~160 kcal. Large: ~355 kcal. Size matters more than anything else.
- About 70 of a medium samosa's 240 kcal come from the frying oil it absorbs, assumed at 8 g.
- Samosa pav is about 395 kcal and samosa chaat about 440 kcal.
- Street and sweet-shop samosas are often bigger than this, so treat the large row as your default.
Portion calculator
1 × medium samosa, deep-fried ≈ 3.7 g protein · 240 kcal
Scaled from the figures on this page. Brands and recipes vary.
A samosa is a hard thing to count because nobody agrees on what "one samosa" is. The triangle from a corner shop can be a 50 g snack or a 120 g meal, and the oil it soaks up in the kadhai changes from one frying batch to the next. There is no official nutrition value for it. What you can do is estimate from a clear recipe and be honest about the one number that varies most: how much oil ends up in the pastry.
How These Numbers Were Calculated
Every figure here is calculated, not measured. The base values per 100 g are from USDA FoodData Central: all-purpose flour (maida) 364 kcal and 10.3 g protein, boiled potato 87 kcal and 1.9 g, raw green peas 81 kcal and 5.4 g, raw onion 40 kcal and 1.1 g, vegetable oil 884 kcal. A teaspoon of oil is taken as 5 g.
The reference medium samosa uses 22 g maida with 2 g of oil rubbed into the dough, and a filling of 40 g boiled potato, 10 g peas and 10 g onion cooked in 3 g of oil. Spices add negligible calories and are ignored. Then comes the assumption that matters: about 8 g of frying oil is absorbed, roughly 10% of the finished weight. That is an assumption, not a measured value. Fresh, hot oil and a crisp, thick pastry take up less; cooler oil and long frying take up more. For a medium samosa the range is about 215 kcal (5 g absorbed) to 275 kcal (12 g absorbed).
Calories in One Samosa by Size
| Aloo samosa (1 piece) | Cooked weight | Raw filling and pastry | Oil absorbed | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small samosa, deep-fried | ~50 g | 14 g maida, 26 g potato, 6.5 g peas, 6.5 g onion | 5.5 g | ~160 kcal | ~2.4 g |
| Medium samosa, deep-fried | ~75 g | 22 g maida, 40 g potato, 10 g peas, 10 g onion | 8 g | ~240 kcal | ~3.7 g |
| Large samosa, deep-fried | ~110 g | 32 g maida, 58 g potato, 14.5 g peas, 14.5 g onion | 12 g | ~355 kcal | ~5.3 g |
Basis: USDA FoodData Central ingredient values and the recipe shown; oil absorption is an assumption. Small and large scale the medium recipe by 0.65 and 1.45. Cooked weights are approximate. Protein comes mostly from the maida and a little from the peas and potato.
If you only remember one number: a medium samosa is about 240 kcal. A hand-sized one from a sweet shop is nearer the large row at about 355 kcal.
Baked or Air-Fried vs Deep-Fried
The same pastry and filling cooked with a light brush of oil instead of a deep fry sheds most of the extra fat. For this comparison the baked or air-fried version is assumed to take 3 g of oil on the surface for a medium piece (2 g for small, 4.5 g for large) in place of the frying oil.
| Size | Baked or air-fried | Deep-fried | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | ~130 kcal | ~160 kcal | ~30 kcal |
| Medium | ~200 kcal | ~240 kcal | ~45 kcal |
| Large | ~290 kcal | ~355 kcal | ~65 kcal |
That is a saving of roughly 45 kcal per medium piece, about a fifth less. The texture is drier and the pastry less blistered, but it is a fair swap if you eat samosas often. Using whole wheat atta in the dough keeps the calories similar and adds a little fibre. A wheat-flour samosa air-fried at home is a different recipe from the maida samosa above, so weigh your own ingredients if you change it.
Samosa With Chutney, Chaat and Pav
Chutney is easy to forget. As rough estimates (recipes vary), 1 tablespoon of green chutney is about 10 kcal and 1 tablespoon of sweet tamarind chutney about 35 kcal because of the jaggery or sugar. The plate-level combinations people actually search for:
| What you ate | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| 1 medium samosa, no chutney | ~240 kcal | ~3.7 g |
| + green chutney (1 tbsp) | ~250 kcal | ~4.0 g |
| + green and sweet chutney (1 tbsp each) | ~285 kcal | ~4.2 g |
| 2 medium samosas + both chutneys | ~530 kcal | ~7.9 g |
| Samosa pav (1 samosa, 1 pav, both chutneys) | ~395 kcal | ~7.7 g |
| Samosa chaat (1 samosa, chole, curd, sev, chutneys) | ~440 kcal | ~11.2 g |
Samosa pav uses a 40 g pav (white bread, about 266 kcal per 100 g). Samosa chaat uses 50 g boiled chole (about 164 kcal per 100 g), 30 g plain curd, 10 g sev (an estimate of about 55 kcal) and one tablespoon each of green and sweet chutney. Chutney and sev values are estimates; the rest are calculated from USDA values.
Two points stand out. Samosa chaat is roughly 200 kcal more than a plain samosa, with the sev and sweet chutney adding more than the curd. And a samosa pav is about 395 kcal for a snack that looks small. Neither is wrong to eat, but both are worth logging as a meal.
Street and Restaurant Samosas
These are estimates only. Street and sweet-shop samosas are commonly bigger than the medium size above, reused oil can raise absorption, and some pastries are thicker. A realistic range for one street samosa is about 300-450 kcal. Frozen or bakery samosas come with a nutrition label, so use that instead of this table. If you eat one with chai and a second samosa, the snack is a full meal's worth of calories.
How a Samosa Fits Your Goal
A samosa is mostly refined carbohydrate and fat with about 4 g of protein, so it does not do much for muscle. If you are eating one, balance the rest of the day: a protein-rich meal such as paneer, eggs or dal later on. Our high-protein snacks list has savoury options with more protein per calorie, and the Indian food calories and protein chart places the samosa next to other tea-time items such as paratha. To see how a treat fits your daily total, use the calorie and macro calculator.
How to Make a Samosa Snack Higher in Protein
A samosa is mostly pastry, potato and oil, with under 4 g of protein. It will never be a protein food, but what you eat with it changes the plate. The figures below start from 1 medium deep-fried samosa (about 240 kcal and 3.7 g protein).
| Type | Plate | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veg | 1 samosa + 100 g boiled chana (chaat style) | ~400 kcal | ~13 g |
| Veg | 1 samosa + 150 g dahi | ~330 kcal | ~9 g |
| Non-veg | 1 samosa + 2 boiled eggs | ~385 kcal | ~16 g |
If you are vegetarian: Chana is the natural partner: a samosa broken over boiled chana, without the sev and sweet chutney, is a lighter take on samosa chaat. A katori of dahi on the side also helps.
If you eat eggs or chicken: Two boiled eggs alongside one samosa is a better evening plate than two samosas: about 385 kcal and 16 g of protein, against about 480 kcal and 7 g.
Add-in values use the figures in our guides to eggs, chicken breast, paneer, soya chunks, curd, chana and peanuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make a samosa snack higher in protein?
Have one samosa with a protein side instead of a second samosa. One medium samosa with 100 g of boiled chana is about 400 kcal and 13 g protein, and with two boiled eggs about 385 kcal and 16 g. Two samosas on their own are about 480 kcal and 7 g.
How many calories are in 1 samosa?
One medium aloo samosa of about 75 g, deep-fried, has roughly 240 kcal and 4 g protein. A small one is about 160 kcal and a large one about 355 kcal. These are calculated from a stated recipe, not official values.
How many calories are in a baked or air-fried samosa?
A medium baked or air-fried samosa is about 200 kcal compared with about 240 kcal deep-fried, because far less oil is absorbed. A small one is about 130 kcal and a large one about 290 kcal.
How many calories are in 2 samosas with chutney?
Two medium deep-fried samosas with 1 tablespoon each of green and sweet chutney are about 530 kcal and 8 g protein. A single samosa with both chutneys is about 285 kcal.
How many calories are in samosa chaat?
A plate of samosa chaat made with one medium samosa, 50 g chole, 30 g curd, 10 g sev and chutneys is about 440 kcal and 11 g protein. Shop versions with extra sev and sweet chutney can be higher.
How many calories are in a samosa pav?
A samosa pav with one medium samosa, one 40 g pav and both chutneys is about 395 kcal and 8 g protein.
Sources: USDA FoodData Central for all-purpose flour, boiled potato, green peas, onion, vegetable oil, white bread and boiled chickpeas. All samosa values are calculated from the stated recipes with an assumed amount of absorbed frying oil. Chutney and sev values and street or restaurant ranges are estimates only.
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