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Is Soul Food Healthy? Calories in Southern Classics

Soul food can be light or heavy depending on the plate. Collard greens have 63 calories a cup and black-eyed peas 11 g of fiber, while candied yams, mac and cheese and fried chicken add up fast. See USDA calories for 26 dishes.

By Khanh Phan

Soul food sits at both ends of the nutrition scale, often on the same plate. A cup of black-eyed peas has 11 g of fiber and a cup of plain collard greens 63 calories, according to USDA. Fried chicken, mac and cheese, candied yams and sweet tea sit at the other end. Built from USDA values, a plate of fried chicken, mac and cheese, candied yams, cornbread and sweet tea comes to about 1,518 calories; a drumstick with greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread and unsweet tea comes to about 628. Snap the plate in Dietfit and Deep Scan lists the meat, each side and the cornbread as separate items, so a meat-and-three gets counted side by side.

Soul food in four numbers

  • 11 g of fiber in a cup of black-eyed peas, about 40% of the 28 g Daily Value.

  • 63 calories in a cup of collard greens cooked without fat.

  • 513 calories in a cup of homemade mac and cheese, more than a fried chicken breast.

  • 56% higher risk of acute coronary heart disease among people who ate most like the "Southern" pattern in the REGARDS study, compared with those who ate least like it.

Source: USDA FoodData Central; FDA Daily Values; REGARDS study (Circulation, 2015).

Calories in soul food mains

Most soul food mains land between about 200 and 430 calories a serving. The cut and the coating move the number more than the meat itself:

Main

Serving

Calories

Protein

Sodium

Fried chicken breast, with skin and coating

1 medium (6.2 oz, 175 g)

425

37.6 g

523 mg

Fried chicken thigh, with skin and coating

1 medium (3.9 oz, 110 g)

300

20.9 g

381 mg

Fried chicken drumstick, with skin and coating

1 medium (3 oz, 85 g)

205

16.2 g

309 mg

Breaded pork chop

1 regular (4.2 oz, 120 g)

275

30.1 g

491 mg

Pork ribs

3.7 oz (105 g)

267

17.0 g

712 mg

Chitterlings

3 oz (85 g)

196

10.5 g

276 mg

Fried catfish

1 fillet (3.2 oz, 90 g)

230

12.1 g

376 mg

Gumbo, no rice

1 cup (244 g)

203

20.8 g

1,057 mg

Red beans and rice

1 cup (6 oz, 170 g)

269

10.0 g

389 mg

Source: USDA FoodData Central.

A drumstick has less than half the calories of a breast, because it is smaller, not because it is leaner. Chitterlings are low in calories per serving but high in saturated fat: 3 oz has about 8 g, around 40% of the 20 g Daily Value. Gumbo carries the most sodium of the group, about 1,057 mg a cup before the rice.

Each main has its own page. See fried chicken calories by piece and fried catfish calories against grilled.

For the Cajun side of the menu, there are gumbo calories by the bowl and red beans and rice calories with the Popeyes side.

Calories in soul food sides

A meat-and-three plate is one main and three sides, so the sides decide most of the meal. Here they are from lightest to heaviest:

Side

Serving

Calories

Fiber

Collard greens, cooked without fat

1 cup (6.7 oz, 190 g)

63

7.6 g

Collard greens, cooked with fat

1 cup (4.8 oz, 135 g)

78

5.7 g

Green beans, cooked with fat

1 cup (5.1 oz, 145 g)

93

4.3 g

Baked sweet potato

1 medium (5.3 oz, 150 g)

123

4.7 g

Grits, made with water

1 cup (8.5 oz, 240 g)

139

1.7 g

Cabbage with ham hocks

1 cup (7.1 oz, 200 g)

150

3.4 g

Cornbread, homemade

1 piece (2.3 oz, 65 g)

187

1.0 g

Fried okra

1 cup (3.2 oz, 90 g)

197

1.4 g

Potato salad with mayonnaise

1/2 cup (4.9 oz, 138 g)

232

2.1 g

Candied yams (candied sweet potatoes)

1/2 cup (4.4 oz, 125 g)

234

2.8 g

Black-eyed peas

1 cup (6.5 oz, 185 g)

307

11.1 g

Biscuit with sausage gravy

1 biscuit (7.8 oz, 220 g)

493

1.8 g

Mac and cheese, homemade

1 cup (8.1 oz, 230 g)

513

2.8 g

Source: USDA FoodData Central.

The greens, beans and sweet potatoes bring most of the fiber on the plate. Black-eyed peas look heavy at 307 calories a cup, but that cup also carries 11 g of fiber and 13 g of protein; half a cup has about 154 calories and 5.6 g of fiber. A baked sweet potato has 123 calories; candied, half a cup has 234 and about 37 g of sugar, close to the 38 g in a 16 oz glass of sweet tea.

The cheese and gravy sides sit at the top: a cup of homemade mac and cheese and a biscuit with sausage gravy each pass 490 calories. For the details, see collard greens nutrition, cornbread calories and biscuits and gravy calories.

Grits and mac and cheese have their own guides too: whether grits are healthy, and mac and cheese calories for boxed, homemade and restaurant versions.

Soul Food Sides Calories

Desserts and sweet tea

The sweet end of the meal can match a main course on calories:

Dessert or drink

Serving

Calories

Sugar

Sweet tea

16 fl oz (496 g)

159

38.1 g

Peach cobbler

1/2 cup (4.4 oz, 125 g)

271

20.7 g

Banana pudding

1 cup (6.7 oz, 190 g)

304

37.5 g

Sweet potato pie

1 regular slice (5.3 oz, 150 g)

404

37.7 g

Source: USDA FoodData Central.

A slice of sweet potato pie has about as many calories as a fried chicken breast. For the drink, our guide to sweet tea calories shows how the sugar per gallon and the cup size change it.

What the research says about the Southern diet

The REGARDS study followed more than 17,000 US adults and sorted what they ate into eating patterns. The "Southern" pattern was defined by added fats, fried food, eggs, organ meats, processed meats and sugar-sweetened drinks. People who ate most like it had a 56% higher risk of acute coronary heart disease than those who ate least like it, after adjusting for age, income, smoking and other factors.

That pattern is not the same as soul food. Collard greens, black-eyed peas, okra and sweet potatoes are soul food staples too, and they are not what defined the Southern pattern. How a dish is cooked and which sides fill the plate matter more than the label on the menu.

How to build a lighter soul food plate

You do not have to give up the meal to stay in a calorie deficit. Start from a classic plate and change one thing at a time:

Step

Plate

Calories

Start

Fried chicken breast, mac and cheese (1 cup), candied yams (1/2 cup), cornbread, sweet tea (16 oz)

1,518

1. Breast to drumstick

Saves 220

1,298

2. Mac and cheese to collard greens cooked with fat

Saves 435

863

3. Candied yams to black-eyed peas (1/2 cup)

Saves 81

782

4. Sweet tea to unsweetened tea

Saves 154

628

Source: USDA FoodData Central; calories worked out from the tables above.

The biggest single change is a side, not the chicken: swapping a cup of mac and cheese for greens saves 435 calories, nearly as much as the other three steps together (455). The lighter plate also has about 12 g of fiber against about 7 g on the classic one, from the greens and the peas.

If mac and cheese is the side you would miss, keep it and take half a cup: that alone saves about 257 calories.

Soul Food Plate Swaps

A soul food plate is hard to read by eye: the sides overlap, and the gravy or cheese hides how much is underneath. With an AI calorie tracker like Dietfit, you take one photo and Deep Scan outlines each part of the plate, then Meal Score, a health score for each meal, shows how it fits your day.

FAQ

Is soul food bad for you?

Soul food is not bad as a whole. Staples like collard greens, black-eyed peas and sweet potatoes are low in calories or high in fiber, according to USDA data. The heavier dishes are the fried, cheese-based and sugary ones, and in the REGARDS study a "Southern" pattern built on fried food, added fats, processed meats and sugary drinks was linked to a 56% higher risk of acute coronary heart disease.

What are the healthiest soul food dishes?

Collard greens, green beans, baked sweet potatoes and black-eyed peas are among the best picks: light, high in fiber or both. A cup of collard greens cooked without fat has 63 calories and 7.6 g of fiber, according to USDA.

How many calories are in a soul food plate?

A plate of fried chicken breast, mac and cheese, candied yams, cornbread and sweet tea has about 1,518 calories, built from USDA values. A drumstick with collard greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread and unsweetened tea has about 628.

Is soul food good for weight loss?

Soul food can fit weight loss when the plate leans on greens, beans and a smaller piece of meat. Swapping a cup of mac and cheese for collard greens alone saves about 435 calories.

Is Cajun food healthy?

It depends on the dish. A cup of gumbo without rice has about 203 calories and 21 g of protein but about 1,057 mg of sodium, and a cup of red beans and rice about 269 calories and 7 g of fiber, according to USDA.

Are collard greens healthy?

Yes. A cup of cooked collard greens has about 63 calories, 7.6 g of fiber and several times the Daily Value for vitamin K, according to USDA.

References

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