Calories in paella, lasagna, pad thai and a croissant

A plate of seafood paella (350 g) is about 501 kcal, a 250 g piece of beef lasagna is 348, a plate of chicken pad thai (350 g) is 539, and a medium butter croissant (57 g) is 231. The big difference is portion size: per 100 g, the croissant is nearly three times denser than the paella.

How many calories are in these dishes?

Portion calories are kcal per 100 g × grams ÷ 100, using the same numbers as each dish page on Tabaq.

Dish	Portion	Calories per portion	Per 100 g	Range per portion
Butter croissant	1 medium (57 g)	231	406	226–239
Beef lasagna	1 piece (250 g)	348	139	310–475
Seafood paella	1 plate (350 g)	501	143	490–665
Chicken pad thai	1 plate (350 g)	539	154	514–700

For comparison, other dishes on the site: a 375 g plate of spaghetti bolognese is 469 kcal, and a 110 g slice of pepperoni pizza is 320.

How many calories in paella?

USDA lists seafood paella at 143 kcal per 100 g, with about 8 g of protein, 16 g of carbs and 5 g of fat. A 350 g plate is therefore about 501 kcal with roughly 28 g of protein, and a 190 g cup is about 272.

Paella is rice cooked in oil, so the amount of oil and what goes in with the rice moves the number. Our range is 140–190 kcal per 100 g, which is 490–665 for the plate. A recipe with chorizo or a heavy hand of olive oil sits at the top.

How many calories in lasagna?

Beef lasagna is 139 kcal per 100 g in USDA's survey data, and a frozen, prepared version lists 135. A 250 g piece is about 348 kcal with roughly 19 g of protein; half a piece is about 174. Cheese, béchamel and the fat in the meat sauce decide where in the 310–475 range your slice lands.

How many calories in pad thai?

Chicken pad thai is 154 kcal per 100 g (about 8 g protein, 14 g carbs, 7.5 g fat). The 350 g plate comes to about 539 kcal and 28 g of protein. The range, 514–700 for the plate, depends on the oil, the sauce and the toppings.

How many calories in a croissant?

A butter croissant is 406 kcal per 100 g (USDA), with about 21 g of fat. The medium one at 57 g gives 231 kcal, and a mini croissant (28 g) about 114. It looks light, but the butter layers make it one of the densest items in this article. A bakery croissant that weighs 80 g would be nearly 325 kcal at the same density.

How can you eat these and stay on target?

• Check the plate size. A 350 g plate and a 500 g plate of the same pad thai are 539 and 770 kcal.
• Share the dense ones. Half a lasagna piece is about 174 kcal; add a side salad to fill the plate.
• Count the croissant as part of a meal, not as nothing: at 231 kcal it is roughly three-quarters of a 110 g slice of pepperoni pizza (320).
• Ask for sauce and oil on the side where you can.

Photograph your plate in Tabaq and it estimates the portion for you, so you can adjust the grams to what you actually ate.