Per portion: 108 kcal
Protein: 3.62 g
Carbs: 21.78 g
Fat: 1.27 g
Fibre: 4.06 g

Your portion

108kcal · 453 kJ

Protein: 3.62 g
Carbs: 21.78 g
Fat: 1.27 g

A three-cup portion of air-popped popcorn is mostly carbohydrate, with about 22 grams of carbs and just over 4 grams of fiber, making it a genuinely high-fiber snack. It is very low in fat at 1.3 grams and has under a quarter gram of sugar, while providing roughly 3.6 grams of protein. Nutritionally, it stands out for its mineral content: that same portion delivers 56% of the daily reference for manganese, 51% for phosphorus, 38% for magnesium, and 31% for zinc, which is unusual for a snack food.

A normal 3-cup serving is about 108 calories, so it works well as a light, filling snack between meals or as a low-energy-density option when you want something to munch on without a heavy calorie load. It pairs nicely with a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit to add protein or natural sweetness, and it is fine before training if you want quick carbs without much fat. The honest caveat is that it is not a protein source, so it will not keep you full for hours on its own, and while it is naturally lean, portion control still matters since the calories add up quickly if you eat the whole bag.

Nutrition claims, per 100 g:

High Manganese · 56% High Phosphorus · 51% High Magnesium · 38% High Zinc · 31% Source Copper · 26% Source Iron · 23% Source Potassium · 16% Source Folate (B9) · 16%

Full nutrition

Nutrition

per 3 cups (28 g)

Energy	108 kcal	5.4%
Energy	453 kJ	5.4%
Protein	3.62 g	7.2%
Carbohydrates	21.78 g	8.4%
of which sugars	0.24 g	0.3%
Starch	15.23 g
Fibre	4.06 g	16.2%
Fat	1.27 g	1.8%
of which saturates	0.18 g	0.9%
Monounsaturated	0.27 g
Polyunsaturated	0.65 g
Cholesterol	0.0 mg
Water	0.93 g
Ash	0.4 g

Sugar breakdown

Sucrose 0.2 g

Glucose 0.02 g

Fructose 0.02 g

Lactose 0.0 g

Maltose 0.0 g

Galactose 0.0 g

Minerals

Potassium 92.12 mg 4.6%

Calcium 1.96 mg 0.2%

Magnesium 40.32 mg 10.8%

Phosphorus 100.24 mg 14.3%

Sodium 2.24 mg

Iron 0.89 mg 6.4%

Zinc 0.86 mg 8.6%

Copper 0.07 mg 7.0%

Manganese 0.31 mg 15.5%

Selenium 0.0 µg

Vitamins

Vitamin A (RAE) 2.8 µg 0.3%

Vitamin C 0.0 mg

Vitamin D 0.0 µg

Vitamin E 0.08 mg 0.7%

Vitamin K 0.34 µg 0.5%

Thiamin (B1) 0.03 mg 2.7%

Riboflavin (B2) 0.02 mg 1.4%

Niacin (B3) 0.65 mg 4.1%

Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.14 mg 2.3%

Vitamin B6 0.04 mg 2.9%

Folate (B9) 8.68 µg 4.3%

Vitamin B12 0.0 µg

Choline 5.94 mg

Beta-carotene 24.92 µg

Fatty acids

Omega-3 (EPA) 0.0 g

Omega-3 (DHA) 0.0 g

Amino acids

Tryptophan 0.02 g

Leucine 0.09 g

Isoleucine 0.12 g

Valine 0.17 g

Lysine 0.07 g

Nutrition from USDA FoodData Central (public domain), scaled to the stated portion. Reference intakes: EU Regulation 1169/2011. Percentages track your portion; claim badges are per 100 g (Reg. 1169/2011, 1924/2006).

How it compares

Against 176 other foods in “Snacks”, per 100 g. The mark is this food; the faint line is the category median.

Energy 387.0 · higher than 21%

Protein 12.94 · higher than 83%

Fibre 14.5 · higher than 98%

Common portions

cup — 8 g (31 kcal)
oz — 28 g (110 kcal)

Sources

USDA FoodData Central — Snacks, popcorn, air-popped — Nutrition values for Snacks, popcorn, air-popped.

Jan Horák — Founder & Engineer, Kaloria

Jan Horák is the founder and lead engineer of Kaloria, an AI-powered calorie and nutrition tracking app for iOS and Android. He builds and ships the app's photo and voice food-logging pipeline himself and writes about the nutrition math, product tradeoffs, and app-comparison data behind it.

Air-Popped Popcorn