How Many Calories Are In Celery? | Celery Nutrition Facts

Celery has a reputation as the diet food — the crunchy green stalk on every veggie tray that dieters reach for without worry. The idea that celery takes more energy to chew and digest than it provides has been circulating for decades, convincing plenty of people they can eat unlimited stalks and still lose weight.

That claim is mostly fiction. Understanding the actual calorie count of celery helps you make smarter choices about where it fits in your eating plan, without expecting it to do something biology can’t deliver.

Calorie Counts For Common Serving Sizes

The numbers are almost laughably small. A single medium stalk of celery weighing about 40 grams contains roughly 6 calories — barely enough to register on most people’s daily budget. Two stalks together add up to only about 15 calories per Mayo Clinic Health System.

One full cup of chopped raw celery (roughly 100 grams) delivers about 14 to 16 calories. That means you could eat an entire stalk of celery and consume fewer calories than a single bite of an apple. The reason comes down to water content — celery is approximately 95% water, which gives it extremely low calorie density.

Why The Negative Calorie Myth Sticks

The idea that celery is a “negative calorie” food sounds logical at first. Digesting food costs energy, and celery provides so few calories that maybe the math flips negative. Diet books and online forums have repeated this claim for years, and it has a surface-level appeal that’s hard to shake.

Here’s why the belief persists despite the evidence:

• The thermic effect confusion: Digestion does burn calories, but the energy cost of processing celery is modest — typically 5 to 10 percent of the food’s calorie content, not more than the food provides.
• Water weight illusion: Celery’s high water content creates a feeling of fullness, so people associate eating it with losing weight, even though the mechanism is hydration, not negative calories.
• Low calorie misunderstanding: Extremely low numbers like 6 calories per stalk make it easy to believe the food is “free,” but that’s not the same as negative energy balance.
• Anecdotal success stories: People who add celery to a calorie-controlled diet lose weight and credit the vegetable, overlooking that the overall deficit drove the results.

What matters: the thermic effect of food is real, but it doesn’t flip celery from positive to negative calories. Even after accounting for digestion, celery still provides net calories — roughly 2 calories net per serving — not zero and certainly not negative.

Nutritional Value Beyond The Low Calorie Count

Celery’s value isn’t just that it’s low in calories — though that helps if you’re managing portion sizes. A cup of chopped celery provides over 1.5 grams of dietary fiber, along with vitamin K, vitamin A, folate, and potassium. The USDA notes that celery fits easily into most eating patterns because its calorie load is so small that it barely moves the needle on your daily total. You can check the full nutrition breakdown on the calories in one celery stalk page from SNAP-Ed.

When compared to other common raw vegetables, celery stands out for its low calorie density. A cup of chopped carrots has about 52 calories, while a cup of chopped celery has roughly 14 to 16. Even lettuce edges out celery at about 5 calories per cup. That makes celery one of the most calorie-efficient vegetables for adding volume to meals.

The fiber content matters too. Each cup of celery supplies more than 1.5 grams of fiber, which supports digestion and helps with satiety. Combined with the high water content, the fiber means a plate of celery sticks can genuinely fill you up without adding meaningful calories to your day.

Serving Size	Weight	Calories
One medium stalk	40 grams	6
Two stalks	80 grams	15
One cup chopped	100 grams	14–16
100 grams (raw)	3.5 ounces	16
One large stalk	65 grams	9–10

Notice that the calorie range for 100 grams is narrow — most sources land between 14 and 16 calories, which makes celery one of the most predictable vegetables for calorie counting. There’s no significant variation between green and lighter stalks, and preparation method barely changes the numbers as long as you skip the peanut butter or ranch dip.

Macronutrient Profile For Celery

Celery’s macronutrient split reflects its water-heavy composition: very little carbohydrate, minimal protein, and almost no fat. Per 100 grams of raw celery, you get about 2.97 grams of carbohydrate, 0.69 grams of protein, and 0.17 grams of fat. The carbohydrate content includes both fiber and natural sugars.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the macros for celery:

1. Carbohydrates (2.97g per 100g): About 1.85 grams come from natural sugars, while the remaining 1.6 grams are dietary fiber, meaning net carbs are relatively low at roughly 1.4 grams per serving.
2. Protein (0.69g per 100g): Minimal protein, as expected from a stalk vegetable. Celery won’t contribute meaningfully to daily protein targets.
3. Fat (0.17g per 100g): Negligible fat content, which is partly why celery pairs so naturally with high-fat dips — the fat adds flavor and mouthfeel to an otherwise lean vegetable.
4. Fiber (1.6g per 100g): The fiber portion is significant for the calorie load — about 10 percent of daily fiber needs per cup, for only 14 calories.

The sugar content is naturally occurring and modest. A full cup of chopped celery contains less than 2 grams of sugar, making it a suitable choice for low-sugar or low-carb eating patterns. The combination of fiber and water means the natural sugars are absorbed slowly, with little impact on blood glucose.

What The Research Actually Says About Negative Calories

The negative-calorie food concept has been tested in at least one peer-reviewed setting. A study published in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society tracked healthy women after they consumed a meal of celery providing 16 calories. The researchers found that the energy cost of digestion did not create a negative energy balance — the subjects still absorbed net calories from the celery.

That single study doesn’t prove much on its own, but it matches the broader scientific consensus that no food has reliably demonstrated a net negative calorie effect.

Tufts University’s nutrition researchers have directly addressed the myth, noting that the idea of negative-calorie foods is not supported by evidence. Their negative calorie foods myth article explains that all foods, including celery, provide a net energy gain when consumed. The thermic effect of food — the energy your body spends digesting — typically accounts for 5 to 15 percent of the calories in a meal, nowhere near enough to offset the food’s total energy content.

The science is straightforward: celery is very low in calories, which makes it an excellent volume food for weight management. But it’s not a metabolic trick. Eating celery doesn’t burn body fat by itself, and it won’t create a calorie deficit on its own. What it does do is add bulk and hydration to your diet with minimal calorie cost, which can help you feel satisfied while staying within your energy needs.

Nutrient	Per 100g Raw Celery
Calories	16
Carbohydrates	2.97 g
Fiber	1.6 g
Sugars	1.85 g
Protein	0.69 g
Fat	0.17 g
Water	95%

The table above summarizes why celery is such a popular choice for low-calorie eating. With 95 percent water content and only 16 calories per 100 grams, you can eat a substantial volume of celery without exceeding even a strict calorie budget. The fiber and water together create a feeling of fullness that can help reduce overall food intake at meals.

The Bottom Line

Celery is genuinely low in calories — about 6 per stalk and roughly 14 to 16 per cup — which makes it a smart choice for adding crunch and volume to meals without adding meaningful energy. The negative-calorie myth has been debunked by multiple sources including Tufts University and peer-reviewed research, so don’t count on celery to burn extra calories. Instead, use it as a hydrating, fiber-rich vegetable that fills your plate and your stomach for almost no calorie cost.

If you’re tracking calories for weight management, a food scale gives you the most accurate celery measurement, but even estimating by stalk count keeps you within a few calories — the margin of error is small enough that it won’t affect your weekly totals.