How Many Calories Are in Dark Chocolate? Calories by Cacao Percentage

Short answer: according to USDA FoodData Central, dark chocolate with 70–85% cacao has 598 calories per 100 g, about 170 calories in a 1 oz (28 g) piece and about 60 calories in a 10 g square. Dark chocolate with 60–69% cacao has 579 calories per 100 g (about 164 per ounce) and 45–59% has 546 (about 155 per ounce). The darker the chocolate, the slightly higher the calories: in USDA's data, fat goes up and sugar goes down as the cacao percentage rises. For a specific bar, the Calories line on its Nutrition Facts table is the number that counts.

This article is for general information only and is not medical or nutritional advice. Always consult your doctor, pharmacist or a registered dietitian about your own situation, especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or if you have diabetes, allergies or a medical condition.

Calories in dark chocolate by cacao percentage

Dark chocolate has between 546 and 598 calories per 100 g in USDA's three dark chocolate entries, rising with the cacao percentage.

Dark chocolate (USDA entry)	Per 100 g	Per 1 oz (28.35 g)*	Per 10 g square*	Per 20 g*
45–59% cacao solids	546 kcal	155 kcal	55 kcal	109 kcal
60–69% cacao solids	579 kcal	164 kcal	58 kcal	116 kcal
70–85% cacao solids	598 kcal	170 kcal	60 kcal	120 kcal

*Calculated by us from USDA's per-100 g values.

These are averages of analysed samples, not the values of any brand. USDA calculates the calories from each entry's fat, protein and carbohydrate values, and fat varies between bars: its 70–85% samples ranged from 39.9 g to 46.6 g of fat per 100 g. There is also no standard size for "one square", so weigh a piece once if you want to know what you are eating.

To understand what the percentage on the wrapper measures, read our guide to chocolate percentages.

Why darker chocolate has more calories

Fat carries 9 calories per gram and sugar 4, so as the cacao percentage rises and fat goes up while sugar goes down, calories go up a little.

Per 100 g (USDA)	Dark 45–59%	Dark 60–69%	Dark 70–85%
Fat	31.3 g	38.3 g	42.6 g
Carbohydrate	61.2 g	52.4 g	45.9 g
of which sugars	47.9 g	36.7 g	24.0 g
of which fibre	7.0 g	8.0 g	10.9 g
Protein	4.88 g	6.12 g	7.79 g
Share of calories from fat*	about 52%	about 60%	about 64%

*Calculated by us with the factors of 9 kcal per gram of fat and 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrate; with these factors, USDA's macronutrients add up to its published calorie values.

In other words, a 70–85% bar gets about two-thirds of its calories from fat, while sugar supplies about 16%. Our article on how much sugar is in dark chocolate covers the sugar side in detail.

Dark vs milk vs white chocolate: calories compared

Per 100 g, milk chocolate (535 kcal) and white chocolate (539 kcal) have slightly fewer calories than 70–85% dark chocolate (598 kcal); unsweetened baking chocolate has the most (642 kcal).

Chocolate (USDA entry)	Calories per 100 g	Per 1 oz (28.35 g)*	Sugars per 100 g	Fibre per 100 g
Baking chocolate, unsweetened	642 kcal	182 kcal	0.91 g	16.6 g
Dark, 70–85% cacao solids	598 kcal	170 kcal	24.0 g	10.9 g
Dark, 45–59% cacao solids	546 kcal	155 kcal	47.9 g	7.0 g
White chocolate	539 kcal	153 kcal	59.0 g	0.2 g
Milk chocolate	535 kcal	152 kcal	51.5 g	3.4 g

*Calculated by us from USDA's per-100 g values.

The calorie gap between chocolates is small; the difference is in what comes with the calories. Dark chocolate carries less sugar and more fibre, while milk and white chocolate carry more sugar and very little fibre.

What a 1 oz (28 g) piece of 70–85% dark chocolate contains

A 1 oz piece of 70–85% dark chocolate gives about 170 calories, 12 g of fat (7 g saturated), 7 g of sugars and 3 g of fibre, by USDA's figures.

Nutrient	Per 1 oz (28.35 g)*	% Daily Value*
Energy	170 kcal	—
Fat	12.1 g	16%
Saturated + trans fat	7.0 g	35%
Carbohydrate	13.0 g	—
Fibre	3.1 g	11%
Sugars	6.8 g	7%
Protein	2.2 g	—
Iron	3.4 mg	19%
Magnesium	65 mg	15%
Copper	0.50 mg	56%
Manganese	0.55 mg	24%
Caffeine	23 mg	—

*Calculated by us from USDA FoodData Central "Chocolate, dark, 70–85% cacao solids" and Health Canada's Daily Values for people aged 4 and over (fat 75 g, saturated + trans fat 20 g, fibre 28 g, sugars 100 g, iron 18 mg, magnesium 420 mg, copper 0.9 mg, manganese 2.3 mg). USDA's mineral values for this entry come from two samples.

Health Canada's rule of thumb for the % Daily Value: 5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot. For the minerals in more detail, see how much magnesium is in dark chocolate; for caffeine, see caffeine in dark chocolate vs coffee.

Reading calories on a Canadian label

On a Canadian Nutrition Facts table, the Calories line is for the serving size printed at the top of the table, so compare two chocolates on the same serving.

• Serving size first: Health Canada's advice is to note the serving size at the top of the table before comparing products.
• Then the % Daily Value: compare the % DV of each product to see which has more or less of each nutrient, such as saturated fat or sugars.
• Per 100 g for recipes: if you cook or make chocolate products, convert the label to per 100 g (or use your couverture's technical sheet) so every ingredient is on the same basis.

For questions about your own diet, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian. If dark chocolate and health is your question, read is dark chocolate good for you?

For producers: calories per piece start with your recipe and your mould

If you make and sell chocolate, the calories in each piece come from two decisions: the chocolate you use and the weight your mould casts.

What you need	Product	Price
A 71% couverture for tablets, bonbons and ganache	Bassan Sur del Lago 71%, 5 kg bag	$273.00
70% chips for baking and small batches	Organic Dark Chocolate Chips 70%, 1 kg	$45.95
Unsweetened cocoa mass, so you set the sugar yourself	Natural Cocoa Liquor Wafers, 1 kg	$29.99
A 100 g retail tablet	Chocolate World Tablet 100 g mould CW2162	$44.95
An 80 g faceted tablet	Chocolate World Tablet Facet mould CW2448	$44.95
A smaller bar, about 50 g	Pavoni Mini Moulin bar mould PC5014	$46.99

The chocolate: use your own technical sheet

USDA's averages are a starting point, but your label should be built on the chocolate you actually use. Bassan's Sur del Lago 71% is made in Canada from Venezuelan Trinitario cacao with ancestral Criollo lineage and comes with a bilingual technical sheet; its ingredients are roasted cocoa beans, cocoa butter, cane sugar and organic sunflower lecithin. Our Natural Cocoa Liquor Wafers are 100% cocoa mass from Peruvian fine cocoa with no added fat or sugar, so the sugar in your recipe is only the sugar you add.

View dark chocolate couverture →

The mould: the piece weight sets the calories per piece

The same chocolate gives very different numbers per piece depending on the mould. The Chocolate World CW2162 casts three 100 g tablets and the CW2448 three 80 g faceted tablets; Pavoni's Mini Moulin, designed by Vincent Vallée, has six cavities of about 50 g. Using USDA's 70–85% average as an example, that is roughly 598, 478 and 299 calories per piece (our calculation); your own technical sheet gives the real figure.

View chocolate bar and tablet moulds →

Rethink sugar and fat in pastry

Frédéric Bau's Reasoned Gourmandise takes a careful look at how much butter and sugar a pastry really needs: 60 recipes in a 336-page English edition, with a foreword by Pierre Hermé.

• View Reasoned Gourmandise → $115.00 CAD

How AI can help your production

Give an AI assistant your recipe in grams and the per-100 g values from each ingredient's technical sheet or label. Ask it to calculate calories, fat, saturated fat and sugars per 100 g and per piece for each mould you use, and to show what changes if you move from a 55% to a 71% couverture or cut the sugar in a ganache. Keep the result as a working draft for your labelling specialist, who checks it against Health Canada's rules before anything goes on a package.

AI organises the information; tasting and the final decision stay with your chef.

Dark chocolate and moulds at Zucchero Canada

We supply chocolatiers, pastry chefs and bakeries across Canada with couverture, cacao and the moulds to portion it. Bassan's Sur del Lago 71% is made in Canada and ships across Canada from our Calgary warehouse; food products, including chocolate and cacao, ship within Canada only. We are an authorized distributor of Chocolate World and Pavoni Italia moulds.

• Tablets and bonbons: Bassan Sur del Lago 71%, in 5 kg bags or 20 kg cases.
• Baking: Organic Dark Chocolate Chips 70%, or the Natural Cocoa Liquor Wafers when you want full control of the sugar.
• Portioning: 100 g and 80 g Chocolate World tablet moulds for retail bars, Pavoni bar moulds for smaller formats.

Buying for a bakery, hotel or chocolate shop? Contact us for volume pricing, write to sales@zuccherocanada.ca or call 587-774-8873 (toll free 877-741-8251).

Dark couverture | Bar & tablet moulds | Cacao | Sugar in dark chocolate | Is dark chocolate good for you?

This article is for information only. Every business is different: draw your own conclusions based on your own expectations, budget and goals, and talk to qualified experts before you decide or invest.

Sources: USDA FoodData Central, "Chocolate, dark, 45–59% cacao solids" (FDC 170271), "60–69%" (170272), "70–85%" (170273), "Candies, milk chocolate" (167587), "Candies, white chocolate" (167571) and "Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares" (167568); Health Canada, "Nutrition Labelling – Table of Daily Values" and "Nutrition facts tables"; Pavoni Italia, Food Equipment catalogue 2026 (Mini Moulin PC5014); Zucchero Canada product data for Bassan Sur del Lago 71%, Organic Dark Chocolate Chips 70%, Natural Cocoa Liquor Wafers, Chocolate World CW2162 and CW2448, and Reasoned Gourmandise.