Date Calories & Nutrition Calculator

Dates contain 75g carbohydrates per 100g — nearly matching dried raisins (79g) and exceeding dried banana (88g) and dried figs (64g) among dried fruits. Of these carbohydrates, 63-66g is sugar: Deglet Noor dates have 19.9g glucose, 19.6g fructose, and 23.8g sucrose; Medjool dates have 33.7g glucose, 32.0g fructose, and virtually no sucrose ^[1].

This sugar profile difference is significant: Deglet Noor gets ~38% of its sugar from sucrose, while Medjool gets 0%. Both varieties have nearly equal total sugar (~63-66g), but the sugar types differ completely. This means identical calorie content (277-282 kcal) with different sugar compositions.

For food journaling, a single Medjool date (24g) has 67 kcal and 16g sugar — roughly equivalent to 4 teaspoons of table sugar in caloric terms. Two Medjool dates = 133 kcal. A single Deglet Noor date (7g) has 20 kcal and 4.4g sugar. Portion precision matters enormously with dates.

Deglet Noor dates have 656mg potassium per 100g (14% DV); Medjool dates have 696mg (15% DV). Both dramatically exceed banana (358mg, 8% DV). Two Medjool dates (48g) deliver 334mg potassium — roughly equivalent to a small banana's potassium but in a much smaller volume ^[1].

Among dried fruits, only dried apricots (1162mg/100g) significantly surpass dates for potassium. Among all common foods, dates rank alongside potato (421mg), avocado (507mg), and spinach (558mg) as practical potassium-dense options. The potassium-to-sodium ratio in dates is exceptional: 328:1 for Deglet Noor and 696:1 for Medjool.

For food journaling, dates are a convenient concentrated potassium source. Four Deglet Noor dates (29g) provide 190mg potassium (4% DV); two Medjool dates (48g) provide 334mg (7% DV). This is meaningful and easy to track because dates come in countable, consistent units.

Deglet Noor dates contain 8.0g fiber per 100g — 29% of the daily value. Medjool dates have 6.7g (24% DV). Four Deglet Noor dates (29g) provide 2.3g fiber (8% DV). Two Medjool dates (48g) provide 3.2g fiber (11% DV). This fiber content is frequently overlooked because dates are perceived primarily as sugar ^[1].

Dates' fiber is predominantly insoluble (cellulose from the date skin and flesh structure) with some soluble fiber. The high sugar-to-fiber ratio (about 8:1) means dates are not a low-sugar fiber source, but they do contribute meaningfully to daily fiber intake — especially for people who eat dates regularly.

For food journaling, the fiber in dates provides partial metabolic context for the high sugar content. A date-based snack of 2 Medjool dates provides 3.2g fiber alongside 32g sugar — a very different profile than 32g of sugar from candy or juice, which would have zero fiber.

Medjool and Deglet Noor dates have nearly identical calories (277 vs 282 kcal/100g) and total sugar (66g vs 63g), but differ in important details. Medjool has 64mg calcium vs Deglet Noor's 39mg (64% more). Medjool has 54mg magnesium vs Deglet Noor's 43mg (26% more). Medjool has 696mg potassium vs 656mg (6% more) ^[1].

The biggest difference is texture and size: one Medjool date weighs ~24g (pitted), while one Deglet Noor weighs ~7g. Medjool dates are soft, caramel-like, and sticky. Deglet Noor dates are drier, firmer, and more translucent. A 'handful' of each would contain dramatically different calorie amounts due to size differences.

For food journaling, count and specify which variety. '2 dates' could mean 48g (Medjool, 133 kcal) or 14g (Deglet Noor, 39 kcal) — a 3.4x calorie difference from the same number of dates. Medjool is the premium variety found in fresh-fruit sections; Deglet Noor is more commonly sold in bags as dried/baking dates.

Dates provide 43mg magnesium per 100g (Deglet Noor) or 54mg (Medjool) — 10-13% of the daily value (420mg). Two Medjool dates (48g) deliver 26mg magnesium (6% DV). While this seems modest, it exceeds what most common snack foods provide: a handful of pretzels has ~8mg, a granola bar ~30mg, and a medium apple ~5mg ^[1].

Among dried fruits, dates are moderate for magnesium: dried figs have 68mg/100g, dried apricots 32mg, and raisins 32mg. The combination of magnesium (54mg), potassium (696mg), and calcium (64mg) in Medjool dates makes them one of the more mineral-dense dried fruits overall.

For food journaling, dates' magnesium contribution compounds over time for regular date consumers. Someone eating 2-3 Medjool dates daily (48-72g) accumulates 26-39mg magnesium per day — 6-9% DV from a single snack food. Combined with potassium and fiber, dates offer a genuinely nutrient-dense calorie package.