Green Chillies Calories & Nutrition Calculator

Green chillies contain 242.5mg vitamin C per 100g (269% DV) — making them one of the most vitamin C-dense foods available per gram. For comparison, orange has 53.2mg (59% DV), lemon has 53.0mg, strawberry has 58.8mg, and guava has 228mg. Gram for gram, green chillies deliver 4.6 times more vitamin C than orange ^[1][2].

A single green chilli (14g) provides 34mg vitamin C (38% DV) at just 6 calories. A quarter of a medium orange (about 33g of flesh) provides roughly 17.5mg vitamin C at 15 kcal. So one small chilli delivers nearly twice the vitamin C of a quarter-orange at less than half the calories ^[1].

For food journaling, even a modest 2-chilli garnish (28g) adds 68mg vitamin C (76% DV) to a meal for only 11 kcal. This makes green chillies one of the most calorie-efficient vitamin C sources for anyone logging micronutrient intake alongside calories.

At 40 kcal per 100g, green chillies sit firmly in the low-calorie vegetable range — comparable to cabbage (25 kcal), bell pepper (31 kcal), and tomato (18 kcal). The low calorie count comes from their 87.7% water content and relatively modest 9.5g carbohydrate, with 2.0g protein and just 0.2g fat ^[1].

In practical terms, a single green chilli adds only 6 calories to any dish while dramatically altering its flavor. Five chillies — enough to make a spicy curry or chutney — contribute just 28 kcal. This calorie-to-flavor ratio is virtually unmatched: black pepper adds 255 kcal/100g, dried red chilli powder adds 318 kcal/100g, and even garlic adds 149 kcal/100g ^[1].

For food logging, green chillies are practically calorie-free at typical garnish portions (1–3 chillies = 6–18 kcal). Unless you are consuming them in bulk as a pickle base or stuffed-fried preparation, the caloric impact on a daily log is negligible.

Capsaicin — the alkaloid responsible for chilli heat — is not listed in any standard nutrition database including USDA FoodData Central. It cannot be captured by standard macro/micronutrient panels. Yet it is the single most defining compound in green chillies, with concentrations ranging from 0.1mg to 6.0mg per gram of dried weight depending on variety, growing conditions, and the specific part of the pepper (placenta > pericarp > seeds) ^[2][3].

Green chillies typically measure 2,500–8,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), placing them in the mild-to-moderate heat range. For reference, jalapeño peppers measure 2,500–8,000 SHU, serrano peppers 10,000–23,000 SHU, and Thai bird's eye chillies 50,000–100,000 SHU. The capsaicin is concentrated in the white pith (placenta) inside the pepper, not in the seeds as commonly believed ^[3].

For food journaling, capsaicin is invisible to calorie and nutrient tracking. If you are logging green chillies purely for their heat contribution, note that removing the pith and seeds reduces capsaicin by approximately 80% while retaining nearly all the vitamin C and other panel-visible nutrients.

Beyond vitamin C and capsaicin, green chillies provide 1.2mg iron per 100g (7% DV), 59mcg vitamin A as RAE (7% DV from 671mcg beta-carotene), 25mg magnesium (6% DV), 340mg potassium (7% DV), and 46mg phosphorus (4% DV). The iron content at 1.2mg is lower than raw spinach (2.71mg/100g) but notable for a vegetable that also delivers 242mg vitamin C — a combination relevant for non-heme iron absorption tracking ^[1][4].

A 5-chilli serving (70g) delivers: 0.84mg iron (5% DV), 41.3mcg vitamin A (5% DV), 170mg vitamin C (189% DV), and 238mg potassium (5% DV) — all at 28 kcal. The simultaneous presence of vitamin C and iron in the same food is noteworthy for food journalers, since vitamin C is known to enhance non-heme iron absorption ^[1].

For per-chilli tracking (14g): each green chilli adds 0.17mg iron, 8.3mcg vitamin A, and 34mg vitamin C to the meal log. These are small absolute amounts, but they accumulate meaningfully across multiple meals in a day — especially in cuisines where chillies appear in nearly every dish.

Most nutritional data is presented per 100g, but nobody eats 100g of green chillies in a single sitting. The practical logging unit is 1 green chilli at approximately 14g. At this portion: 6 kcal, 1.3g carbs (of which 0.7g sugar), 0.3g protein, 0.0g fat, 0.2g fiber, and 34mg vitamin C (38% DV) ^[1].

Here is a realistic portion ladder for food logging: 1 chilli (14g) = 6 kcal, 34mg vit C; 2 chillies (28g) = 11 kcal, 68mg vit C (76% DV); 3 chillies (42g) = 17 kcal, 102mg vit C (113% DV); 5 chillies (70g) = 28 kcal, 170mg vit C (189% DV). Even at 3 chillies, you exceed the full daily vitamin C requirement ^[1].

The key food journaling takeaway: green chillies are essentially a vitamin C delivery vehicle with negligible caloric impact. Unless deep-fried (stuffed bharwa mirch can reach 100+ kcal per piece from batter and oil), they add almost nothing to the calorie column while meaningfully boosting vitamin C in the micronutrient column.