Heavy Cream Nutrition Calculator — Calories & Nutrition per Serving

Heavy whipping cream (FDC 170859) delivers 340 kcal per 100g with 36.08g total fat — making 96% of its calories fat-derived. A single tablespoon (15g) contains 51 kcal and 5.4g fat, of which 3.5g is saturated. Protein and carbs are minimal at 0.4g each per tablespoon ^[1].

For perspective, heavy cream has 5.7x more calories than whole milk (340 vs 60 kcal per 100g) and 11.3x more fat (36.1g vs 3.2g). Despite being made from the same raw milk, the cream separation process concentrates fat from ~3.5% to 36% — a 10x enrichment ^[1].

The cholesterol content is substantial: 137mg per 100g (46% DV). Two tablespoons add 41mg cholesterol to any dish. Combined with 23.03g saturated fat per 100g (115% DV), heavy cream is one of the most saturated-fat-concentrated common foods ^[2].

A cup (240g) of heavy cream adds 816 kcal and 86.6g fat to any recipe. Fettuccine Alfredo typically uses 1-2 cups per 4 servings — meaning heavy cream alone contributes 204-408 kcal per plate before pasta, butter, or cheese ^[1].

Ganache (equal parts cream and chocolate) for a 9-inch cake uses ~1 cup cream: 816 kcal from cream + ~800 kcal from chocolate = 1,616 kcal total. Cut into 12 slices, the ganache adds 135 kcal per slice — 68 kcal from cream alone. Knowing this allows more accurate recipe logging ^[1].

Cream-based soups average 1/2 cup per 4-serving batch: 102 kcal per bowl from cream. Substituting evaporated milk drops this to 42 kcal per bowl — a 59% reduction with similar creaminess. The protein per bowl actually increases from 0.9g to 2.1g with evaporated milk ^[1].

Whipping heavy cream roughly doubles its volume by incorporating air. A cup of liquid heavy cream (240g) weighs 240g; the same cup of whipped cream weighs approximately 120g — half the weight for the same visual amount. The calories per cup drop from 816 kcal (liquid) to 408 kcal (whipped) purely through volume expansion ^[1].

Store-bought whipped cream (like Reddi-Wip) takes this further with more air and added sugar, typically running 257 kcal per 100g with 12.5g sugar — compared to homemade whipped cream at ~170 kcal per 100g (pure cream, no sugar). The commercial versions also add stabilizers and emulsifiers ^[1].

A dollop of homemade whipped cream (2 tablespoons, ~16g by weight) contains approximately 27 kcal and 2.9g fat. This is one of the rare situations where heavy cream delivers a surprisingly modest calorie contribution — because the serving weight is so small when air is incorporated ^[2].

Two tablespoons (30g) of heavy cream in coffee add 102 kcal, 10.8g fat (7g saturated), and just 0.9g carbs. This near-zero carb content is why heavy cream became the preferred keto coffee addition — it provides energy density without affecting ketosis ^[1].

Compare the coffee addition options: heavy cream (102 kcal/2 tbsp) vs half-and-half (39 kcal) vs whole milk (18 kcal) vs skim milk (10 kcal). At 3 cups of coffee per day, the annual calorie difference between heavy cream and skim milk is ~100,000 kcal — equivalent to approximately 29 pounds in caloric terms ^[1].

For anyone adding heavy cream to bulletproof coffee (cream + MCT oil + butter), the full beverage can reach 400-500 kcal — approaching a small meal. Logging this accurately matters because it's easy to overlook liquid calories that don't feel like food ^[2].

Heavy cream is calcium-poor for a dairy product: 66mg per 100g compared to whole milk's 123mg, Greek yogurt's 100mg, or cheddar's 721mg. Because fat displaces the water-soluble minerals, heavy cream delivers only 10mg calcium per tablespoon (1% DV) ^[1].

Vitamin A is the standout micronutrient: 411mcg per 100g (46% DV), making heavy cream one of the richest food sources of preformed retinol. Two tablespoons provide 123mcg vitamin A — 14% of the daily value. Vitamin E is also present at 1.07mg per 100g (7% DV) ^[1].

The B-vitamin content is low: 0.14mcg B12 per 100g (6% DV) and 0.022mg thiamine. Heavy cream is not a meaningful source of B vitamins, iron (0.04mg), or potassium (95mg). Its nutritional profile is essentially fat, vitamin A, and cholesterol — with very little else ^[1].