Mustard Leaves Calories & Nutrition Calculator

Raw mustard greens contain 27 kcal per 100g and cooked (boiled, drained) mustard greens contain 26 kcal per 100g — a negligible difference of 1 kcal. Unlike some vegetables where cooking concentrates or disperses calories, mustard greens maintain nearly identical calorie density before and after boiling ^[1].

The macronutrient profile shifts minimally: raw has 2.86g protein and 3.2g fiber per 100g, while cooked has 2.56g protein and 2.0g fiber. The fiber loss is primarily from soluble fiber leaching into the cooking water during boiling. Stir-frying retains more fiber than boiling ^[2].

For food journaling, one cup of chopped raw mustard greens (56g) contains just 15 kcal, while one cup of cooked mustard greens (140g) contains 36 kcal. The calorie difference per cup is entirely due to volume collapse — cooked greens are denser, so a cup holds more by weight.

Raw mustard greens contain 257.5mcg vitamin K per 100g, which represents 215% of the daily value. One cup of chopped raw mustard greens (56g) delivers approximately 144mcg vitamin K — 120% of the daily value from a single serving ^[1].

This vitamin K concentration places mustard greens among the highest vitamin K vegetables, alongside kale (~817mcg/100g), spinach (~483mcg/100g), and collard greens (~437mcg/100g). While mustard greens have less vitamin K per gram than these three, a 56g serving still far exceeds the daily value.

For nutrition journaling, mustard greens are a consistent and easily trackable vitamin K source. One cup in a salad or sabzi adds a reliable, known quantity of vitamin K to your daily log — unlike many other nutrients where cooking losses introduce uncertainty.

A traditional sarson ka saag serving uses approximately 200–300g of mustard greens (often mixed with bathua and spinach), contributing about 52–78 kcal from the greens alone. But the preparation adds ghee or butter (45–90 kcal per tablespoon), makki ka atta for roti (180 kcal per roti), and tempering ingredients ^[3].

A complete meal of sarson ka saag with one makki ki roti and a tablespoon of ghee totals approximately 280–350 kcal — with the greens contributing only about 20–25% of the total. The remaining 75–80% comes from the ghee, butter, and cornmeal roti.

For calorie tracking, always log sarson ka saag by its individual components: greens by cooked weight (26 kcal/100g), ghee or butter by measured teaspoons, and each makki ki roti separately. The variability in ghee quantity between households is where the largest tracking uncertainty lies — not in the greens themselves.

Raw mustard greens contain 1.64mg iron per 100g — notable for a leafy green but lower than spinach's 2.71mg per 100g. However, mustard greens have substantially lower oxalic acid content than spinach, which means a larger fraction of the iron may be available during digestion ^[1].

Cooking reduces the iron content further to 0.86mg per 100g — a 48% decrease during boiling and draining. This loss is typical for water-soluble minerals that leach into the cooking liquid. Stir-frying retains more iron than boiling because less water contact occurs.

For food journaling, note that one cup of cooked mustard greens (140g) provides approximately 1.2mg iron — about 7% of the daily value. If iron tracking is important in your journal, using the raw preparation method (salad) or stir-frying preserves more iron than boiling.

Raw mustard greens have 70mg vitamin C per 100g (78% DV) — a substantial concentration that rivals oranges (53mg/100g). After boiling and draining, vitamin C drops to 25.3mg per 100g — a 64% reduction. This is one of the largest cooking losses among common leafy greens ^[1].

The vitamin C loss is consistent with its known sensitivity to heat and water. For food journaling, this means your tracking should use different values depending on preparation: a raw mustard green salad (56g, 1 cup) provides 39mg vitamin C, while the same greens cooked in sarson ka saag provide only about 14mg from the greens.

If vitamin C tracking is important in your food journal, consider consuming a portion of mustard greens raw (in salads) or using shorter cooking methods like quick stir-frying, which typically retains 50–60% of vitamin C compared to boiling's 36% retention.