50 Low-Calorie Foods to Add to Your Diet

What Are the Best Low-Calorie Foods?

Useful low-energy foods provide nutrients, food volume and, depending on the food, protein or fibre for relatively little energy. Strong options include leafy greens, broth-based soups, berries, eggs, plain Greek yoghurt, edamame, fresh fish, legumes and air-popped popcorn.

Low-calorie foods are not the same as low-nutrition foods. Many of the most nutrient-dense foods available, including leafy greens, berries, fish, legumes and eggs, are also naturally low in kilojoules. The CSIRO Healthy Diet Score emphasises dietary patterns that include a variety of vegetables, fruit and other nutritious foods.

What Counts as a Low-Calorie Food?

Low-calorie foods provide relatively little energy for their serving size or weight. There is no official threshold that makes a food “low calorie,” so for this list we use two practical filters: the food sits below roughly 600kJ (about 143 calories) in a realistic serving, and it contributes something useful, whether that is protein, fibre, vitamins or food volume.

Calories or kilojoules?

In Australia, food labels use kilojoules (kJ). Calories and kilojoules measure the same thing in different units: 100 calories is approximately 420kJ. This guide leads with kilojoules because that is what you will see on the packet.

Low energy per serve is not the same as low energy density

Energy density is the amount of energy a food provides relative to its weight. Foods high in water and fibre, such as most vegetables and many fruits, have low energy density, so you can eat a large volume for very little energy. Foods with less water and more concentrated fat or carbohydrate pack more energy into the same weight.

Both matter, but they answer different questions. A small portion of a dense food can be low in energy per serve without being filling. A large bowl of a low-energy-density food can fill you up for the same kilojoules. That is why chicken breast at 550kJ per 100g still belongs on this list: relative to other protein sources it is a low-energy way to get 24g of protein, even though it is not a vegetable.

Low-calorie does not mean unlimited: Low-energy foods still contribute energy. Eating large quantities of anything increases total intake, so serving size and the rest of your diet still matter. Nothing on this list is unlimited.

50 Low-Calorie Foods by Category

Vegetables (5–200kJ per generous serve)

Source: FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database. Values are approximate and vary by variety, preparation and serving size.

Fruits (120–400kJ per serve)

Source: FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database. Values are approximate and vary by variety, preparation and serving size.

Protein-Rich Low-Calorie Foods

Source: FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database. Values are approximate and vary by variety, preparation and serving size.

Legumes and Grains

Source: FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database. Values are approximate and vary by variety, preparation and serving size.

Beverages and Broths

Source: FSANZ Australian Food Composition Database. Values are approximate and vary by variety, preparation and serving size.

Best Low-Calorie Foods by Goal

Which food is “best” depends entirely on what you need from it.

Low-Calorie Foods Under 100 Calories

Roughly 420kJ or less per serving. Most of the vegetable and fruit entries above qualify, along with:

Egg whites (3) at 180kJ, edamame (100g) at 320kJ, a hard-boiled egg at 310kJ, plain Greek yoghurt (100g) at 330kJ, green peas (½ cup) at 280kJ, air-popped popcorn (3 cups) at 375kJ, prawns (100g) at 390kJ, white fish (100g) at 380kJ, and lentils (½ cup) at 390kJ. Every drink on the list sits under 120kJ.

Which Low-Calorie Foods Are Most Filling?

Fullness is influenced by several factors, including protein, fibre, water content, food volume, texture and the overall composition of the meal. The foods on this list that combine at least two of them tend to hold you longest.

Why each group works: Lentils, chickpeas and butter beans bring protein and fibre in the same serve. Plain Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese and eggs bring protein without much volume, so they pair well with vegetables. Leafy greens, cucumber, watermelon and broth-based soups bring water and volume rather than protein, which fills you physically but empties faster.

Best Low-Calorie High-Protein Foods

If protein is your main filter, these are the strongest options on the list, ordered by protein per serve: chicken breast (24g per 100g), tinned tuna (22g per 95g), tinned salmon (21g per 95g), prawns and white fish (20g per 100g), cottage cheese (12g per 100g), egg whites (11g for three), edamame (11g per 100g), firm tofu (10g per 100g), and plain Greek yoghurt (9g per 100g).

Every one of them sits at or below 550kJ per listed serving, which is what makes them useful when protein matters but total energy is limited. Chicken breast is the outlier at 550kJ: high for a vegetable, low for the amount of protein it delivers.

Best Low-Calorie Foods for Weight Management

For weight management, useful low-energy choices include vegetables, berries, legumes, lean fish, prawns, plain Greek yoghurt and other foods that provide protein, fibre or high food volume for relatively little energy. No individual food causes weight loss on its own.

What these foods do is make an energy-controlled eating pattern easier to sustain. A plate built mostly from low-energy-density foods lets you eat a normal-looking amount of food while keeping total kilojoules down, which is generally more sustainable than eating small portions of dense food.

How Many Calories Are in Common Low-Calorie Foods?

Australian labels use kilojoules, but many apps and recipes still use calories. Here is the conversion for some of the most-searched foods on this list.

How to Use Low-Calorie Foods Effectively

AminoHub Expert Tip: Building meals around minimally processed foods (NOVA Group 1) can make it easier to include vegetables, fruit, legumes and other nutrient-rich foods while managing overall energy intake. It is not a guarantee of energy control on its own, since portion size still matters.

Practical combinations:

• Cucumber (100g) + cherry tomatoes (100g) + cottage cheese (100g) — approximately 550kJ, 13g protein
• Spinach (2 cups raw) + lentils (½ cup cooked) + lemon — approximately 450kJ, 10g protein, 8g fibre
• Mixed berries (1 cup) + plain Greek yoghurt (100g) — approximately 480kJ, 10g protein, 4g fibre

Research Snapshot

• Australian adults eat well below the recommended 5 to 6 serves of vegetables per day (Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Health Survey)
• Vegetables are among the lowest energy-density foods available, so increasing the vegetable share of a meal generally increases food volume without adding much energy

The Bottom Line

The fifty foods on this list all deliver useful nutrition for relatively little energy, whether that comes from protein, fibre, vitamins or sheer food volume. Building meals and snacks around them makes it easier to meet nutritional needs without pushing up total kilojoules.

Return to: low-calorie snack guide | filling low-calorie foods | master healthy snacks guide

References

• Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australian Food Composition Database. foodstandards.gov.au
• National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines. eatforhealth.gov.au
• Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: dietary behaviour. abs.gov.au
• Healthy Diet Score. csiro.au
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Nutrition information panels. foodstandards.gov.au

Last reviewed: August 2026. General information only — consult an Accredited Practising Dietitian for personalised advice.