Calories in British food
Typical calories in fish and chips, a full English, a Sunday roast, bakery food, takeaways and teatime snacks, with simple ways to make each one lighter.
By the Calori team · Updated · 7 min read
These are typical ranges, not exact values. Recipes, portion sizes and cooking methods vary widely, so the same dish can differ by several hundred calories from one place to another. Large chains publish nutrition information online and on menus, and that will always be more accurate for their food.
Calories in fish and chips
Fish and chips vary a lot from one chip shop to the next, mostly because of portion size and how long the chips are fried. Chip shop chips are thicker than oven chips and soak up more oil, so a regular portion is often 500 to 700 kcal on its own.
| Food | Calories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| Battered cod, regular (about 200 g) | 400–550 |
| Chips, regular portion (about 300 g) | 500–700 |
| Mushy peas (about 100 g) | 80–110 |
| Curry sauce (small tub) | 100–150 |
| Battered sausage | 250–350 |
| Typical fish and chips | 900–1,200 |
Make it lighter: Share the chips, ask for a small portion, or peel off some of the batter. Grilled or breaded fish from a supermarket with oven chips at home is usually 400 to 600 kcal.
Calories in a full English breakfast
Each item on its own is modest. It is the number of them, and the frying, that adds up.
| Food | Calories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| Pork sausage, grilled (each) | 130–180 |
| Back bacon, grilled (each rasher) | 60–80 |
| Fried egg | 90–110 |
| Baked beans (half a tin, about 200 g) | 150–170 |
| Toast, 1 slice with butter | 120–150 |
| Hash brown | 120–150 |
| Black pudding (1 slice) | 100–150 |
| Fried mushrooms and tomato | 50–120 |
| Typical full English | 800–1,200 |
Make it lighter: Grill rather than fry, choose reduced-fat sausages and back bacon, poach the eggs, skip the hash brown and go easy on the butter. A lighter version like that is around 650 to 750 kcal and still has more than 40 g of protein.
Calories in a Sunday roast dinner
A roast is a great high-protein meal. Most of the calories are in the potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and the fat they are cooked in.
| Food | Calories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| Roast chicken breast with skin (150 g) | 250–300 |
| Roast beef, lean (120 g) | 200–260 |
| Roast pork with crackling (120 g) | 350–450 |
| Roast potatoes (3 medium) | 250–350 |
| Yorkshire pudding (each) | 80–150 |
| Stuffing (2 balls) | 100–150 |
| Vegetables, boiled or steamed | 50–100 |
| Gravy (100 ml) | 30–50 |
| Typical roast dinner | 700–1,000 |
Make it lighter: Fill half the plate with vegetables, have two roast potatoes instead of four, take the skin off the chicken and keep it to one Yorkshire.
Calories in bakery and lunch favourites
Grab-and-go food is where many people underestimate their calories the most.
| Food | Calories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| Sausage roll, standard | 300–350 |
| Cornish pasty, large | 550–750 |
| Steak bake | 400–450 |
| Bacon sandwich (white bread, 3 rashers, butter) | 400–500 |
| Supermarket sandwich | 300–550 |
| Bag of crisps (25–40 g) | 130–200 |
| Meal deal (sandwich, crisps, drink) | 450–1,000 |
Make it lighter: The meal deal is easy to improve: choose a high-protein sandwich or salad, a lower-calorie snack such as fruit or a protein pot, and a sugar-free drink. That combination is often under 500 kcal.
Calories in takeaways and pub meals
Restaurant and takeaway portions are large, and the cooking oil and sauce are invisible.
| Food | Calories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| Chicken tikka masala with pilau rice | 1,000–1,400 |
| Plain naan bread | 300–450 |
| Doner kebab with chips | 1,000–1,500 |
| Pepperoni pizza, 12 inch | 1,800–2,400 |
| Steak and ale pie with chips | 900–1,300 |
| Shepherd’s pie (one portion) | 400–600 |
| Jacket potato with cheese and beans | 500–650 |
Make it lighter: Go for tandoori or grilled dishes over creamy curries, share a side instead of having your own, choose plain rice over pilau, and save half for tomorrow.
Calories in teatime snacks
Small, frequent and easy to forget to log.
| Food | Calories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| Scone with jam and clotted cream | 400–500 |
| Slice of Victoria sponge | 300–400 |
| Crumpet with butter | 130–160 |
| Chocolate digestive | 80–90 |
| Mug of tea with semi-skimmed milk | 15–25 |
| Teaspoon of sugar | 16 |
Make it lighter: Biscuits add up: three chocolate digestives a day with tea is over 250 kcal, or around 1,800 kcal a week.
Can you still eat these and lose weight?
Yes. No single meal makes you gain weight; your total over the week does. If your daily target is 1,800 kcal, a 1,100 kcal fish and chips supper is perfectly manageable if breakfast and lunch are lighter and high in protein. It only becomes a problem when big meals are not counted at all.
Plan for them: know roughly what your favourites cost, keep the rest of the day lean, and look at your weekly average rather than one day. And remember the drinks that often come with them, which you can check in our guide to calories in alcohol.
Count them without guessing
Plated meals like these are exactly what photo calorie counting is good at. Snap your roast or your full English in Calori and the AI calorie counter identifies each item and estimates its portion, so you can log the whole plate in seconds and adjust anything it gets wrong.
Frequently asked questions
- How many calories are in fish and chips?
- A typical chip shop portion of battered cod and chips has around 900 to 1,200 kcal. The battered fish is usually 400 to 550 kcal and a regular portion of chips 500 to 700 kcal. Adding mushy peas adds about 100 kcal.
- How many calories are in a full English breakfast?
- A full English with two sausages, two rashers of bacon, a fried egg, beans, toast, mushrooms and tomato is usually around 800 to 1,200 kcal, depending on how much is fried and how big the portions are.
- How many calories are in chip shop chips?
- A regular portion of chip shop chips (about 300 g) has around 500 to 700 kcal. A large portion can be 900 kcal or more. Oven chips are lower, about 160 to 200 kcal per 100 g.
- How many calories are in a Sunday dinner?
- A Sunday roast with meat, roast potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, vegetables and gravy is typically 700 to 1,000 kcal. Roast potatoes and extra Yorkshires are where most of the calories are.
- How many calories are in a sausage roll?
- A standard bakery sausage roll has around 300 to 350 kcal. Large or jumbo sausage rolls can be 450 kcal or more, while a party-size one is about 60 to 100 kcal.
Keep reading
- Calories in beer, lager, cider and wineHow many calories are in a pint of beer, lager and cider, a glass of wine and a spirit and mixer, and how drinking fits into a calorie deficit.›
- Calorie deficit: how to work out yours and lose weightWhat a calorie deficit is, how many calories you should eat to lose weight, how big a deficit is safe, and why weight loss slows. With a free calculator.›
- High protein meals: 30 easy ideas30 easy high protein meal ideas with protein and calories for each: breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks using food from any UK supermarket.›
- AI calorie trackers: how photo calorie counting worksHow AI photo calorie counters recognise food and estimate portions, how accurate they are, and how to get better results from your photos.›