Chinese takeaway calories, box by box.

How it adds up

A main, a carb, a starter — and your share.

Most takeaway orders are three layers: a main (sweet and sour, chow mein, beef and broccoli), a carb (boiled rice, fried rice or noodles) and a starter (spring rolls, dumplings, crispy duck). Count each layer separately, then think about how much of each you actually ate.

In the UK and Australia, a takeaway main usually comes in a foil or plastic box meant for one; in the US, cartons are often big enough for two. The same dish name can mean very different amounts of food.

The menu, roughly

Chinese takeaway calories by dish.

Each dish links to its own page, with the usual range, what pushes it up and the sources behind it.

Put together

What a whole order comes to.

These are sums of single-dish estimates, so read them as rough. Restaurant portions vary, and so does who takes the last spring roll.

• Sweet and sour pork with a cup of boiled rice: about 520 + 210, so roughly 730.
• Orange chicken with a plate of special fried rice: about 520 + 830, so roughly 1,350.
• Beef and broccoli (a full order) with a cup of boiled rice: about 600 + 210, so roughly 810.
• A night for two: chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork, special fried rice and two spring rolls is about 510 + 520 + 830 + 290 = 2,150 — roughly 1,075 each if you really split it evenly.

No number yet

Takeaway favourites we don’t have a number for.

We only quote numbers for dishes with a proper source behind them, so a few takeaway classics are not on our list yet. Here is where they sit, roughly, without a figure:

• Crispy chilli beef: battered, deep-fried beef in a sticky sweet sauce — built like orange chicken and sweet and sour pork, so it belongs with the battered dishes, not the stir-fries.
• Egg fried rice: fried rice without the meat of a special fried rice. Still cooked in oil, so it sits well above boiled rice.
• Salt and pepper chicken or chips: fried, then tossed in a dry seasoning — no glossy sauce, but plenty of frying oil.
• Prawn crackers: puffed and fried. Easy to eat a whole bag while waiting for the mains.
• Sweet and sour chicken: usually battered like the pork version; expect it to sit close to it.

Portions vary

Where the number moves most.

• Half or whole. Kung pao chicken and beef and broccoli roughly double from a plate portion to a full carton.
• Fried rice or boiled. A plate of special fried rice is about four times a cup of boiled rice.
• Batter and glaze. Sweet and sour, orange and crispy chilli dishes are fried first and then sauced with sugar.
• Noodle oil. Chow mein is stir-fried; extra oil or a bigger box pushes it well past 510.
• The rice tub. Takeaway rice containers are often more than a level cup.

Lighter orders

If you want a lighter takeaway.

• Boiled rice instead of fried, or half a portion of each.
• Wonton soup (about 170) or steamed dumplings (about 230 for eight) instead of spring rolls.
• A stir-fry like beef and broccoli instead of a battered dish.
• Share the battered main, and ask for the sauce on the side.

At home

One photo of the spread.

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. With them on, snap the takeaway spread and each box becomes its own save; a PlateDiary AI read gives each dish one rough “~” number, and you can edit it to the share you actually ate — or type your own number on any save without AI. See how the calorie counter works. Restaurant and takeaway portions vary, so treat every number here as rough, and check with a doctor for medical guidance.

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Sources

Where the facts come from