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Calories · Filipino

Calories in kare-kare

A typical restaurant serving of kare-kare (one serving of oxtail kare-kare with vegetables, a spoon of bagoong and one cup of rice, about 720 g) is about 1,050 calories, usually 750–1,350.

Restaurant portions vary; this is a typical estimate, not a label. Also called kare kare, oxtail kare-kare, oxtail peanut stew, kare-kare with rice.

~1,050
Kare-kare

The usual range

Drawn on one 0–2,000 scale shared by every dish page, so plates compare at a glance.

Protein, carbs and fat

  • Protein55 g
  • Carbs79 g
  • Fat55 g

One serving

Serving
one serving of oxtail kare-kare with vegetables, a spoon of bagoong and one cup of rice
Weight
~720 g
Per 100 g
~143

The dish

About kare-kare

Kare-kare is oxtail and vegetables in a thick peanut sauce, eaten with salty sautéed shrimp paste and rice. Peanut butter and the oxtail's fat make it one of the richest Filipino dishes; the vegetables barely move the total. Built from its parts: stewed oxtail, a peanut butter and ground-peanut sauce, pechay, eggplant, string beans and banana blossom, plus sautéed bagoong and a cup of rice — from FNRI, UK CoFID and USDA values.

Ways it comes

One dish, a few numbers

Kare-kare · rough numbers

  • Without rice~830
  • Without bagoong~940

What moves the number

Why one plate is 750 and another 1,350

  • Peanut butter and ground peanuts in the sauce
  • Fatty oxtail (or tripe and pata in some versions)
  • Sautéed bagoong, cooked in oil
  • Rice for the sauce

Ordering lighter

If you want a lighter plate

  • Take more vegetables and less sauce
  • Use bagoong sparingly
  • Share a bowl between two

Side by side

Next to other Filipino dishes

Filipino · typical restaurant servingAll about Filipino food →

  • Cup of rice~210one level restaurant cup of steamed white rice · usually 150–300
  • Leche flan~230one restaurant slice · usually 180–400
  • Turon~230one large piece · usually 150–350
  • Ensaymada~240one bakery ensaymada · usually 200–450
  • Arroz caldo~250one bowl of chicken rice porridge · usually 200–450
  • Jollibee Peach Mango Pie~270one fried pie, US serving · usually 250–310
  • Bibingka~290one rice cake with cheese and coconut · usually 230–450
  • Garlic rice (sinangag)~300one level restaurant cup · usually 220–380
  • Halo-halo~330one restaurant glass · usually 250–550
  • Lumpia shanghai~340six pieces · usually 230–500
  • Jollibee Yumburger~360one Yumburger, Jollibee USA standard size · usually 330–410
  • Siopao~380one regular steamed pork bun · usually 250–520

In PlateDiary

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

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Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

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How these numbers were made

Method and sources

Last reviewed

Restaurant portions and cooking vary, so these are typical estimates for one serving, built from the sources below. Treat it as a rough number: your plate may land anywhere in the range.

If you manage a health condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.

AI helped draft this page; every number was checked against the sources.

  1. UK CoFID (McCance and Widdowson's) — Oxtail, meat only, stewed (18-420)
  2. Philippine Food Composition Tables (FNRI-DOST) — Peanut butter (C058); Peanuts, roasted (C038)
  3. USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) — Cornstarch, FDC 169698
  4. Philippine Food Composition Tables (FNRI-DOST) — Coconut oil (K008)
  5. Philippine Food Composition Tables (FNRI-DOST) — Shrimp paste, sautéed / bagoong alamang, ginisa (N031)
  6. Philippine Food Composition Tables (FNRI-DOST) — Pechay leaves, boiled (D161); Eggplant / talong, boiled (D074); String beans / sitaw, boiled (D233); Banana heart / puso ng saging, boiled (D014); Onion, Bombay bulb (D141); Garlic bulb (D084)
  7. Philippine Food Composition Tables (FNRI-DOST) — Rice, well-milled, boiled (A020)
  8. Gram weights: Panlasang Pinoy — Oxtail kare-kare (serves 5), scaled to one serving

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in kare-kare?

A typical restaurant serving of kare-kare (one serving of oxtail kare-kare with vegetables, a spoon of bagoong and one cup of rice, about 720 g) is about 1,050 calories, usually 750–1,350. The number depends mostly on the portion and how it is cooked.

Why is kare-kare so high in calories?

Peanut butter and ground peanuts in the sauce, plus fatty oxtail. One serving with bagoong and rice is about 1,050, among the richest Filipino plates.

How much does bagoong add to kare-kare?

About 90 for a spoon of sautéed bagoong; the serving is about 940 without it.

How many calories is kare-kare without rice?

About 830 for the stew and bagoong alone.

What changes the calories in kare-kare?

Peanut butter and ground peanuts in the sauce. Fatty oxtail (or tripe and pata in some versions).

How can I order kare-kare lighter?

Take more vegetables and less sauce. Use bagoong sparingly.

Can PlateDiary show calories for the dishes I eat out?

Yes, if you want it to: calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and each dish you save from a photo of the table gets one rough “~” number you can accept or change.