USDA food category
Cereal Grains and Pasta
According to USDA FoodData Central (data refreshed July 2026), cereal grains and pasta entries carry the FDA-required nutrition facts panel, ingredient list, and allergen disclosure verbatim from the source label.
- 50
- Foods shown
- 288
- Avg kcal / 100gmoderate density
- 8.9g
- Avg proteingood source · 18% DV
Showing 1–50 foods
The verdict
Cereal Grains and Pasta averages 288 calories per 100g, the 7th most calorie-dense of the 25 USDA food groups, with 8.9g of protein.
- 225
- foods in this group
- 288
- avg calories / 100g
- 8.9g
- avg protein / 100g
- #7 / 25
- by calorie density
Most calorie-dense cereal grains and pasta
Where cereal grains and pasta sit on protein
This group averages 8.9g of protein per 100g, placed against every USDA reference (whole) food.
Protein per 100g - Cereal Grains and Pasta average vs every USDA reference food
USDA reference (whole) foods with a protein value
9 48th percentile higher than 48% of 7,880 USDA reference foods
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more USDA reference foods. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy & Foundation · 2026
Where Cereal Grains and Pasta sits among the 25 USDA food groups
Plotted by average calories and average protein per 100g, group-level averages across every USDA food category (not individual foods).
Cereal Grains and Pasta: 8.9g avg protein, 288 avg kcal per 100g, among 25 USDA food groups
Read the chart as text
- Point 1: Avg protein / 100g 13.9, Avg calories / 100g 218
- Point 2: Avg protein / 100g 10.6, Avg calories / 100g 254
- Point 3: Avg protein / 100g 4.2, Avg calories / 100g 154
- Point 4: Avg protein / 100g 0.8, Avg calories / 100g 609
- Point 5: Avg protein / 100g 23.3, Avg calories / 100g 197
- Point 6: Avg protein / 100g 3.4, Avg calories / 100g 104
- Point 7: Avg protein / 100g 15.3, Avg calories / 100g 256
- Point 8: Avg protein / 100g 8.2, Avg calories / 100g 328
- Point 9: Avg protein / 100g 0.9, Avg calories / 100g 87
- Point 10: Avg protein / 100g 22.2, Avg calories / 100g 211
- Point 11: Avg protein / 100g 2.8, Avg calories / 100g 63
- Point 12: Avg protein / 100g 15.3, Avg calories / 100g 498
- Point 13: Avg protein / 100g 24.4, Avg calories / 100g 211
- Point 14: Avg protein / 100g 3.5, Avg calories / 100g 111
- Point 15: Avg protein / 100g 20.3, Avg calories / 100g 134
- Point 16: Avg protein / 100g 14.1, Avg calories / 100g 205
- Point 17: Avg protein / 100g 23.1, Avg calories / 100g 216
- Point 18: Avg protein / 100g 7, Avg calories / 100g 360
- Point 19: Avg protein / 100g 5, Avg calories / 100g 330
- Point 20: Avg protein / 100g 12.4, Avg calories / 100g 253
- Point 21: Avg protein / 100g 8, Avg calories / 100g 211
- Point 22: Avg protein / 100g 9.8, Avg calories / 100g 444
- Point 23: Avg protein / 100g 16.5, Avg calories / 100g 209
- Point 24: Avg protein / 100g 10.1, Avg calories / 100g 221
- Cereal Grains and Pasta: Avg protein / 100g 8.9, Avg calories / 100g 288
How the Cereal Grains and Pasta Category Compares
Cereal Grains and Pasta is one of the food groups catalogued in the USDA FoodData Central database, and this page surfaces 50 foods from that group on the current view. Among just the 50 foods on this page, the average calorie count lands at 323 kcal per 100g, with average protein of 8.9g per 100g (the full Cereal Grains and Pasta group of 225 foods averages 288 kcal, shown above). These per-page averages help you benchmark any single food against its immediate neighbors on this listing, a food 30% above this page's calorie average, for example, is a useful signal for portion planning.
Within this page, the most energy-dense item is "Cornstarch" at 381 calories per 100g, while the lightest is "Bulgur, cooked" at 83 calories. That kind of spread is typical for USDA food groups: branded and processed entries often sit high on calories and sodium, while raw or minimally prepared entries anchor the low end. Sorting the grid by calories, protein, fat, or carbs exposes the full distribution so you can pick foods that match specific dietary goals rather than relying on category intuition alone.
Every food in the Cereal Grains and Pasta group links to a full FDA-format nutrition label with vitamins, minerals, and daily value percentages sourced from USDA Standard Reference, Foundation, Branded, or Survey data depending on the item. Use the sort controls to surface the highest-protein or lowest-sodium choices, or drill into any food card to see macro bars, similar foods, and brand breakdowns. For framework and interpretation help, the nutrition guides explain daily values, how to compare foods fairly, and where hidden sugars hide inside everyday categories.
→ Compare the first three cereal grains and pasta foods side-by-side
Amaranth grain, cooked
Amaranth grain, uncooked
Arrowroot flour
Barley flour or meal
Barley malt flour
Barley, hulled
Barley, pearled, cooked
Barley, pearled, raw
Buckwheat
Buckwheat flour, whole-groat
Buckwheat groats, roasted, cooked
Buckwheat groats, roasted, dry
Buckwheat, whole grain
Bulgur, cooked
Bulgur, dry
Bulgur, dry, raw
Chia seeds, dry, raw
Corn bran, crude
Corn flour, masa harina, white or yellow, dry, raw
Corn flour, masa, enriched, white
Corn flour, masa, unenriched, white
Corn flour, whole-grain, blue (harina de maiz morado)
Corn flour, whole-grain, white
Corn flour, whole-grain, yellow
Corn flour, yellow, degermed, unenriched
Corn flour, yellow, masa, enriched
Corn grain, white
Corn grain, yellow
Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, white
Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow
Cornmeal, degermed, unenriched, white
Cornmeal, degermed, unenriched, yellow
Cornmeal, white, self-rising, bolted, plain, enriched
Cornmeal, white, self-rising, bolted, with wheat flour added, enriched
Cornmeal, white, self-rising, degermed, enriched
Cornmeal, whole-grain, white
Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow
Cornmeal, yellow, self-rising, bolted, plain, enriched
Cornmeal, yellow, self-rising, bolted, with wheat flour added, enriched
Cornmeal, yellow, self-rising, degermed, enriched
Cornstarch
Couscous, cooked
Couscous, dry
Einkorn, grain, dry, raw
Farro, pearled, dry, raw
Flour, 00
Flour, amaranth
Flour, barley
Flour, bread, white, enriched, unbleached
Flour, buckwheat
Primary source data
Source: USDA FoodData Central — food_categories taxonomy.
Source: Per-food nutrient values from USDA laboratory analysis and manufacturer-submitted label data.
Read our methodology for how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Key takeaways
- Within Cereal Grains and Pasta, Cornstarch is the most calorie-dense item on this page at 381 cal per 100g, while Bulgur is the lightest at 83 cal -- a reminder that "category" alone doesn't tell you much about any single food.
- By average calorie density, cereal grains and pasta ranks 7th of 25 USDA food groups -- see how it compares to every other group. Browse all categories
- Sort the table above by protein, fat, or carbs to find the specific foods in this category that best match your own targets.
Every figure on GetFoodFacts is rendered directly from official USDA FoodData Central records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.