How many calories are in watercress?

11 calories per 100g, which makes it about the lightest thing in the produce aisle. A cup of chopped leaves at 34g is 4 calories and ten sprigs are 3. Bok choy is next at 13 calories per 100g, and lettuce is 17.

Is watercress really the most nutrient-dense vegetable?

That ranking comes from a CDC scoring exercise that divides nutrients by calories, and watercress wins largely because it has so few: 11 per 100g. On absolute amounts kale carries more calcium, 254mg per 100g against 120mg, and more vitamin C, 93.4mg against 43mg. The score is honest about what it measures, which is density rather than quantity.

How much calcium is in watercress?

120mg per 100g, above spinach's 99mg and bok choy's 105mg, and the oxalate content is low enough that a decent share of it is absorbed. A 34g cup carries about 41mg, so it takes a real bowlful rather than a garnish to count.

Is watercress keto-friendly?

Trivially so: 0.8g of net carbs per 100g. There is no portion of watercress that threatens a carb budget. The limit is appetite, since it is peppery enough that most people stop before the arithmetic does.

What does watercress taste like?

Peppery and slightly bitter, in the mustard family alongside arugula and radish. The bite comes from glucosinolates and sharpens as the plant ages, so young sprigs are mild. Heat kills it outright: wilted into soup, watercress reads as a gentle spinach.

Is watercress high in protein?

For a leaf, yes: 2.3g per 100g, close to spinach's 3g and well above lettuce's 0.7g. But 100g of watercress is a large bowl, so a realistic serving lands under a gram. It is a nutrient-dense green, not a protein food.

Can you eat wild watercress?

Not from unknown water. It grows in streams and takes on whatever is upstream, including liver fluke where livestock graze nearby. Farmed watercress is grown in controlled spring water. Either way, wash it.

How long does watercress keep?

Two or three days, shorter than most greens, because the leaves are thin and 95% water. Stand the bunch stem-down in a glass of water with a bag loosely over the top and it holds noticeably better than lying flat in the drawer.

What goes well with watercress?

Anything rich enough to need cutting: steak, smoked fish, a fried egg, orange segments. The English tea sandwich is watercress, butter and salt on white bread, and the salt matters, because the 41mg of sodium per 100g in the leaves is nowhere near enough on its own.

All Foods

Calories in Watercress

USDA Verified · FDC 170068 · Sep 2026

4 calories

per 1 cup chopped (34g)

2.3g

Protein

1.3g

Carbs

0.1g

Fat

0.5g

Fiber

Per 100g raw

Log Watercress in one photo

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