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Fats & oils portion sizes
One serving on the fats & oils shelf is about 27 g and around 124 kcal. Recorded serving weights for 28 foods, with the calories, protein, carbohydrate and fat that serving carries.
The hand cue for this shelf
A thumb — Fats — oil, butter, nut butter, dressing. That cue is worth about 14 g in this database, the median recorded 1 tablespoon serving across fats and oils. The typical recorded serving on the fats & oils shelf itself is 27 g, so the cue is a little conservative here by about 13 g — one more reason to treat a hand as a starting point rather than a measurement.
Serving weights on this shelf
| Food | One serving is | Grams | kcal | Protein g | Carbs g | Fat g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 125 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.9 |
| Canola oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Olive oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Almond oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Apricot kernel oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Avocado oil | 100 g | 100 | 884 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| Babassu oil | 1 tbsp | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Bacon grease | 1 tsp | 4 | 36 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Beef tallow | 1 tbsp | 13 | 117 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| Benecol light spread | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 50 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 5.4 |
| Caesar dressing | 1 tbsp | 15 | 81 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 8.7 |
| Canola / rapeseed oil | 100 g | 100 | 884 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| Chicken fat | 1 tbsp | 13 | 117 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| Cocoa butter oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Coleslaw dressing | 1 tbsp | 19 | 77 | 0.2 | 4.3 | 6.6 |
| Corn oil | 100 g | 100 | 884 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| Cottonseed oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Cupuacu oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Enova cooking oil | 1 tbsp | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Flaxseed oil | 100 g | 100 | 884 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| French dressing | 1 tbsp | 16 | 67 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 6.3 |
| Goose fat | 1 tbsp | 13 | 117 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| Grapeseed oil | 100 g | 100 | 884 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 |
| Hazelnut oil | 1 tablespoon | 14 | 124 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Herring fish oil | 1 tbsp | 14 | 126 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 |
| Honey mustard dressing | 2 tbsp | 30 | 139 | 0.3 | 7.0 | 12.2 |
| Industrial shortening | 1 tbsp | 13 | 117 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 |
| Italian dressing | 1 tbsp | 15 | 36 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
What this shelf costs by weight
Across all 158 entries in fats & oils, the median food is 718 kcal per 100 g. A 27 g serving of that median food is about 194 kcal. The table above shows how far individual foods sit either side of that: on most shelves the spread between the lightest and the heaviest entry is larger than the difference between a small portion and a big one, which is why swapping the item often beats shrinking it.
Serving size and energy density are separate questions and both matter. A serving that looks generous on the plate can be cheap in calories; a small one can be expensive. Reading the two columns together — grams and kcal — is the whole trick.
Print this card
Fats & oils — portion card
A thumb · typical serving 27 g · about 124 kcal
- Coconut oil — 1 tablespoon, 14 g, 125 kcal
- Canola oil — 1 tablespoon, 14 g, 124 kcal
- Olive oil — 1 tablespoon, 14 g, 124 kcal
- Almond oil — 1 tablespoon, 14 g, 124 kcal
- Apricot kernel oil — 1 tablespoon, 14 g, 124 kcal
- Avocado oil — 100 g, 100 g, 884 kcal
- Babassu oil — 1 tbsp, 14 g, 124 kcal
- Bacon grease — 1 tsp, 4 g, 36 kcal
- Beef tallow — 1 tbsp, 13 g, 117 kcal
- Benecol light spread — 1 tablespoon, 14 g, 50 kcal
Weights from the USDA serving table. Cut along the edge of the box and stick it inside a cupboard door.
Where the gram figures come from
Most portion posters print a hand next to a number and leave you to trust it. The numbers on this page are measured instead. This site carries the USDA food_portion table baked in — the recorded weight of a cup of this, a slice of that, a three-ounce serving of the other, for thousands of foods — and each hand cue below is the median of the servings that match it.
- A palm — Protein foods — meat, poultry, fish, eggs. About 85 g, the median recorded 3 oz serving across meat, poultry, fish and seafood (500 foods).
- A fist — Vegetables and salad. About 132 g, the median recorded 1 cup serving across the vegetable shelf (333 foods).
- A cupped hand — Cooked grains, pasta, rice and other starches. About 157 g, the median recorded 1 cup serving across grains and pasta (132 foods).
- A thumb — Fats — oil, butter, nut butter, dressing. About 14 g, the median recorded 1 tablespoon serving across fats and oils (79 foods).
Your own hand scales with the rest of you, which is the entire point of the method: a larger person has a larger palm and needs more food, and a rule of thumb that travels with you beats a set of scales you will not carry. It is also, unavoidably, approximate. Hands vary in shape as well as size, dense foods and airy foods fill the same fist very differently, and nothing here has been measured on you.
Hand and plate cues are a rough estimating tool for general information, not a prescription and not medical advice. They say nothing about how much you personally need, which depends on body size, activity, age, pregnancy, medication and health conditions. If you are managing a condition, recovering from an eating disorder or following a prescribed diet, work with a clinician or a registered dietitian rather than a rule of thumb.
Source: USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy food_portion serving weights and per-100 g values · checked 2026-09-02
Other shelves
Fruit
Typical serving about 155 g, a fist cue.
Vegetables
Typical serving about 107 g, a fist cue.
Potatoes
Typical serving about 147 g, a cupped hand cue.
Eggs
Typical serving about 54 g, a palm cue.
Meat & poultry
Typical serving about 91 g, a palm cue.
Fish & seafood
Typical serving about 96 g, a palm cue.
Grains & pasta
Typical serving about 141 g, a cupped hand cue.
Bread
Typical serving about 34 g, a cupped hand cue.
The hand and plate method · Full food database
Frequently asked questions
How much is one portion of fats & oils?
The typical recorded serving on this shelf is about 27 g, which works out at roughly 124 kcal. The hand cue for this group is a thumb. Individual foods vary a lot, which is what the table on this page is for.
Where do the serving weights come from?
The USDA food_portion table baked into this site. 3 of the 28 foods listed here have a curated serving; the rest use the recorded serving closest to the shelf typical, and 5 have no recorded serving at all and are shown as 100 g.
Is a bigger portion worse?
No. It is a bigger portion. On this shelf the median food is 718 kcal per 100 g, so the same weight costs very different amounts depending on what you pick — which is usually a more useful lever than shrinking every serving.
Estimate now, correct later
Log the portion you think you had and adjust it in TempoLife when you weigh it — the app keeps both, so your guesses get better.