Rice Meals · Korea

How Many Calories in Kimbap?

Also known as 김밥, Gimbap, Korean Seaweed Rice Roll, Kim Bap.

Kimbap is the seaweed and rice roll filled with egg, ham, pickled radish, carrot and spinach, sold sliced into 8 to 10 pieces at every bunsik shop and convenience store.

400kcal / 1 roll
A standard roll of kimbap is about 400 calories. FatSecret Korea lists Barunkim Seonsaeng at 393 for a 230g roll and CU vegetable kimbap at 356 for 272g, while a Kimbap Cheonguk roll is 485 for 300g. Each slice is 40 to 50 calories. Tuna kimbap with mayo runs about 520, and cheese or bulgogi rolls 550 to 570.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 roll (240g)AmountPer 100g
Calories400 kcal167 kcal
Protein13 g5 g
Carbs58 g24 g
Fat13 g5 g

Where the calories come from

Seasoned rice150g
220 kcal
Sesame oil in rice5g
45 kcal
Egg strip and ham45g
80 kcal
Crab stick15g
15 kcal
Pickled radish, carrot, spinach40g
20 kcal
Dried seaweed sheet3g
10 kcal

The real talk

About 150g of the roll is rice, and that rice is seasoned with sesame oil and salt before it goes anywhere near the seaweed. That is 220 calories from rice plus 45 from the sesame oil, so 265 of the 400 is there before a single filling. The egg strip, ham and crab stick together are about 95. The pickled radish, carrot and spinach are 20.

Fillings change the number a lot. Tuna kimbap is tuna mixed with mayonnaise, and the mayo alone is 90 to 100 calories, which is why Kimbap Cheonguk lists it at 570 for a 300g roll. Cheese kimbap adds a 60 calorie slice. Bulgogi kimbap adds sweet marinated beef for about 150. Vegetable kimbap with no ham or egg is the low end at 355.

The trap is the second roll. At 3,500 to 4,500 won a roll it is cheap enough that two rolls with a cup of tteokbokki is a normal order, and that is 1,170 calories for a snack that felt light because it was cold and cut into pieces. One roll and a bowl of eomuk broth is 500 and does the same job.

How many calories in 2, 3 or 4 rolls?

How manyCaloriesProtein
1 roll400 kcal13 g
2 rolls800 kcal26 g
3 rolls1200 kcal39 g
4 rolls1600 kcal52 g
5 rolls2000 kcal65 g
6 rolls2400 kcal78 g

How the portions compare

355 kcal
Vegetable kimbap roll
400 kcal
Standard roll
520 kcal
Tuna mayo roll

Kimbap variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Vegetable kimbap (CU, 272g)356 kcalNo ham or egg
Standard kimbap400 kcalEgg, ham, crab stick
Kimbap Cheonguk roll (300g)485 kcalBigger roll
Tuna kimbap (300g)570 kcalTuna with mayonnaise

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

Is kimbap good for weight loss?
One roll is a reasonable 400 calorie meal with 13g protein. The problem is that it is easy to eat two, and tuna or cheese versions add 100 to 170 each.
How many calories in one piece of kimbap?
About 40 to 50 per slice, with 8 to 10 slices in a standard roll.
Which kimbap has the most calories?
Tuna mayo, cheese and bulgogi kimbap are the highest at 520 to 570 per roll. Vegetable kimbap is the lowest at around 355.
Is convenience store kimbap lower in calories?
Usually, because the rolls are smaller: CU and GS25 rolls are 200 to 270g and 290 to 360 calories, versus 400 to 485 for a bunsik shop roll.

Related foods

See all Rice Meals calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical restaurant or pojangmacha serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on fatsecret.kr: 바르다김선생 393 kcal/230g, CU 야채김밥 356 kcal/272g, 김밥천국 485 kcal/300g; 400 used for a standard 240g roll. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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