Snacks & Kuih · Japan

How Many Calories in Melon Pan?

Also known as メロンパン, Melonpan, Melon Bread, Japanese Cookie Bun.

A soft sweet bun topped with a layer of cookie dough, scored in a crosshatch to look like a melon. Sold at every konbini, bakery and train station in Japan for 130 to 250 yen. No melon involved, apart from the occasional green-tinted version.

420kcal / 1 bun
A standard melon pan is about 420 calories. It weighs around 105g and is two things stacked: a 60g sweet bun at about 170 calories, and a 40g layer of butter and sugar cookie dough at about 190, plus the sugar sprinkled on top. That is more calories than a bowl of kitsune udon.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 bun (105g)AmountPer 100g
Calories420 kcal400 kcal
Protein8 g8 g
Carbs66 g63 g
Fat14 g13 g

Where the calories come from

Sweet bread dough60g
170 kcal
Cookie crust (butter, sugar, flour)40g
190 kcal
Granulated sugar topping8g
32 kcal
Egg wash and butter5g
30 kcal

The real talk

Melon pan is a cookie glued to a bread roll, and the calories are exactly what that sounds like. The bun underneath is a normal sweet roll, 60g and 170 calories. The crust is cookie dough made from butter, sugar and flour, 40g and 190 calories, and then a spoon of granulated sugar goes on top for another 30. A konbini melon pan with a 'buttery' crust is 400 to 450 calories, and the big bakery ones at 130g clear 500.

It has almost no protein, about 8g, and 66g of carbs, most of them sugar and white flour. Eaten as breakfast with a sweet coffee it is a 550 calorie start to the day that leaves you hungry by 10am. This is a common Japanese breakfast, a melon pan and a can of cafe au lait from the same konbini, and it is roughly the calories of a full teishoku with a fraction of the staying power.

The filled versions make it worse. A whipped cream melon pan, split and stuffed, is 520 to 580 calories. Chocolate chip crust adds 40. The 'ice cream melon pan' sold at tourist spots in Asakusa and Kobe is a warm bun with a scoop inside for 600 to 700. Compared with all of that, a plain small melon pan at 350 is the sensible one, if there is such a thing.

How many calories in 2, 3 or 4 buns?

How manyCaloriesProtein
1 bun420 kcal8 g
2 buns840 kcal16 g
3 buns1260 kcal24 g
4 buns1680 kcal32 g
5 buns2100 kcal40 g
6 buns2520 kcal48 g

How the portions compare

320 kcal
Mini melon pan (80g)
420 kcal
Standard melon pan (105g)
520 kcal
Large bakery melon pan (130g)

Melon Pan variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Mini konbini melon pan320 kcalAbout 80g
Standard melon pan420 kcalKonbini or bakery, about 105g
Chocolate chip melon pan460 kcalChips in the crust
Whipped cream melon pan550 kcalSplit and filled
Ice cream melon pan650 kcalTourist street version

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in a melon pan?
About 420 for a standard 105g bun. Mini ones are around 320, large bakery ones 500 or more, and cream-filled ones 550.
Is melon pan bad for you?
It is a dessert. About 66g of carbs, mostly sugar and white flour, 14g of fat, and only 8g of protein. As an occasional treat it is fine, as a daily breakfast it is 420 calories that do not keep you full.
Does melon pan contain melon?
No. The name comes from the crosshatched cookie crust that looks like a melon skin. Some green versions add melon flavouring, which changes nothing about the calories.
Melon pan or onigiri for breakfast?
Onigiri. Two onigiri are about 370 calories with the same fullness and less sugar than one 420 calorie melon pan. Add an egg and you are ahead on protein too.

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

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