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As a Registered Dietitian, a common question I get during my consultations is how to measure a recipe with different homemade ingredients, like chili.
Determining the portion size and the number of calories homemade chili has might feel like a challenging task. However, you can do it manually by using a spreadsheet, or now several apps can help you make this process easier.
A calorie tracking app (like MacroFactor) can help you determine how many calories and macros a bowl of homemade chili has. It can also help you figure out portion sizes in order to meal prep and store individual portions. Also, it can help you learn which ingredients to add, substitute or remove based on your goals.
In this article, you will learn the exact steps for calculating the calories in homemade chili. You will also learn tips on tracking calories in homemade chili to better suit your goals.
Tracking Calories In Homemade Chili: The Manual Method
The first method is to do it manually by using a spreadsheet and finding the nutritional value through a website like the US Department of Agriculture.
Here are the four simple steps for you to calculate the nutritional content of your homemade chili:
Step One: Create A Spreadsheet
Click to make a copy of this spreadsheet:
Before you start figuring out how many calories it has, you need to create a document to record everything.
You can create it in a spreadsheet or write it down on a piece of paper.
Step Two: Measure Everything
Now you need to measure all the ingredients.
I typically recommend measuring it in standard cooking units (cups, teaspoons, or tablespoons), but it is more accurate if you can measure the weight of each ingredient.
You can get a food scale like this one on Amazon, which will get the job done.
For example, if the recipe called for ½ a cup of black beans, you would place ½ of black beans on the food scale and then record the number on your spreadsheet.
Step Three: Use Website To Determine Calories and Macros
Once you measure every ingredient, it is time to write down the calories and the macros for each component. You can use this website to search for every food in your recipe.
- You use the search bar at the website to put the food you are searching for.
- Put the ingredient that you are looking for and hit search. There you will get a list of several foods that contain that ingredient. For example, if you put “beans” this is one of the search results.
- Select the food that goes according to the ingredient that you are using. For example, if you are using pinto beans for your homemade chili, select “beans, dry, pinto.” Always make sure that you choose the correct cooking method. In some of them, you will find the food “raw” and, in other cases, “cooked.” Once you click on the food, it will display the nutritional content.
- In the portion section, you can display the nutritional content either in 100 g of the food or in different measurements. Choose the one that is more appropriate for the amount in your recipe. In this case, it only displays the information for 100 g of food. Now it’s time to calculate the macros and calories. If you are using 100 g of food, use the content displayed. If you use 200 g of beans, multiply it by 2, and so on.
- Add the information in each column of your spreadsheet to display the information in a simpler format.
Step Four: Add Everything
When you have all the information for each of the foods in your homemade chili recipe, you add up everything to get the total calories, carbs, protein, fiber, and fats.
Tracking Calories In Homemade Chili: The Automated Method
Calculating your homemade chili manually can be a hassle. It might take more time than you are willing to spend. Thus, calorie tracking apps can help you speed up the process.
My calorie tracking app of choice is MacroFactor because it has the most extensive food database out of any other calorie app I’ve tested. It’s also extremely user-friendly, which is important if you’ve never tracked calories using an app before (read my complete review of MacroFactor if you’d like to learn more). Using this link gets you an extra week on your free trial (2 weeks total). Cancel any time before your trial ends without being charged.
Here is a step-by-step guide on using a tracking app to calculate your homemade chili. I used the recipe from The Recipe Critic as an example.
Step One: Go To Recipes
Click on the + sign at the bottom of the screen and select “Your Recipes.” There you will find your created recipes if you want to get back to them. However, we’ll be starting a new recipe from scratch.
Step Two: Create New Recipe
Click on the + sign at the top right corner to create a new recipe.
Step Three: Add Ingredients
You can either scan a food if it has a barcode or manually search for them. It will show all the foods that have that same word. For example, searching for “pinto beans” has the following search results.
Step Four: Select the Ingredient
Once you see the food that resembles what you are looking for, click on it.
Step Five: Modify The Content
If you click below the food, you can modify it if you want the food measured in grams, teaspoons, cups, ounces, pounds, or any other measurement. Select the one you find most suitable. Once you have it in the chosen measurement, add how much you added to the recipe.
Step Six: Add All Ingredients
Repeat the same steps with the rest of the ingredients. Once you have added them, click on the check mark on the top right corner to save the recipe. Now you have the calories for the entire recipe.
Step Seven: Modify The Servings
At the bottom of the screen, you can modify the servings either by weight or by the number of servings. For example, if you want eight servings for the entire recipe, put the number “8.”
Other Tips When Tracking Calories In Homemade Chili
Modify Ingredients
Once you have created the recipe, it is easier to adjust according to your goals.
For example, if you are on a weight loss journey, you might want to decrease high calories in foods like beans or potatoes and add more non-starchy veggies like mushrooms or carrots.
On the other hand, if you want to put some weight on, you might add more olive oil or add an extra ingredient like potatoes.
How To Store It?
Since you are making it in bulk, you might want to store them in individual portions, making them easier to grab and reheat. For example, if you divide the recipe into eight portions, place them in individual containers and store them in the freezer, hopefully in airtight containers.
Measure By Grams
If you don’t want to store it in individual portions and store it in bulk, meaning you take a couple of scoops for your mealtime. You can place the chili in a bowl and measure the grams in that portion size.
First, you need to weigh the entire recipe. Once you have that weight add it at the bottom of the screen under “weight” and put 1 serving size.
Once you want to log a food, swipe right on the recipe and click on log.
Click on the recipe and select grams.
Input how many grams was the bowl of chili, and there it will calculate how many calories and macros it has.
Track Every Additional Ingredient
Remember to track everything you put on top of your chili. For example, if you add some avocado or sour cream on top. Make sure to count those portions on your tracking app since they add on the calories and the macros.
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Figure Out What A “Serving” Of Chili Is?
The serving size depends on the calories and macros you need for each meal. If the homemade chili recipe has 1000 kcal, but you need 250 kcal per mealtime, divide the recipe into 4 servings. The same applies to macros. If the recipe has 60g of carbs and needs 30g in every meal, you split the recipe into two portions.
How To Track Other Homemade Foods
- How To Count Calories In Homemade Juice
- How To Count Calories In Homemade Soup
- How To Count Calories In Homemade Bread
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it: two ways to determine the calories in homemade chili.
If you want to learn more about chili, specifically on whether eating chili can help you put on muscle, then check out my article: Is Chili Good or Bad For Bodybuilding?
About The Author
Brenda Peralta is a Registered Dietitian and certified sports nutritionist. In addition to being an author for FeastGood.com, she fact checks the hundreds of articles published across the website to ensure accuracy and consistency of information.