How many calories are in a guava?
A medium guava of about 100 g is roughly 68 kcal. That is denser than melon or papaya, and it buys something neither of them has: around 5 g of fibre per 100 g, roughly three times what the same weight of apple gives. Per calorie, guava is close to the most filling fruit you can buy.
Per portion
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 g flesh with skin | ~68 kcal | 2.6 g | 14 g | 1 g |
| 1 small guava (~60 g) | ~40 kcal | 1.6 g | 8.5 g | 0.6 g |
| 1 medium guava (~100 g) | ~68 kcal | 2.6 g | 14 g | 1 g |
| 1 large guava (~150 g) | ~100 kcal | 3.9 g | 21 g | 1.4 g |
| 1 cup diced (~165 g) | ~110 kcal | 4.3 g | 24 g | 1.6 g |
| 250 ml guava nectar | ~130–150 kcal | 0.5 g | 33 g | 0 g |
What changes the number
Size, more than anything else. A small Thai guava can be 60 g and a good Allahabad Safeda 180 g, so “one guava” covers 40 to 120 kcal. Pin that down before anything else.
Variety and skin. Pink and red flesh carries more pigment, not more energy, and varieties sit within a few kilocalories of each other. Much of the fibre and vitamin C is in and just under the skin, so peeling a guava is a real loss in a way peeling most fruit is not.
What it is turned into. Guava survives chaat masala, salt and chilli untouched. It does not survive processing:
- 250 ml juice or nectar: 130 to 150 kcal — two guavas’ worth of sugar, fibre strained out, none of the fullness
- Guava cheese or goiabada (perad): 300 to 350 kcal per 100 g, mostly added sugar
Where it fits in a deficit
Fibre is the whole argument. At about 5 g per 100 g, guava is the highest-fibre fruit in ordinary circulation, and fibre slows gastric emptying — so its fullness lasts in a way the water-based fullness of cucumber or melon does not. Two medium guavas are 135 kcal, 5 g of fibre and twenty minutes of chewing: good value on the satiety-per-calorie measure.
Protein is 2.6 g per 100 g, high for a fruit and still small in absolute terms — two guavas give about 5 g, a fifth of a pot of Greek yoghurt. It is a satiety food, not a protein source.
Vitamin C is the other outlier: in the region of 200 mg per 100 g, several times what the same weight of orange gives, so one guava covers a day’s requirement. That changes no arithmetic — no diet rests on a single fruit — but it makes guava easy to say yes to.
Seeds, and how much is a sensible portion
The hard seeds in the centre are edible and carry a large share of the fibre. Spitting them out discards most of the reason to eat the fruit; swallowed, they pass through intact, which is how insoluble fibre works.
Two limits follow. The seeds are hard enough to trouble crowns, fillings or braces; cutting around the seed core, or buying a low-seed Thai guava, solves that. And fibre adds up fast — four guavas at a sitting is 15 to 20 g, which if your usual intake is low produces wind and cramping rather than virtue.
One or two guavas, 70 to 140 kcal, is where the fruit works: enough fibre to change how long a snack holds you, not enough to upset anything. The same restraint suits papaya, with a third of the fibre and twice the laxative reputation. In a calorie deficit guava’s value is simple — it is one of the few fruits that reliably makes the next meal smaller.
Figures are typical values and vary by variety, size and preparation. General information, not medical advice.