Calories in Baked Beans, Pasta Sauce and Pesto

By NYUS Inc. · Published 27 October 2026

Baked beans, pasta sauce, pesto, cheese sauce and tomato sauce each have their own records in USDA FoodData Central, and the record behind a number matters. This guide gives six reference rows from USDA FoodData Central, each with the cup or serving weight USDA prints on the record. They are generic US records, not a brand and not a recipe from your kitchen, and Indian food tables (IFCT 2017) have no baked beans, pasta sauce, pesto, cheese sauce or tomato sauce row at all.

The short answer

By the USDA records below, one cup (254 g) of canned plain or vegetarian baked beans is about 239 kcal, and one cup (253 g) of home-prepared baked beans about 392 kcal. A 1/2 cup serving (132 g) of ready-to-serve marinara pasta sauce is about 66 kcal, and a cup (245 g) of canned tomato sauce about 59 kcal. A quarter cup (63 g) of refrigerated pesto is about 263 kcal, and a quarter cup (63 g) of ready-to-serve cheese sauce about 110 kcal. Our reading: per 100 g the rows run from 24 kcal (tomato sauce) to 418 kcal (pesto), so the sauce you choose changes the number a lot, and the two baked bean records differ by 61 kcal per 100 g (94 against 155); the home-prepared record prints 5.15 g of fat per 100 g and the canned one 0.37 g.

Calories per portion

Each figure is our arithmetic: kcal per 100 g times the grams in the portion, divided by 100, rounded to the nearest kcal with half rounding up. Every portion weight is USDA's, printed on each record page.

The sums: pesto 418 × 63 / 100 = 263.34, so 263 kcal; home-prepared baked beans 155 × 253 / 100 = 392.15, so 392; canned baked beans 94 × 254 / 100 = 238.76, so 239; cheese sauce 174 × 63 / 100 = 109.62, so 110; marinara 50 × 132 / 100 = 66 kcal exactly; canned tomato sauce 24 × 245 / 100 = 58.8, so 59. Protein, fat and carbohydrate are the same arithmetic on the per 100 g figures, rounded to 0.1 g with half rounding up.

What stands out in the numbers

• Per 100 g the rows run from 24 to 418 kcal: pesto 418, cheese sauce 174, home-prepared baked beans 155, canned baked beans 94, marinara 50 and tomato sauce 24.
• The two baked beans records differ. The home-prepared record has 5.15 g of fat per 100 g and the canned plain or vegetarian record has 0.37 g, as printed.
• Fat explains the pesto. The pesto record prints 37.6 g of fat per 100 g, about 23.7 g in a 63 g quarter cup, by our arithmetic; the marinara record prints 1.61 g per 100 g.
• Protein per cup of baked beans is about 12.1 g for the canned record and 14.0 g for the home-prepared one, by our arithmetic; this is food data, not a target.

Why these are reference rows, not your tin or jar

• Generic US records. The names are USDA's record names. This page uses the unbranded rows only; USDA also lists many brand-named pesto and sauce records, which we do not use. A sauce from an Indian brand or your own recipe differs.
• Plain or vegetarian baked beans. USDA also lists baked beans with pork, with beef and with franks; this page uses the plain or vegetarian canned record and the home-prepared record only.
• USDA's own notes. The record pages mark the protein and fat of the canned baked beans "Aggregated data involving combinations of data with only source codes 1 and 12 and/or 13", the protein and fat of the pasta sauce and pesto records "Analytical", and the energy of the cheese sauce "Manufacturer supplied; Calculated by manufacturer or unknown if analytical or calculated". The protein and fat of the home-prepared baked beans carry no note.
• Cup and spoon sizes are USDA's. A heaped cup holds more than a level one, and a jar serving is whatever you pour; weigh when you can and scale from the per 100 g column.
• For a packaged product, the pack wins. This page uses no pack labels, so it does not mix them with the six records.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log the grams, not "a serving". A 150 g helping of canned baked beans is 94 × 150 / 100 = 141 kcal by our arithmetic.
• Log the pasta, bread or rice separately. Our cooked rice, pasta and noodles guide gives a cup of cooked pasta, and our bread guide gives a slice.
• Add oil and cheese on top. Our spoon guide gives a level teaspoon of oil or ghee, and our cheese guide gives a slice.
• Do not mix sources inside one day. If you log a tin or a jar from its own pack, keep to the pack.

Where NYUS fits (our app)

We make NYUS, so read this as ours. NYUS is an AI fitness and nutrition coach in early access on Android, with no ads and no data selling. You log foods yourself by searching 8,900+ Indian and global foods or by barcode, and a weekly check-in adjusts your calories, macros and step goal once enough is logged. Barcode coverage of Indian packaged foods is not complete, so search by name when a scan finds nothing.

What this page leaves out

• A calorie, protein or fat target, and any claim about what these foods do to your weight or health: we have not looked up one for any person, so we give none. If you have a medical condition, ask your doctor or dietitian.
• Any named brand, pack label or FSSAI figure: not used, so the page does not mix label numbers with the records above.
• Baked beans with pork, beef or franks, other tomato sauces and pastes, Alfredo and other cream sauces, curries, chutneys and ketchup: not covered here. Ketchup is in our spreads and sauces guide.
• An IFCT 2017 comparison: IFCT 2017 has no baked beans, pasta sauce, pesto, cheese sauce or tomato sauce row (we searched all 585 pages of the PDF on 27 Oct 2026 for baked bean, marinara, pesto, pasta sauce, spaghetti, tomato sauce, cheese sauce, tomato puree, tomato paste, canned, tinned and sauce, and found no food row).
• Nutrients beyond energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate, including sodium: not covered here.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171579 (Sauce, pesto, ready-to-serve, refrigerated): Energy 418 kcal, protein 9.83 g, total fat 37.6 g, carbohydrate 10.1 g per 100 g; household portion printed on the record: 0.25 cup 63 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 173731 (Beans, baked, home prepared): Energy 155 kcal, protein 5.54 g, total fat 5.15 g, carbohydrate 21.6 g per 100 g; household portion: 1 cup 253 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 175182 (Beans, baked, canned, plain or vegetarian): Energy 94 kcal, protein 4.75 g, total fat 0.37 g, carbohydrate 21.1 g per 100 g; household portion: 1 cup 254 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171191 (Sauce, cheese, ready-to-serve): Energy 174 kcal, protein 6.71 g, total fat 13.3 g, carbohydrate 6.83 g per 100 g; household portion: 0.25 cup 63 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171192 (Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve): Energy 50 kcal, protein 1.39 g, total fat 1.61 g, carbohydrate 7.43 g per 100 g; household portion: 1 serving 1/2 cup 132 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170054 (Tomato products, canned, sauce): Energy 24 kcal, protein 1.2 g, total fat 0.3 g, carbohydrate 5.31 g per 100 g; household portion: 1 cup 245 g (read 27 Oct 2026).
• ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), PDF searched on 27 Oct 2026 for baked beans and sauce terms: no food row found.
• nyus.in, the NYUS landing page, read on 27 Oct 2026 for the app statements in the NYUS section and the CTA.

The per portion figures, the sums, the rounding, the 150 g example, the comparisons and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own arithmetic or opinion, not from USDA. The portion weights in the table are USDA's, printed on the record pages above. The names in the first column are USDA's record names.

Frequently asked questions