How Many Calories Are in Chinese Steamed Dumplings?

Chinese dumplings, aka wontons, are packets of meat, vegetable or sweet filling inside light dough, served on their own or in soup. They may be steamed or fried — the healthiest option is steamed dumplings. Calories in these treats can vary significantly, according to their fillings.

Although the number of calories in steamed dumplings can vary quite a bit depending on the dumpling size and how they're filled, the general survey-based nutritional information of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a good place to start.

According to the USDA, a single medium steamed dumpling of 37 grams contains 41.8 calories, 1.7 g fat, 4.1 g carbohydrate, 0.4 g fiber, 0.9 g sugar and 2.5 g protein. This applies to a meat, poultry or seafood filling; data is not available for a vegetable-only filling.

The notable nutrient content in the aforementioned medium-size meat, poultry or seafood dumpling includes calcium (23 mg), magnesium (18 mg), phosphorus (106 mg), potassium (237 mg), selenium (14.8 mcg), zinc (1.4 mg), folate (15 mcg) and a very noteworthy 368 mg of sodium.

Remember: That sodium content is for one medium-size steamed dumpling, and the Department of Health and Human Services recommends limiting your daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day. Increase your serving size to a typical four dumplings, and you're looking at nutrition highlights of about 148 calories, 6.8 g fat, 16.4 g carbohydrate, 1.6 g fiber, 3.6 g sugar and 10 g protein, plus a suddenly more impressive 1,472 mg of sodium.

Read more: The Sodium Content of Chinese Food

It may come as a surprise to find out just how drastically your choice of dumpling fillings can affect not only the calorie count but also the carbs in dumplings, along with their sodium, protein and fat contents. Transparent nutrition information from PF Chang's makes the comparison much easier, while highlighting the fact that a typical serving size usually consists of four to six Chinese dumplings — not just one.

Consider the calories in pork dumplings. A modest serving of four steamed pork dumplings contains the following highlights in their nutrition data:

• 280 calories
• 13 g fat (including 5 g saturated fat)
• 25 g carbs
• 1 g fiber
• 4 g sugar
• 13 g protein
• 720 mg sodium

Now, note the difference in a serving of four steamed shrimp dumplings. The shrimp dumplings have about 30 percent fewer calories, about 30 percent more protein, less fiber (although the amount of fiber in steamed pork dumplings isn't much) and more than 20 percent higher sodium content.

• 190 calories
• 4 g fat (including 1 g saturated fat)
• 20 g carbs
• 0 g fiber
• 4 g sugar
• 17 g protein
• 890 mg sodium

Read more: Chinese Foods That Are High in Protein

Annie Chun's branded mini-wontons provide another chance to compare fillings head-to-head. These petite frozen appetizers come in serving sizes of four 36-gram pieces — roughly equal to one of the medium-size dumplings already described.

According to the USDA, nutritional highlights from a serving of Annie Chun's chicken and cilantro mini-wontons include the following:

• 50 calories
• 1 g fat
• 9 g carbs
• 1 g fiber
• 1 g sugar
• 2 g protein
• 150 mg sodium

You might intuitively expect a veggie-only version to be healthier, but that isn't always the case. Consider these nutritional highlights from Annie Chun's spicy vegetable mini-wontons, again per the USDA:

• 60 calories
• 1 g fat
• 11 g carbs
• 1 g fiber
• 1 g sugar
• 2 g protein
• 170 mg sodium

Although an increase of 10 calories per serving isn't earthshaking, it's the sort of thing that can add up over time — especially when you recognize that it represents a 20 percent increase overall.