Short answer: one medium homemade roti — 6–7 inches across, made from about 30 g of atta — has roughly 100–130 calories. A small phulka drops to around 75–95; a large tandoor-style roti climbs to 160–200. The flour is simple math; size and ghee are the variables.
Why a 3-ingredient food has such a wide range
Roti is just whole wheat flour, water, and salt. What changes the calories:
- Size of the atta ball. A 30 g ball of dough (a medium roti) carries about 105 calories of flour; a 40–45 g ball (a large tandoor roti) carries 140–150. Most of the variation between homes is here — not in the recipe.
- Ghee or oil on top. One teaspoon of ghee brushed over a hot roti adds roughly 40–45 calories. Two ghee-smeared rotis = nearly 90 extra calories that "one roti = 100 calories" trackers silently miss.
- Homemade vs restaurant/tandoor. Tandoori rotis are bigger (60–80 g) and often brushed with ghee or oil. A dhaba roti can easily be double the calories of your home one.
- Flour type. Whole wheat vs refined maida barely changes calories — whole wheat just brings more fiber.
Roti calories & macros
Base numbers anchored to USDA FoodData Central's entry for wheat roti/chapati: about 267 kcal, 9.3 g protein, 52.1 g carbs and 2.1 g fat per 100 g (fdc.nal.usda.gov). Ranges below account for real size variation.
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 small roti/phulka (~30 g) | 75–95 | 2.5–3 g | 15–18 g | 0.5–1.5 g |
| 1 medium roti/chapati (~40 g, 6–7") | 100–130 | 3–4 g | 20–25 g | 1–2.5 g |
| 1 medium roti + 1 tsp ghee | 140–175 | 3–4 g | 20–25 g | 6–7 g |
| 1 large tandoori roti (~60 g) | 160–200 | 5–6 g | 32–40 g | 2–4 g |
| Tandoori roti with ghee brushing (~70 g) | 200–260 | 5–7 g | 35–45 g | 7–11 g |
| 100 g (about 2½ rotis) | 260–280 | 9–10 g | 50–54 g | 2–3 g |
Note the last two rows: if you eat at restaurants and log "roti" as the 100-calorie homemade version, you'll undercount by hundreds of calories a day.
Roti vs paratha vs naan
The real question behind most roti-calorie searches: how does it compare to the rest of the bread basket?
- Plain paratha (~60 g, pan-fried with a little oil): 170–220 kcal — heavier than roti purely because of the cooking fat.
- Restaurant tandoori naan (80–100 g): 270–340 kcal — bigger, plus yogurt/milk in the dough.
- Roti: still the lightest option, because it's the smallest and contains no added fat.
Same logic as chicken karahi calories: the protein and the bread are rarely the problem — the added fat is.
Is roti good for weight loss?
Roti isn't a weight-loss food or a weight-gain food; it's a calorie delivery vehicle of 100–130 kcal per unit. Whole wheat roti does carry around 4–5 g of fiber per 100 g (USDA), which slows digestion, and like most whole-wheat flatbreads it is generally considered to have a moderate glycemic response. That fiber and moderate response mean rotis keep you fuller than the same calories of white bread.
But do the math: 6 medium rotis ≈ 600–780 kcal before any salan, daal or oil. The strategy that works is the one we covered in our calorie-deficit guide — fix your portion count, and make each roti count for more by pairing it with protein (how much protein you actually need).
How to track rotis without guessing
Here's where it gets practical. In CalsFlow, you'd type:
"2 medium homemade rotis + 1 cup daal"
CalsFlow estimates the calories and macros — and shows its assumptions: that each roti is ~40 g, plain, no ghee. If your rotis are tandoor-sized or you brushed them with ghee, adjust those assumptions and the estimate updates. That editable-assumption step is what separates a real number from a lookup-table guess.
Pro tip worth exactly one kitchen scale: weigh your atta dough balls once. A 30 g ball makes a medium roti worth ~105–110 kcal. After that, you can log by ball weight without weighing anything again — your hands learn the size.
FAQs
How many calories are in 1 roti? A medium homemade roti (~40 g): 100–130 kcal. Add ~40–45 for a teaspoon of ghee on top.
How many calories are in 2 rotis? 200–260 kcal for plain homemade mediums; 280–350 if both are ghee-smeared.
Is roti better than rice for weight loss? Per 100 g, cooked white rice (~130 kcal) looks lighter than roti (~267 kcal) — but nobody eats them in equal weights. Per typical serving they're closer, and roti's fiber generally keeps you fuller. Either can fit a diet; portion count is what decides it.
Does ghee on roti make it much worse? It adds ~40–45 kcal per teaspoon without changing fullness much. If you love the taste, keep it and log it — hidden calories are the problem, not ghee itself.
How many rotis should I eat per day? There's no blanket number — it depends on your total calorie target. Work backwards from how many calories you should eat: a 1,800-calorie day might fit 4–5 rotis comfortably, a 2,500-calorie active day might fit 8+.
The bottom line
Roti: 100–130 kcal per medium homemade roti, 260–280 per 100 g, mostly carbs with a few grams of protein and real fiber. Size and ghee are the only variables that matter. Eating rotis tonight? Describe the meal in CalsFlow, adjust the size and ghee assumptions to match your plate, and get your real number in seconds.
CalsFlow provides nutrition estimates, not medical advice.