Eggplant is a versatile, low-calorie vegetable that also contributes a useful amount of potassium to your daily intake. This free calculator estimates the potassium content of your eggplant portion using average USDA reference values for raw and cooked eggplant.
Enter your portion size in grams, ounces, or cups, choose whether the eggplant is raw or cooked, and the tool instantly returns milligrams of potassium, the percent of your daily value, and a comparison to a medium banana. The step-by-step breakdown shows every conversion so you can see exactly how the result is calculated. For the most accurate results, use a digital kitchen scale rather than relying on volume estimates, since chopped eggplant can pack differently into a measuring cup.
This tool is useful for meal planning, kidney-conscious diets, balanced nutrition tracking, and for anyone curious about the micronutrient content of the foods they eat.
🍆 Eggplant Potassium Calculator
Estimate the potassium in your eggplant portion using USDA reference values.
Enter a portion and press Calculate to see results.
Step-by-Step Guide
Select the form of eggplant you are using — raw or cooked (boiled and drained). Choose the unit that matches your measurement: grams, ounces, or cups. Enter the portion size, and adjust the daily value target only if your care team has given you a different potassium goal; the default is the 4,700 mg target used for general healthy adults. Click Calculate Potassium to see milligrams, percent of daily value, and banana equivalents. Use Reset to clear the form and start over.
Best practice: Weigh the eggplant on a digital kitchen scale before cooking for the most reliable result. Volume estimates are a useful approximation, but chopped eggplant can pack differently into a measuring cup.
Formula Explained
Potassium is estimated with a simple proportion: potassium in mg = (portion weight in grams ÷ 100) × potassium per 100 grams. Raw eggplant contains about 229 mg of potassium per 100 g, while boiled and drained eggplant contains about 123 mg per 100 g because some potassium leaches into the cooking water.
If you enter ounces, the tool first converts to grams using 1 oz = 28.3495 g. If you enter cups, it uses the average chopped-cup weight: 82 g for raw and 99 g for cooked eggplant. The percent of daily value is then potassium ÷ daily target × 100.
Values are based on USDA FoodData Central data. You can look up individual entries at USDA FoodData Central.
Reference Values
| Eggplant form | Potassium per 100 g | Typical serving | Potassium per serving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw, cubed | 229 mg | 1 cup (82 g) | ≈ 188 mg |
| Boiled, drained | 123 mg | 1 cup (99 g) | ≈ 122 mg |
For context, a medium banana has about 422 mg of potassium. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements provides more detail on potassium recommendations at NIH Potassium Fact Sheet.
Worked Examples
Example 1: 250 g of raw eggplant. Using 229 mg per 100 g, potassium = (250 ÷ 100) × 229 = 572.5 mg. Against a 4,700 mg target, that is about 12.2% of the daily value.
Example 2: 1 cup of cooked, drained eggplant. A cooked cup weighs roughly 99 g, so potassium = 0.99 × 123 = 121.8 mg. That is about 2.6% of the daily value and less than one-third of a banana's potassium.
Pro Tips & Common Mistakes
- Choose raw or cooked correctly. Boiling lowers the potassium density, so mixing up the two can overestimate potassium by nearly double.
- Potassium leaches into cooking water. If you boil eggplant and discard the water, the result is lower; if the water is used in a soup or sauce, the potassium is partly retained.
- Salted eggplant affects sodium, not potassium. This calculator only estimates potassium content.
- For medical diets, such as chronic kidney disease, confirm your personal potassium target with your doctor or dietitian; it may be much lower than the general 4,700 mg goal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is eggplant a high-potassium vegetable? No, it is considered a moderate potassium food. Raw eggplant has less potassium per 100 g than potatoes, spinach, or bananas, but it still contributes meaningfully to daily intake, especially in larger portions.
Why does cooked eggplant have less potassium than raw? Boiling causes water-soluble minerals like potassium to leach into the cooking water. If you drain the eggplant after cooking, the potassium content is lower; if the cooking liquid is consumed, more potassium is retained.