Nutrition Comparison: Beef Vs Broccoli
Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of cooked beef versus broccoli (100g each) below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in beef and broccoli:
Beef is high in calories and broccoli has 88% less calories than beef – beef has 277 calories per 100 grams and broccoli has 34 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, beef is heavier in protein, much lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to broccoli per calorie. Beef has a macronutrient ratio of 38:0:62 and for broccoli, 28:65:7 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Beef | Broccoli | |
| Protein | 38% | 28% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 65% |
| Fat | 62% | 7% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Beef has less carbohydrates than broccoli – broccoli has 6.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Broccoli is a great source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than beef – broccoli has 2.6g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Beef has less sugar than broccoli – broccoli has 1.7g of sugar per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Beef is an excellent source of protein and it has 800% more protein than broccoli – beef has 25.4g of protein per 100 grams and broccoli has 2.8g of protein.
Beef is high in saturated fat and broccoli has 98% less saturated fat than beef – beef has 7.3g of saturated fat per 100 grams and broccoli has 0.11g of saturated fat.
Broccoli has less trans fat than beef – beef has 1.2g of trans fat per 100 grams and broccoli does not contain significant amounts.
Broccoli has less cholesterol than beef – beef has 88mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and broccoli does not contain significant amounts.
Broccoli is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has more Vitamin C than beef – broccoli has 89.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Broccoli has 933% more Vitamin A than beef – beef has 3ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and broccoli has 31ug of Vitamin A.
Beef and broccoli contain similar amounts of Vitamin D – beef has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and broccoli does not contain significant amounts.
Beef and broccoli contain similar amounts of Vitamin E – beef has 0.12mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and broccoli has 0.78mg of Vitamin E.
Broccoli is a great source of Vitamin K and it has 32 times more Vitamin K than beef – beef has 3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and broccoli has 101.6ug of Vitamin K.
Beef has more niacin and Vitamin B12, however, broccoli contains more folate. Both beef and broccoli contain significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6.
| Beef | Broccoli | |
| Thiamin | 0.051 MG | 0.071 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.176 MG | 0.117 MG |
| Niacin | 4.537 MG | 0.639 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.658 MG | 0.573 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.336 MG | 0.175 MG |
| Folate | 11 UG | 63 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.9 UG | ~ |
Broccoli is a great source of calcium and it has 34% more calcium than beef – beef has 35mg of calcium per 100 grams and broccoli has 47mg of calcium.
Beef is a great source of iron and it has 208% more iron than broccoli – beef has 2.3mg of iron per 100 grams and broccoli has 0.73mg of iron.
Both beef and broccoli are high in potassium. Broccoli has 15% more potassium than beef – beef has 275mg of potassium per 100 grams and broccoli has 316mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, beef has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than broccoli per 100 grams.
| Beef | Broccoli | |
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.056 G | 0.0215 G |
| Total | 0.056 G | 0.0215 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, beef has more linoleic acid than broccoli per 100 grams.
| Beef | Broccoli | |
| other omega 6 | 0.013 G | 0.006 G |
| linoleic acid | 0.39 G | 0.049 G |
| Total | 0.403 G | 0.055 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Beef (Beef, ground, 70% lean meat / 30% fat, patty, cooked, broiled) and Broccoli (Broccoli, raw) .
|
() | Daily Values (%) |
() | ||
| KCAL % | 5% | calories | 5% | KCAL % |
| G % | 5% | carbohydrates | 5% | G % |
| G % | 5% | dietary fiber | 5% | G % |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G |
| G % | 5% | total fat | 5% | G % |
| G % | 5% | saturated fat | 5% | G % |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G |
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G |
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G |
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG |
| MG % | 5% | sodium | 5% | MG % |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | ||
| UG % | 5% | Vitamin A | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | Vitamin C | 5% | MG % |
| IU % | 5% | Vitamin D | 5% | IU % |
| MG % | 5% | calcium | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | iron | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | magnesium | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | potassium | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% | MG % |
| UG % | 5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% | UG % |
| UG % | 5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | Vitamin E | 5% | MG % |
| UG % | 5% | Vitamin K | 5% | UG % |
| G % | 5% | protein | 5% | G % |
| UG % | 5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | choline | 5% | MG % |
| MG % | 5% | chlorine | 5% | MG % |
| UG % | 5% | chromium | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | copper | 5% | MG % |
| UG % | 5% | fluoride | 5% | UG % |
| UG % | 5% | iodine | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | manganese | 5% | MG % |
| UG % | 5% | molybdenum | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | phosphorus | 5% | MG % |
| UG % | 5% | selenium | 5% | UG % |
| MG % | 5% | zinc | 5% | MG % |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G |
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G |
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G |
| Food | Amount | Action |
| Beef | patty | |
| Broccoli | cup |
