Diwali Sweets Calories Chart: Kaju Katli, Laddoo & More
Calories in 14 Diwali sweets and 9 namkeen per piece, lower-calorie swaps, and a Dhanteras-to-Bhai Dooj plan to avoid weight gain.
EZMeal team
6 min read
Most Diwali sweets have 90–200 kcal per piece. Kaju katli is one of the lightest (about 65 kcal a piece), while besan laddoo, rasmalai and gajar halwa sit near the top (180–200 kcal). Two or three pieces a day is roughly the same as one extra meal — easy to enjoy if you plan the rest of the day around it.
Diwali 2026 runs from Dhanteras on 6 November to Diwali on 8 November and Bhai Dooj on 11 November. That is a week of gifted mithai boxes, office parties and family visits, and it's easy to gain a kilo or two without noticing.
You don't need to say no to every laddoo. This guide gives you the numbers — calories per piece for the most common sweets and namkeen — and a simple plan for the festive week so you can enjoy it without starting November on the back foot.
Diwali sweets calorie chart
Calories per typical shop-bought piece. Sizes vary a lot between halwais, so treat these as estimates (±15%). The last column shows roughly how long a 65 kg adult would need to walk briskly (about 4 kcal a minute) to burn it off.
Sweet | Typical portion | ≈ kcal | ≈ Brisk walk (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Kaju katli | 1 piece (15 g) | 65 | 16 |
Peda | 1 piece (20 g) | 90 | 23 |
Dry-fruit laddoo / date roll (no sugar) | 1 piece (25 g) | 100 | 25 |
Milk barfi | 1 piece (25 g) | 110 | 28 |
Rasgulla | 1 piece with some syrup (40 g) | 120 | 30 |
Kalakand | 1 piece (30 g) | 120 | 30 |
Soan papdi | 1 piece (25 g) | 130 | 33 |
Jalebi | 1 medium (25 g) | 130 | 33 |
Gulab jamun | 1 piece with syrup (40 g) | 150 | 38 |
Mysore pak | 1 piece (25 g) | 150 | 38 |
Motichoor laddoo | 1 medium (35 g) | 170 | 43 |
Besan laddoo | 1 medium (35 g) | 180 | 45 |
Rasmalai | 1 piece with rabri (60 g) | 190 | 48 |
Gajar halwa | ½ katori (75 g) | 200 | 50 |
Squeezing the syrup out of a rasgulla or gulab jamun cuts roughly 30–40 kcal.
Namkeen and snacks calorie chart
Sweets get the blame, but fried namkeen often adds more calories — it's easy to eat a few handfuls while chatting.
Snack | Typical portion | ≈ kcal | ≈ Brisk walk (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
Chakli | 1 piece | 80 | 20 |
Roasted makhana | 25 g (1 bowl) | 90 | 23 |
Kaju (plain roasted) | 10 pieces (15 g) | 90 | 23 |
Mathri | 1 piece (20 g) | 100 | 25 |
Roasted chana | 30 g (a handful) | 110 | 28 |
Namak pare | 30 g (a handful) | 150 | 38 |
Aloo bhujia | 30 g (a handful) | 165 | 41 |
Fried masala peanuts | 30 g (a handful) | 170 | 43 |
Samosa | 1 medium | 250 | 63 |
A handful of bhujia has about the same calories as a besan laddoo.
Lower-calorie picks and smart swaps
If you're choosing from a mixed box, these choices save the most calories for the least sacrifice.
Instead of | ≈ kcal | Pick | ≈ kcal | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 besan laddoo | 180 | 2 pieces kaju katli | 130 | 50 |
1 rasmalai | 190 | 1 rasgulla, syrup squeezed | 85 | 105 |
1 gulab jamun | 150 | 1 peda | 90 | 60 |
½ katori gajar halwa | 200 | ¼ katori gajar halwa + 1 bowl curd | 190 | Same calories, far more protein and fullness |
30 g aloo bhujia | 165 | 25 g roasted makhana | 90 | 75 |
1 samosa | 250 | 30 g roasted chana | 110 | 140 |
Sweetened chai with mithai | — | Unsweetened chai with mithai | — | About 40 kcal per cup |
Three habits that matter more than any swap:
Pick one sweet you really love per occasion instead of tasting everything in the box.
Use a plate. Eating straight from the box or the namkeen bowl makes portions invisible.
Re-gift or share boxes. Keeping five open boxes at home for a week is the biggest trap.
The festive-week plan: Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj
The idea is simple: eat normally and lightly on regular days so the big days have room. You don't need to count every calorie — just follow the rule for each day.
Day | Date (2026) | What usually happens | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
Week before | 1–5 Nov | Office parties, gift boxes arrive | Normal home meals; 1 sweet a day max; walk 30–45 min daily |
Dhanteras | Fri 6 Nov | Shopping, eating out | Protein-rich breakfast and lunch so you aren't starving while out |
Choti Diwali | Sat 7 Nov | Cooking and visits | Light lunch (dal, sabzi, curd); taste-test sweets in small bites only |
Diwali | Sun 8 Nov | Puja, family dinner, sweets | Enjoy it — choose 2–3 sweets you love, keep the namkeen bowl away |
Govardhan Puja | Tue 10 Nov | Annakut, leftovers | Back to normal meals; give away leftover mithai |
Bhai Dooj | Wed 11 Nov | Family lunch | One festive meal, then a light dinner |
After | 12 Nov onward | Boxes still around | Return to your usual plan; extra water and a daily walk for a week |
A kilo gained over the festival is mostly water and salt from rich food. If you return to normal eating quickly, much of it goes within a week.
If you have diabetes
Mithai is concentrated sugar, so portion and timing matter more than the type of sweet.
Eat sweets right after a meal, not on an empty stomach, so the sugar rise is slower.
Pair them with protein or fibre — curd, roasted chana, salad — rather than eating them alone with tea.
"Sugar-free" mithai isn't calorie-free. Most is still made with khoya, ghee and nuts, and some sweeteners cause bloating in larger amounts.
Keep your usual medicines and meal timings. Don't skip meals to "save room".
Check your sugar more often during the festive week, and ask your doctor before changing your diet or medicines.
FAQ
How many calories are in 1 kaju katli?
About 60–70 kcal for a standard 15 g piece, which makes it one of the lighter Indian sweets per piece. It's dense, though, so 4–5 pieces add up quickly.
How many calories are in 1 gulab jamun?
About 150 kcal for a medium gulab jamun with syrup (around 40 g). Squeezing out the syrup saves roughly 30–40 kcal.
Which Diwali sweet has the lowest calories?
Per piece, kaju katli, peda and sugar-free dry-fruit laddoos or date rolls are among the lowest (65–100 kcal). A rasgulla with the syrup squeezed out is also light, at about 85 kcal.
How can I avoid gaining weight during Diwali?
Plan around the big days: keep regular meals light and protein-rich, pick 2–3 sweets you really love on Diwali itself, keep fried namkeen away from where you sit, walk daily, and give away extra mithai boxes.
Is homemade mithai healthier than shop-bought?
Often, because you control the sugar and ghee — you can cut sugar by a quarter in most recipes without much difference in taste. But calories are still high, so portion size matters just as much.
How long does it take to lose Diwali weight gain?
If you return to normal eating, much of the 1–2 kg gained over a festive week is water and salt and usually goes within 1–2 weeks. Any real fat gain takes longer and needs a steady routine.
Sources
ICMR-NIN — Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT 2017), for base ingredient values used in the estimates
This article is general information for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take regular medication, speak to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet.
