Dragon roll sushi is one of the most beloved sushi out there. Being a tasty bite-sized meal, it should not be surprising that sushi lovers can keep on munching on this treat.
However, as you might already know, a good thing can become a bad thing that way, and that might get you asking how much dragon roll sushi is too much dragon roll sushi?
One way to answer that is to get up close and personal with the dragon roll, which is what we will be doing today. Today, let’s talk about dragon roll sushi’s calories and nutrition facts. There is a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in!
Dragon Roll Sushi: Calories and Nutrition Facts
Before we start, it would be best to keep in mind that the following things we will be talking about today are only general estimates.
Different dragon rolls have different ingredients. Additionally, there are a variety of ways to make them.
Of course, we can’t also forget that different people would likely prepare this roll differently. In other words, no two dragon rolls are exactly the same, and we could only get the exact numbers if we know the exact details.
Today, we will be giving you are general idea about the numbers involved. However, if you are trying to follow a diet or have any health concerns, it would still be best to talk with a professional.
How Many Calories Does a Dragon Roll Have?
Generally, a dragon roll (i.e., eight pieces of this sushi) has around 500 calories.
There are many things to consider when discussing how many calories one needs in a day. Some of the things we would need to note are one’s gender, age, height, and weight.
Approximately, though, one needs around 1,600 to 3,000 calories a day. If you want something more specific to you, you can check out this calorie calculator here.
Does that mean you can eat a full roll and more all to yourself in a day? Well, let’s answer that next.
Serving Size: How Many Dragon Rolls Should You Eat?
You can eat handfuls of sushi occasionally and not have any problem. However, it might be best to eat only 2 to 3 pieces of sushi per serving.
A whole roll might only have around 500 calories. Not enough to reach the lower range. You might ask why it is not okay to eat more then.
Well, that’s because that’s not all we have to note. Let’s look at the other details to understand this serving size better.
How Much Fat Does a Dragon Roll Have?
On average, this roll has around 22.3 grams of fat. At a glance, this number might not look a lot, but we are not to take lots of fat in the first place. That is if we want to stay in the healthy range.
Fats, in general, should only make up around 20% to 35% of one’s total calorie intake in a day. If we are talking about a 2000-calorie diet, you only want around 44 to 78 grams of fat.
If you want something more specific, you might want to use this ideal fat intake calculator.
With that, having a full roll might not be the healthiest choice. While it will not hurt every once in a while, it will have an effect on your health if done often.
How Much Cholesterol Does a Dragon Roll Have?
On average, this roll has around 140 milligrams of cholesterol.
Generally, you only want around 300 milligrams of cholesterol. Lower even if you have health issues. Looking at how much of this lipid this roll has, having a full roll is not ideal.
Not all rolls are this high in cholesterol, though. Many rolls don’t have much of this lipid. Dragon rolls, however, have shrimp and eel, and these seafood are high in cholesterol.
If you decide to make a vegan or vegetarian dragon roll, the cholesterol levels would likely decrease drastically.
How Much Sodium Does a Dragon Roll Have?
Some argue that sushi has lots of sodium. On the other hand, some say they don’t.
The truth is, both are probably true. Not in the same sushi, of course. However, some sushi are really high in sodium, while others are not. Let’s take a look at where the dragon roll falls.
On average, a dragon roll has around 1,101.4 milligrams of sodium.
Many experts agree that a person should only have around 2300 milligrams of sodium on a daily basis. Looking at this number, we can say that this roll falls on the former.
It is one of the sushi with lots of sodium. Another reason why you don’t want to have too much of this treat.
How Much Carbohydrates Does a Dragon Roll Have?
On average, a roll has around 50.7 grams of carbohydrates. Again, there are many things to consider when discussing how many carbs one needs in a day. For one, if one is trying to gain or lose weight.
Generally, though, carbs should make around 45% to 65% of your calorie intake. As you can see, it is almost double the fat you should have.
If you want help with your carb goal, you might want to check this carb calculator.
How Much Protein Does a Dragon Roll Have?
On average, this roll has around 20 grams of protein. Again, there are many things to consider when discussing how much protein one needs in a day. Some might require more. Some might need less.
Generally, one needs 0.8 to 1.8 grams of this macronutrient per kilogram of one’s body weight. To better know how much protein you need in a day and better fit this roll in your diet, you can use this protein calculator.
Summarizing the Calorie Count and Nutritional Information of the Dragon Roll Sushi
We now know how much calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, and protein the dragon roll has. Before you go, let’s have a quick rundown of everything we discussed today.
| Nutrients | Dragon Roll | General Recommended Daily Intake |
| Calories | 500 | 1,600 to 3,000 |
| Fat | 22.3g | 20% to 35% of total calorie intake |
| Cholesterol | 140mg | 300mg |
| Sodium | 1,101.4mg | 2300mg |
| Carbohydrates | 50.7g | 45% to 65% of total calorie intake |
| Protein | 20g | 0.8g to 1.8g per kilogram of body weight |
Now, what does this table tell us?
If we look at this table, it would be easy to see that the dragon roll is not the healthiest choice on the list. You might even be worried about the high numbers it has.
However, it doesn’t mean you could not indulge yourself in this tasty treat every once in a while. You can still eat dragon rolls. You might only need to be careful how much you eat, though!
These numbers pertain to a whole roll. If we follow the recommended serving size (i.e., 2 to 3 pieces), these numbers would still go down.
In other words, if we watch how much of this treat we eat, there should be nothing to worry about! So, go ahead and enjoy some dragon rolls!
Dragon Roll Sushi, Nutritional Information, and Health Issues
As we have said at the beginning of this talk, this is only a general idea of the nutritional facts of this roll. You can use these numbers if you are only trying to grasp how healthy or unhealthy this roll is.
Again, the dragon roll might be easy to do, but it is not a simple dish. It has different ingredients, there are varying recipes for it, and people prepare it uniquely. If we want to know the exact numbers, we would have to know the exact details.
If you are experiencing any health condition or trying to lose or gain weight, it would be best to consult with a specialist you can talk with in detail.
One thing we are sure of, though! You can’t have too much of it. You can’t also try to balance your daily needs by only eating dragon rolls.
Whatever your health status is, you need to have a good and balanced diet, and a diet like that is not only made up of dragon rolls.
Summary
Today, we talked about the dragon roll sushi’s calories and nutrition facts.
First, we learned that a whole roll has around 500 calories. After that, we discussed how much fat it has and found out it has an estimate of 22.3g. Next, we talked about how much cholesterol it has and learned it has about 140mg.
Next, we discussed its sodium count and found out it has around 1,101.4mg of sodium. We also talked about how much carbohydrates it has.
Here, we learned that it has 50.7g of it. Finally, we talked about how much protein it has, where we found out it has around 20g of it.
In the end, we got a good picture of how healthy it is compared to how much of each nutrients we need on a daily basis.
The dragon roll is not the healthiest choice out there, but it is not the unhealthiest either in that you should not let yourself enjoy this tasty treat every now and then.
Hiroshi Nakamura, a Tokyo-born sushi chef turned US-based writer and critic, is the voice behind ichisushi.com, blending traditional sushi wisdom with modern insights.