Calories in Tacos al Pastor: Per Taco and Per Order

One street taco al pastor has about 160 calories on a single small corn tortilla, or about 200 on two stacked tortillas, by our estimate built from USDA data. An order of 3 tacos comes to about 485 to 603 calories, and 4 tacos to about 647 to 804. The amount of pork and the number of tortillas change the count most.

USDA has no entry for al pastor, so we built one from USDA ingredient values. Below are the calories in tacos al pastor per taco and per order, the protein, and the extras that add up.

Calories in tacos al pastor per taco

Our regular street taco has 40 g (about 1.4 oz) of roasted pork on one small corn tortilla, topped with pineapple, onion, cilantro and a tablespoon of salsa verde. Taco stands vary, so here are three meat portions, on one tortilla or two:

Taco size	Pork	1 tortilla	2 tortillas
Small	30 g (about 1 oz)	135	174
Regular	40 g (about 1.4 oz)	162	201
Large	60 g (about 2 oz)	216	255

These are our estimates, not lab values. Street taco calories move mostly with the meat: each extra 10 g of pork adds about 27 calories, and each extra small tortilla about 39.

Calories in 3 or 4 tacos al pastor

For regular tacos (40 g of pork each), by our estimate:

Order	1 tortilla each	2 tortillas each	Protein
3 tacos	485	603	32 to 35 g
4 tacos	647	804	42 to 47 g

For small or large tacos, multiply the numbers in the first table by the number you eat.

Taco al pastor nutrition: protein, carbs and fat

Regular taco	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Fiber
1 small tortilla	162	10.6 g	11.3 g	8.2 g	1.8 g
2 small tortillas	201	11.6 g	19.3 g	8.7 g	2.9 g

These values are our estimate. Most of the protein and fat come from the pork. USDA lists roasted pork shoulder at 269 calories, 23.1 g of protein and 18.9 g of fat per 100 g.

As a check, USDA’s closest entry is a corn tortilla taco with pork and cheese. It has 251 calories per 100 g: 264 for a regular 105 g taco and about 126 for a 50 g miniature. Per 100 g, its recipe uses 50 g of pork, 36 g of tortilla, 4 g of oil and 5 g of cheese. Its 264-calorie regular taco is close to our large taco on two tortillas (255 calories).

How we estimated it

Ingredient	Amount	Calories
Corn tortilla, small	18 g	39
Pork shoulder, roasted, lean and fat	40 g	108
Pineapple, raw	10 g (about 1 tbsp of small pieces)	5
Onion, raw, chopped	10 g (1 tbsp)	4
Cilantro leaves	1 g (about 1 tbsp)	0
Salsa verde	15 g (1 tbsp)	6
One regular taco	94 g	162

Each line is the USDA value per 100 g multiplied by the amount. For example, 40 g of pork at 269 calories per 100 g gives 107.6 calories. USDA weighs a small corn tortilla at 18 g, and at 218 calories per 100 g that is about 39 calories. For other tortilla sizes, see our guide to corn tortilla calories.

Notes on the method:

• Al pastor is marinated pork cooked on a vertical spit. We used USDA’s roasted pork shoulder with its fat as the closest match.
• The marinade of dried chiles, achiote, vinegar and spices is left out because USDA has no entry for it. If oil goes into the marinade or onto the griddle, add about 40 calories per teaspoon.
• The pineapple measure uses USDA’s 165 g per cup of chunks, and the cilantro uses USDA’s 4 g per quarter cup.

What changes the number

• Tortillas. A second small tortilla adds about 39 calories. A medium corn tortilla (28 g) has about 61.
• Meat. About 27 calories for every 10 g of pork.
• Cheese. For tacos al pastor con queso, USDA lists Oaxaca-style string cheese (queso asadero) at 297 calories per 100 g, so a 21 g slice adds about 62.
• Guacamole. About 23 calories per tablespoon (15 g).
• Oil. A teaspoon (4.5 g) on the griddle adds about 40.
• Salsa, pineapple, onion and cilantro. Together, only about 15 calories per taco in our recipe. A tablespoon of red salsa is about 5 calories, close to salsa verde at 6. If a salsa looks creamy or oily, count the oil too.

Lighter ways to order tacos al pastor

• Ask for one tortilla instead of two. That saves about 39 calories per taco, or about 118 on an order of 3.
• Keep the onion, cilantro, pineapple and salsa, and go easy on cheese and guacamole.
• Order 3 tacos instead of 4, which saves about 162 to 201 calories.
• Make one of them a chicken taco. In USDA data, 40 g of roasted chicken breast has about 66 calories and 12.4 g of protein, against 108 calories and 9.2 g for the same weight of pork.

If you track meals in MacroScout, Pro lets you snap a photo of your tacos for an estimate and adjust it before saving. On the free plan, type in the numbers from this page yourself. Eating at a chain instead? See calories in a Chipotle bowl.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet, especially if you have a health condition.