Real numbers · sources cited

Calories in dolma: 34–42 kcal per vegetarian roll, 46–57 with meat

Most dishes on this site need component math because USDA never analyzed them whole. Dolma is a rare luxury: FoodData Central carries both versions, lab-analyzed as finished dishes. The only honest work left is converting per-100-g numbers into per-piece ones.

Both versions, straight from USDA (per 100 g)

Version	Source	Per 100 g	One roll (~20–25 g)
Grape leaves stuffed with rice (vegetarian, yalanji-style)	FDC 2709064	168 kcal · 2.3 P / 13.9 C / 12.0 F	≈34–42 kcal
Stuffed grape leaves with beef and rice	FDC 2706621	228 kcal · 8.2 P / 11.3 C / 17.0 F	≈46–57 kcal

A typical plate of 10 rolls: ~350–420 kcal vegetarian, ~460–570 with meat. Estimated glucose band: low-to-moderate — there is rice inside, but the oil and leaf fiber blunt it (an estimate from composition, not a measurement).

The surprise is the vegetarian number. At 12 g fat per 100 g, roughly 64% of the "light" option's calories come from fat — the olive-oil braise the yalanji style is cooked and finished in, not the rice. That oil bath is why 168 beats expectations and lands within 60 kcal of the beef version. Vegetarian here means no meat, not low-fat: per gram, these rolls carry more fat than many meat dishes.

What the per-100-g numbers can't see

Two unknowns set your real total. First, roll size: dolma runs ~15–35 g per piece depending on hand and region — tight sarma-style rolls at 15 g are ≈25 kcal (veg) / ≈34 (meat), plump 35-g rolls ≈59 / ≈80. Our 20–25 g assumption is the common middle. Second, the pot: how much oil the batch was braised in, and how much clings to each roll, is invisible on the plate. Ranges, with assumptions stated, beat false precision.

Protein check

The meat version earns its 60 extra kcal per 100 g: a 10-roll plate delivers ~16–21 g protein versus ~5–6 g from the vegetarian one. If dolma is the main course, the beef-and-rice version is the one doing nutritional work; the yalanji plate is closer to a rich appetizer.

Per-piece is exactly how the app thinks

Proba counts rolls, estimates per-piece grams (editable), matches the version — oily vegetarian or meat — and cites the USDA entry on the receipt. Same plate, same answer, every time — five-scan test welcome.

Scan your dolma — free, 3 scans/day

Method & limitations: how Proba counts. Cited entries link to FoodData Central; values per 100 g as published.