How much potassium is in bacon?
Bacon has 86 mg of potassium per 2 slices cooked (16 g) — about 2% of the 4,700 mg Daily Value. That's 539 mg per 100 g, roughly 0.2× a medium banana (~422 mg).
USDA FoodData Central · cured pork, cooked · FDC 167914
Potassium by portion
| Portion | Potassium | % DV | Sodium | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 slices cooked (16 g) | 86 mg | 2% | 351 mg | 88 |
| 100 g | 539 mg | 11% | 2193 mg | 548 |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 153 mg | 3% | 622 mg | 155 |
% DV against the FDA Daily Value of 4,700 mg of potassium. Whole foods are naturally potassium-rich and low in sodium — the ratio heart guidelines (like DASH) favor. Values from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 167914, SR Legacy). cured pork, cooked.
Bacon’s potassium looks deceptively decent on the per-100g line — 539 mg per 100 g — but two things deflate it fast. First, a real serving is just 2 thin cooked slices (about 16 g), which carries only about 86 mg of potassium, roughly 1.8% of the 4,700 mg Daily Value. Second, and more important, that potassium arrives drowning in sodium. With bacon, the raw potassium number isn’t the story; the ratio is.
Why potassium matters — and why the ratio is the point
Potassium is the blood-pressure mineral. It works against sodium to help the body shed excess salt and relax blood-vessel walls — the logic behind the DASH eating pattern — and most people fall short of the 4,700 mg target while overshooting on sodium. The whole reason potassium-rich foods like bananas, potatoes and salmon help is that they carry far more potassium than sodium, nudging that balance in the healthy direction. Bacon does the opposite. The same 100 g that holds 539 mg of potassium carries over 2,000 mg of sodium, and a two-slice serving runs roughly 350 mg of sodium against just 86 mg of potassium. That inverted ratio is exactly what blood-pressure guidance steers away from.
What bacon actually is
The honest framing is that bacon is a cured, salty, fat-forward flavor food, not a mineral source — and certainly not a potassium one. The per-100g potassium figure misleads on two fronts at once: the portion you’d really eat is tiny, and even at 100 g the sodium swamps whatever potassium is there. If you want a breakfast that genuinely moves your potassium without piling on sodium, the workhorses are whole foods — a potato, fruit, dairy, or a piece of salmon — not the bacon beside them. Keep bacon as the small accent it’s good at, and let the rest of the plate carry both the protein and the potassium.
For the protein side of the same strip — and why that big per-100g protein number overstates it too — see protein in bacon.
Packaged bacon options, graded
Prefer something off the shelf? Here are the best-graded bacon in our catalog — each scored on our transparent Labelgrade.
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Labelgrade 57/100 · 3 g protein
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much potassium is in 2 slices of bacon?
About 86 mg of potassium for two thin cooked slices (~16 g), based on 539 mg per 100 g (USDA FDC 167914). The per-100g figure looks respectable, but a real two-slice serving is small, so the actual amount is minor.
What percent of the Daily Value is that?
Roughly 1.8% of the 4,700 mg Daily Value for potassium in two slices. More to the point, those same two slices carry about 350 mg of sodium — so bacon delivers far more sodium than potassium, the opposite of what blood-pressure-friendly eating calls for.
Doesn't 539 mg of potassium per 100 g make bacon a good source?
No, for two reasons. First, 100 g of cooked bacon is roughly 12+ slices — nobody eats that — so your real serving holds only about 86 mg. Second, that same 100 g carries over 2,000 mg of sodium, swamping the potassium. The per-100g potassium number is real but misleading on both counts.
How does bacon's sodium-to-potassium ratio compare to whole foods?
It's inverted. Potassium-rich whole foods like bananas, potatoes and salmon carry far more potassium than sodium, which is the favorable direction for blood pressure. Bacon is cured and salted, so it runs the other way — high sodium, modest potassium. That ratio, not the raw potassium, is the meaningful number.
Why does potassium matter?
Potassium counterbalances sodium and helps relax blood-vessel walls, the basis of the DASH eating pattern, and supports fluid balance, nerve signaling and muscle function. Most people get too much sodium and too little potassium — and bacon pushes that imbalance the wrong way. This is general nutrition information, not medical advice.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-18, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 167914 (Pork, cured, bacon, cooked; SR Legacy). We re-verify reference pages periodically and update when USDA revises its reference data.
Whole-food values are USDA reference data, not a Labelgrade (that score is for branded packaged products). High-potassium diets aren't for everyone — people with kidney disease are often told to limit it; this is reference data, not medical advice. See our methodology.