Calories in a Reuben sandwich---it's a complicated topic. The United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, says 463 calories. Diet advice website recipes claim 430 to 465 calories. Schlotzsky's restaurant chain lists small and medium Reuben options at 618 and 909 calories, respectively. New York's Carnegie Deli sells an open-face Reuben with more than 1-lb. of corned beef, smothered in melted Swiss cheese with a generous serving of Russian dressing on the side. It's an exercise in excess exceeding 2,300 calories.
Reuben History Disputed
Early 20th century claims for invention of the Reuben are split between Reuben Kulakofsky of Omaha, Neb., and Arnold Reuben of New York City. Regardless of who first created the Reuben, the ingredients are the same: rye bread, butter, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and either Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing. The outside of the sandwich is slathered with butter and then the sandwich is grilled. Well-known variants are the Rachel made with pastrami, and the Georgia Reuben made with turkey and coleslaw.
Calculating Calories
Carbohydrates convert to 4 calories per gram, fat 9 calories per gram and protein 4 calories per gram. The USDA database entry for a Reuben sandwich provides a nutrient analysis of 30g carbohydrates, 29g fat and 21g protein. Those numbers equate to 465 calories.
Ingredient by Ingredient
Two regular-size slices of rye bread are 134 calories. Butter is 36 calories per pat. Corned beef, lean, has 167 calories per 2 oz. Sauerkraut, drained, has only 7 calories per ounce. Swiss cheese has 108 calories per slice. Russian dressing has 54 calories per tablespoon. Assembled, that adds up to 506 calories. The 2,300 calorie estimate for the super-Reuben served at the Carnegie Deli comes from two large slices of rye, more butter, a pound of corned beef, 4-oz. of sauerkraut, five slices of Swiss cheese and 1/3-cup of Russian dressing.
Going Lo-cal
Substituting low calorie versions of rye bread at 106 for two slices, eliminating butter, and using low calorie cheese at 51 calories and low calorie dressing at 23 calories results in a total of 347 calories.
Salt
Salt has no calories, but still poses a health concern for anyone who eats a Reuben. The "corned" in corned beef refers to immersing the beef in brine made by dissolving coarse salt in water. Likewise, sauerkraut is cabbage canned in brine. Bread has salt, Cheese has salt. Salad dressings and butter contain salt. A Reuben sandwich will have roughly three times the milligrams of sodium as it does calories. Given that adults are advised to consume no more than 2,400mg of sodium per day, a Reuben should not be eaten too often, even without the usual pickle and fries on the side.
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