In this article
- Yuca fiber by form and serving
- Myth vs fact: yuca and fiber
- Cassava nutrition beyond fiber
- What a cup of the root carries
- Yuca vs other starchy roots
- Yuca next to grains and other carbs
- Yuca in soups, stews and gluten free baking
- How yuca fiber works in your gut
- Checklist: build more fiber into a yuca meal
- Yuca or another root: a quick rule
- What people ask about yuca and cassava
- Sources
Say you order a plate of boiled yuca with garlicky mojo, or a basket of yuca fries. A full cup of cooked yuca gives you about 3.0 grams of fiber, roughly 11% of the Daily Value, along with about 267 calories.
That’s real fiber, but not much for the calories. Yuca fiber sits near the bottom of the starchy root list, which is useful to know if you eat it often.
Yuca and cassava are two names for the same starchy root. Its flour and its extracted starch, tapioca, behave very differently for fiber, as you’ll see below.
Yuca fiber by form and serving
USDA and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans give these figures for yuca and the products made from it.
| Yuca form | Serving | Fiber | % DV (28 g) | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooked yuca | 1/2 cup | 1.5 g | 5% | 134 |
| Cooked yuca | 1 cup | 3.0 g | 11% | 267 |
| Cooked yuca | 100 g | 1.9 g | 7% | 191 |
| Raw yuca | 100 g | 1.8 g | 6% | 160 |
| Cassava flour | 100 g | 4.8 g | 17% | 359 |
| Tapioca pearls, dry | 100 g | 0.9 g | 3% | 358 |
Like taro, yuca is peeled and cooked before eating, so the cooked numbers are the ones to plan around. Cooked and raw land close together at about 1.8 to 1.9 grams per 100 grams.
Cassava flour, made from the whole dried root, carries about five times the fiber of tapioca per 100 grams. Tapioca is the starch extracted from the root, and USDA’s numbers show it keeps very little of the fiber.
Myth vs fact: yuca and fiber
Myth: Every starchy root is a strong fiber source.
Fact: Yuca gives about 1.1 grams of fiber per 100 calories. Taro, by comparison, gives about 3.6 grams per 100 calories, more than three times as much.
Myth: Cassava flour and tapioca flour are basically the same thing.
Fact: USDA lists cassava flour at 4.83 grams of fiber per 100 grams and dry tapioca pearls at 0.9 grams. If you bake gluten free, the flour made from the whole root is the higher fiber choice.
Cassava nutrition beyond fiber
Per 100 grams of cooked yuca, USDA lists roughly:
| Nutrient | Per 100 g cooked | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrate | 39.6 g | n/a |
| Fiber | 1.9 g | 7% |
| Vitamin C | 18.2 mg | 20% |
| Potassium | 282 mg | 6% |
| Folate | 24 mcg | 6% |
| Magnesium | 22 mg | 5% |
| Thiamin | 0.08 mg | 7% |
| Calories | 191 | n/a |
Vitamin C is the standout for a starchy food, at about a fifth of the FDA’s 90 mg Daily Value in 100 grams. The other nutrients are modest.
Sugar is low, at about 1.8 grams per 100 grams. The rest of the carbohydrate is mostly starch, which makes yuca an energy dense food at 191 calories per 100 grams.
In practical terms, that makes yuca a root starch first and a fiber food second. Most of what it brings to the plate is energy.
What a cup of the root carries
USDA’s raw record shows what the root itself holds before cooking. A cup of raw yuca (206 g) contains about 3.7 grams of fiber and 330 calories.
That same cup carries about 42 mg of vitamin C, close to half the Daily Value, and 0.78 mg of manganese, about a third of the Daily Value. It also brings roughly 15% of the Daily Value for thiamin and 14% for folate.
These numbers are a reference point rather than a serving to eat, since yuca is cooked first. They do show that the root brings a few useful vitamins and minerals along with its starch.
Yuca vs other starchy roots
To see where yuca stands, it helps to ask how many calories each starchy food takes to deliver 5 grams of fiber. These figures use the Dietary Guidelines numbers for cooked foods.
| Starchy food (cooked) | Fiber per cup | Calories per cup | Calories for 5 g fiber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taro root | 6.7 g | 187 | 140 |
| Yam | 5.3 g | 158 | 149 |
| Sweet potato | 6.3 g | 190 | 151 |
| Potato, with skin (1 medium) | 3.9 g | 161 | 206 |
| Plantain | 3.1 g | 215 | 347 |
| Cassava (yuca) | 3.0 g | 267 | 445 |
Yuca needs about 445 calories to supply 5 grams of fiber, roughly three times what taro, yam or sweet potato need. Plantain is the closest match, and it still comes in about 100 calories lower.
The potato comparison is the one most people can use at home. Swapping a cup of cooked yuca for a medium baked potato with the skin on saves about 100 calories and adds nearly a gram of fiber.
None of this makes yuca a bad food. It simply means the fiber in a yuca meal usually has to come from somewhere else on the plate.
Wondering how much fiber your own day should include? Our fiber calculator gives you a personal target in seconds.
Yuca next to grains and other carbs
Yuca often fills the same spot on the plate as rice or bread. Mayo Clinic lists a cup of cooked brown rice at 3.5 grams of fiber, a little more than a cup of cooked yuca.
The Dietary Guidelines list half a cup of cooked bulgur at 4.1 grams and half a cup of cooked barley at 3.0 grams. Measured by the half cup, both whole grains deliver at least twice the fiber of yuca.
Net carbs tell a similar story. Cooked yuca has about 39.6 grams of carbohydrate and 1.9 grams of fiber per 100 grams, leaving roughly 37.7 grams of net carbs, the carbs your body digests for energy.
Cooked taro, a close cousin on many plates, comes in at about 29.5 grams of net carbs per 100 grams because more of its carbohydrate is fiber. For anyone counting carbs, that gap adds up over a full serving.
If you love yuca, keep it on the menu and let a whole grain or legume share the plate. That way the meal still lands in a solid fiber range.
Yuca in soups, stews and gluten free baking
In many kitchens, yuca goes into hearty soups and stews alongside corn, beans and other vegetables. That’s a smart pairing for fiber, because the other ingredients make up for the root.
Half a cup of cooked yuca brings 1.5 grams. Add half a cup of corn at 2.0 grams and half a cup of pinto beans at 7.7 grams, using the Dietary Guidelines figures, and a bowl of stew passes 11 grams of fiber.
For gluten free baking, cassava flour is the yuca product with real fiber. At 4.83 grams per 100 grams, it brings far more than tapioca starch.
Reading the ingredient list helps. A bag that lists cassava flour uses the dried whole root, while one that lists tapioca starch or tapioca flour uses the extracted starch.
How yuca fiber works in your gut
The fiber in yuca does what fiber from other plants does. Mayo Clinic explains that soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel like material, while insoluble fiber helps material move through your digestive system.
Fiber adds weight and softness to stool, which makes it easier to pass. Mayo also notes that high fiber foods tend to be more filling, so pairing a starchy root with beans can help a meal keep you satisfied longer.
If you’re adding more beans and vegetables to yuca dishes, go gradually and drink plenty of water. Mayo notes that increasing fiber too quickly can cause gas, bloating and cramping.
If your gut needs a gentle start, our guides take you through adding fiber one step at a time.
Checklist: build more fiber into a yuca meal
- Keep the yuca portion to about half a cup, about 1.5 grams of fiber
- Add half a cup of black beans for 7.5 grams
- Top with a quarter cup of avocado for 2.5 grams
- Serve a cup of cooked greens or broccoli on the side
- Bake with cassava flour rather than tapioca starch
- Choose boiled or baked yuca over fried more often
Put the first three together and the plate reaches about 11.5 grams of fiber, more than a third of the Daily Value, while yuca stays the star of the meal and the portion still feels generous.
Want more ways to pair yuca, plantains and beans? Our recipe eBooks are packed with easy, high fiber meals.
Mayo Clinic suggests 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day for women and 30 to 38 grams for men. A cup of yuca alone covers about 12 to 14% of a woman’s target, which is why the add ons matter.
Yuca or another root: a quick rule
If you’re choosing a starchy side mainly for fiber, pick taro, sweet potato or yam, which deliver close to twice yuca’s fiber per cup or more.
If you’re choosing yuca for flavor or tradition, enjoy it, keep the portion around half a cup and let beans, avocado or greens carry the fiber. If you’re baking, reach for cassava flour instead of tapioca starch to keep more of the root’s fiber.
What people ask about yuca and cassava
Is yuca high in fiber?
Not especially. A cup of cooked yuca has about 3.0 grams of fiber, roughly 11% of the 28 gram Daily Value, for about 267 calories.
Is yuca the same as cassava?
Yes. Yuca and cassava are two names for the same starchy root, and tapioca is the starch extracted from it.
Does cassava flour have fiber?
Yes. USDA lists cassava flour at about 4.8 grams of fiber per 100 grams, about five times more than dry tapioca pearls.
Does tapioca have fiber?
Very little. Dry tapioca pearls have about 0.9 grams of fiber per 100 grams, since tapioca is mostly extracted starch.
How many calories are in yuca?
About 191 calories per 100 grams of cooked yuca and roughly 267 calories in a cup, according to USDA and the Dietary Guidelines.
Does yuca have more fiber than potatoes?
No, per serving. A medium baked potato with skin has 3.9 grams of fiber for 161 calories, while a cup of cooked yuca has 3.0 grams for 267 calories.
What nutrients are in cassava?
Cooked cassava is mostly carbohydrate, with about 18 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, around 20% of the Daily Value, plus small amounts of potassium, folate and magnesium.
Sources
- USDA Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: SR Legacy Cassava, raw (169985); Tapioca, pearl, dry (169717); FNDDS Cassava, cooked (2709564); Foundation Foods Flour, cassava (2512377); SR Legacy Taro, cooked, without salt (168486). fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Food Sources of Dietary Fiber.” Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 to 2025. dietaryguidelines.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” 2024. fda.gov
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet.” Mayo Clinic. 2025. mayoclinic.org
