A 3-ounce serving of raw wild Atlantic salmon has about 121 calories, while the same amount of farmed Atlantic salmon runs closer to 175 calories. The exact number depends on the species, whether it’s wild or farmed, and how you cook it. Salmon is a zero-carb, high-protein food where virtually all the calories come from protein and healthy fats.
Calories by Species
Not all salmon is created equal. The species determines how much fat the fish carries, and fat is what drives the calorie count up or down. Here’s how the most common varieties compare per 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of raw fish:
- Farmed Atlantic salmon: 203 calories, 13.1g fat, 20.3g protein
- King (Chinook) salmon: 179 calories, 10.4g fat, 19.9g protein
- Sockeye (Red) salmon: 168 calories, 8.6g fat, 21.3g protein
- Wild Atlantic salmon: roughly 121 calories per 3 ounces (85g), 5.4g fat, 17g protein
King salmon has the richest, most buttery flavor of any species, and its higher fat content reflects that. Sockeye is leaner but actually edges out the others in protein, packing about 21 grams per 100-gram serving. Across all raw species, protein stays remarkably consistent at around 20 grams per 100 grams.
Wild vs. Farmed: A Big Calorie Gap
The single biggest factor in salmon’s calorie count isn’t the cooking method or the seasoning. It’s whether the fish was wild-caught or farm-raised. A 3-ounce fillet of wild salmon has roughly half the fat of the same amount of farmed salmon, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That fat difference translates directly into fewer calories.
Farmed Atlantic salmon comes in around 200 calories per 100 grams when cooked, while cooked wild salmon sits closer to 180 calories for the same weight. The reason is straightforward: farmed salmon eat a controlled, calorie-dense diet and swim in enclosed pens, so they accumulate more body fat. Wild salmon burn more energy migrating through open water and eat a more varied natural diet.
Both versions are nutritious. The extra fat in farmed salmon isn’t “bad” fat. It’s largely omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart and brain health. But if you’re counting calories closely, wild-caught varieties give you more protein per calorie.
Calories by Portion Size
Restaurant and grocery store fillets rarely weigh exactly 3 ounces. Here’s a practical guide using farmed Atlantic salmon (the most commonly sold variety) as the baseline, calculated from USDA data of roughly 200 calories per 100 grams cooked:
- 3-ounce fillet (85g): about 170–175 calories
- 6-ounce fillet (170g): about 340–350 calories
- 8-ounce fillet (227g): about 450–460 calories
A typical restaurant portion is 6 to 8 ounces, so expect somewhere in the 340 to 460 calorie range before any added butter, oil, or sauce. A standard home-cooked portion is closer to 4 to 6 ounces. For wild salmon, knock roughly 10 to 15 percent off these numbers.
How Cooking Changes the Count
Cooking concentrates calories slightly because moisture evaporates from the fish, making each gram of cooked salmon more calorie-dense than raw. A 3-ounce portion of grilled or baked wild Atlantic salmon comes to about 175 calories. That’s a modest increase over the raw value for the same starting weight.
The cooking method itself matters less than what you add. Baking and grilling without extra oil keep the calorie count close to baseline. Pan-frying in butter or oil can add 50 to 100 calories per tablespoon of fat used. Poaching in broth or water adds almost nothing. If you’re tracking calories, the biggest variable on your plate is usually the cooking fat, not the fish.
What Makes Up Those Calories
Salmon has zero carbohydrates and zero sugar. Every calorie comes from protein and fat, split roughly 40/60 in fattier species like farmed Atlantic and closer to 50/50 in leaner wild varieties.
The fat in salmon is where much of its nutritional reputation comes from. A 3-ounce cooked serving of farmed Atlantic salmon delivers about 1.8 grams of omega-3 fatty acids (combining DHA and EPA). Wild Atlantic salmon provides a similar amount, around 1.6 grams per serving. These are the same omega-3s linked to lower rates of heart disease and reduced inflammation. Most health organizations recommend eating fatty fish like salmon at least twice a week, and a single serving gets you well above the daily omega-3 target.
Protein content is consistently high across all types. At roughly 20 grams per 100-gram serving, salmon compares favorably to chicken breast on a per-calorie basis, especially the leaner wild varieties. It’s also a strong source of selenium, delivering over a third of the daily recommended intake in a single serving.
Canned Salmon Calories
Canned pink salmon, drained, runs about 120 calories per 3-ounce serving. It’s one of the most affordable ways to eat salmon, and the nutritional profile holds up well. Canned salmon still provides meaningful omega-3s (roughly 0.9 grams per serving) and the same protein density as fresh. Because it’s typically wild-caught and from leaner pink or sockeye species, canned salmon tends to sit at the lower end of the calorie range. The bones in canned salmon are soft and edible, adding a calcium boost you won’t get from fresh fillets.
Smoked Salmon Is an Outlier
Smoked salmon is a different story. The smoking and curing process removes a large amount of water, which concentrates everything, including calories, protein, and sodium. USDA data shows smoked sockeye salmon contains nearly 57 grams of protein per 100 grams, compared to 21 grams for the raw version. Calorie density roughly doubles. A typical 2-ounce serving of smoked salmon (the amount you’d pile on a bagel) comes to around 100 to 130 calories, which is moderate, but the sodium content is high enough to be worth noting if you’re watching salt intake.