Salmon, Atlantic, farmed, raw

About this food

Farmed Atlantic salmon carries meaningfully more fat than a lean white fish or skinless poultry — around 13g per 100g raw — while still supplying over 20g of protein in the same amount. That combination puts it in an unusual spot nutritionally: a genuinely fat-dense food that's also protein-dense, rather than one or the other.

The figures here describe raw, farmed salmon specifically; wild-caught salmon and other salmon species can differ somewhat in fat content, since farmed fish are typically fed a more energy-dense diet. Cooking method again matters for the final dish — salmon is often baked, grilled, or pan-seared with added oil, which adds to (rather than replaces) the fish's own fat.

Salmon's fat is predominantly unsaturated rather than saturated, which is part of why it's commonly grouped with plant oils and nuts on a “healthy fats” list rather than with fattier cuts of red meat, even though the total fat gram count can be similar. For a full day's macro plan, it can reasonably serve as either the protein anchor of a meal or a meaningful part of the fat target, depending on what else is on the plate.

For a full daily target across calories and all three macros, try the macro calculator.