Catfish calories come to 206 for one fillet (143 g) and 144 per 100 g, based on farmed channel catfish cooked with dry heat. Notice the split: protein supplies 53% of those calories and fat 47%, with 0 g of carbs. That means fillet size and cooking method, not hidden sugar or starch, decide your total.
206kcal
1 fillet · 143 g, farmed, cooked, dry heat
53%protein
26 gProtein
0 gCarbs
10.3 gFat
How to burn off 206 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Farmed, cooked, dry heat · per 143 g
Calories
206 kcal
Protein
26 g
Carbohydrate
0 g
Fat
10.3 g
Saturated fat
2.3 g
Cholesterol
94 mg
Sodium
170 mg
Potassium
523 mg
Iron
0.4 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
🛡️
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified October 2026. How we verify our data →
Catfish: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 fillet (143 g)
206
26.4 g
0 g
10.3 g
170 mg
10%
Breaded and fried fillet (87 g)
199
15.7 g
7 g
11.6 g
244 mg
10%
3 oz portion (85 g)
122
15.7 g
0 g
6.1 g
101 mg
6%
100 g
144
18.4 g
0 g
7.2 g
119 mg
7%
3 × 1 fillet (143 g)
618
79.1 g
511 mg
5 × 1 fillet (143 g)
1,030
131.8 g
851 mg
A 3 oz portion is 122 calories, a whole fillet is 206
The fillet in the USDA data weighs 143 g and lands at 206 calories, about 10% of a 2000-calorie daily value. A 3 oz portion (85 g), the size most nutrition labels use, comes to 122 calories and 15.7 g of protein. The gap between those two numbers is the whole story, because fillets from the store or a restaurant rarely match a label serving.
Scaling up is simple and linear. Two fillets (286 g) reach 412 calories and 52.7 g of protein. Three fillets come to 618 calories, and a fish-fry pile of five fillets totals 1,030 calories. Even at that size, sodium stays at 851 mg, because plain catfish starts low at 119 mg per 100 g.
If you track by weight, 100 g is the cleanest anchor: 144 calories, 18.4 g of protein and 7.2 g of fat. Weigh your usual fillet once and you will know its number from then on. BodyPal can also log catfish from a photo of your plate.
Protein and fat split the calories almost evenly
Of the calories in cooked catfish, 53% come from protein and 47% from fat. Carbs, sugars and fiber all read 0. That makes catfish richer than the leanest white fish: it carries 7.2 g of fat per 100 g, while red snapper carries 1.7 g. The extra fat is why catfish stays moist and forgiving in a hot pan or oven.
Protein still leads. A single fillet delivers 26.4 g, which is 53% of the 50 g daily value. A 3 oz portion gives 15.7 g, or 31%, enough to anchor a meal on its own. Per 100 g you get 18.4 g of protein for 144 calories.
The rest of the label is quiet. Saturated fat is 1.6 g per 100 g, a small slice of the 7.2 g total. Cholesterol sits at 66 mg and potassium at 366 mg per 100 g. Nothing here forces a trade-off; the portion is the only lever that matters for plain catfish.
Breading and frying nearly double the calories by weight
Southern-style catfish usually comes breaded and fried, and that changes the math. A breaded and fried fillet of 87 g holds 199 calories. A plain 3 oz portion of almost the same weight, 85 g, holds 122. Same fish, same protein at 15.7 g, but the fried piece costs far more.
The difference comes from fat and coating. The fried fillet carries 11.6 g of fat against 6.1 g for the plain portion, plus 7 g of carbs and 0.6 g of fiber from the breading. Sodium climbs too: 244 mg, or 11% of the daily value, compared with 101 mg, or 4%, for plain catfish.
Put another way, a small fried piece at 199 calories nearly matches a full plain fillet at 206, which is 143 g of fish. If you love fried catfish, keep the piece count in view rather than skipping it. If you cook at home, dry-heat methods like baking, grilling or broiling keep you at the 144-per-100 g baseline.
Plain catfish leaves room for fiber on the plate
Because plain catfish has 0 g of carbs and 0 g of fiber, the sides decide what the rest of the meal looks like. Greens, slaw, beans, corn or a whole grain add the fiber the fish lacks. A 3 oz portion at 122 calories leaves plenty of room for a generous plate of vegetables.
Watch the extras more than the fish. Tartar sauce, remoulade, hush puppies and fries often add more than the catfish itself, and none of them show up in the numbers above. If you watch sodium, plain catfish at 7% of the daily value per fillet is a low starting point that seasoning blends and sauces can push up quickly.
For a higher-protein day, a full fillet with 26.4 g of protein covers about half the daily value in one serving. For a lighter meal, the 3 oz portion does the job at 6% of daily calories.
How does catfish compare?
Here is how catfish stacks up against cooked salmon, tilapia and red snapper, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the leanest plate, pick red snapper: 128 calories and just 1.7 g of fat per 100 g, with 26.3 g of protein. Catfish at 144 calories sits between snapper and salmon at 156, and it beats tilapia on sodium with 119 mg versus 280 mg per 100 g.
Most popular catfish brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1PSST Boned Catfish Nuggets4 oz · 112 g143 kcal
2Superior Catfish Nuggets3.5 oz · 100 g110 kcal
3Guidry's Catfish Nuggets4 oz · 113 g106 kcal
4Delta Pride Raw Catfish Nuggets4 oz · 112 g134 kcal
5Harvest Select Plain Catfish Nuggets4 oz · 112 g107 kcal
6Consolidated Catfish Plain Catfish Nuggets4 oz · 112 g143 kcal
7South Fresh Farms Catfish Fillets110 g145 kcal
Packaged catfish is labeled per raw weight, so it reads lower than the cooked numbers above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Catfish FAQs
How many calories are in one catfish fillet?
A cooked farmed catfish fillet (143 g) has about 206 calories. A breaded and fried fillet (87 g) has about 199.
Is catfish good for weight loss?
A cooked fillet has 206 calories, 26.4 g of protein and 0 g of carbs. Breading and frying raise it to 229 calories per 100 g, against 144 for plain cooked catfish.
Catfish vs salmon: which has fewer calories?
Cooked catfish has 144 calories per 100 g, cooked salmon 156. A 3 oz portion of catfish is 122 calories.
How much protein is in catfish?
Cooked catfish has 18.4 g of protein per 100 g, so a 143 g fillet has 26.4 g and a 3 oz portion 15.7 g.
How many calories are in one piece of fried catfish?
A breaded and fried catfish fillet of 87 g has 199 calories, 11.6 g of fat, 7 g of carbs and 15.7 g of protein. Fried catfish nuggets vary with breading and size, so weigh your portion and scale from that.
How many calories are in 3 oz of catfish?
A 3 oz portion (85 g) of plain cooked catfish has 122 calories. It brings 15.7 g of protein, 6.1 g of fat, 0 g of carbs and 101 mg of sodium.
How much sodium is in catfish?
Plain cooked catfish has 119 mg of sodium per 100 g and 170 mg per 143 g fillet, which is 7% of the daily value. A breaded and fried fillet of 87 g rises to 244 mg, or 11%.
Does catfish have any carbs?
Plain cooked catfish has 0 g of carbs, 0 g of sugars and 0 g of fiber. Breaded and fried catfish picks up 7 g of carbs and 0.6 g of fiber per 87 g fillet from the coating.
Catfish vs tilapia: which has fewer calories?
Catfish has slightly fewer, 144 calories per 100 g against 160 for tilapia. Tilapia carries more protein at 25 g versus 18.4 g, while catfish is lower in sodium at 119 mg versus 280 mg.
