How many calories are in lamb?
A 3 oz cooked serving of lamb carries 250 calories, and the meat runs 294 calories per 100 g with the fat that normally stays on a retail cut. That serving also brings 20.8 g of protein and 7.5 g of saturated fat. Trim the visible fat and the same 100 g falls to 206.
You'd need to walk about 50 minutes to burn the 250 calories in a 3 oz (85 g) cooked serving.
How long does it take to burn off lamb?
A 3 oz (85 g) cooked serving is 250 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 250 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 50 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 31 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 36 min |
| Jogging | 29 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 56 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (85 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Lamb quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a pound
- Raw lamb, cooked lamb and what the scale hides
- Chops, ground lamb, leg and shank
- Saturated fat is the row that moves
- How does lamb compare?
- Most popular lamb brands
- Lamb FAQs
Lamb quick facts
Nobody eats "lamb" in the abstract. They eat a chop, a slice off a leg, or a spoon of ground lamb in a bowl. The row that fits all three is the USDA composite of trimmed retail cuts, lean and fat, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, cooked — SR Legacy record 172480. It averages the cuts an American butcher counter actually sells, cooked, with the thin fat rim a home cook usually leaves on.
Two label rows are absent below. USDA does not publish added sugars or trans fat for this record, and fresh unbreaded meat carries no added sugar anyway, so both rows are dropped rather than guessed. Cholesterol and potassium are included because they matter on a meat page: 97 mg and 310 mg per 100 g, which works out to 82 mg cholesterol (27% DV) and 264 mg potassium (6% DV) in a 3 oz serving.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 3 oz cooked (85 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 294 | 250 | — |
| Total fat | 20.94 g | 17.8 g | 23% |
| Saturated fat | 8.83 g | 7.5 g | 38% |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | 0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 0 g | 0 g | — |
| Protein | 24.52 g | 20.8 g | 42% |
| Sodium | 72 mg | 61 mg | 3% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
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 September 2026. How we verify our data →
The shape of that table is the story: zero carbohydrate, zero sugar, no fiber. Everything in lamb is protein and fat, which is why the cut and the trim move the calorie count so hard while the sodium barely twitches. Daily Values used here are the FDA reference amounts printed on every Nutrition Facts label.
US servings, from one ounce to a pound
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz cooked | 28 g | 83 kcal |
| 3 oz cooked, the standard portion | 85 g | 250 kcal |
| 4 oz cooked | 113 g | 332 kcal |
| 6 oz cooked, restaurant plate | 170 g | 500 kcal |
| 1 lb cooked | 454 g | 1334 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 294 kcal |
Only the 3 oz line is a USDA household measure. The 1 oz, 4 oz, 6 oz and 1 lb rows are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings — useful, because restaurant lamb rarely arrives in 3 oz pieces. MyPlate counts 1 oz of cooked meat as one ounce-equivalent from the protein group, so a 6 oz plate is six of them in a single sitting.
One warning on weighing. If your chop is bone-in, the bone is not food and USDA does not count it. Weigh what comes off the bone, or you will log a rib chop as 20% heavier than the meat you swallowed.
Raw lamb, cooked lamb and what the scale hides
Raw lamb from the same retail cuts is 267 calories per 100 g. Cooked, it is 294. That looks like cooking adds calories, and it does not. Water leaves the pan, so the same calories are packed into fewer grams.
Follow one piece through. A 4 oz raw chop is 113 g and 302 calories. On the grill it loses roughly a quarter of its weight and lands near 85 g on your plate — 250 calories, because nothing but water and a little dripped fat left. So a 4 oz raw label and a 4 oz cooked serving are two different meals: 302 versus 332 calories, and the cooked one is a bigger piece of meat than it looks.
Practical rule: weigh raw and use the raw number, or weigh cooked and use the cooked number, but never mix them. Four ounces raw is about three ounces cooked.
Chops, ground lamb, leg and shank
| Cut | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rib chop, frenched, lean, grilled | 234 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 199 kcal |
| Loin chop, lean, broiled | 216 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 184 kcal |
| Ground lamb, broiled | 283 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 241 kcal |
| Leg of lamb, roasted, lean and fat | 258 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 219 kcal |
| Shank, braised | 243 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 207 kcal |
| Retail cuts, raw | 267 kcal | 4 oz raw (113 g) | 302 kcal |
The grilled rib chop surprises people. Frenched and eaten lean, it is 199 calories per 3 oz with 27.3 g of protein — lighter than ground lamb, lighter than roast leg, and the highest protein density on this page at 32.16 g per 100 g. The fat comes back the moment you eat the rim: roasted lamb rib with the fat left on is 359 calories per 100 g, about 305 per 3 oz by our own arithmetic from the USDA figure.
Ground lamb, at 283 per 100 g, tracks the whole-cut average of 294 closely. That is not a coincidence — it is milled from the same trimmings, fat included. Braised shank, at 243, is the cheapest way to get a long-cooked, rich-tasting piece of lamb without the rib numbers.
Packaged lamb at the supermarket is labeled on raw weight, which is why the numbers look low. Swift Lamb lists 259 calories per 100 g and 290 for a 4 oz (112 g) raw portion, while Packers boneless New Zealand legs list 134 per 100 g and 150 per 4 oz. Cook either one and the per-gram figure climbs as water leaves.
Saturated fat is the row that moves
Sodium is a non-issue with plain lamb: 61 mg in 3 oz, 3% of the Daily Value, less than a slice of bread. Saturated fat is the opposite. The same 3 oz carries 7.5 g, 38% of the 20 g Daily Value, from one modest piece of meat.
Scale it up and the arithmetic gets loud. A 6 oz plate of roasted lamb rib is about 21.7 g of saturated fat, past the whole day's reference on its own, with roughly 610 calories. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping saturated fat under 10% of daily calories, which is the same 20 g at a 2,000-calorie intake.
Trimming is the lever, and it is a big one. Lean-only lamb from the identical retail cuts is 206 calories per 100 g with 3.4 g of saturated fat — versus 294 and 8.83 g with the fat on. Per 3 oz that is roughly 175 calories instead of 250, our own arithmetic from the USDA figures. Nothing else on this page, not the cut and not the cooking method, changes the numbers that much. If you are watching saturated fat, the knife does more than the recipe.
How does lamb compare?
| Cut | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb, retail cuts, cooked | 294 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 250 kcal |
| Ground lamb, broiled | 283 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 241 kcal |
| Leg of lamb, roasted | 258 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 219 kcal |
| Loin, lean, broiled | 216 kcal | 3 oz (85 g) | 184 kcal |
Our take: for calorie counting, buy loin or trimmed leg and stop worrying about the rest. Of the four rows here, loin is the lightest per gram and carries the most protein — 29.99 g per 100 g against 24.52 g for the composite — so it wins on both axes at once, 184 calories per 3 oz. Ground lamb is the trap, because the fat is milled in and cannot be trimmed off at the table. For fullness per calorie, lean loin or a frenched rib chop puts 25 to 27 g of protein in front of you for under 200 calories, which is a real dinner.
Most popular lamb brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Swift Lamb | 259 cal |
| Packers Lamb Rack Frenched NZ 10/12 | 221 cal |
| Packers Lamb Boneless Legs NZ | 134 cal |
| Packers Lamb Fore Shanks | 125 cal |
| NZ Packers Bone-In Lamb Legs | 125 cal |
| Packers Lamb Rack Frenched NZ 12/14 | 106 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Lamb FAQs
How many calories are in lamb?
A 3 oz cooked serving of lamb carries 250 calories, and lamb runs 294 calories per 100 g. That figure is the USDA composite of trimmed retail cuts with the fat left on, which is what a typical American chop or roast looks like on the plate.
How many calories in a lamb chop?
A grilled rib chop, lean, is 199 calories for 3 oz at 234 per 100 g, and a broiled loin chop, lean, is 184 at 216 per 100 g. Bone weight is not counted in either figure, so weigh the meat you actually eat, not the plate.
How many calories in 4 oz of lamb?
Four ounces of cooked lamb is 113 g and 332 calories, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure rather than a USDA serving. Four ounces of raw lamb is different: 302 calories, and it shrinks to roughly 3 oz once the water and fat cook out.
How many calories in ground lamb?
Broiled ground lamb is 241 calories in 3 oz, or 283 per 100 g, with 21 g of protein and 16.7 g of fat in that serving. It sits close to the whole-cut average because ground lamb is made from the same trimmings, fat and all, that the composite row measures.
How many calories in roast leg of lamb?
Roast leg of lamb with the fat on is 219 calories per 3 oz, or 258 per 100 g. Carve the visible fat away and the same cut drops to 191 per 100 g, about 162 calories per 3 oz by our own arithmetic from the USDA figure.
How much protein is in lamb?
A 3 oz cooked serving delivers 20.8 g of protein, 42% of the Daily Value, from 24.52 g per 100 g. Lean cuts do better: trimmed lean lamb runs 28.22 g per 100 g, and a lean grilled rib chop 32.16 g, the highest protein density in this USDA set.
Is lamb high in saturated fat?
Yes, a 3 oz cooked serving has 7.5 g of saturated fat, 38% of the Daily Value, and 6 oz of roasted lamb rib reaches about 21.7 g, past the whole 20 g day. Trimmed lean lamb cuts that to 3.4 g per 100 g.
Does trimming the fat off lamb cut calories?
Yes, and it is the biggest lever on the plate: trimming the visible fat takes lamb from 294 to 206 calories per 100 g, so a 3 oz serving falls from 250 to about 175, our own arithmetic from the USDA figure. Saturated fat drops from 8.83 g to 3.4 g.
Similar foods
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- Ribeye Steak — 495 cal per 8 oz steak
- Burger — 418 cal per hamburger
- Chuck Roast — 257 cal per 3 oz
- Sausage — 210 cal per link
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the chop and BodyPal counts it for you, trim and all.
