Meat and poultry

Lamb nutrition, and what the pan changes.

The number most people want first: 1 chop of raw lamb holds 93 calories, alongside 14 g of protein. Specifically, this is the USDA record “Lamb, loin, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, raw”. That figure is not fixed. Depending on how it is prepared, 100 g runs anywhere from 143 to 216 calories. The selector beneath handles other portions, and the nutrient table responds to it.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Figures: USDA FoodData Central, records 172491, 174320, 172492. Calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Calories in lamb, serving by serving

1 chop of raw lamb supplies 93 calories, which scales to 143 per 100 g. Each serving listed underneath was weighed by USDA rather than estimated.

What lamb offers in protein

Protein in 1 chop of raw lamb comes to 14 g. Against the 50 g Daily Value, that covers 27 percent. Measured by calories, lamb is 58 percent protein: enough to build a meal on.

Looked at as a share of calories: carbohydrate 0 percent, fat 39 percent, protein 61 percent.

Lamb, method by method

Per 100 g, grilled lamb carries 51 percent more calories than raw — 216 against 143. The difference is water leaving, which concentrates everything that remains.

Same lamb, same 65 g, different treatment:

Kitchen notes on lamb

Lamb is the meat of young sheep. It is sold as primal cuts like leg and shoulder, or as chops and minced meat. Look for fine-textured flesh with a pale red colour and dry, white fat. Avoid meat with yellowing fat or a wet, soft texture, which suggests older mutton or poor storage.

High heat quickly sears chops, rendering the outer fat while keeping the centre tender. Tougher cuts require slow, moist braising to dissolve the abundant connective tissue into gelatin. The most common error is overcooking lean cuts, which causes the meat to dry out and develops a strong, unpalatable woolly flavour.

In British kitchens, roast leg is paired with pungent mint sauce to cut through the rich fat. Mediterranean cooks roast it with garlic, lemon and rosemary. In Middle Eastern cookery, ground lamb is heavily spiced with cumin and coriander, then grilled on skewers or baked in flatbreads.

Lamb: the full nutrient profile

What 1 chop of raw lamb supplies most of: 60 percent of a day’s vitamin B12, 28 percent of a day’s selenium, 26 percent of a day’s niacin. All rows below respond to the serving you chose.

Lamb against a daily budget

If you eat 2,000 calories a day, 1 chop of raw lamb accounts for 5 percent of them, and for 27 percent of the 50 g protein benchmark. To replace 2,000 with your real number, use the TDEE calculator; to turn that into targets, the macro calculator.

Cooking with lamb: three recipes

Three recipes from the Calorie Counter Team, each costed ingredient by ingredient against USDA records, so the per-serving figures are sums, not guesses.

Dinner · British

Pan-Seared Lamb Loin Chops

Pan-seared lamb chops seasoned with garlic and rosemary.

20 min · serves 2

294kcal

32gprotein

17gfat

2.6gcarbs

Ingredients

• lamb loin chops 300 g
• olive oil 15 g
• garlic cloves 10 g
• fresh rosemary 5 g
• salt 3 g
• black pepper 2 g

Method

1. Season the lamb chops on both sides with the salt and black pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until hot.
3. Place the lamb chops and garlic in the pan and sear for four minutes on one side.
4. Turn the chops, add the rosemary, and cook for another four minutes until the internal temperature reaches 63 degrees Celsius.
5. Remove the chops from the pan and let them rest for five minutes before serving.

Built from 6 USDA ingredient records. A cooked dish never matches its raw sum exactly, but it stays close.

Dinner · Irish

Simmered Lamb and Vegetable Stew

A slow-cooked stew of lamb shoulder, potatoes, and root vegetables.

100 min · serves 3

521kcal

25gprotein

34gfat

29gcarbs

Ingredients

• lamb shoulder 400 g
• potatoes 300 g
• carrots 200 g
• onions 150 g
• water 400 g
• vegetable oil 15 g
• salt 5 g

Method

1. Cut the lamb shoulder, potatoes, carrots, and onions into two-centimetre pieces.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and brown the lamb for six minutes.
3. Add the onions and cook for four minutes until soft.
4. Add the potatoes, carrots, water, and salt to the saucepan.
5. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and simmer for 75 minutes until the meat is tender.

Summed from 7 USDA records and divided by servings. Heat alters weight and a few nutrients, so read it as a close figure.

Lunch · Middle Eastern

Grilled Lamb Koftas

Grilled minced lamb skewers seasoned with cumin and fresh mint.

25 min · serves 2

556kcal

30gprotein

47gfat

3.1gcarbs

Ingredients

• minced lamb 350 g
• garlic cloves 10 g
• fresh mint 5 g
• ground cumin 3 g
• ground coriander 3 g
• salt 4 g
• olive oil 10 g

Method

1. Chop the garlic and mint into fine pieces.
2. Mix the minced lamb, garlic, mint, cumin, coriander, and salt in a bowl by hand.
3. Shape the mixture into four equal log shapes around wooden skewers.
4. Brush the koftas with the olive oil.
5. Cook the koftas under a preheated grill on medium-high heat for ten minutes, turning once.

Summed from 7 USDA records and divided by servings. Heat alters weight and a few nutrients, so read it as a close figure.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

One meal, costed: lamb

A sample plate, not a prescription: lamb plus two sides, each line sourced and the sum shown.

How lamb compares with similar foods

Same weight for every row, 100 g, so differences are not portion effects. The form column shows whether a row is raw, cooked or as sold.

Questions about lamb

How many calories does 1 chop of raw lamb have?

The USDA figure is 93 calories, or 143 per 100 g. It is taken from the record “Lamb, loin, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, raw”, FDC 172491.

Is there much protein in lamb?

21 g per 100 g, so 1 chop of raw lamb supplies 14 g. Against the Daily Value that is 27 percent.

Does cooking change the calories in lamb?

Yes. At 65 g, raw is 93 calories and grilled is 140. The table above compares each preparation of lamb covered on this page.

Can you eat lamb when trying to lose weight?

No food causes or prevents weight loss on its own. The useful facts are that 1 chop of raw lamb is 93 calories with 14 g of protein, which makes 58 percent of its calories protein; a strong ratio for staying full on fewer calories.

Why does lamb sometimes have a strong, gamey smell when cooking?

This smell comes from branched-chain fatty acids concentrated in the fat. Older animals have more of these compounds. To reduce the odour, trim away excess outer fat before cooking and use acidic marinades like lemon juice to mask the scent.

How do you keep minced lamb from becoming greasy in a pan?

Brown the meat in a dry pan without adding extra oil, then drain the rendered fat. Lamb fat melts at a high temperature and becomes greasy if left in the pan. Pressing the meat helps release this excess fat.

Sources

• Lamb, loin, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 172491
• Lamb, loin, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, cooked, roasted — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 174320
• Lamb, loin, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/4" fat, choice, cooked, broiled — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 172492
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9