Fish and seafood
How much protein is in canned tuna?
Three ounces of drained canned light tuna has about 17 g of protein.
That's 19 g of protein per 100 g, or 23 g for every 100 calories.
Protein per serving
| Serving | Weight | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 oz | 85 g | 17 g | 73 |
| 1 cup, chunks | 154 g | 30 g | 132 |
| 100 g | 100 g | 19 g | 86 |
How canned tuna compares
Other fish and seafood, ranked by how much protein you get per 100 calories.
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Protein per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|
| Shrimpcooked | 24 g | 24 g |
| Tuna steakyellowfin, cooked | 29 g | 23 g |
| CodAtlantic, cooked | 23 g | 22 g |
| Lobstercooked | 19 g | 21 g |
| Tilapiacooked | 26 g | 21 g |
| Halibutcooked | 23 g | 20 g |
| CrabAlaska king, cooked | 19 g | 20 g |
| Scallopssteamed | 21 g | 19 g |
| Canned salmonpink, drained | 23 g | 17 g |
| Rainbow troutfarmed, cooked | 24 g | 14 g |
| Catfishfarmed, cooked | 18 g | 13 g |
| Sardinescanned in oil, drained | 25 g | 12 g |
| SalmonAtlantic, farmed, cooked | 22 g | 11 g |
| MackerelAtlantic, cooked | 24 g | 9.1 g |
How it fits into a meal
For building muscle, Schoenfeld and Aragon's 2018 review of the research suggests about 0.4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight at each meal, spread over at least four meals a day. At 170 lb (77 kg), that's about 31 g a meal. Three ounces of drained canned light tuna covers about 53% of that.
Work out your own daily and per-meal target with the protein calculator.
Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central ("Fish, tuna, light, canned in water, drained solids (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)", FDC ID 173709). Actual values vary by brand, recipe and cooking method, so treat these numbers as close estimates.