Fish and seafood
Smoked salmon on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 22 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cold smoked, sliced, for around 180 calories. Three slices, about 50 g (1.8 oz), give roughly 11 g of protein for 90 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from smoked salmon alone you would need about 136 g (4.8 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How smoked salmon sits on a GLP-1
Smoked salmon is soft, cold, salty and requires no preparation, which is a combination that survives almost any appetite. Fifty grams is only 11 g of protein, so it needs a partner, but it is one of the few foods people consistently tell us they can still face on the worst days.
When your appetite is small
Put it with eggs or with cottage cheese. Three slices of smoked salmon and two scrambled eggs is about 24 g and takes four minutes, with no cooking smell from the fish at all.
Three ways to prepare it
With scrambled eggs
The classic pairing, and about 24 g of protein in one small plate.
On cottage cheese or ricotta
No cooking whatsoever, and the dairy takes it to around 22 g.
Rolled around cucumber
A cold finger food version for when the idea of a plate is too much.
What to eat it with
Cream cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, capers, lemon, dill. Something creamy and something sharp, which is why the traditional combinations work.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoked salmon | about 22 g | 180 kcal | this page |
| Salmon | about 25 g | 208 kcal | See the page |
| Prosciutto | about 27 g | 250 kcal | See the page |
| Cream cheese | about 6 g | 340 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cold smoked, sliced, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Smoked salmon in all three countries. Lox in the US is cured rather than smoked and is saltier. Hot smoked salmon is a different product again, flakier and firmer, with slightly more protein per gram.
Questions people ask
Is smoked salmon high in protein?
Moderately, at about 22 g per 100 g, but a realistic serve of three slices is only 11 g. Put it with eggs or cottage cheese to make it a real protein stop.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.