Scallop - How Many Calories?

Scallop calories and protein

Steamed edible scallop meat without added fat provides 111 kcal and 20.54 g protein per 100 g. A weighed 85 g amount contains about 94 kcal, 17.46 g protein and 0.71 g fat. Shells, butter, cream and breading are excluded.

Match the calculation to raw or cooked weight

USDA's separate raw scallop entry reports 69 kcal per 100 g, while the steamed entry used here reports 111 kcal. The difference does not mean that steaming adds fat. Raw and cooked samples have different water contents, and two separate database entries cannot establish an exact cooking loss or a reliable raw-to-cooked yield.

Use the cooked table when weighing scallops after cooking. Five small scallops and five large scallops need not weigh the same. The source's 85 g measure represents roughly 3 ounces, not a fixed number of pieces.

Butter and sauces change the meal total

Butter used for searing, a cream sauce and a breadcrumb coating must be counted in addition to plain steamed scallops. Neither all nor none of the fat placed in a pan can be assumed to end up in the serving. Recording the sauce actually eaten gives a more useful estimate than weighing the scallops alone.

The cooked reference contains 667 mg sodium per 100 g. Low fat does not automatically mean low sodium. For a packaged product with salt, brine or processing information, use its own nutrition panel.

Combining 100 g plain steamed scallops with 100 g buttered rice pilaf gives about 276 kcal and 22.98 g protein. The rice already includes butter; any sauce added to the scallops is outside that total.

For a vegetable accompaniment, 200 g rice-free zucchini with dill and 100 g plain steamed scallops provide about 184 kcal and 24.59 g protein. The zucchini recipe already includes its cooking oil.

Handling and cooking

Prepare raw scallops separately from salads and cooked food. FDA's cooking table describes scallop flesh as milky white or opaque and firm when cooked. Thaw under refrigeration and avoid leaving cooked seafood at room temperature for prolonged periods.

Reference details

The table uses USDA SR28 entry 90240, bay and sea scallops, cooked and steamed. Entry 15172 supplies the separate raw comparison. The references do not establish identical values for every species or commercial treatment. Vitamin A is 2 µg RAE, distinct from 5 IU. Explicit source zeros for sugars, fiber and vitamin C were retained.

• USDA SR28: entries 90240 and 15172
• FDA: handling and cooking scallops