Calories in Shrimp: Per Piece and Per 100g

Cooked shrimp contains approximately 99 calories per 100 g — with 24 g of protein, 0.3 g of fat, and essentially zero carbohydrates (USDA FoodData Central, NDB #15152).

Shrimp is one of the most calorie-efficient proteins available. A 150 g serving — a generous restaurant-sized portion — delivers roughly 36 g of protein for fewer than 150 calories before any added fat or sauce. Understanding where those numbers come from, and how preparation changes them, is the practical knowledge that makes shrimp genuinely useful whether you are cutting calories or managing blood sugar.

Calories and Macros by Portion

The table below uses USDA FoodData Central values for cooked, moist-heat shrimp (no added ingredients). Piece weights are averages; actual shrimp size varies by count grade.

Portion	Weight	Calories	Protein	Fat	Carbs
1 small shrimp	~4 g	~4 kcal	0.8 g	0.0 g	0 g
1 medium shrimp	~6 g	~6 kcal	1.2 g	0.1 g	0 g
1 large shrimp	~9 g	~9 kcal	1.9 g	0.1 g	0 g
1 jumbo shrimp	~14 g	~14 kcal	2.9 g	0.1 g	0 g
6 medium shrimp (typical starter)	~36 g	~36 kcal	7.2 g	0.4 g	0 g
100 g cooked (benchmark)	100 g	99 kcal	24 g	1 g	0 g
150 g cooked (main serving)	150 g	149 kcal	36 g	1.5 g	0 g

Cholesterol is notable: 100 g of shrimp contains roughly 189 mg, which is about 63% of the older 300 mg daily reference. Current evidence, including American Heart Association guidance updated in 2019, suggests that dietary cholesterol from seafood has minimal effect on LDL in most healthy adults when overall saturated fat intake is low — and shrimp saturated fat is extremely low at under 0.2 g per 100 g.

Macros: Why Shrimp Works

Shrimp is almost entirely protein and water. The macronutrient split per 100 g cooked is approximately 96% protein, 4% fat (by calorie proportion), and 0% carbohydrate. That profile creates several useful properties for nutrition planning:

• Protein density: 24 g per 100 g is higher than chicken breast (roughly 22 g per 100 g) and significantly higher than most fish. If you are working toward protein targets for body composition — typically 1.6-2.2 g per kg of body weight — shrimp is one of the most calorie-efficient ways to close a daily protein gap. Use our macro calculator to find your personal protein target.
• Near-zero carbs: Carbohydrate content is effectively 0 g in plain cooked shrimp, making it compatible with low-carb, ketogenic, and carb-controlled approaches. The only carbs appear when shrimp is breaded or sauced.
• Low fat: Total fat under 1 g per 100 g, with saturated fat well below 0.5 g. This is one of the lowest-fat animal protein sources.

The limiting variable is not the shrimp — it is what goes on or around it. Two tablespoons of garlic butter add approximately 200 calories. A light flour coating that absorbs frying oil can add 100-150 calories per 100 g. Logging the preparation method, not just the shrimp, is where accuracy matters.

Does Shrimp Fit Your Goals?

Weight loss: Shrimp is close to optimal for a calorie-deficit diet. High satiety from protein, negligible fat and carbs, and a genuinely low calorie load mean you can eat a substantial volume of shrimp without meaningfully threatening a deficit. A 200 g cooked portion provides 48 g of protein for under 200 calories — which is unusually difficult to beat among animal proteins. For context on how much of a deficit you need for your goals, see our TDEE calculator. A related deep-dive on using protein to stay full in a deficit is available in protein targets for weight loss.

Blood sugar and diabetes management: Plain cooked shrimp has a glycemic index of effectively 0 — zero digestible carbohydrates means no blood glucose response from the shrimp itself. This makes it one of the safest proteins for people managing type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. The concern in shrimp dishes is always the accompaniment: cocktail sauce (roughly 15 g sugar per 60 ml serving), sweet glazes, or breaded coatings can shift the glycemic impact of a shrimp dish substantially. Stick to dry preparations — grilled, steamed, or stir-fried with vegetables in olive oil — to keep the blood glucose profile close to zero.

High-volume eating: Because shrimp is dense with protein but low in fat and carbs, it is well-suited to approaches where you want to eat a large mass of food within a tight calorie budget. A full 300 g of cooked shrimp — a very large portion — contains roughly 297 calories and 72 g of protein.

A Note on Raw vs. Cooked Weight

Raw shrimp loses approximately 25-30% of its weight during cooking as water evaporates. A 100 g raw shrimp serving yields roughly 70-75 g cooked. If you are logging raw shrimp before cooking, use raw weight values (approximately 85 kcal per 100 g raw for shell-off shrimp) rather than cooked values, or weigh the shrimp after cooking and use cooked values. Mixing raw and cooked reference values for the same batch is the most common source of tracking error with shrimp.

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