Catfish is a lean fish; the cornmeal crust and the fryer are what turn it into a heavy plate. A 3 oz (85 g) piece of breaded, fried catfish has about 195 calories, according to USDA, while the same amount of farm-raised catfish cooked without a coating has about 122. Restaurant fillets run bigger: one fried fillet at Cracker Barrel has 400 calories, against 130 for the grilled one. At a fish fry, one photo in Dietfit is enough: Deep Scan counts the fish, the frying oil and the cornmeal crust apart from the hush puppies and slaw, so neither the crust nor the sides vanish into one guess.
Quick answers
Per fillet: about 199 calories for a USDA fillet (3 oz, 87 g) and about 344 for a large one (4.8 oz, 135 g).
At restaurants: 400 calories for a Cracker Barrel fried fillet; 720 for the fried catfish at California Fish Grill, before sides.
Fried vs grilled: the same 90 g fillet goes from about 154 calories grilled to 230 fried, and loses 5 g of protein to the breading.
A fish fry plate: two large fillets with hush puppies, slaw and tartar sauce come to about 1,180 calories.
Mercury: the FDA lists catfish among the fish lowest in mercury.
How many calories are in fried catfish?
A fried catfish fillet has about 200 to 400 calories, and the size of the fillet explains most of the gap. USDA weighs a typical fillet at about 3 oz, while restaurant fillets are usually larger.
Fried catfish | Serving | Calories | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Breaded and fried (USDA) | 1 fillet (3.1 oz, 87 g) | 199 | 15.7 g | 11.6 g | 7.0 g | 244 mg |
Fried, small fillet (USDA) | 1 fillet (3.2 oz, 90 g) | 230 | 12.1 g | 15.0 g | 10.5 g | 376 mg |
Fried, large fillet (USDA) | 1 fillet (4.8 oz, 135 g) | 344 | 18.2 g | 22.5 g | 15.8 g | 564 mg |
Cracker Barrel fried fillet | 1 fillet | 400 | 18 g | 32 g | 9 g | 580 mg |
Cracker Barrel fried catfish, with hush puppies and tartar sauce | 2 fillets | 810 | 38 g | 57 g | 35 g | 1,390 mg |
California Fish Grill fried catfish, fish only | 1 order | 720 | 57 g | 45 g | 23 g | 970 mg |
Source: USDA FoodData Central; Cracker Barrel nutrition guide (March 2024); California Fish Grill menu.
The two USDA entries come from different USDA datasets. The 90 g fillet has more carbs and fat per ounce, a sign of a thicker coating, and less protein than the 87 g one. At Cracker Barrel, a fried fillet has about the same protein as the large USDA fillet but 9 g more fat.
Fried vs grilled, baked and steamed catfish
Frying adds calories in two ways: the oil soaks into the crust, and the crust takes the place of fish. Here is the same 90 g (3.2 oz) fillet cooked five ways:
Catfish, 1 fillet (3.2 oz, 90 g) | Calories | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fried | 230 | 12.1 g | 15.0 g | 10.5 g |
Baked, coated | 185 | 15.5 g | 10.0 g | 7.0 g |
Baked or broiled | 170 | 17.0 g | 10.7 g | 0 g |
Grilled | 154 | 17.4 g | 8.8 g | 0 g |
Steamed | 135 | 17.3 g | 6.8 g | 0 g |
Source: USDA FoodData Central.
Put another way, fried catfish costs about 19 calories for every gram of protein; grilled catfish costs about 9. The same gap shows up at Cracker Barrel, where a grilled fillet has 130 calories and 19 g of protein, and a fried one has 400 calories and 18 g.
The fish fry plate: where the rest of the calories come from
Fried catfish rarely comes alone. Hush puppies, coleslaw, fries and tartar sauce often add more than the fish:
Side | Serving | Calories | Fat | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hush puppies | 3 pieces (2.3 oz, 66 g) | 195 | 8.7 g | 537 mg |
Coleslaw, restaurant | 1 side (5.3 oz, 150 g) | 239 | 17.7 g | 332 mg |
French fries, fast food | 1 small order (3.9 oz, 110 g) | 343 | 16.2 g | 231 mg |
French fries, fast food | 1 medium order (5.1 oz, 145 g) | 452 | 21.4 g | 305 mg |
Tartar sauce | 2 tbsp (1 oz, 28 g) | 59 | 4.7 g | 187 mg |
Source: USDA FoodData Central.
A typical plate of two large fried fillets with three hush puppies, a side of slaw and 2 tbsp of tartar sauce comes to about 1,181 calories and 2,184 mg of sodium. Swap the slaw for a medium order of fries and it reaches about 1,394 calories. The fish is only about half of either plate; the rest is fried dough, potatoes and mayonnaise-based sauces.
Hush puppies are fried cornbread batter; see our guide to cornbread calories for the full picture.
Is fried catfish healthy?
Catfish itself is a good protein choice: 3 oz (85 g) of farm-raised catfish cooked without coating has about 122 calories and 16 g of protein, and wild catfish about 89 calories. The FDA lists catfish among the fish lowest in mercury, with one caveat: catfish caught by family and friends from local waters may be under a fish advisory, so check local guidance first.
Frying is what changes the picture. Breading and oil add about half again as many calories per ounce and most of the fat, and a full plate with sides comes close to a day's worth of sodium. Fried catfish works as an occasional meal; grilled, baked or blackened catfish works as a regular one.
How to fit fried catfish into a weight-loss plan
One fried fillet fits a calorie deficit fine; the plate around it is the harder part. These changes cut the most:
One fillet, not two. A large fried fillet is about 344 calories; the second one doubles it.
Swap one side. A cup of plain collard greens has about 63 calories, against 343 to 452 for an order of fries.
Skip the second sauce. Two tablespoons of tartar sauce add about 59 calories; hot sauce or lemon adds almost none.
Order it grilled or blackened. At Cracker Barrel, that one change takes a fillet from 400 calories to 130.
Bake the coated fillet at home. The same 90 g fillet has about 185 calories baked with a coating, against 230 fried.
Catfish and grits is another Southern pairing; see whether grits are healthy before adding a bowl. Eating at a fish camp or seafood chain? Our tips for eating out while losing weight cover the rest of the menu.
A fish fry plate is hard to estimate by eye, because the fillets hide under the hush puppies and the slaw blends into the sides. With an AI calorie tracker like Dietfit, you take one photo and Deep Scan outlines each item, then Meal Score, a health score for each meal, shows how the plate fits your day. In one scan of a Southern fried catfish plate, Deep Scan counted 870 calories: 442 for the fillet (216 for the fish, 133 for the frying oil and 93 for the cornmeal crust), 284 for three hush puppies, 140 for the slaw and 4 for a lemon wedge.
FAQ
How many calories are in a fried catfish fillet?
A fried catfish fillet has about 199 to 344 calories, depending on size and coating, according to USDA. A 3 oz (87 g) fillet has about 199 calories, and a large 4.8 oz (135 g) fillet about 344. Restaurant fillets run higher; one fried fillet at Cracker Barrel has 400 calories.
How many calories are in a fried catfish dinner?
A fried catfish dinner with two large fillets, three hush puppies, coleslaw and tartar sauce has about 1,180 calories, built from USDA values. The Cracker Barrel fried catfish plate with hush puppies and tartar sauce has 810 calories, not counting any other sides.
Is fried catfish high in protein?
Fried catfish has about 12 to 18 g of protein per fillet, depending on size. Grilled catfish has more protein for fewer calories, about 17 g in a 154-calorie fillet, because no breading takes the place of fish.
How many carbs are in fried catfish?
Fried catfish has about 7 to 16 g of carbs per fillet, all from the cornmeal or flour coating. Grilled, baked or steamed catfish without a coating has no carbs.
Is catfish high in mercury?
No. The FDA lists catfish among the fish lowest in mercury. Catfish caught by family or friends from local lakes and rivers can be the exception, so check local fish advisories before eating them often.
Is blackened catfish healthier than fried?
Blackened or grilled catfish is usually lighter, because it is seasoned and seared instead of breaded and fried. At Cracker Barrel, the spicy grilled catfish fillet has 130 calories, against 400 for the fried fillet.
References
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/174187/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, channel, cooked, breaded and fried", FDC ID 174187
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2706238/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, fried", FDC ID 2706238
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2706237/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, baked or broiled, coated", FDC ID 2706237
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2706235/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, baked or broiled", FDC ID 2706235
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2706236/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, grilled", FDC ID 2706236
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2706239/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, steamed", FDC ID 2706239
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/175166/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, channel, farmed, cooked, dry heat", FDC ID 175166
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/173714/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Fish, catfish, channel, wild, cooked, dry heat", FDC ID 173714
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2707819/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Hush puppy", FDC ID 2707819
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2709814/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Coleslaw, fast food / restaurant", FDC ID 2709814
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2709461/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Potato, french fries, fast food", FDC ID 2709461
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2710173/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Tartar sauce", FDC ID 2710173
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/170407/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Collards, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt", FDC ID 170407
https://www.crackerbarrel.com/-/media/Project/cb-brandsite/brandsite/pdfs/Nutrition-Guide.pdf, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, "Nutritional Facts n' Figures", March 2024
https://www.cafishgrill.com/products/fried-catfish, California Fish Grill, "Fried Catfish" menu page
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish, "Advice about Eating Fish", U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, content current as of March 5, 2024
By Khanh Phan