Low-fat meats like chicken breast, snapper, tenderloin, and shrimp are about to become your new favorite flex.
Twenty of them sit ahead of you, and every single one packs serious protein without the grease trail. Some you already grill on repeat. Others, like rabbit or eye of round, deserve way more airtime than they get. Grab a fork and let’s find your new go-to.
Low-Fat Meats You Should Be Eating More
Not all low-fat meats are created equal, so I lined them up by grams of protein against grams of fat until a clear ranking fell out.
Some picks are the usual suspects. Others might make you raise an eyebrow. Each one below comes with a photo and the full breakdown, so you know exactly what’s landing on your fork.
Chicken Breast
Chicken breast is the default for a reason. Strip the skin off and you’re left with a slab of almost pure protein, barely any fat tagging along for the ride.
It’s bland enough to take on any marinade you throw at it or you can shred it into a pot of soup, which is the whole point. Nobody’s eating this for the flavor. They’re eating it because it hits 31 grams of protein for practically no fat and lets the rest of the meal do the talking.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 165kcal | 31g | 0g | 3.6g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Snapper
Snapper gives you a mild, flaky fillet that soaks up whatever seasoning is standing nearby, so it never turns into a boring dinner.
For barely any fat, you still get 22 grams of protein and that makes this humble white fish feel like it’s actually doing something for you.
Pan-sear it with lemon or steam it, and you’re eating healthy, no fuss, no drama.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 113kcal | 22g | 0g | 1.5g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Flank Steak
Flank steak used to be the cut you grabbed for fajitas and forgot the rest of the year, but it deserves way more credit than that. It’s leaner than a ribeye or a strip steak while still tasting unmistakably beefy.
Slice it thin against the grain, and it turns out tender enough to fool anyone into thinking you babied it all afternoon.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 176kcal | 23g | 0g | 8g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin gets a bad reputation from its fattier cousins, the chops and the ribs, but this cut is a different animal entirely. Trim the silver skin, and you’re left with something almost as lean as chicken breast, just with more iron and a richer flavor.
Roast it whole at high heat for 20 minutes and slice it thin. Simple as that, and dinner is sorted.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 143kcal | 26g | 0g | 3.5g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Eye Of Round
Eye of round comes from a hardworking part of the cow, which means almost no marbling and a shockingly small fat number on the label.
Sliced thin and cooked hot and fast, it’s the roast beef you’d get at a good deli counter. Overcook it and it turns into shoe leather, so treat it gently.
A quick sear, a rest, then slice against the grain. Do that and you get a lean, protein-dense cut without the price tag of a fancier steak.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 143kcal | 28g | 0g | 3g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Cod
Cod barely registers on the fat scale. You get about 1 gram per 100g and roughly 20 grams of protein for under 90 calories, which is a ratio most meats can’t touch.
It’s mild enough to take on whatever you throw at it, garlic, lemon, a spicy crust, and still flakes apart perfectly at the fork. Cheap, filling, and it never sits heavy in your stomach after dinner.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 82kcal | 20g | 0g | 1g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Tilapia
Tilapia is a freshwater fish that’s affordably priced, and I respect that for something that tastes so mild and flaky.
It shows up ready to become whatever you’re craving that night, blackened, lime-soaked, drowned in garlic butter, whatever’s in the cabinet.
Underneath all that seasoning, it’s basically 20 grams of protein in a fish costume, so eat it four nights running and don’t feel weird about it.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 96kcal | 20.1g | 0g | 1.7g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Shrimp
A dozen large shrimp will run you under a gram of fat and around 20 grams of protein, which is a ratio almost nothing else in the sea can touch.
They cook in about 3 minutes flat, so there’s no excuse for reaching for something fried when you’re starving at 6 pm.
Toss them in a hot pan with garlic and lemon, and you’ve got dinner before the rice is even done.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 99kcal | 24g | 0g | 0.3g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Yellowfin Tuna
A seared tuna steak looks and eats like a splurge, but the macros say otherwise. You’re getting close to 26 grams of protein per 100 grams with barely a gram of fat clinging to it.
Sear it hot and fast, a minute or two per side, so the middle stays pink and the outside doesn’t overcook into cardboard. That’s the whole trick with tuna.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 109kcal | 26g | 0g | 1g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Venison
Venison comes from an animal that walks around a forest all day instead of standing in a feedlot, and you can taste the difference in how little fat it carries.
A 100g serving delivers over 30g of protein for barely 3g of fat, numbers that put most beef cuts to shame.
It does need a lighter hand in the kitchen. Sear it fast, rest it, slice it thin. Treat it like steak and it earns the plate.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 158kcal | 30g | 0g | 3g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Calamari
Calamari sounds like a fried bar snack, but the squid itself is lean enough to sit right up there with chicken breast. Dredge it in flour and drop it in oil and you’ve ruined the whole point.
Grill it or sear it hot and fast instead. You get 16 grams of protein for barely 1.4 grams of fat, a ratio that fried calamari could only dream about.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 92kcal | 16g | 3g | 1.4g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Filet Mignon
Filet mignon gets a bad reputation as a splurge food, but it’s actually one of the leanest cuts of beef you can buy. It comes from the tenderloin, a muscle that barely does any work, so it carries very little marbling compared to a ribeye or strip steak.
That means you get a hefty dose of protein without the fat load people assume comes with steak night.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 190kcal | 25g | 0g | 10g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Canadian Bacon
Canadian bacon comes from the loin, not the belly, so it skips almost all the fat that makes regular bacon regular bacon. A couple slices next to eggs get you real protein without greasing up the pan.
It’s also cured and sliced thin, which means you’re eating meat, not a slab of rendered fat with a pink tint. Add it to a sandwich, and it fills the same slot as ham with less guilt attached.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 145kcal | 20g | 1g | 6g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Turkey Breast
Turkey breast is basically chicken’s leaner cousin who also goes to the gym. Strip the skin, and you’re left with almost pure protein, barely any fat clinging on for the ride.
It’s also stupidly versatile. Slice it for sandwiches, roast a whole one for Sunday dinner, or grind it up for meatballs that don’t taste like punishment.
Cheap, filling, and it keeps you full without the grease hangover.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 135kcal | 30g | 0g | 1g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Rabbit
Rabbit is the meat nobody thinks to buy, and everyone should. It tastes like a leaner, slightly sweeter chicken and packs serious protein into a fraction of the fat you’d get from most red meat.
Farmers used to keep rabbits precisely because they grow fast on almost nothing and yield meat this clean. Worth tracking down at a butcher who actually stocks it.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 173kcal | 33g | 0g | 3.5g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Ground Chicken
Ground chicken made from breast meat cooks up fast and takes on whatever spice you throw at it, which makes it the easy swap for beef in tacos or meatballs.
It keeps the fat low without asking you to give up the texture that makes ground meat satisfying.
Just check the label. Some tubs mix in skin and dark meat, and that quietly doubles the fat, so breast meat only is the move here.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 143kcal | 24g | 0g | 4g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Trimmed Pork Loin Chops
Trim the fat cap off a pork loin chop, and you’re left with a cut that rivals chicken breast for protein per gram. People still think of pork chops as fatty diner food. That’s the untrimmed version talking.
A trimmed loin chop packs over 30 grams of protein with the fat kept low, and it holds moisture better than chicken through a hot pan sear.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 195kcal | 30g | 0g | 8g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Canned Tuna in Water
A can of tuna in water costs about a dollar and delivers protein without any of the fat drama of the deli counter. No cooking, no pan, no dishes.
I keep a shelf of these for lunches when I can’t be bothered, and the numbers still hold up. Just rinse it a little if the brine taste is too much for you.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 116kcal | 26g | 0g | 1g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Skinless Chicken Thighs
Skinless thighs get a bad rap next to breast meat, but pull the skin off, and you’re left with something almost as lean and twice as forgiving on the grill. The dark meat brings a little extra fat, which is exactly why it stays juicy when you inevitably overcook it by a few minutes.
You still land around 20 grams of protein a serving without the dry, chalky texture breast meat gives you when you’re not paying attention.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 179kcal | 25g | 0g | 8g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
Scallops
Scallops pack a stupid amount of protein into almost nothing else. A 3-ounce serving runs under 100 calories and barely a gram of fat, yet delivers close to 20 grams of protein.
They sear in about 90 seconds a side, so dinner happens fast. Butter is optional. The scallop does the work.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT (PER 100g)
| Cal | P | C | F |
| 88kcal | 17g | 2g | 1g |
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
