Poke Bowl Calorie Calculator: The Short Answer
It depends on the goal. Ahi tuna is the leaner protein: about 150 calories and 25–30g of protein per 4 oz, with very little fat. Salmon runs richer — roughly 200–230 calories per 4 oz with a similar protein count — but brings substantially more EPA and DHA omega-3s. For calories, choose tuna; for omega-3s and satiety, choose salmon.
Better at what is the whole answer: tuna wins protein, leanness and price-per-gram; salmon wins omega-3s, richness and (for many) flavour; mercury and frequency break the tie across a week. This article scores the head-to-head per scoop and per nutrient, then gives the rotation that takes both fish's best without either's downside.
The Head-to-Head, Honestly Framed
Per standard scoop (about 100–120g): ahi tuna offers about 19g of protein at about 90–110 kcal; salmon about 17g at about 140–175 kcal (farmed fish at the top). The fat difference is the story in both directions — salmon's extra 50–70 kcal are substantially EPA and DHA omega-3s (about 1.5–2.5g per scoop against tuna's roughly 0.3g), the nutrients most associated with poke's health halo. Vitamin D follows the same direction (salmon is one of the few rich food sources). Mercury reverses it: tuna (especially albacore and bigeye/ahi) carries the highest mercury of the poke line, salmon the lowest of the fish — which converts the per-scoop tie-break into a per-week scheduling question. Sodium, potassium and B12 are comparable; texture and flavour are personal and decisive for many.
Worked Example: A Week of Lunches, Two Ways
- All-tuna week (four two-scoop bowls): protein per bowl about 2 × 19 = 38g from the fish; omega-3 from the fish about 4 × 0.6 = 2.4g across the week (at about 0.3g a scoop, 8 scoops).
- All-salmon week: protein per bowl about 34g; omega-3 about 8 × 2 = 16g across the week — six times the tuna week's delivery.
- The rotation week (two tuna bowls, two salmon bowls): protein averages (38 + 34) ÷ 2 = 36g a bowl; omega-3 lands mid-range at about 9g for the week; mercury exposure halves against the all-tuna pattern.
- Calorie consequence across the week: salmon bowls cost about 2 × (160 − 100) = 120 kcal more per bowl in fish alone; across two salmon bowls, about 240 kcal a week — the price of the omega-3s, visible and, for most, worth it.
Tuna vs Salmon per Scoop
The counter's eternal question, tabulated.
| Measure | Ahi tuna | Salmon (farmed) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protein | About 19g | About 17g | Tuna |
| Calories | About 90–110 | About 140–175 | Tuna (leanness) |
| Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) | About 0.3g | About 1.5–2.5g | Salmon, decisively |
| Vitamin D | Modest | Rich | Salmon |
| Mercury | Highest on the line | Lowest of the fish | Salmon (safety) |
| Texture / richness | Lean, clean, firm | Buttery, rich | Personal |
| Price (typical) | Premium | Premium (often slightly less) | Market-dependent |
Species Within the Names
Both names hide ranges. 'Tuna' at a poke counter is usually ahi (yellowfin or bigeye — bigeye carries more mercury), while albacore appears in seared and canned contexts; skipjack is the lightest-mercury tuna but rarely the poke cut. 'Salmon' spans farmed Atlantic (fattier, the table's figures) and wild Pacific species (leaner, denser in protein per calorie, stronger-flavoured). Seared preparations change nothing material nutritionally except adding the searing oil's line. The sushi-grade designation is a handling claim, not a species or a guarantee — freshness discipline (turnover, cold chain) remains the safety variable whatever the label says. For children and pregnancy, the mercury column dominates: salmon and shrimp become the defaults, tuna the occasional guest, per the usual guidance.
The Third Contender and the Rotation Verdict
Binary questions deserve a third option: yellowtail, shrimp and cooked preparations complicate the title fight usefully, but the deeper answer is rotation — the two fish cover each other's weaknesses so completely that alternating them beats choosing either. The rotation's arithmetic is below: mercury averaged down by salmon days, omega-3 averaged up by them too, protein steady throughout. A regular's month (eight bowls, alternating) is priced against eight bowls of either fish alone, and the alternating month wins on every aggregate the eater cares about.
- Eight ahi bowls: protein about 8 × 26 = 208g from the fish line (per 100g portions); mercury exposure at yellowfin's about 0.35 ppm: 800g × 0.35 = 280 mcg across the month.
- Eight salmon bowls: protein 8 × 22 = 176g; mercury at 0.02 ppm: 800 × 0.02 = 16 mcg; omega-3 (EPA/DHA) at about 2g per portion: about 16g across the month against ahi's roughly 8 × 0.3 = 2.4g.
- The alternating month (four and four): protein 104 + 88 = 192g (between the two, nearer tuna's); mercury 140 + 8 = 148 mcg (about half the all-ahi figure); omega-3 about 8 + 1.2 = 9.2g (nearly four times the all-ahi figure).
- The verdict the arithmetic dictates: tuna for the protein weeks, salmon for the recovery weeks, both for the month. 'Which is better' was a question about a single bowl; eating is a repeated game, and rotation is its dominant strategy.
Head-to-Head Mistakes
- Declaring a winner without the criterion: the fish that wins protein loses omega-3s, and both claims are true in the same breath.
- Eating tuna daily for its density while ignoring the mercury column — frequency is where tuna's weakness lives.
- Paying salmon's calorie premium while drowning it in spicy mayo: the bowl's fat line was already decided by the sauce.
- Assuming wild and farmed salmon are interchangeable in the log — 60 kcal per 100g of daylight separates them.
The Bottom Line
Tuna is better for protein and leanness (19g at about 100 kcal a scoop); salmon is better for omega-3s, vitamin D and mercury (about 2g of EPA/DHA a scoop) — and the week rotation captures both at an average of 36g of protein a bowl. Choose per meal in the Poke Bowl Calculator; schedule per week by the mercury column.
People Also Ask
What Is the Difference Between Poke and Sushi?
Format and seasoning. Poke is cubed raw fish, marinated (traditionally in soy, sesame and sea salt), served over warm rice or greens as a bowl. Sushi is vinegared rice formed with fish — as nigiri, rolls or hand rolls — where the rice is seasoned and the fish usually is not.
Who Should Use the Poke Bowl Calorie Calculator?
The Poke Bowl Calorie Calculator is for anyone whose decision depends on the number it calculates: people planning meals or managing a target, athletes fuelling training, home cooks verifying a recipe — and, with care, anyone preparing better questions for a professional. Who gets the most from it, group by group, is below.
How Big a Deficit Loses 1 lb a Week?
About 500 calories a day. A pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 calories, so a daily 500-calorie deficit sums to about 3,500 a week — approximately a pound. It is an approximation, not a law: early losses include water, and the body adapts over time, which is why real-world rates slow.
Why Doesn't My Label Total Match the 4/4/9 Maths?
Usually fibre, sugar alcohols or rounding. Labels may count fibre at about 2 kcal per gram rather than 4, sugar alcohols at reduced factors (erythritol near 0, others around 2–2. 4), and every printed value is rounded — calories to the nearest 5 or 10.