How many calories are in ribeye?
Ribeye has 212 calories per 3 oz cooked (85 g) — that's 249 calories per 100 g, roughly 11% of a 2,000-calorie day. Most of those calories come from fat.
USDA FoodData Central · lean and fat, broiled · FDC 169557
Calories by portion
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 oz cooked (85 g) | 212 | 23.2 g | 0 g | 12.5 g |
| 100 g | 249 | 27.3 g | 0 g | 14.7 g |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 71 | 7.7 g | 0 g | 4.2 g |
Where the calories come from
Protein 45% Carbs 0% Fat 55%
Calories computed from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 169557, SR Legacy). lean and fat, broiled. The macro split uses general Atwater factors (protein and carbs ≈ 4 cal/g, fat ≈ 9 cal/g) and is approximate.
Ribeye is the steak you splurge on, and the calories track the reputation. A 3 oz cooked portion (85 g) carries about 212 calories for roughly 23 g of protein, and 100 g comes in at 249 calories — the most calorie-dense of the common steak cuts. The honest catch is that nobody eats just 3 ounces: a typical cut runs closer to 6 oz (~424 calories), and a half-pound ribeye clears 560-plus calories in one steak. What pushes ribeye above a leaner cut isn’t a mystery, and it isn’t the protein.
Where the calories come from
It’s the marbling. Per 100 g, ribeye carries about 27.3 g of protein and 14.7 g of total fat (5.7 g of that saturated) with zero carbohydrate. The protein and fat are close in grams, but they aren’t close in calories: fat costs 9 calories a gram against 4 for protein, so the intramuscular fat woven through the muscle does an outsized share of the work. That marbling is exactly what makes ribeye taste the way it does — and it’s why the same 3 oz that gives a leaner sirloin about 186 calories gives a ribeye 212. Turn the fat dial up, and the calorie count follows.
Portion is the whole game
Because ribeye is the fattiest common steak, the calories are governed almost entirely by how big a slab you cut. Set the cuts side by side and the spread is clear: 3 oz is ~212 calories, 6 oz is ~424, and an 8 oz restaurant ribeye lands near 565 — and most steakhouse portions start at 8. None of that makes ribeye a bad protein; it’s a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids, and it brings heme iron, B12, and zinc that lean white meats can’t match. It just means ribeye is the cut you portion for the calories rather than eat in giant slabs. For beef’s protein with the fat — and calories — dialed down, a leaner cut earns the everyday slot: see calories in 90/10 ground beef or compare cuts at protein in ribeye.
Packaged beef options, graded
Prefer something off the shelf? Here are the best-graded beef in our catalog — each scored on our transparent Labelgrade. Check the calorie line on each label for your goal.
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Labelgrade 67/100 · 90 cal · 9 g protein
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Labelgrade 65/100 · 80 cal · 12 g protein
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories are in a 3 oz cooked ribeye?
About 212 calories in a 3 oz cooked serving (85 g), based on 249 calories per 100 g (USDA FDC 169557, rib eye, lean and fat, broiled). That same serving carries roughly 23 g of protein — but ribeye runs more calories than a leaner cut because of its marbling.
How many calories are in an 8 oz ribeye?
An 8 oz cooked ribeye (about 227 g) lands near 565 calories, and most restaurant cuts are this size or larger. A more typical 6 oz cut is roughly 424 calories. The calories scale directly with the size of the steak, and so does the fat that comes with the marbling (USDA FDC 169557).
Why is ribeye higher in calories than other steaks?
The marbling. Ribeye is the most heavily marbled of the common cuts, and that intramuscular fat is what makes it calorie-dense — fat carries 9 calories a gram versus 4 for protein. At 14.7 g of total fat per 100 g, ribeye runs noticeably higher in calories than a leaner sirloin or top sirloin of the same weight.
Where do the calories in ribeye come from?
Protein and fat, with fat doing more of the work than in a leaner cut. Per 100 g, ribeye has about 27.3 g of protein and 14.7 g of total fat (5.7 g saturated) and zero carbohydrate. The protein and fat are close in grams, but because fat is more than twice as calorie-dense, the marbling is what pushes the total to 249 calories per 100 g.
Is ribeye too calorie-dense to eat on a diet?
Not at all — you just portion it. A measured 3 oz serving is about 212 calories of high-quality complete protein with iron, B12, and zinc. The trap is that ribeye is the cut nobody stops at 3 ounces on, so a half-pound steak clears 560-plus calories easily. Treat it as the steak you enjoy in a reasonable portion rather than your everyday lean beef.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-18, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 169557 (Beef, rib eye, small end, lean and fat, all grades, cooked, broiled; SR Legacy). We re-verify reference pages periodically and update when USDA revises the entry.
Whole-food values are USDA reference data, not a Labelgrade (that score is for branded packaged products). See our methodology and the TDEE calculator to turn this into a daily target.