Fish Per Person Calculator
Tell us how many people are eating for the weight of fish to buy.
Answer
720 g of fish fillet
The detail
Reference and detail
180g of fillet per adult
That is a proper main-course portion of skinless fillet, a good piece of cod, haddock or salmon. Children take around 100g. As a starter, or as part of a fish pie with potato and sauce, 120g a head is plenty.
Buying whole fish
A whole fish loses head, bones and skin, so allow 350 to 400g of whole fish per person to end up with a decent fillet. One sea bass or trout of about 350g is a neat single portion; a 1.5kg fish will feed four.
Buy it late, cook it soon
Fresh fish is at its best the day you buy it and should be kept in the coldest part of the fridge and cooked within a day. Frozen-at-sea fillets are often fresher than anything on the counter, and you defrost only what you need.
Questions and answers
Questions about fish portion sizes
Is a fish fillet portion the same size as a meat portion?
No, fish fillet portions are typically a bit larger by weight than boneless meat, since fish has less fat and shrinks less on cooking. Use the fish-specific figure above rather than the meat one.
How much extra should I allow for a whole fish compared with a fillet?
Considerably more, because head, bones and skin on a whole fish make up a large share of its weight and aren't eaten. If you're buying whole fish rather than fillets, allow well above the fillet figure per person.
Does the fish portion size change for battered or breaded fish?
The raw fish weight itself doesn't change, but a coating adds bulk to the finished dish, so a battered portion can look and eat more generously than the same weight of plain fillet.
How much fish do I need if it's a main course rather than one of several dishes?
Use the generous end of the range shown above. Fish served as the sole main, without a meat alternative, needs to be a full portion on its own rather than shared attention with another protein.