Group · Fish
Dab
The dab (known in French as limande) is a North Atlantic flat fish, a cousin of sole and plaice but much cheaper. Its fine white flesh is easily lifted into four fillets.
In terms of nutrition facts, raw: 80.8 kcal per 100 g, with 18.3 g of protein and 0.85 g of fat. It provides 262 mg of potassium, 176 mg of phosphorus, 47.5 mg of calcium, 30 µg of iodine and 1.67 µg of vitamin B12 per 100 g, with 0.28 g of salt.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 81 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 342 kJ |
| Protein | 18,3 g |
| Fat | 0,9 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Vitamin B121,67 µg67 %
- DHA0,16 g64 %
- Phosphorus176 mg25 %
- Selenium13,8 µg25 %
- Iodine30 µg20 %
- EPA0,04 g17 %
- Vitamin B32,64 mg17 %
- Vitamin B60,23 mg16 %
See the other 16 nutrients
- Potassium262 mg13 %
- Vitamin B10,1 mg9 %
- Vitamin B50,54 mg9 %
- Total omega-30,2 g8 %
- Magnesium24,7 mg7 %
- Copper0,06 mg6 %
- Calcium47,5 mg6 %
- Vitamin B20,08 mg6 %
- Zinc0,46 mg5 %
- Vitamin E0,4 mg3 %
- Vitamin B95 µg3 %
- Iron0,29 mg2 %
- Manganese0,04 mg2 %
- Vitamin C0,5 mg1 %
- Omega-3 ALA0 g0 %
- Omega-6 LA0 g0 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
80.8 kcal: among the lightest fish in the database. With 18.3 g of protein, it is an excellent ratio, comparable to that of sole for a third of the price.
Its flesh is fragile: cook it very briefly. Three minutes per side in a frying pan for fillets, or six minutes whole in the oven. It falls apart beyond that.
It is not an oily fish. At 0.204 g of omega-3 per 100 g, it does not count towards the weekly portion of oily fish recommended by Anses (the French food safety agency).
Whole and on the bone, it is much better. Like all flatfish, it keeps its juices when cooked on its skeleton. Filleted pieces dry out much faster.
Dab, lemon sole, sole: three different fish. The lemon sole is in between, finer than the dab and less fine than sole. Prices follow this ranking, and commercial names add to the confusion.