Group · Meat
Pigeon
Farmed pigeon, or squab, is a bird with dark red flesh, which is unusual: its breast muscles, heavily used in flight, are rich in myoglobin. It is a gourmet meat, traditionally served pink.
As for nutrition facts, roasted: 213 kcal per 100 g for 23.9 g of protein and 13 g of fat. It provides 5.91 mg of iron (42% of the reference intake), 332 mg of phosphorus, 3.83 mg of zinc and 7.6 mg of vitamin B3 per 100 g, with only 0.14 g of salt.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 213 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 887 kJ |
| Protein | 23,9 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Copper0,76 mg76 %
- Vitamin B37,6 mg48 %
- Phosphorus332 mg47 %
- Iron5,91 mg42 %
- Vitamin B60,57 mg41 %
- Zinc3,83 mg38 %
- Vitamin B10,28 mg25 %
- Vitamin B20,35 mg25 %
See the other 14 nutrients
- Vitamin B120,41 µg16 %
- Potassium256 mg13 %
- Magnesium26 mg7 %
- DHA0,02 g6 %
- Vitamin K14 µg5 %
- Vitamin D0,2 µg4 %
- Vitamin C2,9 mg4 %
- Vitamin A28 µg4 %
- Vitamin B96 µg3 %
- Iodine4 µg3 %
- Calcium17 mg2 %
- EPA0,01 g2 %
- Total omega-30,02 g1 %
- Vitamin E0,06 mg1 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
5.91 mg of iron: more than double a beef steak. It is the myoglobin in its flight muscles. Few meats other than offal reach this level, and it is haem iron, the best absorbed.
332 mg of phosphorus, or 47% of the reference intake. A very high score for a meat. Phosphorus plays a part in bone mineralisation, alongside calcium.
Pink, or not at all. Its lean, dense flesh dries out very quickly: twelve to fifteen minutes in a hot oven for a whole pigeon, then rest. Well done, it turns dry and bitter.
One pigeon makes a small portion. Count one 400 g pigeon, raw, per person, which is about 180 g of flesh. The loss to bone is considerable on this bird.
Farmed or wild, two different products. The wild wood pigeon is clearly leaner and stronger in flavour; it counts as game, with the precautions that go with it: cook it right through and watch out for lead shot.