Monkfish: Nutrition, Taste, Mercury and How to Cook It

Monkfish is a bottom-dwelling Atlantic fish with an enormous head and a firm, sweet tail that cooks up dense and meaty. It is lean: the USDA SR Legacy entry for cooked monkfish lists 82 calories and 15.8 g of protein per 3 oz, with selenium at 72% of the Daily Value. This guide covers monkfish nutrition, what monkfish tastes like, whether monkfish is healthy, monkfish mercury, a 2007 case in which puffer fish was sold as monkfish, and how to cook it.

Peptide Labs does not sell monkfish or monkfish products. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is monkfish?

NOAA Fisheries describes the American monkfish, Lophius americanus, as tadpole-like: a body that is mostly a broad head with a large mouth, tapering to a narrow tail, with mottled brown to olive-green skin on top. It lives on sand, mud and shell bottoms from the Grand Banks and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence south to Cape Hatteras, from inshore waters down to nearly 3,000 feet. NOAA lists many other names for it, including goosefish, angler, allmouth, sea-devil, monktails and lotte.

The name angler fits its hunting style. NOAA explains that monkfish ambush prey by using a modified spine on the head as a fishing pole and bait, then gulping fish into a mouth lined with rows of backward-pointing teeth. In the kitchen, the part you see for sale is almost always the tail, a thick, boneless loin on either side of a central backbone. Its firm, sweet texture earned it the old nickname of poor man’s lobster. In Japan, monkfish liver, called ankimo, is a prized dish; SR Legacy has no entry for it, so we cannot give its nutrition.

What does monkfish taste like?

Monkfish tastes mild and slightly sweet, with none of the strong flavor of oily fish like mackerel. The texture is the real draw: dense, firm and springy rather than flaky, which is why it is compared to lobster tail and why it holds together in stews, kebabs and on the grill. Overcooking makes it rubbery, so it rewards careful timing. If you like the clean taste of cod or halibut but want a meatier bite, monkfish is a good match.

Monkfish nutrition (USDA SR Legacy)

The values below come from the USDA SR Legacy entry Fish, monkfish, cooked, dry heat (FDC 171996), using the USDA 3 oz (85 g) portion. %DV uses FDA Daily Values. The cooked entry reports no saturated fat, EPA, DHA or vitamin D value, so those rows say Not reported rather than zero.

In USDA data, monkfish is a lean, high-protein fish: under 2 grams of fat per 3 oz and very little sodium. Selenium is the standout mineral at 72% of the Daily Value, and potassium is about twice the USDA value for cod. See foods high in selenium and high-protein foods for comparisons. The raw entry (FDC 173676) lists 76 calories and 14.5 grams of protein per 100 grams; cooking drives off water, so the cooked values per 100 grams are higher.

How monkfish compares nutritionally

Because of its nickname, monkfish is often compared with lobster. The table uses USDA SR Legacy entries for 3 oz of each: Fish, monkfish, cooked, dry heat (FDC 171996), Fish, cod, Atlantic, cooked, dry heat (FDC 171956) and Crustaceans, lobster, northern, cooked, moist heat (FDC 174209). %DV uses FDA Daily Values.

In USDA data, the three are close on calories and protein. Monkfish has the least cholesterol and sodium and the most potassium, while lobster leads on selenium and zinc. Our lobster guide covers the real thing.

Is monkfish healthy?

Monkfish can be a solid choice in a varied diet that includes fish. Based on USDA SR Legacy data, it is high in protein and selenium, a good source of vitamin B12, phosphorus and potassium, and very low in fat, sodium and cholesterol. USDA reports no omega-3 values for cooked monkfish, so it should not be counted on for EPA and DHA; oily fish such as salmon are the usual source. The way it is cooked matters too: butter sauces, bacon wraps and batter add fat and salt that the table does not show.

Two other facts round out the picture. Its mercury group sits in the middle of the FDA chart, and fish is a major allergen. Both are covered below.

Monkfish mercury: the FDA Good Choices group

The FDA and EPA Advice about Eating Fish, revised in October 2021, is written for people who are or might become pregnant or are breastfeeding, and for parents feeding children. It places monkfish in the middle group, labeled Good Choices, alongside grouper, halibut and mahi mahi. Cod and American and spiny lobster are in the lowest-mercury group. Our grouper guide covers another fish in the same middle group. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or feeding young children, the FDA chart and your clinician are the places to check how often fish from each group fits.

Fish is one of the nine major food allergens under US law, and FDA guidance counts all bony fish in that group, which includes monkfish. Packaged foods must name the species of fish on the label.

When puffer fish was sold as monkfish

The problem in this case was not monkfish but its name. A 2009 report in the Journal of Food Protection described a 2007 case in which two people in Chicago developed symptoms of tetrodotoxin poisoning after eating home-cooked fish sold as monkfish. Genetic testing showed the fish were actually puffer fish, tetrodotoxin was found at high levels in the leftovers and in the same lot, and the case led to a voluntary recall in three states. The report describes tetrodotoxin as a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis and death if enough is eaten. The report notes that the importer was placed on an FDA import alert for species misbranding. FDA Import Alert 16-04, which covers misbranded species, still lists a Chinese exporter whose puffer fish was misdeclared as monk fish in an entry dated 2007.

Why it matters: FDA Import Alert 16-20 states that in several puffer fish species the toxin levels are high enough to cause rapid death, and that the toxin cannot be destroyed by cooking or freezing. For that reason FDA restricts imports of puffer fish and bans personal importation. NOAA notes that almost all of the monkfish for sale in the US comes from US fisheries, which lowers the odds of a mix-up, but a few habits help:

• Shop at counters that name the species and origin: US-caught Lophius americanus is the usual monkfish.
• Know what a monkfish tail looks like: a thick, boneless loin around one central bone, usually sold with the head removed.
• If anyone feels unwell after eating fish, seek medical care, or call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 in the US.

How to cook monkfish

Monkfish is forgiving to cook as long as you avoid overcooking it. FoodSafety.gov lists 145 degrees Fahrenheit as the safe minimum internal temperature for fin fish, or until the flesh is opaque and separates easily with a fork.

• Trim the membrane: peel off the thin gray-purple membrane around the tail before cooking, or it shrinks and toughens.
• Pat it dry: monkfish holds water, so dry it well before searing.
• Sear or roast: sear medallions in a hot pan, or roast the whole tail on the bone.
• Stew it: its firm flesh holds together in bouillabaisse-style stews and curries.
• Grill it: cubes stay on skewers better than most fish.
• Check doneness: confirm 145 degrees Fahrenheit with a food thermometer at the thickest part.

For another fish with a story behind its menu name, see our eel guide, and our pescatarian diet guide covers building meals around fish and seafood.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

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