Lamb (lean, roasted) vs Beef (lean, roasted)

The short answer

Both red-meat roasts, lean-trimmed. Lamb is a little fattier with a distinctive taste and more B12; beef is slightly leaner with more of it going to protein and iron. Lamb for the richer flavour, beef for a leaner, more neutral roast.

Lamb (lean, roasted) and Beef (lean, roasted), per 100 g and per portion. A gap means USDA has no value for it — not zero.

	Lamb (lean, roasted) · per 100 g	Beef (lean, roasted) · per 100 g
Calories	180	177
Protein	28.2 g	27.8 g
Fat	6.7 g	6.5 g
Carbs	0 g	0 g
Fiber	0 g	0 g
Sugars	no data	0 g
Sodium	66 mg	36 mg
Vitamins & minerals — where both carry data
Calcium	8 mg	6 mg
Folate	24 µg	9 µg
Iron	2.1 mg	2.3 mg
Magnesium	26 mg	19 mg
Niacin	6.4 mg	5 mg
Phosphorus	208 mg	176 mg
Potassium	342 mg	228 mg
Riboflavin	0.3 mg	0.2 mg
Thiamin	0.1 mg	0.1 mg
Vitamin A	0 µg	0 µg
Vitamin B12	2.7 µg	1.5 µg
Vitamin B6	0.2 mg	0.4 mg
Vitamin C	0 mg	0 mg
Vitamin E	0.2 mg	0.4 mg
Vitamin K	no data	1.5 µg
Zinc	5 mg	4.8 mg

At equal calories (per 100 kcal)

Protein — Lamb (lean, roasted): 15.7 g, Beef (lean, roasted): 15.7 g · Fiber — Lamb (lean, roasted): 0 g, Beef (lean, roasted): 0 g · Sodium — Lamb (lean, roasted): 36.7 mg, Beef (lean, roasted): 20.3 mg

Generic USDA foods (not brands), so both carry micronutrients. Numbers are per 100 g unless the portion toggle is on. USDA FoodData Central, as of 2026-08-12.

Common questions

Is Lamb (lean, roasted) or Beef (lean, roasted) better?

Neither is “better” on its own — it depends what you want from it. The table shows where each is higher; the short answer says when each one fits. Compare on the same basis (per 100 g) and pick for your dish and your goal.

How were these numbers worked out?

Straight from USDA FoodData Central for the generic form of each food, per 100 g. We show the portion view too, but portion sizes differ between foods, so per 100 g is the fair comparison.

Why does one column say “no data”?

Because USDA has no value for that nutrient in that food — so we leave it blank rather than print a 0 that would read as “none”. A real zero from USDA still shows as 0.