Calories in Chicken Thigh, Leg and Drumstick

How many calories are in a chicken thigh?

USDA weighs the edible part of a roasted thigh from today's chickens at 137 g with the skin on and 116 g without it. That's the meat you eat, with the bone already left on the plate. Here's how the calories in chicken thighs add up:

So how many calories is a chicken thigh? Between about 210 and 320, depending on the skin. Thighs sold in stores vary a lot, and a small chicken thigh can be half the size of a large one, so weigh yours once and set the grams in the calculator above. Chicken thigh calories per oz work out to about 51 skinless and 66 with skin.

Chicken thigh skinless nutrition

The calories in chicken thigh without skin come to 179 per 100 g, and one skinless thigh has about 208 calories. How many calories are in a chicken thigh with no skin compared with skin on? About 110 fewer: the skin is only around 21 g of the thigh, but it's mostly fat. Skinless thigh meat still has about 8 g of fat per 100 g, which is why it stays juicy where breast meat dries out.

Chicken thigh with skin nutrition

Skin-on chicken thighs have 232 calories per 100 g, so a whole thigh with skin comes to about 318 calories, with 20 g of fat and 32 g of protein. Roasting lets some fat render out. Fried, breaded thighs have more calories than these roasted values, because the coating soaks up oil.

How much protein in a chicken leg?

A chicken leg is the thigh and drumstick together. A whole roasted leg with skin gives about 62 g of protein and 475 calories from 258 g of meat and skin. Without the skin, the meat is 199 g with about 48 g of protein and 346 calories.

• Protein in one chicken leg with skin: about 62 g
• Skinless chicken leg calories: about 346, with 48 g of protein
• Protein in 2 chicken legs: about 124 g with skin, 97 g skinless
• Calories in a chicken thigh and leg together: the same as a whole leg, about 475 with skin

Most packs labeled "chicken legs" in the U.S. are drumsticks only. If yours have no thigh attached, use the drumstick numbers below.

How much protein in a chicken drumstick?

A roasted drumstick with skin has about 24.6 g of protein and 201 calories, from 105 g of meat and skin. A skinless drumstick has 23.2 g of protein and 149 calories from 96 g. How many grams of protein are in a chicken drumstick per 100 g? About 24 g, the same as thigh meat. Two skinless drumsticks give about 46.5 g of protein for under 300 calories.

Chicken drumstick skinless nutrition per 100 g: 155 calories, 24.2 g protein, 5.7 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat and no carbs. With skin: 191 calories and 10.2 g of fat.

How many grams of protein are in a chicken wing?

Wing meat with skin has 23.8 g of protein and 254 calories per 100 g, the most calories of any cut because a wing is a lot of skin for its size. Wings vary in size and most of their weight is bone, so the easiest way to count them is to weigh the meat you strip off. Three ounces of wing meat and skin has about 20 g of protein and 216 calories. For 6 chicken wings, weigh the meat from them and enter it above; wings in sauce or breading have more calories than plain roasted ones.

How many calories in a whole chicken?

Roasted whole chicken, meat and skin together, has 239 calories and 27.3 g of protein per 100 g. A pound of that meat (454 g) has about 1,085 calories and 124 g of protein. A cup of chopped roast chicken (140 g) has about 335 calories and 38 g of protein.

How much protein in a full chicken depends on the bird's size, so weigh the cooked meat rather than guessing. How much protein in half a chicken, then? Weigh the meat from your half and multiply by 0.27 for grams of protein. The calories in a pound of chicken also depend on the cut: about 812 for skinless thigh meat and about 1,085 for mixed meat and skin.

Does chicken have carbs?

No. Plain chicken has 0 g of carbohydrate in every cut, cooked or raw, so chicken is not a carb and isn't high in carbs. Does chicken contain carbohydrates once it's cooked? Only if something is added: breading, flour, honey glazes, barbecue sauce and teriyaki marinade all bring carbs. That makes plain chicken an easy fit for keto and low-carb plans.

Chicken thighs macros and the skin

Looking at the macros, almost all the calories in a thigh come from protein and fat. Skinless thigh meat gets about 57% of its calories from protein and 43% from fat. With skin, fat rises to about 60% of the calories. The nutritional value of chicken skin on its own: 454 calories, 40.7 g of fat and 20.4 g of protein per 100 g, which is why taking it off makes such a difference.

Turkey works the same way: dark meat and skin add calories, which is why the turkey on a holiday plate varies so much; see Thanksgiving meal calories. Are chicken legs fattening? Not on their own: a skinless leg has 174 calories per 100 g, close to a lean steak. Thigh meat also has a little more iron than breast, 1.13 mg against 1.04 mg per 100 g. Use the macro calculator to see how much protein and fat your day needs, and the chicken numbers here to fill it.

What part of the chicken has the most protein?

Breast has the most protein per gram and the fewest calories. Which part of the chicken has the most protein per piece is a different question: a whole leg wins because it's simply bigger. Is chicken good protein? Yes. It's a complete protein with all the essential amino acids, and every cut gives at least 23 g per 100 g.

Beef vs chicken protein

Lean top sirloin steak has 30.3 g of protein per 100 g cooked, a little less than chicken breast but more than thigh meat. 85% lean ground beef has 27.7 g with 256 calories. See the steak protein chart for more cuts and portions.

Chicken thigh serving size

The standard serving of cooked meat is 3 oz (85 g), about the size of a deck of cards. That's smaller than one whole thigh. A 3 oz serving of skinless thigh has about 152 calories and 21 g of protein (see grams of protein per ounce for other meats). Weighing it raw? A raw skinless thigh of about 149 g cooks down to roughly one 116 g roasted thigh; tick "I weighed it raw" above to convert. To log your chicken over a day, add it to the calorie counter.

Chicken thigh FAQ