How many calories are in chicken breast?
USDA numbers per 100 g and per half breast, why chicken breast is the benchmark lean protein, and the raw-versus-cooked mistake.
Skinless chicken breast is the food most calorie counters use as a yardstick: 165 calories per 100 g cooked, 31 g of protein and only 3.6 g of fat. The USDA entry is for roasted breast meat without skin; a half breast is 86 g and about 142 calories, and a cup of diced meat is 140 g and about 231 calories. The thing people get wrong is weighing it raw and logging it cooked, or the reverse, because chicken loses water in the oven and the per-gram numbers change.
Calories in chicken breast per 100 g
According to USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy entry “Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted”), 100 g of chicken breast contains 165 calories (690 kJ), 31 g of protein, 0 g of carbohydrates and 3.6 g of fat.
| Nutrient (per 100 g) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 165 |
| Energy (kilojoules) | 690 kJ |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 0 g |
| Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Total fat | 3.6 g |
| Saturated fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 74 mg |
| Cholesterol | 85 mg |
| Potassium | 256 mg |
| Calcium | 15 mg |
| Iron | 1 mg |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg |
Calories per serving
Per-100 g numbers are only useful once you know your portion. Typical servings of chicken breast:
| Serving | Calories | kJ | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 breast, bone and skin removed (86 g) | 142 | 594 | 27 g | 0 g | 3.1 g |
| 1 cup, chopped or diced (140 g) | 231 | 967 | 43 g | 0 g | 5 g |
| 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken, 52 g) | 86 | 359 | 16 g | 0 g | 1.9 g |
Macro breakdown
By energy, chicken breast is about 0% carbohydrate, 79% protein and 21% fat (using 4 kcal per gram of protein and carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat).
Chicken breast is about 79% protein and 21% fat by calories, with zero carbohydrate; the 3.6 g of fat per 100 g includes just 1 g of saturated fat. Sodium is low at 74 mg per 100 g unless it was brined or seasoned heavily.
How chicken breast compares with similar foods
| Food (per 100 g) | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliced ham | 164 | 17 g | 3.6 g | 8.8 g |
| Roast turkey | 159 | 29 g | 0 g | 3.8 g |
| Turkey dark meat | 173 | 28 g | 0 g | 6 g |
| Hard-boiled egg | 155 | 13 g | 1.1 g | 11 g |
| Chicken drumstick | 155 | 24 g | 0 g | 5.7 g |
Is chicken breast good for weight loss?
Chicken breast is close to ideal on a deficit: high protein, low fat, no carbohydrate and 165 calories per 100 g, which means a generous 140 g cup of diced meat costs about 231 calories and delivers about 43 g of protein. Protein is the most filling macronutrient per calorie, so a chicken-based meal tends to hold you longer than the same calories of rice or bread. The ways it goes wrong are the skin, the breading and the sauce; batter-fried breast is 260 calories per 100 g, and the oil-based sauces on a restaurant plate can cost more than the chicken. Roast, grill or poach it and season with herbs, spices, lemon or hot sauce. If you are bored of breast, a skinless thigh at 179 calories per 100 g is a small step up in calories with more flavor.
How to log chicken breast in Cal.AI
Weigh chicken breast cooked and search for roasted chicken breast, or let Scan Food identify it and then correct the grams with Fix Results; a half breast is 86 g and about 142 calories, a cup of diced meat 140 g and about 231. If you weigh it raw, log it with a raw entry so the water loss does not throw you off. The common mistake is logging a 200 g raw breast as 200 g cooked, which overstates the calories and protein.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories are in a chicken breast?
USDA lists a half breast of roasted chicken, bone and skin removed, at 86 g and about 142 calories, with about 26.7 g of protein and 3.1 g of fat. Many supermarket breasts are far bigger than that, so weigh yours cooked and use 165 calories per 100 g; a 200 g cooked breast would be about 330 calories.
How much protein is in 100 g of chicken breast?
Roasted skinless chicken breast has 31 g of protein per 100 g, which at 4 calories per gram accounts for about 124 of its 165 calories, with the rest coming from 3.6 g of fat. A cup of diced breast at 140 g gives about 43 g of protein, and a half breast at 86 g gives about 26.7 g.
Should I weigh chicken raw or cooked?
Either works as long as the log entry matches. Chicken loses water as it cooks, so 100 g of raw breast becomes a smaller cooked weight with the same calories. The USDA figure on this page, 165 calories per 100 g, is for cooked roasted meat, so weigh after cooking if you use it. If you weigh raw, pick a raw chicken breast entry instead.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central, SR Legacy: “Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted” (FDC ID 171477). FoodData Central
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