Chicken is one of the most ordered food items on the menu of any restaurant, not just for the amazing preparations but for sheer calorie value.
One lean protein is a hit with most health-conscious people and, of course, weight watchers.
Before consuming this meat, you don’t even have to worry about how many calories are in a chicken leg or grilled chicken because the calorie count remains the same when cooked right.
In terms of calorie count and fat content, each part of the bird offers a different count. So, you will get a different calorie measurement for the wings, breasts, thighs, and drumsticks.
Chicken Breast: 284 Calories
This is one of the most popular cuts requested by eaters and buyers alike. A chicken breast is low in calories but high in protein. So, weight-watchers increasingly demand this cut.
If you buy a piece of chicken breast, know that a boneless and skinless cooked piece will have 284 calories, 53.4 grams of protein, no carbs, and 6.2 grams of fat.
A serving of 100 grams will have 165 calories, 3.6 grams of fat, and 31 grams of protein. So, most chicken breast nutrition consists of protein elements and only 20 per cent of fat.
However, it should be borne in mind that chicken is low calorie, but when the cooking starts with oil and seasonings and sauces, the calories, fat, and carbs start to add up.
Summary:
Chicken breast is low fat and high protein food which contains no carbs. Most of the calories come from the protein part of the breast and the fat contained is only 20 percent. If you measure the calorie content in 100 grams of chicken breast then you will find 165 calories only.
Chicken Thigh: 109 Calories
The fat content in the thigh of the chicken is more than the breast part. It is tender and tasty, and the chicken leg nutrition is quite high.
The number of calories you will find in a cooked, skinless, and boneless thigh is about 109 calories. The protein content is 13.5 grams and 5.7 grams of fat.
There is no carbohydrate in it at all. A
This calorie content comes from 47 per cent of fat and 53 per cent of protein. If you are on a budget, buying the chicken thighs rather than the breasts makes sense.
Summary:
100 grams of the chicken thigh has 209 calories coming from 53 percent of protein and almost 47 percent of fat.
Chicken Wings: 43 Calories
The chicken wing usually does not cut when you are thinking of healthy pieces of chicken. But, if they are not deep-fried or covered in crumbs, they can be included in the diet.
It has a lesser number of calories, but the chicken nutrition remains intact. It is an interesting thing to know how many calories in a grilled chicken wing.
A single piece chicken wing without skin or bone contains about 42.6 calories, 6.4 grams of protein, and 1.7 grams of fat. There are no carbs at all.
If you consider 100 grams of the chicken wing, you will get 203 calories, of which 30.5 grams is protein and 8.1 grams is fat. Therefore, the protein content provides 64 per cent of the calorie while the fat gives 36 per cent.
Summary:
100 grams of chicken wings has 203 calories. Of this amount, 64 percent comes from the protein while 36 percent comes from the fat.
Chicken Drumstick: 76 Calories
The chicken drumstick is a great favourite with most people, including children. The drumstick is the lower part of the chicken’s leg. The upper part is the thigh which has been discussed above.
This part contains more calories than the thigh. The calories in a chicken leg include both the thigh and drumstick. A single drumstick contains 76 calories, 12.4 grams of protein, no carbs, and only 2.5 per cent fat.
In 100 grams of a chicken drumstick, you will get 172 calories, protein of 28.3 grams, and fat of only 5.7 grams. Almost 70 per cent of the calorie count is created by protein, and the rest by fat.
Summary:
Calories in a chicken leg are extremely low with 172 calories per 100 grams. The calorie content is made by 70 percent of protein and 30 percent of fat.
Other Chicken Cuts:
The chicken has several other cuts apart from the breast, thigh, and drumsticks or wings.
Chicken tenders calories are around 263 in every 100 grams. Chicken tenderloin nutrition is quite high.
The back of the chicken has 137 calories per 100 grams.
Dark meat has 125 calories per 100 grams, while light meat has 114 calories.
Summary:
The calorie content of the other cuts varies. Chicken tenders have maximum calories while the light meat has the lowest.
What About the Chicken Skin?
The chicken skin has a lot of calories. Whenever that is added to the cuts, the calorie content of each increases dramatically. Therefore, weight-watchers do well to remove the chicken skin before cooking it.
For instance, the chick breast has 284 calories, including 20 per cent of fat and 80 per cent of protein. When the skin is included, the numbers stand like this:
Calorie content: 386
Fat 15.2 grams
Protein: 58.4 grams
- In the case of the chicken breast, the protein and fat percentage is 50-50. But the moment the skin is included it jumps almost 100 calories.
- A chicken wing without skin weighing 21 grams has 42 calories and the same with skin weighing 34 grams has 99 calories.
Therefore, if you are truly health-conscious, do not consume chicken skin to add unnecessary calories to your diet.
Summary:
Chicken skin has a lot of calories which you can omit by not consuming them.
Methods of Cooking the Chicken are Important
Chicken is low calorie, but it is the preparations that add the calories. If you add sauces, breading, batter, etc., then the calories will pile up.
Ideally, you should not be counting calories in a chicken leg or calories in chicken tenders if you are eating spicy and fried preparations. They are bound to increase chicken leg calories and calories in chicken tenders.
Take, for instance, a skinless, boneless chicken thigh weighing 52 grams. Normally it will have 109 calories and around 5.7 grams of fat. The moment it is fried in butter, the calorie content shoots up to 144. The fat content is 8.6 grams.
But if you are wondering how many calories in grilled chicken, then relax because cooking methods like grilling, steaming, and roasting are the best—these help keep the calorie count low.
Summary:
Chicken pieces fried after being coated in breading or containing too many sauces make the food tasty but also increase the calorie count. Try grilled, steamed or even baked recipes to maintain the low-calorie count and stay healthy.
Takeaway:
Chicken nutrition is high, but the calorie count is low. It would help if you resorted to only grilled and baked recipes to keep it that way. You can try boiled recipes because the boiled chicken calorie count is high. Spicy preparations or those deep-fried in batter increase the calories.
