How Much Protein is in Chicken? Chicken Breast or Thigh?

Chicken has 6-8 grams Protein per ounce
Chicken is high in quality protein

How much protein is in chicken?

Here is a quick breakdown showing how much protein is different parts of a chicken. Generally, there are 6-8 grams of protein in an ounce of chicken meat, depending on how it is prepared and if it is dark chicken meat or white chicken meat.

  • Chicken Breast (boneless, skinless, 12 oz.) contains about 72 grams of protein.
  • Chicken leg or thigh (boneless, skinless, 12 oz.) contains about 66 grams of protein.
  • The protein content of chicken is roughly 5-8 grams protein per ounce.
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How much protein is in chicken, a chicken breast, leg or thigh, turkey or other poultry?

Protein content of some common poultry varieties are listed here, as well as calories, grams of carbs and fat. For protein content of steak, protein in eggs, fish or dairy products, see other pages on this site.

Take note that the fat content can vary greatly between different cuts of chicken. Also, carbohydrate content of the actual meat is usually 0. However, carbs jump as soon as you add breading to the chicken as you will notice in the Perdue Popcorn chicken and other breaded products.

Chicken & Other Poultry Protein Charts

The charts and tables below will provide information about how much protein, fat and carbs are in common chicken products. you will notice that the protein content can differ when the fat content changes. chicken with the skin on it is higher in fat, and as a result, the percentage by weight of protein will decrease.

Chicken Protein Content Table

Chicken TypeProtein GramsCarb GramsFat GramsCalories
6 oz. Chicken Breast3902174
3 oz. Chicken Breast skinless, roasted2401.5110
3 oz. Chicken Breast w/skin, roasted2507163
5 oz. Chicken Breast (meat only)4104200
5 oz. Chicken Thigh (meat only)35014266
5.5 oz. Chicken Drumstick (meat only)4409257
4 oz. Chicken Breast Deli Meat210193
1 Chicken Thigh1408128
6 Chicken Wings34022335

Other Poultry Protein Content Table

Here is a chart listing how much protein is in poultry products other than chicken, such as turkey and duck.

PoultryProtein GramsCarb GramsFat GramsCalories
12 oz. Cornish Game Hen (roasted)5109295
6 oz. Duck, domesticated (meat only)31010226
4 oz. Ground Ostrich Meat23010188
6 oz. Turkey Breast4201189
4 oz. Turkey Deli Meat2202104
4 oz. ground Turkey2009170
1 oz. Turkey Jerky1911101

Perdue Chicken & Poultry Products Protein Content Table

If you want to know how much protein is in chicken by Perdue, here is a handy chart of some popular Perdue Chicken products including protein in chicken breasts, thighs, etc.

Perdue Chicken Product & Serving sizeProtein GramsCarb GramsFat GramsCalories
PERDUE BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST
TENDERLOINS 4 oz.
2501110
PERDUE FRESH BONELESS SKINLESS
CHICKEN BREASTS 4 oz.
2501110
PERDUE FRESH BONELESS SKINLESS
CHICKEN THIGHS 4 oz.
2208160
PERDUE FRESH CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS 4 oz.20010180
PERDUE FRESH CHICKEN LEG QUARTERS 4 oz.19021270
PERDUE FRESH CHICKEN THIGHS 4 oz.19019250
PERDUE FRESH CHICKEN WINGS 4oz.20014210
PERDUE FRESH GROUND CHICKEN 4oz.2209160
PERDUE BREADED POPCORN CHICKEN 3 oz.10267210
PERDUE BREADED CHICKEN BREAST TENDERS
3pcs (97g)
101614230
PERDUE CHICKEN BREAST NUGGETS 4pcs.
(90 g)
91913230
PERDUE FRESH CHICKEN GIZZARDS 4 oz.2002.5110
PERDUE FRESH CHICKEN LIVERS 4 oz.1915130
PERDUE FRESH GROUND CHICKEN PATTIES
1 patty (112 g)
2209170

Click for Perdue Chicken Recipes

Tyson Foods Chicken Product Protein Content Table

Tyson Chicken Product & Serving SizeProtein GramsCarb GramsFat GramsCalories
Tyson Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 oz.
2302.5110
Tyson Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
4 oz.
19010160
Tyson Fresh Ground Chicken 4 oz. 2008150
Tyson Fresh Chicken Wings 4 oz.18020250
Tyson Fresh Chicken Livers 4 oz. (approx.)1904.5110
Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips 3 oz. (approx.)131710210
Tyson Air Fried Chicken Nuggets 3 oz. (approx.)15154160
Tyson Chicken Nuggets 3 oz. (approx.)141517270

Click for Tyson Chicken recipes


Protein in Chicken, Turkey and Poultry is Great for Bodybuilders

Chicken tops the list of high protein foods, and can generally be divided into two categories: white meat (breast) or dark meat (thighs and legs). Both contain high quality protein.

Basically, the thighs and legs have higher fat content per ounce of meat than the breast. This is partially because chickens need more endurance in their legs, which is provided by the energy that is stored in fatty tissue.

As far as nutrition and protein goes, both types of chicken meat are excellent sources of high quality protein for your diet.

As bodybuilders know, chicken and tuna are, gram for gram, probably the least expensive sources of protein you will find anywhere. Additionally, left-over chicken makes a great high protein snack too!

Chicken dark meat may contain more fat than white meat, but also has more vitamin B, and iron than white meat. Dark chicken meat also contains more zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12.

Be sure to avoid eating the skin of the chicken, as this is almost all fat and no real nutritional value!

When you see how much protein is in chicken, you see you get a lot of high quality protein for relatively low cost, so those who need a higher intake can use it without going broke! Only protein powders and Tuna come close to the low cost per gram of protein.