Calories in Chicken Breast
165 kcal per 100 g cooked, 31 g of protein. Cooking drives off water, so the raw weight gives a smaller number for the same piece.
165 calories per 100 g of cooked chicken breast
Skinless chicken breast, cooked, carries about 165 kcal per 100 g, with 31 g of protein and 3.6 g of fat. That is one of the highest protein-to-calorie ratios of any common food: roughly 19 g of protein per 100 kcal.
The raw weight is a different number — 120 kcal per 100 g — because cooking drives off water. A breast that weighs 170 g raw is about 130–140 g cooked, which is 215–250 kcal.
| Form | Portion | kcal | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skinless, raw | 100 g | 120 | 22.5 g |
| Skinless, cooked (grilled, baked, poached) | 100 g | 165 | 31 g |
| One medium breast, cooked | 130–150 g | 215–250 | 40–46 g |
| Roasted with skin | 100 g | 197 | 29 g |
| Breaded and fried | 100 g | 250–300 | 22–26 g |
| Chicken nuggets | 100 g | 296 | 15 g |
| Deli sliced breast | 100 g | 100–120 | 17–20 g |
Method changes the number more than the cut
Grilling, baking, poaching and air-frying without added fat all land near 165 kcal per 100 g, because the only thing leaving the food is water. The differences come from what you add:
- Oil: one teaspoon adds about 40 kcal; a pan-fry that absorbs two teaspoons adds 80.
- Breading: flour, egg and crumbs add carbohydrate and soak up oil — 250–300 kcal per 100 g.
- Skin: 197 against 165 per 100 g. On a single breast the skin is 30–40 g, so it adds roughly 50–60 kcal.
- Deli meat: lower in fat but often 600–900 mg of sodium per 100 g, and some products add a water-and-salt solution.
Protein per calorie, in context
For a 70 kg adult, 100 g of cooked breast covers about 28% of a 1.6 g/kg protein target (112 g) for 165 kcal. The same 165 kcal from bread is about 6 g of protein. That ratio is why chicken breast shows up in almost every fat-loss plan — but the plan still has to be in a calorie deficit to work.
What 100 g costs in movement
At 70 kg, 165 kcal is roughly:
- 4,125 steps — about 38 minutes of walking
- 14 minutes running at 6 mph
- 21 g of body-fat equivalent (165 ÷ 7,700)
Cook it through. Poultry should reach 74 °C (165 °F) in the thickest part. The calorie tables say nothing about the risk that matters most with chicken, which is bacterial contamination — keep raw and cooked surfaces apart.
Questions
Why is raw chicken lower in calories than cooked?
Water. Raw breast is about 75% water; cooking loses 20–25% of the weight, so the same piece becomes more calorie-dense per gram. The whole piece has the same energy before and after cooking — only the denominator changes.
Is chicken breast better than thigh for weight loss?
Per 100 g, skinless thigh is about 209 kcal against 165 for breast, with more fat and slightly less protein. The difference is real but modest; whether it matters depends on the rest of the plate. Thigh is harder to overcook, which matters for how often you actually cook it.
Does frozen chicken weigh more?
Many frozen products are "enhanced" with a salt-water solution — up to about 15% of the weight in some markets. That adds water and sodium, not calories, but it means the 100 g on the label is not 100 g of meat.
How much protein can I absorb in one meal?
The old "30 g per meal" limit is not supported. Muscle protein synthesis responds to 20–40 g per meal in most adults, and larger amounts are still digested, just with diminishing returns for muscle building. Spread over three or four meals is a practical default, not a hard rule.