Chicken breast: 284 calories
One serving of skinless, boneless, cooked chicken breast (172 g) has the following nutrients:
- Calories: 284
- Protein: 53.4 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 6.2 grams
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of chicken breast provides 165 calories, 31 grams of protein, and 3.6 grams of fat.
This means that approximately 80% of the calories in chicken breast come from protein and 20% from fat.
Remember, these quantities are for regular chicken breasts with no added ingredients. Once you start cooking in oil or adding marinades or sauces, you increase the total calories, carbs, and fat.
Chicken drumsticks: 109 calories
One skinless, boneless, cooked chicken drumstick (52 g) contains:
- Calories: 109
- Protein: 13.5 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 5.7 g
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of chicken drumsticks provides 209 calories, 26 grams of protein, and 10.9 grams of fat.
Therefore, 53% of calories come from protein and 47% come from fat.
Chicken wings: 43 calories
When you think of healthy cuts of chicken, you probably don't think of chicken wings.
However, as long as they're not breaded or sauced and fried, they can easily be incorporated into a healthy diet.
One skinless and boneless chicken wing (21 g) contains:
- Calories: 42.6
- Protein: 6.4 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 1.7g
Per 3.5 ounces (100 grams), chicken wings provide 203 calories, 30.5 grams of protein, and 8.1 grams of fat.
This means 64% of calories come from protein and 36% from fat.
Chicken mallet: 76 calories
One skinless and boneless
- Calories: 76
- Protein: 12.4 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fat: 2.5 grams
Chicken mallets contain 172 calories, 28.3 grams of protein, and 5.7 grams of fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) serving.
When it comes to calorie counts, approximately 70% comes from protein and 30% comes from fat.
Other cuts of chicken
Here are the calories for some other chicken nuggets:
- Chicken Tenders: 263 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Back: 137 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Dark Meat: 125 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g)
- Light Meat: 114 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g)
Chicken skin adds calories
One boneless, skin-on, cooked chicken breast (196 g) contains:
- Calories: 386
- Protein: 58.4 grams
- Fat: 15.2 grams
In skin-on chicken breast, 50% of the calories come from protein and 50% from fat. Additionally, eating the skin adds nearly 100 calories.
Likewise, a skin-on chicken wing (34 g) contains 99 calories, while a skinless chicken wing (21 g) contains 42 calories. Therefore, 60% of the calories in a skin-on chicken wing come from fat, while 36% of the calories in a skinless chicken wing come from fat.
So if you're watching your weight or fat intake, eat chicken without the skin to minimize calories and fat.
How to cook chicken is important
For example, skinless, boneless, cooked chicken thighs (52 grams) contain 109 calories and 5.7 grams of fat.
But the same batter-fried chicken thigh contains 144 calories and 8.6 grams of fat. A fried chicken thigh in a flour coating contains even more - 162 calories and 9.3 grams of fat.
Likewise, one boneless and skinless chicken wing (21 grams) contains 43 calories and 1.7 grams of fat.
However, a chicken wing slathered with barbecue sauce provides 61 calories and 3.7 grams of fat. This is equivalent to a flour coating, which has 61 calories and 4.2 grams of fat.
Therefore, cooking methods that add small amounts of fat, such as poaching, roasting, grilling, and steaming, are your best options for keeping calorie counts low.
generalize
Here are the calorie counts for the most common cuts of boneless, skinless chicken per 3.5 ounce (100 g) serving:
- Chicken breast: 165 calories
- Chicken thighs: 209 calories
- Chicken wings: 203 calories
- Chicken mallet: 172 calories
Be aware that eating chicken skin or using unhealthy cooking methods can increase calories.