Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
chicken breast
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken breast and chicken leg:
Both chicken breast and chicken leg are high in calories. Chicken leg has 30% more calories than chicken breast - chicken breast has 165 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, chicken breast is much heavier in protein, much lighter in fat and similar to chicken leg for carbs. Chicken breast has a macronutrient ratio of 79:0:21 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Chicken Breast | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 79% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | ~ |
| Fat | 21% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both chicken leg and chicken breast are low in carbohydrates - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken breast does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken breast and chicken leg are high in protein. Chicken breast has 89% more protein than chicken leg - chicken breast has 31g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Chicken breast has 3.3 times less saturated fat than chicken leg - chicken breast has 1g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and chicken breast are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and chicken breast does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken breast and chicken leg contain similar amounts of cholesterol - chicken breast has 85mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and chicken breast contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and chicken breast does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has 367% more Vitamin A than chicken breast - chicken breast has 6ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Chicken breast and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken breast has 5iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D.
Chicken breast and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken breast has 0.27mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Chicken breast and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken breast has 0.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Chicken breast has more niacin. Both chicken breast and chicken leg contain significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, folate and Vitamin B12.
| Chicken Breast | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.07 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.114 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 13.712 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.965 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.6 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.34 UG | 0.56 UG |
Chicken breast and chicken leg contain similar amounts of calcium - chicken breast has 15mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Chicken breast and chicken leg contain similar amounts of iron - chicken breast has 1mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Both chicken breast and chicken leg are high in potassium. Chicken breast has 26% more potassium than chicken leg - chicken breast has 256mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 203mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than chicken breast per 100 grams. Both chicken breast and chicken leg contain significant amounts of DHA and DPA.
| Chicken Breast | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.03 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | 0.02 G | 0.01 G |
| EPA | 0.01 G | 0.004 G |
| DPA | 0.01 G | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.07 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than chicken breast per 100 grams.
| Chicken Breast | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.59 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.59 G | 3.003 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Chicken Breast (Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cooked Chicken Breast g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Chicken Leg g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||