Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
pasta
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in pasta and chicken leg:
Both pasta and chicken leg are high in calories. Pasta has 73% more calories than chicken leg - pasta has 371 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, pasta is lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much lighter in fat compared to chicken leg per calorie. Pasta has a macronutrient ratio of 14:82:4 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Pasta | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 14% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 82% | ~ |
| Fat | 4% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Pasta is high in carbohydrates and chicken leg has 100% less carbohydrates than pasta - pasta has 74.7g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Pasta is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - pasta has 3.2g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has less sugar than pasta - pasta has 2.7g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Both pasta and chicken leg are high in protein. Chicken leg has 26% more protein than pasta - pasta has 13g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Pasta has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - pasta has 0.28g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and pasta are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Pasta has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and pasta contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has more Vitamin A than pasta - chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and pasta contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and pasta does not contain significant amounts.
Pasta and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - pasta has 0.11mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Pasta and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - pasta has 0.1ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Pasta has more thiamin, riboflavin and folate, however, chicken leg contains more pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. Both pasta and chicken leg contain significant amounts of niacin.
| Pasta | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.891 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.4 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 7.177 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.431 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.142 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 237 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 0.56 UG |
Pasta has 133% more calcium than chicken leg - pasta has 21mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Pasta is an excellent source of iron and it has 378% more iron than chicken leg - pasta has 3.3mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Both pasta and chicken leg are high in potassium. Pasta has a little more potassium (10%) than chicken leg by weight - pasta has 223mg 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) and DPA than pasta per 100 grams.
| Pasta | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.024 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.024 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than pasta per 100 grams.
| Pasta | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.54 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.54 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: Pasta (Pasta, dry, enriched) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Pasta 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 | |||