Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
tofu
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in tofu and chicken leg:
Chicken leg is high in calories and tofu has 64% less calories than chicken leg - chicken leg has 214 calories per 100 grams and tofu has 76 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, tofu is heavier in protein, heavier in carbs and lighter in fat compared to chicken leg per calorie. Tofu has a macronutrient ratio of 39:9:52 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Tofu | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 39% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 9% | ~ |
| Fat | 52% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both chicken leg and tofu are low in carbohydrates - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and tofu has 1.9g of carbohydrates.
Tofu has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - tofu has 0.3g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Tofu and chicken leg contain similar amounts of sugar - tofu has 0.62g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken leg and tofu are high in protein. Chicken leg has 103% more protein than tofu - chicken leg has 16.4g of protein per 100 grams and tofu has 8.1g of protein.
Tofu has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat per 100 grams and tofu has 0.69g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and tofu are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and tofu does not contain significant amounts.
Tofu has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and tofu does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and tofu contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and tofu has 0.1mg of Vitamin C.
Chicken leg has more Vitamin A than tofu - chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and tofu does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and tofu contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and tofu does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and tofu contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and tofu has 0.01mg of Vitamin E.
Chicken leg and tofu contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and tofu has 2.4ug of Vitamin K.
Chicken leg has more riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, however, tofu contains more folate. Both tofu and chicken leg contain significant amounts of thiamin.
| Tofu | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.081 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.052 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 0.195 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.068 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.047 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 15 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 0.56 UG |
Tofu is an excellent source of calcium and it has 37 times more calcium than chicken leg - chicken leg has 9mg of calcium per 100 grams and tofu has 350mg of calcium.
Tofu is an excellent source of iron and it has 677% more iron than chicken leg - chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron per 100 grams and tofu has 5.4mg of iron.
Chicken leg is a great source of potassium and it has 68% more potassium than tofu - chicken leg has 203mg of potassium per 100 grams and tofu has 121mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, tofu has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than chicken leg per 100 grams, however, chicken leg contains more dpa than tofu per 100 grams.
| Tofu | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.319 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.319 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both tofu and chicken leg contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
| Tofu | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 2.38 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 2.38 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: Tofu (Tofu, raw, regular, prepared with calcium sulfate) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Tofu 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 | |||