Protein in Chicken Thigh

Chicken thigh is dark meat from the upper leg — higher in myoglobin, fat, and minerals than breast, with less protein per 100g when skinless roasted. For food journaling, thigh, breast, and drumstick are separate products — do not log one as another.

This page centers on whole-muscle chicken thigh using USDA FoodData Central records (FDC #172388 roasted skinless default). Select raw, roasted, or skin-on in the calculator to match what you weighed. For fried breaded thigh, see the full [Chicken Thigh Nutrition Calculator](/tools/chicken-thigh-nutrition-calculator/).

At roasted skinless values (default reference), 1 oz (~28g) cooked provides about 6.9g protein, 50 kcal, and 2.3g fat.

At raw boneless skinless values, 1 oz (~28g) raw provides about 5.2g protein, 40 kcal, and 2.2g fat.

Single-ounce portions appear in meal-prep macros — always match raw or cooked to what you weighed.

At roasted skinless values: 4 oz (~113g) cooked ≈ 28.0g protein, 202 kcal, 9.3g fat.

At raw boneless skinless values: 4 oz (~113g) raw ≈ 21.0g protein, 163 kcal, 8.9g fat.

Restaurant or meal-prep labels sometimes describe a “4 oz serving” without stating raw vs cooked — confirm which applies before logging.

At roasted skinless values: 6 oz (~170g) cooked ≈ 42.2g protein, 304 kcal, 13.9g fat.

At raw boneless skinless values: 6 oz (~170g) raw ≈ 31.6g protein, 245 kcal, 13.4g fat.

Six oz raw and six oz cooked are not interchangeable — cooking removes water, concentrating protein per 100g in USDA cooked entries.

At roasted skinless values: 8 oz (~227g) cooked ≈ 56.3g protein, 406 kcal, 18.6g fat.

At raw boneless skinless values: 8 oz (~227g) raw ≈ 42.2g protein, 327 kcal, 18.0g fat.

Batch-cooked meal-prep containers vary in portion size — weigh your actual serving for precision.

There is no single standard weight for “one chicken thigh.” Boneless trays, bone-in pieces, and trimmed cuts range from roughly 70g to 130g cooked depending on bird size and whether skin and bone are included.

Illustrative cooked skinless ranges: small ~70g (≈17g protein), medium ~85g (≈21g protein), large ~115g (≈29g protein) at roasted skinless values.

Do not rely on piece counts without weighing. Enter the gram weight of your actual portion in the calculator above — raw or cooked, matching your selected reference.

Per 100g, roasted skinless thigh lists 24.8g protein vs 18.6g raw (FDC #172388 vs #2646171) — cooking does not manufacture protein. Roasting drives off moisture, concentrating the same absolute protein into fewer grams.

Chicken thigh’s raw-to-cooked yield is often cited around ~70–75% (100g raw → ~70–75g cooked), but actual shrinkage varies with oven temperature, doneness, and whether the piece was brined.

See the raw-vs-cooked comparison table below for side-by-side values across skinless and skin-on references.

Either works — match the scale reading to the database state. Weigh raw meat before cooking and log a raw reference; weigh the portion on your plate after cooking and log a roasted reference.

Mixing a cooked weight with raw per-100g protein (or the reverse) is one of the most common poultry logging errors — it can under- or over-count protein by 25% or more per portion.

Marinade, basting oil, and sauce are separate entries — plain thigh references exclude those add-ons.

Per 100g roasted, skinless thigh lists 24.8g protein, 179 kcal, 8.2g fat; skin-on lists 23.3g protein, 232 kcal, 14.7g fat (FDC #172388 vs #173625) ^[2].

Skin adds ~6.5g fat and 53 kcal per 100g roasted while displacing lean meat in the weight — protein per 100g drops slightly because skin contributes mass with little protein.

For thigh, skin removal changes calories far more than for breast — always note whether skin was on the portion you weighed.

Bone contributes weight but not edible protein. If you weigh a bone-in piece on the scale, you are logging bone mass unless you eat only the meat.

Do not assume 4 oz bone-in equals 4 oz of meat — debone and weigh the edible portion, or use meat-only USDA references (this page) with the meat weight only.

Retail boneless thigh trays list meat weight on the label — that is the best starting point for logging. Bone-in pieces typically yield ~60–70% edible meat by weight, but this varies by cut and trimming.

Chicken thighs contain more myoglobin than breast — the protein that carries oxygen in muscle and gives dark meat its color. Thigh muscle works harder during the bird’s life, which also correlates with slightly higher fat and mineral content in USDA references.

Dark meat is not “less protein” in absolute terms for a satisfying portion — but per 100g, thigh lists less protein and more fat than skinless breast when both are roasted.

This is descriptive food-composition information for journaling — not a ranking of which cut to eat.

Per 100g roasted skinless, breast lists 31.0g protein at 165 kcal; thigh lists 24.8g protein at 179 kcal ^[1][3]. Breast delivers more protein per 100g; thigh contains more total fat (8.2g vs 3.6g per 100g roasted).

Thigh provides more iron and zinc per 100g in these references — breast leads in niacin and selenium. The choice for logging depends on which cut you actually ate.

See [/protein/chicken-breast/](/protein/chicken-breast/) for breast-specific portion tools and comparison tables.

No isolated USDA turkey-thigh page exists on Food Nutrify — comparisons use turkey dark meat (leg/thigh combined, roasted, FDC #171091): 27.7g protein, 173 kcal, 6.0g fat per 100g vs chicken thigh roasted skinless at 24.8g protein, 179 kcal, 8.2g fat ^[4].

Turkey dark meat lists slightly more protein and less fat per 100g in these USDA references; chicken thigh is still a comparable dark-meat poultry option for journaling.

For turkey breast comparisons, see [/protein/turkey-breast/](/protein/turkey-breast/).

Per 100g roasted skinless, drumstick lists 28.3g protein at 172 kcal; thigh lists 24.8g protein at 179 kcal ^[1][5]. Drumstick delivers more protein per 100g cooked in these USDA references; thigh has slightly more fat (8.2g vs 5.7g).

Both are dark meat — logging accuracy requires specifying thigh vs drumstick, not generic “chicken leg.”

Use the [Skinless Chicken Nutrition Calculator](/tools/skinless-chicken-nutrition-calculator/) for drumstick-specific variants.

Skinless roasted thigh delivers about 24.8g protein per 179 kcal — roughly 7.2 kcal per gram of protein because fat remains moderate (8.2g/100g).

Per ounce (~28g) roasted skinless: about 6.9g protein. Per 100 kcal of roasted skinless thigh: about 13.9g protein (100 ÷ 179 × 24.8).

Breast is more protein-dense per calorie (31.0g per 165 kcal ≈ 5.3 kcal/g protein). Density metrics describe journaling trade-offs — they do not rank foods as “better” for individual diets.

Plain roasted thigh and fried breaded thigh are different products. USDA flour-breaded fried thigh with skin (FDC #173624) lists 262 kcal, 26.8g protein, 15.0g fat, and 3.2g carbs per 100g — breading and frying oil add calories and carbohydrates.

Do not log restaurant fried thigh using roasted skinless values — the error can exceed 80 kcal per 100g and miss carbs entirely.

Use the fried variant in the [Chicken Thigh Nutrition Calculator](/tools/chicken-thigh-nutrition-calculator/) when logging breaded fried thigh.

USDA does not publish separate entries for air-fried or rotisserie retail thigh. Plain thigh cooked with minimal added oil is reasonably approximated by the roasted skinless or skin-on references on this page.

Brined, marinated, or heavily oiled retail rotisserie products may differ from generic USDA data — prefer the package Nutrition Facts label when available.

Log marinade, basting oil, and dipping sauce separately when they contribute meaningful calories.

The calculators on this page describe plain chicken thigh at the selected USDA reference — not a complete plated meal.

Butter, olive oil, pan drippings, BBQ sauce, and marinade add calories, fat, and sodium without meaningful protein unless the sauce itself is protein-rich.

Log those additions separately in your tracker when the meal — not just the meat — is what you are measuring.

Complete per-100g nutrition for the selected food state appears in the protein calculator above — protein, calories, fat, carbohydrates, and available micronutrients (iron, zinc, selenium, niacin, phosphorus, sodium, cholesterol, and others supported by the USDA reference).

Toggle the Nutrition Facts view in the calculator for a label-style breakdown of your entered portion. This page covers three whole-muscle variants; for fried breaded thigh, see the full [Chicken Thigh Nutrition Calculator](/tools/chicken-thigh-nutrition-calculator/).

Values scale linearly from the per-100g reference — enter grams, ounces, or pounds to see your exact portion.

Mixing raw weight with cooked nutrition data (or the reverse) — highest-impact error on this page.

Ignoring skin — especially when logging skin-on pieces using skinless references.

Including bone weight — weigh edible meat only for meat-only USDA entries.

Using generic “chicken” when you ate thigh — breast, thigh, and drumstick differ by 15%+ in protein per 100g.

Forgetting cooking oil or sauce — plain thigh references exclude those add-ons.

Guessing “one thigh” without weighing — piece size varies too much for accurate logs.