Chicken Thigh: Calories, Nutrition & Healthier Swaps

Thighs are fattier than breast, which keeps them juicy; dark meat has more iron and zinc. Without the skin, the calorie gap shrinks a lot.

Chicken Thigh nutrition facts per 100 g and per serving

Values per 100 g as eaten, averaged from food composition tables (USDA FoodData Central and others) and rounded — a specific brand or recipe will differ a little.

Chicken Thigh: nutrition highlights

A serving (one, 120 g) provides 29 g of protein — about 51% of the 56 g daily reference for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult (0.8 g per kg).

On the open Nutri-Score algorithm, chicken thigh gets a B: one of the better picks in its category. The score weighs calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt against protein, fiber and the share of fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts.

What to watch

• No red flags on the traffic light: sugar, salt and saturated fat per 100 g are all within the low-to-medium range.

How much movement is one serving?

One serving (one, 120 g) is 252 kcal — roughly 82 min of easy walking or 32 min of cycling for a 70 kg (154 lb) person. In the diary, minutes are worked out for your weight and the activities you actually do.

Healthier swaps for Chicken Thigh

Swaps are picked the same way the app does it: from the same kind of food, with a serving matched to the same calories (±25%), and only when the swap is clearly better — not “salad instead of pizza”.

• Chicken breast, raw — 220 g, 249 kcal: −2.9 g saturated fat, +23 g protein.
• Chicken Breast — 180 g, 247 kcal: −3.1 g saturated fat, +23 g protein.
• Grilled chicken fillet — 150 g, 248 kcal: −2.5 g saturated fat, +18 g protein.
• Chicken breast, baked — 160 g, 256 kcal: −2.2 g saturated fat, +19 g protein.