Calories in chicken thigh

Meat only, roasted. 179 kcal (749 kJ) per 100 g. Choose a portion below and every figure on the page updates.

Chicken thigh, roasted with the skin removed, gives 179 kcal (749 kJ) and about 25 g of protein per 100 g. It is dark meat, so it carries more fat than breast: roughly 8 g per 100 g, which supplies about 40% of its calories, with the rest coming from protein. There are no carbohydrates. Thigh meat stays juicy when cooked longer, which is why it suits braises, curries and barbecues.

Where the energy comes from

Share of total energy contributed by each macronutrient, using the standard 4/4/9 kcal per gram factors:

Things worth knowing

• One roasted skinless thigh (116 g of meat) has about 208 kcal / 869 kJ and close to 29 g of protein; a 3 oz (85 g) serving is about 152 kcal / 637 kJ.
• Eating the skin makes a clear difference: USDA lists roasted thigh with meat and skin at 232 kcal per 100 g, compared with 179 kcal for the meat alone.
• Roasted chicken breast (meat only) is 165 kcal per 100 g with 31 g of protein, so thigh has slightly more energy and a little less protein for the same weight.
• Dark meat holds more zinc than breast meat: 1.9 mg per 100 g in thigh against 1.0 mg in breast. A 3 oz serving also gives about 42% of the Daily Value for selenium.

Converting these figures

One 1 thigh, without skin of chicken thigh is 208 kcal, which is 869 kJ. To convert any other figure, divide kilojoules by 4.184 for calories, or use the converter on the home page.

It takes 134 g of chicken thigh to reach 1,000 kJ (239 kcal). See how that compares with other foods on the 1000 kJ to calories page.