Foods and powders

How much protein is in chicken breast?

By GyroscopeUpdated November 14, 20262 sources

Cooked chicken breast has about 31 g of protein per 100 g (30.5 grilled, 31.0 roasted). Raw, it’s 22.5 g per 100 g. The protein doesn’t change when you cook it, the water leaves. A 4 oz raw breast cooks down to about 3 oz, and both carry about 25 g of protein (USDA).

Chicken breast is the default protein food in America, and most people who count protein have logged it a hundred times. It’s also the food people most often log wrong, because the label on the raw pack and the number in an app for cooked chicken are about a third apart. Which one you use depends on whether you weighed it before or after the pan.

We think chicken breast earns its place as the everyday workhorse. It’s cheap, it’s lean, and 6 oz cooked clears almost anyone’s meal line. But it isn’t the champion. Shrimp, canned tuna, cod and turkey breast all beat it on protein per calorie.

Cooking chicken is like wringing out a sponge. It gets smaller and lighter, and what’s left is more concentrated.

Chicken by the number

From USDA FoodData Central. A 4 oz cooked breast has about 34.5 g.

Why cooked has more per gram

Heat drives water out of the meat, and the protein stays in. Assuming none of the protein leaves, 100 g of grilled breast started as about 136 g raw, so it kept about 74% of its weight. USDA’s own piece weights agree, at 272 g raw against 196 g grilled (72%).

That’s why the two numbers can’t be swapped. Use the raw figure on a cooked weight and you undercount by about a quarter. Use the cooked figure on a raw weight and you overcount by about a third. Do I weigh chicken raw or cooked? has the details, and the raw or cooked calculator does the conversion.

How it ranks

Breast has about half again the protein per calorie of thigh. Thigh is still a decent protein food, with more fat and flavor.

What it costs

In October 2026, boneless chicken breast averaged $4.10 a pound in US cities (Bureau of Labor Statistics). That’s about a dollar for 25 g of protein. A dozen eggs gets you the same protein for 77 cents, and dried beans for 43 cents. See the cheapest way to get protein.

How much chicken for your meal line?

At 180 lb your meal line is about 35 g, which is about 4 oz of cooked breast. At 140 lb it’s 25 g, a 3 oz piece. Find yours in the meal line calculator, and see every food ranked in protein per calorie.