Chicken breast or thigh: which has more protein?
Chicken, breast, cooked, roasted has 1.3× more protein per 100 g, 31 g against 24.8 g in Chicken, thigh, cooked, roasted. That is 62% of the Daily Value against 50%.
Daily Value 50 g. Per 100 g, so the two are directly comparable.
| Per 100 g | Chicken, breast, cooked, roasted | Chicken, thigh, cooked, roasted |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 165 kcal | 179 kcal |
| Protein | 31 g | 24.8 g |
| Total fat | 3.57 g | 8.15 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g | 0 g |
| Dietary fiber | 0 g | 0 g |
| Protein | 31 g | 24.8 g |
What this means for you
Breast, by about a quarter. A 3 oz portion of roasted breast gives roughly 26 g of protein and the same portion of thigh about 21 g. Both are large amounts for a modest piece of meat.
The fat is where they really part, about 3.6 g per 100 g in the breast and 8.2 g in the thigh. That fat is also why the thigh tastes better and forgives being overcooked, which is a legitimate thing to want from dinner.
If you are counting protein per calorie, the breast wins. If you are trying to eat food you enjoy often enough that it becomes a habit, the difference between these two will not decide anything.
Thighs carry a little more iron and zinc as well, which is a small point in their favour and not one worth reorganising dinner over. Skin is the variable that moves the numbers most, and it is a separate decision from breast against thigh.
Written from the evidence cards and the data on this page, then checked back against the sources. Bioma Learn has no human medical reviewer at this time and we say so rather than invent one. Information, not medical advice. How we verify.
The comparison is per 100 g of edible portion, so the two foods sit on the same footing. Real portions differ, and so does how much of the nutrient your body actually absorbs from each food. The guide below has the absorption details.
Chicken, breast, cooked, roasted → · Chicken, thigh, cooked, roasted →
Full guide: Protein: who genuinely needs more of it, and what the extra does not do
Data: USDA FoodData Central, FDC IDs 171477 and 172388. Checked 2026-09-15.