Rotisserie chicken: lean meat, fatty skin, real salt

A store rotisserie chicken is poultry, and the best evidence about poultry is modest. In a meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials with 406 healthy adults, poultry or fish diets lowered LDL cholesterol by 8.9 mg/dL, with no significant difference from lean beef at 8.2 mg/dL (P = .905). Those trials counted poultry and fish together, and none tested rotisserie chicken with the skin on. The skin is where the numbers move. In the US survey database a rotisserie breast eaten with its skin has 7.67 g fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) against 3.57 g without it, and 175 against 144 calories. One breast with skin weighs 4.6 oz (130 g) and gives about 228 calories and 34 g of protein. Sodium runs from 328 to 403 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) across the parts, so that breast carries about 428 mg, in recipe records that do not reflect any one chain.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Rotisserie chicken runs 328 to 403 mg of sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g) across parts, so a 130 g breast carries about 428 mg. — USDA FNDDS survey foods, rotisserie chicken breast, drumstick, thigh and mixed parts (n = 7 records) Evidence E source
  Sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g): breast skin eaten 329, breast skin not eaten 328, drumstick skin eaten 392, drumstick skin not eaten 403, thigh 335, NS part skin eaten 343, leg 358
• The skin alone of a barbecue rotisserie chicken holds 35 g of fat and 9.3 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) in USDA data. — USDA SR Legacy record Chicken, broiler, rotisserie, BBQ, skin (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g skin: fat 35.15 g, saturated fat 9.333 g (47% DV), niacin 7.082 mg; across 22 rotisserie records fat ranges 2.79 to 37.24 g

What a real portion looks like

• One rotisserie chicken breast with skin weighs 4.6 oz (130 g) in the US survey database, about 228 calories and 34 g of protein. — USDA FNDDS survey food Chicken breast, rotisserie, skin eaten (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  1 breast 130 g: about 227.5 calories, 34.3 g protein, 10.0 g fat; 1 cup diced 135 g; 1 medium slice 60 g; 1 oz 28 g

What cooking and storage change

• In a controlled crossover feeding trial in men with high cholesterol, a heart-healthy diet with skinless poultry cut total and LDL cholesterol by 5 to 9 percent over 26 days, the same as lean beef or fish. — Hypercholesterolemic men rotating through three 26-day diets with lean beef, skinless poultry or lean fish Evidence B source
  Total and LDL cholesterol -5% to -9%, LDL apolipoprotein B -16% to -19%; no significant difference between the three protein sources
• Eating the skin on rotisserie chicken breast roughly doubles its fat: 7.67 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) with skin against 3.57 g without, and 175 against 144 calories. — USDA FNDDS survey foods, Chicken breast rotisserie skin eaten and skin not eaten (n = 2 records) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g skin eaten vs not eaten: energy 175 vs 144 calories, fat 7.67 vs 3.57 g, saturated fat 1.958 vs 0.863 g, protein 26.37 vs 28.04 g

What it does to your health

• A meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials with 406 healthy adults found poultry or fish diets moved LDL cholesterol by about 9 mg/dL, no differently from lean beef. — 406 adults free of chronic disease in 8 randomized controlled trials, 1950 to 2010 (n = 406) Evidence A source
  LDL change -8.9 mg/dL with poultry/fish vs -8.2 mg/dL with beef (P = .905)
• Across 43 randomized trials, blood pressure rose and fell with salt intake in a graded way. — Participants of 43 randomized controlled trials of salt intake and blood pressure, 1983 to 2024 (n = 43 trials) Evidence A source
  Graded association: lower salt intake linked to larger reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure; continuous trend not significant

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a London takeaway outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis that sickened 66 people, illness was tied to eating rotisserie chicken, with risk rising at the busiest sales hours. — 66 people ill after eating at one North West London takeaway restaurant, September 2009 (n = 66) Evidence C source
  OR 2.75 (95% CI 1.7 to 4.5) for rotisserie chicken; risk +5% per extra chicken quarter sold per hour (OR 1.05, 1.03 to 1.08)

What is still unknown

• US public health labs have traced a national multistate Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak to rotisserie chicken using genome sequencing. — Isolates from a national multistate Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to rotisserie chicken Evidence C source
  Outbreak strains resolved by whole-genome sequencing beyond PFGE

The bottom line

The skin of a barbecue rotisserie chicken, measured on its own, holds 35 g of fat and 9.3 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g) in USDA data. In a controlled crossover feeding trial in men with high cholesterol, a heart-healthy diet with skinless poultry cut total and LDL cholesterol by 5 to 9 percent over 26 days, the same as lean beef or lean fish. The abstract does not say how many men took part. Salt is the part of this food that deserves attention. Across 43 randomized trials, blood pressure rose with higher salt intake and fell further with lower intake in a graded way. The abstract gives no size for that effect, and the continuous trend was not significant. The safety record is about food poisoning at the counter. In a 2009 outbreak at one London takeaway, 66 people fell ill with Salmonella Enteritidis, and illness was tied to eating its rotisserie chicken (OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.7 to 4.5). US public health labs have also traced a national multistate Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak to rotisserie chicken with genome sequencing, in a methods paper that does not report how many people were ill. We have no card on pregnancy, children or kidney disease for rotisserie chicken, so this page cannot speak to those groups.

Sources

1. rotc-daily-r8-08 · dataset
   Sodium, Na per 100 g: breast skin eaten 329 MG | breast skin not eaten 328 MG | drumstick skin eaten 392 MG | drumstick skin not eaten 403 MG | thigh skin eaten 335 MG | NS as to part skin eaten 343 MG | leg skin eaten 358 MG
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, FDC 2705963, 2705964, 2706008, 2706009, 2706035, 2705936, 2705986 · checked 2026-09-29
2. rotc-daily-r8-09 · dataset
   Chicken, broiler, rotisserie, BBQ, skin (FDC 171524, SR Legacy, Poultry Products): fat 35.15 g per 100 g; saturated fat 9.333 g = 47% DV; niacin 7.082 mg = 44% DV; 22 rotisserie records fat 2.79-37.24 g; Foundation samples 0
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 171524 · checked 2026-09-29
3. rotc-daily-r8-07 · dataset
   Chicken breast, rotisserie, skin eaten (FNDDS 24122170): 1 breast 130 g | 1 cup, cooked, diced 135 g | 1 medium slice 60 g | 1 oz, cooked 28 g | Energy 175 KCAL, Protein 26.37 G, Total lipid 7.67 G per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, FDC 2705963, food code 24122170 · checked 2026-09-29
4. rotc-daily-r8-01 · RCT (crossover)
   RESULTS: The lean beef, lean fish, and poultry diets reduced plasma total and LDL cholesterol by 5-9%, LDL apolipoprotein B by 16-19%, VLDL triacylglycerols by 22-31%, and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol by 6-11%
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-09-29
5. rotc-daily-r8-06 · dataset
   Chicken breast, rotisserie, skin eaten (fdc 2705963): Energy 175 KCAL, Total lipid 7.67 G, saturated 1.958 G, Protein 26.37 G per 100 g | skin not eaten (fdc 2705964): Energy 144 KCAL, Total lipid 3.57 G, saturated 0.863 G, Protein 28.04 G per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, FDC 2705963 (code 24122170) and 2705964 · checked 2026-09-29
6. rotc-daily-r8-02 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   Changes in the fasting lipid profile were not significantly different with beef consumption compared with those with poultry and/or fish consumption.
   J Clin Lipidol, 2012 · checked 2026-09-29
7. rotc-daily-r8-03 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   Across 43 randomized controlled trials (1983-2024), higher amounts of salt intake were associated with higher BP, whereas lower intake was associated with larger BP reductions, demonstrating a graded association across intake categories.
   Nutr Rev, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
8. rotc-daily-r8-04 · case-control
   till receipts analysis showed strong association between illness and consumption of rotisserie chicken (odds ratio (OR): 2.75; confidence interval (CI): 1.7-4.5).
   Euro Surveill, 2014 · checked 2026-09-29
9. rotc-daily-r8-05 · outbreak analysis
   The current study retrospectively applies WGS and a reference-free bioinformatic analysis to a Utah-specific outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni associated with raw milk and to a national multistate outbreak of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium associated with rotisserie chicken, both of which were characterized previously by PFGE.
   J Clin Microbiol, 2018 · checked 2026-09-29