How much protein in a Chicken Breast?

A chicken breast is an excellent source of protein and holds itself well against red meat (in regards to protein level), but how much protein is there in a chicken breast?

The protein levels in a chicken breast can come down to a few different things.

I’ll list them quickly here for you now.

• How big is the chicken breast or the weight of the chicken breast
• Do you class a chicken breast as the whole breast or the two pieces separately
• How is the chicken breast prepared or cooked

In regards to the above points it is better sometimes to just work in 100 grams units as sometimes as there is a lot of variance.

So when you buy your chicken from the supermarket and want work out how much protein in a chicken breast, make sure to read the label or ask for 400gms of chicken breast weighed.

It’ll make it easier to work out, now I’ll run through the above points for you now.

How big is the chicken breast?

How big the chicken breast is relates to the weight of the breast.

Most chicken breasts these days can range between 120 grams up to 200 to 300 grams for some of the larger types.

I am only talking about half a chicken breast in the above measurements.

Whole breast or half?

Also note here the second point, a chicken breast can refer to half a breast or the two pieces of breast as a whole.

This is why it pays to work in 100 gram lots if you are working out how much protein you are eating when buying chicken breast to cook and eat.

Then you can just look at the total weight and know.

Is the chicken breast cooked?

Lastly on the list above is the way it is prepared, here I am writing about the skinless, boneless chicken breast you can buy.

If you buy marinated chicken breast or with skin on etc etc it changes the protein count for you slightly per 100 gram.

Generally the protein count in a chicken breast doesn’t change through the cooking process unless you are frying it until it is a burnt crisp.

So, how much Protein in a Chicken Breast?

So, the answer to the question of “How much protein in a Chicken Breast?” on average a chicken breast is about 54 grams of protein (depending on size).

From what I have read there is a little variance from brand to brand, so I get about 27 grams for half a chicken breast and also, I have seen 35 grams and up to 40 grams chicken breasts before as well (monsters!).

If you go to the supermarket to buy chicken breasts and the weight is 400 grams, you’ll be getting roughly 121 grams of protein for yourself (that’s a lot!)

Now you can divide the chicken breast easily in protein gram amounts for your daily meals to make sure you are getting your required amount.

Easy huh!

Compared to protein powder

Finally, to compare the protein levels for you, a protein shake with only protein in it has roughly 30 grams of protein in it.

So to get the equivalent protein in a chicken breast you would have to eat a large chicken breast, or between 120 grams to 150 grams of chicken breast to cover the same amount.

I hope the above makes sense and that you know a lot more about this high protein food now.

Keep on checking back here at Protein Guy for more information about protein and finally, make sure you cook your chicken well!