Every 100 kcal of chicken breast brings 18.8 g of protein. On that measure it ranks 17th of the 133 meats in this database and 68th of all 796 foods on the site. Measured by weight instead, its 31 g per 100 g ranks 16th in its group.
About 75% of the calories in chicken breast come from protein, which makes it extremely protein-dense - close to the practical ceiling for a whole food. Foods in this band are the ones that let you raise your protein intake without raising your calorie intake much at all.
Weight for weight, chicken breast has 8.7 g of protein for each gram of fat (31 g against 3.57 g per 100 g).
Set against ground turkey (fat free), another meat entry in the database, a serving carries about 0.5 g less protein (ground turkey (fat free) has 26.9 g per 3 oz cooked).
It is a complete protein - it supplies all nine essential amino acids in adequate amounts, so it can carry a meal's protein on its own. The serving quoted here is measured by weight at 85 g, and it covers about 53% of the 50 g FDA Daily Value for protein.
Rich in leucine, the amino acid that most strongly triggers muscle-protein synthesis.
Serving sizes
Protein in common portions of chicken breast
Protein and calories in Chicken breast for 100 g, the site serving and USDA household portions.
Portion
Weight
Protein
Calories
100 g
100 g
31 g
165 kcal
3 oz cooked (serving used here)
85 g
26.4 g
140 kcal
1 cup, chopped or diced
140 g
43.4 g
231 kcal
1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken)
52 g
16.1 g
86 kcal
0.5 breast, bone and skin removed
86 g
26.7 g
142 kcal
Portion weights are the household measures listed on the USDA record; protein and calories scale from the per-100 g figures.
Amino acids
Essential amino acids in chicken breast
The nine essential amino acids in Chicken breast, per 100 g, per serving and per gram of protein.
Amino acid
Per 100 g
Per serving
mg per g protein
leucine
2.33 g
1.98 g
75
lysine
2.64 g
2.24 g
85
valine
1.54 g
1.31 g
50
isoleucine
1.64 g
1.39 g
53
threonine
1.31 g
1.11 g
42
phenylalanine
1.23 g
1.05 g
40
methionine
0.859 g
0.73 g
28
histidine
0.963 g
0.82 g
31
tryptophan
0.362 g
0.31 g
12
Per-100 g values are the amino acid analysis on the USDA record. The serving and per-gram-of-protein columns are arithmetic on those values; they are not a protein quality score.
SampleWhat goal trends look like after a week
109 g
Average per logged day
4 of 7
Days goal met
71%
Complete-protein share
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Sample figures for one made-up week against a 110 g goal, not your data. Red bars met the goal. Your own log fills this in with Premium.
31 g. The 3 oz cooked serving used on this page weighs 85 g and so carries 26.4 g.
How much protein do you get per 100 calories of chicken breast?
18.8 g. That figure divides its 31 g of protein per 100 g by its 165 kcal per 100 g, so it does not depend on serving size.
Is the protein in chicken breast complete?
Yes. The protein in chicken breast supplies all nine essential amino acids in adequate amounts, so it can carry a meal's protein on its own.
What share of the protein Daily Value is one serving of chicken breast?
About 53%. One 3 oz cooked serving has 26.4 g, and the FDA Daily Value for protein is 50 g.
Figures from USDA FoodData Central record #171477 (Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted), SR Legacy data. USDA data is in the public domain. Values are the published reference figures for that record, not lab measurements for a specific brand or batch.