How Many Calories In Grilled Chicken Breast

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How Many Calories Are In A Cooked Chicken Breast

Chicken breast is low in fat and high in protein. A 100-gram chicken breast contains 165 calories, compared to 206 calories in a 100-gram chicken thigh. Of course, calorie counts vary depending on how the chicken is cooked and whether oils and other seasonings or flavorings are added.

Because chicken breast is widely available, easy to prepare, and a great source of lean protein, it is an excellent choice if you are trying to lose weight or build muscle.

How Do Chicken Breast Nutrition And Calories Stack Up

According to the USDA, a 3.5-ounce serving of roasted chicken breast without the skin contains:

Now consider the differences when you keep the skin on:

As you can see, keeping the skin on doubles the fat and saturated fat content, but adds a modest number of caloriesabout 30.

One key thing to remember is that these numbers are for a 3.5-ounce serving. Thats slightly more than half of the average chicken breast. This is what youll get for a whole, boneless, skinless chicken breast:

So if you eat the whole thing, youll be getting a LOT more proteinbut also way more calories and fat.

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How To Trim A Chicken Breast

When shopping for chicken breasts, you can buy bone-in or boneless chicken breasts. Personally, I like to grill boneless, skinless chicken breasts hot and fast. Whereas I barbecue bone-in, skin-on breasts longer at lower temps.

Todays recipe is for boneless, skinless chicken breasts with rib meat.

I have found that how chicken breasts are butchered varies greatly, depending on the brand. You can purchase breasts that say pre-trimmed on them, but theyre usually more expensive, so Im going to show you how to trim them yourself.

When you take the breasts out of the package, look them over. One side will likely have a thin white layer of fat. I like to trim this off.

The other side will have the socket where the wing was connected to the breast. Feel it with your finger. If you notice a little gristle, trim it away with a sharp boning knife.

When you flip the breast over, it should have a flap. This is the chicken tender or rib meat. I like to leave this attached, because it helps balance out the thickness of the breast.

If the breasts you buy already have the tenderloin removed, you may notice that one end will be significantly thicker than the other. If thats the case, place the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound the thicker side a bit, so its even with the thinner side. This will help it cook more evenly.

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Is It Ok To Eat Grilled Chicken Everyday

I eat chicken everyday? Absolutely. It is suggested that you grilled or baked chicken throughout the week. Chicken broth is made by simmering the chicken in a large pot of water until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. You can also use chicken stock or chicken bouillon cubes to make your own broth.

If you dont have any of these ingredients, you can still make broth by adding a few tablespoons of vegetable broth to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the broth begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The broth will thicken as it simmers, but it will still be a bit runny at this point.

Once its thickened, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a container and refrigerate until ready to use.

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Count Calories And Macros

Chicken breasts usually weigh about 6 to 8 ounces. A 3-ounce serving is about the size of a deck of cards. According to the USDA, there are 128 calories in a 3-ounce grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast. They are very low in fat, clocking in at 2.7 grams, and contain no carbohydrates.

As an added bonus, a serving of grilled, skinless, boneless chicken breast contains no saturated fats â the bad fats that raise the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood, according to the American Heart Association.

Saturated fats should make up no more than 5 to 6 percent of your daily total caloric intake.

Each serving provides you with 26 grams of protein, which is more than half of the recommended daily intake for adults â 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men, according to the National Academies of Sciences.

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How Long To Grill Chicken Breasts

One of the most important things to learn about grilling is that its better to cook to temp versus time. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has outlined safe minimum internal temperatures for all proteins.

However, if youre using full chicken breasts with the tenderloins attached and you follow the instructions for the type of grill you have, they should be cooked through in about 15-25 minutes, depending on your grill and the thickness of the chicken.

USDA Safe Cooking Temperature for Chicken Breasts

If you follow USDA guidelines and cook your chicken breasts to 165F degrees, they will be incredibly juicy. Be sure to place the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the meat. Its best to come at it from the side.

As with all meats, make sure you let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing it. This will allow the juices to relax and settle into the meat.

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What Do All Those Labels On Chicken Mean

You may have noticed the many different labels found on chicken breast at the grocery store. Here’s a breakdown.

• Natural. There’s no formal definition for the use of “natural” on food labels. The USDA allows the term “natural” to be used on meat and poultry when it contains no artificial ingredients or added colors and is minimally processed.
• Organic. Organic has strict criteria set by the USDA, in which organic chicken, for example, must come from a chicken that is not given any antibiotics or growth hormones. The chicken must be fed organic feed and they must be able to live in conditions in which they can graze outside.
• Antibiotic- or hormone-free. This means that no antibiotics or hormones were given to the chicken.
• Free-range. This means that chickens are allowed to be outside.

“When it comes to choosing, I think it’s based on each person’s preference and budgetary restrictions,” says Ehsani. “Organic chicken unfortunately may be the most expensive option compared to just non-organic, but both have the same nutritional breakdown at the end of the day.”

How Does Skin Affect Chicken Thigh Calories

Unless youre buying cut & trimmed chicken thigh from the grocery store, youre likely used to seeing chicken thighs with the skin. If you order a bucket of chicken, whether it be grilled or fried, its going to be served skin-on.

In this case, the skin doesnt alter the calories & nutrition too much. Since chicken thighs are comprised of a higher-fat dark meat, the fat content is already on the slightly higher side. Taking an equal-sized portion with skin ends up very similar nutritionally, albeit with slightly more fat and less protein.

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Should You Eat Chicken Breasts Or Chicken Thighs

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The delicious truth about white meat, dark meat, and which is better for your heath.

Whats better for you: chicken breasts or thighs? If you have skin on the game, neither ones a nutritional winner. Chicken skin is pure fat and if you eat it, it doubles the calories. Keep in mind, both chicken breasts and thighs come in boneless, skinless options and both are healthy lean sources of protein. Let me help you bone-up on the facts. If you dare to compare: a 3-ounce roasted chicken breast has about 140 calories, 26 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fat a 3- ounce roasted chicken thigh has about 152 calories, 21 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fat. And no bone means less time in the kitchen. Boneless chicken cooks faster than its bone-in counterpart.

I prefer to use chicken thighs in many of my recipes, because the little bit of extra fat helps keep the chicken moist and juicy even if you over cook it. Plus, pound for pound, chicken thighs cost about half as much as breasts. But a good marinade, like those recommended by the American Institute for Cancer Research, can help tenderize chicken breasts and prevent them from drying out. Here are two of my familys favorite chicken recipes: Grilled Pineapple Chicken Skewers, made with chicken breast tenders, and Lemon Chicken made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Both are super easy to make and theyre on my iTunes app Time To Eat Healthy Homemade Meals In Minutes!

How Many Oz Is A Chicken Breast

A typical chicken breast weights 174 g, which is around 6 ounces . However, the sizes range from tiny pieces weighing roughly 4 oz to bigger portions weighing 8 to 10 oz. There is no right or incorrect decision in this situation. Really, it all depends on what youre preparing and how much chicken you want to serve.

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Grilled Chicken Breast Nutrition Information

Grilled chicken breast is a summer time favorite, served plain or slathered in barbecue sauce. Its versatility makes this meat useful in the kitchen as well not only does grilled chicken breast serve as a high quality protein source by itself, you can add it to salads and casseroles to boost the nutritional value.

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Beware The Downside Of Grilling

Grilling is a healthy way to cook your chicken breast, but you may want to adjust your grilling method. Cooking chicken and other “muscle meat” at very high heat, such as with pan frying or over an open flame, produces by-products that cause cancer in animals. Whether they are associated with cancer in humans is as yet unclear.

The National Cancer Institute cites studies that associate a high consumption of barbecued, fried or well-done meat with colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer. You can reduce your risk by grilling smaller cuts of meat that cook quickly and keeping it away from high flames. Avoid eating your meat blackened or charred.

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Calories In Different Types Of Chicken

Chefs can prepare chicken in a variety of ways: rotisserie, grilled, stewed, boiled, roasted, and fried. They can use white or dark meat, and they can use the skin or go skinless. All those tweaks make a big difference when it comes to the nutrition on your plate.

• 3 ounces of grilled chicken breast has 110 calories and 2 grams of fat.
• 3 ounces of rotisserie chicken breast has 150 calories and 6.5 grams of fat.
• 3 ounces of fried chicken breast has 220 calories and 11 grams of fat.

While grilled chicken breast is usually better for you than fried chicken, it does come with an asterisk: Grilling meat at high temperatures causes chemicals called HCAs and PAHs to form, says Priya Khorana, EdD, doctor of nutrition education at Columbia University. These carcinogens can cause changes in DNA that can lead to cancer.

In other words, dont char your chicken.

Can Chicken Breast Give You Food Poisoning

All raw agricultural products can pose a possible human health threat when contaminated with certain bacteria. In chicken, this risk comes from human mishandling, not the poultry or bacteria themselves. Regardless of third-party verifications like USDA Organic, eating improperly prepared or stored meat can lead to foodborne illness. Get the National Chicken Councils guidelines for optimal food safety here.

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Chicken Breast Nutrition Facts

One 3-ounce serving of boneless, skinless grilled chicken breast contains 128 calories, 2.7 grams of protein, and 2.7 grams of fat with 0 g of carbohydrates. Note that many commercially packaged chicken breasts are much larger than 3 ounces. So if you eat a single breast, youre probably eating more than a single serving.

Storage And Food Safety

Raw chicken can harbor bacteria, such as Campylobacter and Salmonella, that can cause illness. Cooking chicken to at least 165 degrees F will kill the bacteria, but safe handling of the raw meat during preparation is important. Never wash or rinse raw chicken, and always thoroughly clean hands, utensils, and surfaces after handling raw chicken.

Both uncooked and cooked chicken should be kept in the refrigerator, where it will keep for a few days. Refrigerate or freeze leftover chicken within two hours of serving. Both raw and cooked chicken can also be frozen for up to nine months.

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How You Cook Your Chicken Matters

Chicken meat alone is relatively low in calories and fat compared to other meats. But once you start adding oil, sauce, batter and breading, the calories can add up.

For example, a skinless, boneless, cooked chicken thigh contains 109 calories and 5.7 grams of fat .

But that same chicken thigh fried in batter packs 144 calories and 8.6 grams of fat. A chicken thigh fried in a flour coating contains even more 162 calories and 9.3 grams of fat .

Similarly, one boneless, skinless chicken wing has 43 calories and 1.7 grams of fat .

However, a chicken wing glazed in barbecue sauce provides 61 calories and 3.7 grams of fat. Thats comparable to a wing fried in a flour coating, which has 61 calories and 4.2 grams of fat .

Therefore, cooking methods that add little fat, such as poaching, roasting, grilling and steaming, are your best bet for keeping the calorie count low.

Summary

Cooking methods, such as frying in breading and coating the meat in sauce, can add more than a few calories to your healthy chicken. For a low-calorie option, stick with baked or grilled chicken.

Boosts Serotonin And Melatonin

Chicken breast contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that helps regulate protein synthesis. Tryptophan also contributes to your brain’s ability to synthesize serotonin. People with inadequate serotonin may experience symptoms of depression or have trouble with memory. Tryptophan also plays a role in melatonin, an important hormone for sleep.

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Recipe Notes And Tips

• Do not overcook the chicken. If you do, you will end up with dry and chewy chicken. The best way to check for doneness is to use a food thermometer and check when the internal temperature reaches 165 F.
• We do recommend the marinating time. Or at least marinate it for 30 minutes. If you are really pressed for time you can skip the marinating process. Marinating does wonders though.
• If you prefer using chicken thighs you can use that instead. They tend to be juicer but they are higher in fat and less lean compared to chicken breast.
• You may use an outdoor or indoor grill. Want to Bake them? You can do that too. Bake in a preheated oven for 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
• Want to use your air-fryer? you can. Here is a recipe for an air fryer chicken breast you might be interested in.

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