The lean gym staple against the juicier cut — the real gap is fat and trace minerals
Per 100g of raw, boneless, skinless meat, chicken breast delivers 22.5g of protein with just 1.9g of fat, while thigh comes in at 18.6g of protein and 7.9g of fat — roughly four times the fat of breast. Neither cut has any carbohydrate. But the thigh is not just "the fattier cut": it packs about twice the zinc (1.35mg vs 0.65mg) and iron (0.60mg vs 0.35mg) of breast meat, minerals many high-protein eaters run short on.
| Nutrient | Chicken Breast | Chicken Thigh |
|---|---|---|
| Protein (g) | 22.53 | 18.61 |
| Total Fat (g) | 1.93 | 7.92 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 0 | 0 |
| Sodium (mg) | 65.75 | 62.33 |
Source: Chicken, breast, boneless, skinless, raw (FDC ID 2646170), Chicken, thigh, boneless, skinless, raw (FDC ID 2646171)
For weight loss / cutting
Chicken breast
Only 1.9g of fat per 100g against the thigh's 7.9g, with more protein per bite — the best protein-to-fat ratio of the two.
For muscle building
Chicken breast
22.5g of protein per 100g raw, about 4g more than thigh (18.6g). Cheap, dense protein is why it's the bodybuilding default.
For iron and zinc
Chicken thigh
Zinc 1.35mg and iron 0.60mg per 100g — roughly double the breast (0.65mg zinc, 0.35mg iron).
For flavor and consistency
Chicken thigh
The extra fat keeps it juicy and forgiving to cook, which makes a high-protein diet easier to stick with.
Skinless breast and skinless thigh are closer than their reputations suggest — both are essentially zero-carb, all-protein cuts. The meaningful macro difference is fat: 1.9g vs 7.9g per 100g. Breast also edges out thigh on potassium (330mg vs 272mg) and phosphorus (215mg vs 178mg), so if you are optimizing purely for lean protein density, breast wins across the board on macros.
Dark meat works harder in the live bird, and it shows in the minerals: thigh carries about twice the zinc (1.35mg vs 0.65mg) and iron (0.60mg vs 0.35mg) of breast. Cholesterol is somewhat higher in thigh (92mg vs 73mg per 100g). If you eat chicken as your main protein most days, rotating thigh in is a low-effort way to shore up zinc and iron rather than a nutritional compromise.
Protein
22.52
vs
18.61
g
Total Fat
1.93
vs
7.92
g
Total Carbohydrate
0
vs
0
g
| A Chicken, breast, boneless, skinless, raw | Nutrient | Chicken, thigh, boneless, skinless, raw B |
|---|---|---|
| 74.78g+1.9 | Water | 72.92g |
| 22.52g+3.9 | Protein | 18.61g |
| 72.73mg | Cholesterol | 91.66mg+18.9 |
| 1.93g | Total Fat | 7.92g |
| 0g | Total Carbohydrate | 0g |
| 65.75mg | Sodium | 62.33mg |
| 330.10mg+58.3 | Potassium | 271.80mg |
| 3.94mg | Calcium | 5.65mg+1.7 |
| 26.20mg+4.4 | Magnesium | 21.80mg |
| 214.90mg+36.6 | Phosphorus | 178.30mg |
| 0.35mg | Iron | 0.60mg+0.2 |
| 0.65mg | Zinc | 1.35mg+0.7 |
| 0.00mg | Copper | 0.04mg+0.0 |
| 0mg | Manganese | 0mg |
Q. Which has more protein, chicken breast or thigh?
A. Breast. Per 100g of raw, skinless meat, breast has 22.5g of protein versus 18.6g for thigh — about 4g more.
Q. Is chicken thigh bad for weight loss?
A. Not necessarily. Skinless thigh has 7.9g of fat per 100g — about four times the breast's 1.9g, but still moderate compared with many red-meat cuts. If the extra juiciness helps you skip sauces and stick to your plan, it can be the more practical choice.
Q. Do chicken breast and thigh contain carbs?
A. No. Both cuts register 0g of carbohydrate per 100g, which is why chicken works in virtually any low-carb approach.
Data source: USDA FoodData Central (Public Domain). All values per 100g, edible portion. Some USDA Foundation Foods records do not report an Energy (kcal) value.