Food database · Meat & poultry
Protein content
A 3 oz cooked serving of chicken breast contains 26.4 g of protein - an excellent source of protein, about 53% of the 50 g Daily Value.
Share of this food's calories that come from protein - it is extremely protein-dense.
| Serving | 3 oz cooked (85 g) |
|---|---|
| Protein per serving | 26.4 g |
| Protein per 100 g | 31 g |
| Calories per serving | 140 kcal |
| Protein density | 75% of calories |
| Share of 50 g Daily Value | 53% |
| Protein quality | Complete protein |
| Category | Meat & poultry |
| Food type | Whole food |
| USDA record | FoodData Central #171477 |
A typical 3 oz cooked serving of chicken breast contains 26.4 grams of protein (31 g per 100 g), which makes it an excellent source of protein. That covers roughly 53% of the 50 g reference Daily Value, so it can anchor a high-protein meal for the day.
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.
Among the 133 meats in the database, chicken breast ranks 13th by protein per serving, and 21st out of all 796 foods on the site. 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 above is measured by weight at 85 g. The per-100 g figure lets you compare it directly against any other food here, whatever its serving.
Rich in leucine, the amino acid that most strongly triggers muscle-protein synthesis.
Source: USDA FoodData Central #171477 - "Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted" (SR Legacy, published 4/1/2019). Values are the published reference figures for that record, not lab measurements for a specific brand or batch.
Quick answers
Chicken breast has 31 g of protein per 100 g. A typical 3 oz cooked serving (85 g) provides 26.4 g.
Yes. Chicken breast 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.
A 3 oz cooked serving of chicken breast contains 26.4 g of protein, about 53% of the 50 g reference Daily Value.
Chicken breast is an excellent source of protein, and about 75% of its calories come from protein, which makes it extremely protein-dense. 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).
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