How Many Calories Are in a Chicken Leg? A Detailed Look

Chicken legs are a popular and delicious part of the chicken that contain both the thigh and drumstick. With so many cuts of chicken to choose from you may wonder exactly how many calories are in a chicken leg compared to other parts of the chicken.

In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at the calories, nutrition facts, and differences between chicken thighs, drumsticks, and whole legs. We’ll also compare chicken legs to other common cuts of chicken.

Calorie and Nutrition Facts of Chicken Legs

The number of calories in a chicken leg can vary slightly depending on if you eat the thigh, drumstick, or the whole leg.

Here’s an overview of the calories and nutrition facts in different cuts of chicken legs (per 100g)

• Chicken thigh (with skin): 209 calories, 29g protein, 10g fat
• Chicken thigh (skinless): 179 calories, 24.8g protein, 8.2g fat
• Chicken drumstick (with skin): 190 calories, 20.7g protein, 11g fat
• Chicken drumstick (skinless): 155 calories, 24.2g protein, 5.7g fat
• Whole chicken leg (with skin): 185 calories, 26g protein, 9g fat
• Whole chicken leg (skinless): 180 calories, 26g protein, 7g fat

As you can see, chicken thighs tend to be slightly higher in calories and fat compared to drumsticks. Removing the skin reduces the calories by about 20-30 calories and 3 grams of fat.

Chicken legs are an excellent source of protein, containing around 25-30 grams per 100g serving. They have less fat than chicken wings or chicken with skin, with about 7-11 grams per serving.

Chicken legs also provide minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, as well as B vitamins.

Thighs vs Drumsticks – What’s the Difference?

Chicken thighs and drumsticks are the two parts that make up a chicken leg. Here are some of the main differences:

• Calories: Chicken thighs are slightly higher in calories than drumsticks. A 100g skinless thigh has 179 calories vs 155 calories in a skinless drumstick.

• Fat content: Chicken thighs also contain more fat, with 8.2g in a skinless thigh vs 5.7g in a skinless drumstick.

• Meat: Chicken thighs have more meat than drumsticks. The meat is also darker and more tender.

• Bones: Drumsticks contain a larger bone compared to the thigh bone. The drumstick bone is tougher to chew.

Chicken Legs vs Other Chicken Cuts

How do chicken legs compare to other popular cuts of chicken in terms of calories and nutrition?

Here is an overview of the calories per 100g for common chicken cuts:

• Chicken breast (skinless): 165 calories
• Chicken thigh (skinless): 179 calories
• Chicken drumstick (skinless): 155 calories
• Chicken wings (skinless): 203 calories
• Chicken legs (skinless): 180 calories

As you can see, skinless chicken legs are very similar in calories to a skinless chicken breast. Chicken wings contain the most calories, while chicken drumsticks have the least.

Chicken legs have a higher fat content than chicken breast, but less fat than chicken wings or thighs. Legs and thighs also contain more flavorful dark meat compared to chicken breast.

How Cooking Method Affects Calories

The way you cook chicken legs also impacts the calories and fat content. Frying chicken legs adds extra calories from oil, batter or breading.

For example, here are the calories for different cooked chicken legs per 100g serving:

• Baked/roasted (skinless): 180 calories
• Fried (skinless): 220 calories
• Fried in batter (with skin): 270 calories

Methods like baking, grilling, roasting or air frying are lower in calories than frying. Go for simpler cooking methods without extra oil or batter to keep the calorie content down.

Removing the skin prevents extra fat from cooking methods like frying too.

Serving Sizes and Total Calories

Now that we know the calories per 100g, what does a typical serving look like?

Here are some common serving sizes of chicken legs and the total calories:

• 1 small leg (skinless): 212 calories
• 1 medium leg (skinless): 258 calories
• 1 large leg (skinless): 336 calories
• 1 leg quarter/piece (skinless): 331 calories
• 1 cup diced chicken leg meat: 310 calories

The total calories can range from around 200 for a small leg up to over 300 calories for a very large leg or leg quarter.

When eating out, a chicken leg may be even bigger and contain more calories. A fried, battered chicken leg can have over 500 calories at some restaurants!

Health Benefits of Chicken Legs

Chicken legs make a nutritious addition to a balanced diet. Here are some of the top health benefits:

• High in protein – Excellent source of protein to support muscle growth and satisfaction.

• Lower in fat – Less fat compared to chicken wings, skin-on chicken or red meat.

• Vitamins and minerals – Provides niacin, vitamin B6, iron, zinc and selenium.

• Dark meat – Higher in iron, zinc and B vitamins than chicken breast. More flavorful and tender too.

• Versatile – Drumsticks and thighs can be used in curries, salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes and more.

• Budget-friendly – Chicken legs cost less than breasts or wings. An economical protein source.

Simple Ways to Enjoy Chicken Legs

Chicken legs deserve a spot in your regular dinner rotation. Here are some tasty ways to enjoy them:

• Braise or roast them with veggies
• Simmer in a curry, chili or soup
• Grill them for fajitas or sandwiches
• Air fry or bake drumsticks for snacking
• Make chicken salad with diced thigh meat
• Pickle grilled drumsticks for a low-carb snack
• Use in pasta dishes like chicken cacciatore or chicken parmesan

So get creative with this protein-packed and budget-friendly cut of chicken!

The Bottom Line

Chicken legs contain around 180 calories and 26g of protein per 100g serving. Thighs tend to be slightly higher in calories and fat than drumsticks. Removing the skin reduces the calories by 20-30 calories and 3g of fat.

Chicken legs are very close in calories to a chicken breast. They contain a bit more fat, but provide juicy and tender dark meat.

The healthiest cooking methods are baking, grilling or roasting. Fried chicken legs are significantly higher in calories and fat.

At only 180 calories per serving, flavorful chicken legs can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet and provide an excellent source of protein.

A roasted chicken leg with skin contains approximately 475 calories, according to Nutritionix.

Nutritional Information

Two chicken legs, depending on size and whether the skin is eaten, can range from approximately 283 to 543 calories. A medium chicken leg (with skin) typically contains around 257 calories. Therefore, two medium chicken legs with skin could have roughly 514 calories.

A cooked, skinless, boneless chicken thigh (about 116g) contains approximately 208 calories. A skinless, boneless thigh, raw, is about 150 calories per 100g.