Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
beef
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in beef and chicken leg:
Both beef and chicken leg are high in calories. Beef has 29% more calories than chicken leg - beef has 277 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, beef is heavier in protein, lighter in fat and similar to chicken leg for carbs. Beef has a macronutrient ratio of 38:0:62 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Beef | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 38% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | ~ |
| Fat | 62% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both chicken leg and beef are low in carbohydrates - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Both beef and chicken leg are high in protein. Beef has 55% more protein than chicken leg - beef has 25.4g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Beef is high in saturated fat and chicken leg has 41% less saturated fat than beef - beef has 7.3g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Chicken leg has 18.4 times less trans fat than beef - beef has 1.2g of trans fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat.
Beef and chicken leg contain similar amounts of cholesterol - beef has 88mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and beef contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has 833% more Vitamin A than beef - beef has 3ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Beef and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - beef has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D.
Beef and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - beef has 0.12mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Beef and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - beef has 3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Beef has more folate and Vitamin B12. Both beef and chicken leg contain significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6.
| Beef | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.051 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.176 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 4.537 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.658 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.336 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 11 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.9 UG | 0.56 UG |
Beef has 289% more calcium than chicken leg - beef has 35mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Beef is a great source of iron and it has 226% more iron than chicken leg - beef has 2.3mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Both beef and chicken leg are high in potassium. Beef has 35% more potassium than chicken leg - beef has 275mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 203mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than beef per 100 grams.
| Beef | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.056 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.056 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than beef per 100 grams.
| Beef | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| linoleic acid | 0.39 G | 2.987 G |
| Total | 0.39 G | 3.003 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Beef (Beef, ground, 70% lean meat / 30% fat, patty, cooked, broiled) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cooked Beef g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Chicken Leg g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||