Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
lentils
versus
chicken quarter
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in lentils and chicken quarter:
Both lentils and chicken quarter are high in calories. Chicken quarter has 84% more calories than lentil - lentil has 116 calories per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, lentils is much heavier in carbs, much lighter in fat and similar to chicken quarter for protein. Lentils has a macronutrient ratio of 30:67:3 and for chicken quarter, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Lentils | Chicken Quarter | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 30% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 67% | ~ |
| Fat | 3% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken quarter has 117.4 times less carbohydrates than lentil - lentil has 20.1g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Lentil is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken quarter - lentil has 7.9g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken quarter does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken quarter has less sugar than lentil - lentil has 1.8g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken quarter does not contain significant amounts.
Both lentils and chicken quarter are high in protein. Chicken quarter has 81% more protein than lentil - lentil has 9g of protein per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 16.4g of protein.
Lentil has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken quarter - lentil has 0.05g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken quarter and lentils are low in trans fat - chicken quarter has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Lentil has less cholesterol than chicken quarter - chicken quarter has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Lentils and chicken quarter contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - lentil has 1.5mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 0.2mg of Vitamin C.
Chicken quarter has more Vitamin A than lentil - chicken quarter has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken quarter and lentils contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken quarter has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Lentils and chicken quarter contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - lentil has 0.11mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Lentils and chicken quarter contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - lentil has 1.7ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Lentil has more thiamin and folate, however, chicken quarter contains more niacin and Vitamin B12. Both lentils and chicken quarter contain significant amounts of riboflavin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6.
| Lentils | Chicken Quarter | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.169 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.073 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 1.06 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.638 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.178 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 181 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 0.56 UG |
Lentil has 111% more calcium than chicken quarter - lentil has 19mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 9mg of calcium.
Lentil is an excellent source of iron and it has 383% more iron than chicken quarter - lentil has 3.3mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 0.69mg of iron.
Both lentils and chicken quarter are high in potassium. Lentil has 82% more potassium than chicken quarter - lentil has 369mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken quarter has 203mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken quarter has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than lentil per 100 grams.
| Lentils | Chicken Quarter | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.037 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.037 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken quarter has more linoleic acid than lentil per 100 grams.
| Lentils | Chicken Quarter | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.137 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.137 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: Lentils (Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt) and Chicken Quarter (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cooked Lentils g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Chicken Quarter 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 | |||