Nutrition for Chicken Leg (raw)

Calories, Protein, Vitamins and More


Chicken Leg Nutrition Summary

One drumstick+thigh+back of raw chicken leg (344 grams or 0.8 lb) contains 736 calories and 56.3 grams of protein. Chicken leg consist of 67% water, 16% protein, 16% fat, and less than 1% of carbohydrates.

Chicken leg is an excellent source of many nutrients, including protein, iron, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B12. It also contains significant amounts of Vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, thiamin, phosphorus, choline, copper, zinc and selenium.

In one drumstick+thigh+back of raw chicken leg:

  • Calories: 736
  • Protein: 56.3 g
  • Fat: 54.9 g, (Saturated: 15 g)
  • Cholesterol: 319.9 mg
  • Sodium: 289 mg
There is no significant amounts of sugar or dietary fiber in chicken leg.

See the Chicken Leg Nutrition Chart for complete recommended daily values.
The specific nutritional values from USDA is for: Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw.

Calories in Chicken Leg

Chicken leg has 736 calories per drumstick+thigh+back or 214 calories for every 100 grams. Most of its calories are from fat and protein.

69% of calories in chicken leg are from fat and 31% of calories are from protein.

Calories from Fat

The majority, or 69% of the calories in raw Chicken Leg are from fat. Chicken leg is high in total fat, with 54.9 grams or 86% of recommended daily values per drumstick+thigh+back. Most of the fat in chicken leg are healthier unsaturated fats but it also contains a high amount of saturated fat, about 80% of recommended daily values.

Chicken leg contains 0.2064 grams of trans fat and319.9 mg of cholesterol.

  • Total fat: 54.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 319.9 mg
  • Trans fat: 0.2 g
  • Saturated fat: 15 g
  • Monounsaturated fat: 22.8 g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 11.5 g

Omega-3 and Omega-6 in Chicken Leg

Chicken leg is a source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, containing a total of 0.53 grams for every drumstick+thigh+back. It contains significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid. [2]

  • alpha linoleic acid: 0.53 g
Also a good source of omega-6 fatty acids, every drumstick+thigh+back of chicken leg contains a total of 10.6 grams of omega-6. In addition, a large portion of the omega-6 in chicken leg comes from linolenic acid - the only essential omega-6 fatty acid. [2]

  • linoleic acid: 10.28 g
  • other omega 6: 0.35 g
The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in chicken leg is 20.1: 1.

Calories Similar to Chicken Leg

Some other proteins with similar calories to chicken leg by weight:


Protein in Chicken Leg

An excellent source of protein, a single drumstick+thigh+back of Chicken Leg contains 113% of recommended daily values or 56.3 grams of protein. In addition, chicken leg is also a source of complete protein, meaning it abundantly contains all 9 essential amino acids.

  • Protein: 56.31 g
  • Tryptophan: 0.59 g
  • Threonine: 2.51 g
  • Isoleucine: 2.55 g
  • Leucine: 4.49 g
  • Lysine: 4.95 g
  • Methionine: 1.51 g
  • Phenylalanine: 2.17 g
  • Valine: 2.64 g
  • Histidine: 1.6 g

Protein Similar to Chicken Leg

Some other proteins with similar amounts of protein to chicken leg by weight:

Vitamins and Minerals in Chicken Leg

An good source of many nutrients, raw chicken leg contains abundant amounts of iron, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. In fact, a single drumstick+thigh+back of chicken leg contains 116% of recommended daily values or 16.3 milligrams of niacin. Also an excellent source of riboflavin, a single drumstick+thigh+back of chicken leg contains 44% of recommended daily values or 0.5 milligrams of riboflavin.

Vitamins in chicken leg (1 drumstick+thigh+back):
  • Vitamin a: 96.3 ug
  • Thiamin: 0.3 mg
  • Riboflavin: 0.5 mg
  • Niacin: 16.3 mg
  • Vitamin b6: 1.1 mg
  • Vitamin c: 0.7 mg
  • Vitamin e: 0.8 mg
  • Folate: 13.8 ug
  • Vitamin b12: 1.9 ug
  • Vitamin k: 7.9 ug
Minerals in chicken leg (1 drumstick+thigh+back):
  • Calcium: 31 mg
  • Potassium: 698.3 mg
  • Iron: 2.4 mg
  • Magnesium: 65.4 mg
  • Zinc: 5.1 mg
  • Selenium: 61.9 ug
  • Phosphorus: 533.2 mg
  • Copper: 0.2 mg
  • Manganese: 0.1 mg
  • Choline: 143.1 mg
There is no significant amounts of pantothenic acid in chicken leg.

Similar to Chicken Leg for Niacin (Vit B3)

Here are some other proteins with similarly abundant amounts of niacin (Vit B3) to chicken leg:

Flavonoids and Carotenoids in Chicken Leg [3]

Chicken leg contains a couple of healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants, specifically carotenoid lutein + zeaxanthin. In one drumstick+thigh+back of chicken leg:

  • lutein + zeaxanthin: 313 ug

Chicken Leg Nutrition Chart

Chicken Leg:

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Nutrition calculations are from Harvard Medical's nutrient guidelines [1] and USDA's food central database (2019) [2].
We calculated values from 2000 kCal daily recommended diet.

Chicken Leg in Cooking

Chicken leg is in the top 25% most popular ingredients for recipes. Chicken Leg should be cooked before consumption and is often skinned before being cooked or served. Most recipes call for a couple to a few chicken legs.

Friends and Relatives of Chicken Leg

Foods commonly cooked with chicken leg:


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