Chicken leg calories come to 475 for one roasted leg with skin (258 g) and 184 per 100 g. Protein carries 54% of those calories, and a single leg delivers 62 g of protein, 124% of the daily value. The skin is the biggest lever: take it off and the same leg drops to 346.
475kcal
1 leg with skin · 258 g, roasted, meat and skin
54%protein
62 gProtein
0 gCarbs
23 gFat
How to burn off 475 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Roasted, meat and skin · per 258 g
Calories
475 kcal
Protein
62 g
Carbohydrate
0 g
Fat
23 g
Saturated fat
6.3 g
Cholesterol
328 mg
Sodium
253 mg
Potassium
681 mg
Iron
2.8 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Chicken leg: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
With skin (258 g)
475
62 g
0 g
23.2 g
253 mg
24%
Skin removed (199 g)
346
48.2 g
0 g
15.5 g
197 mg
17%
3 oz portion (85 g)
156
20.4 g
0 g
7.6 g
83 mg
8%
100 g
184
24 g
0 g
9 g
98 mg
9%
3 × With skin (258 g)
1,424
186 g
759 mg
5 × With skin (258 g)
2,374
310 g
1,264 mg
One leg with skin is a 475-calorie main course
One roasted leg with the skin on weighs 258 g and lands at 475 calories, which is 24% of the daily calorie value. That is a full dinner portion of meat on its own, before a single side dish reaches the plate. A 3 oz portion (85 g) is the measured alternative at 156 calories and 20.4 g of protein.
Legs rarely get served one at a time. Two legs add up to 949 calories and 124 g of protein, and three reach 1,424 calories. A tray of five comes to 2,374 calories across 1,290 g of meat, so a shared platter gets expensive fast when nobody is counting.
If you track intake, weigh the cooked meat once and remember the result. The gap between 85 g and 258 g is the gap between 156 and 475 calories, and a leg on the bone is easy to misjudge by eye. BodyPal can also log a chicken leg from a photo, which saves the guesswork on busy nights.
Protein and fat split the calories almost evenly
Per 100 g, roasted chicken leg with skin holds 24 g of protein, 9 g of fat and 0 g of carbohydrate. Translated into calories, protein supplies 54% and fat supplies 46%. There are no sugars and no fiber in the meat itself.
That profile makes the leg a rich cut, not a lean one. Chicken breast carries 3.6 g of fat per 100 g, so the leg has more than twice as much. The fat is also why dark meat stays juicy after roasting and forgives a few extra minutes in the oven.
The protein is still serious. A whole leg with skin gives 62 g, which is 124% of the daily value, and even the small 85 g portion covers 41%. If your goal is protein per calorie, the leg does well; if your goal is the fewest calories per bite, it trails the breast.
Pulling the skin brings a leg down to 346 calories
The USDA lists a roasted leg with the skin removed at 199 g and 346 calories, against 475 for the leg with skin. That is roughly a quarter fewer calories from the same piece of chicken. The only cost is a few seconds with a fork and knife.
Fat falls from 23.2 g to 15.5 g, and sodium slips from 253 mg to 197 mg. Protein stays high at 48.2 g, still 96% of the daily value. The calorie share of the day drops from 24% to 17%.
If crisp skin is the reason you buy legs, you do not have to give it up completely. Keep the skin on one leg and peel it from the second, and you land between the two totals instead of choosing a side. Cooking with the skin on and removing it at the table keeps the meat moist while still trimming the plate.
Sodium is low, cholesterol is the row to check
Plain roasted chicken leg is light on salt. Per 100 g it carries 98 mg of sodium, 4% of the daily value, and a full leg with skin has 253 mg, or 11%. Anything beyond that comes from the brine, rub or sauce, so a marinated or glazed leg quarter can read very differently.
Cholesterol is the number that stands out: 127 mg per 100 g, measured against a daily value of 300 mg. Saturated fat is 2.4 g per 100 g against a daily value of 20 g. If you watch either row, count the leg carefully and lean on the skinless version.
With no carbs and no fiber, the leg needs company on the plate. Roasted vegetables, beans, rice or a large salad fill those gaps without crowding out the protein. The meat itself adds 264 mg of potassium per 100 g.
How does chicken leg compare?
Here is how roasted chicken leg stacks up against turkey leg, chicken breast and chicken tenders, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the leanest plate pick chicken breast, at 165 calories and 31 g of protein per 100 g. Skip tenders if you watch sodium or carbs, since they carry 769 mg of sodium and 17.3 g of carbs per 100 g, and treat a whole turkey leg at 1,136 calories as a portion to share.
Most popular chicken leg brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Tyson Chicken Leg Quarters4 oz · 112 g259 kcal
2Tyson Uncooked Unbreaded Chicken Leg Quarters4 oz · 112 g259 kcal
3Tyson Uncooked XL Chicken Leg Quarters7.25 oz · 203 g241 kcal
4Delightful Farms Fresh Chicken Leg Quarters4 oz · 112 g259 kcal
5Open Nature Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters3 oz · 84 g179 kcal
6Cocina Cardenas Chicken Leg and Thigh100 g170 kcal
7Ahold Chipotle BBQ Chicken Leg and Thigh8 oz · 227 g167 kcal
Most of these are raw leg quarters labeled by raw weight with the skin on, so they read higher than the roasted numbers above. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken leg FAQs
How many calories are in one chicken leg?
About 475 calories for a whole roasted leg with skin (258 g), or 346 calories once the skin is removed (199 g).
Is chicken leg good for weight loss?
Roasted chicken leg has 184 calories, 24 g of protein and 9 g of fat per 100 g. Taking the skin off brings it to 174 calories and 7.8 g of fat per 100 g.
Chicken leg vs turkey leg: which has more calories?
Turkey leg has 208 calories per 100 g against 184 for roasted chicken leg with skin, so turkey leg is about 24 calories higher per 100 g.
How much protein is in a chicken leg?
A roasted leg with skin (258 g) has about 62 g of protein, which is 24 g per 100 g. A 3 oz portion (85 g) has about 20 g.
How many calories are in 100 g of chicken leg?
Roasted chicken leg with skin has 184 calories per 100 g. That same 100 g brings 24 g of protein, 9 g of fat and 0 g of carbs, or 9% of the daily calorie value.
How much fat is in a chicken leg?
A roasted chicken leg with skin (258 g) has 23.2 g of fat. Remove the skin and the 199 g of meat left has 15.5 g. Per 100 g, the leg with skin carries 9 g.
How much saturated fat is in a chicken leg?
Roasted chicken leg with skin has 2.4 g of saturated fat per 100 g. The daily value used for saturated fat is 20 g, so a full leg is worth counting if you track that row.
What are the nutrition facts for chicken leg per 100 g?
Per 100 g, roasted chicken leg with skin has 184 calories, 24 g of protein, 9 g of fat, 0 g of carbs, 98 mg of sodium, 127 mg of cholesterol and 264 mg of potassium.
How many calories are in a small piece of chicken leg?
A 3 oz portion (85 g) of roasted chicken leg with skin has 156 calories. It also gives 20.4 g of protein, 7.6 g of fat and 83 mg of sodium.
