How many calories are in a chicken panini?
A regular pressed chicken panini weighs 161 g and carries 378 calories. Per 100 g the sandwich runs 235 calories, which is mild for a hot lunch. The bread and the melted cheese do most of the damage; the grilled fillet inside pushes protein to 34.8 g, more than a lot of dinners manage.
You'd need to walk about 76 minutes to burn the 378 calories in one panini (161 g).
How long does it take to burn off 378 kcal of chicken panini?
One panini (161 g) is 378 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 378 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 16 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 47 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 54 min |
| Jogging | 44 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 24 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (161 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chicken panini quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a double-size panini
- No cheese, wheat bread and crispy chicken
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does a chicken panini compare?
- Most popular chicken panini brands
- FAQ
Chicken panini quick facts
No USDA record is actually titled "panini." A panini is a construction, not a recipe: bread, filling, hot press. The closest match by preparation is FNDDS 2707013, "Chicken fillet sandwich, grilled, on white bun, with cheese" — grilled chicken breast, melted cheese, white bread. That is the sandwich in the photo, and that is the record every number on this page comes from.
The two things that would change it are cheese and frying. Take the cheese out and you get a different record, 216 calories per 100 g. Bread the chicken and fry it and you get 280. Both are further down the page.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 panini (161 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 235 | 378 | 19% |
| Total fat | 7.92 g | 12.8 g | 16% |
| Saturated fat | 2.95 g | 4.7 g | 24% |
| Carbohydrate | 17.78 g | 28.6 g | 10% |
| Dietary fiber | 0.6 g | 1.0 g | 3% |
| Total sugars | 2.85 g | 4.6 g | — |
| Protein | 21.64 g | 34.8 g | 70% |
| Sodium | 487 mg | 784 mg | 34% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
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 →
Two rows are missing on purpose. This edition of FNDDS does not publish added sugars or trans fat for mixed dishes, so neither can be shown honestly here. Cholesterol comes in at 100 mg per panini, 33% of the Daily Value, and potassium at 398 mg, or 8%. The FDA Daily Value reference is what those percentages are measured against.
The single most useful line in that table is protein: 34.8 g in one sandwich, 70% of the day's 50 g reference. Very few lunches you can hold in one hand get near that.
US servings, from one ounce to a double-size panini
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 67 kcal |
| Half a panini, slider size | 80 g | 188 kcal |
| One panini, regular | 161 g | 378 kcal |
| One large panini, submarine size | 322 g | 757 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 235 kcal |
The 161 g and 322 g rows are USDA household portions for this record, and the 80 g half is the miniature portion USDA lists for it. The one-ounce line is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving — it exists because delis sell paninis by weight and a cut half rarely lands at exactly 80 g.
Weigh yours once and you will probably stop guessing. A café panini built on ciabatta often runs closer to the 322 g size than to the 161 g one, and that doubles everything in the table above, including the 784 mg of sodium.
Packaged paninis land in the same range. A Lean Cuisine Spinach, Artichoke & Chicken Panini is 320 calories for the 170 g package and a Stouffer's Southwest-Style Chicken Panini 400 for the same weight; a Boar's Head Buffalo Chicken Panini, a full 234 g deli sandwich, is 550.
No cheese, wheat bread and crispy chicken
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical panini | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grilled with cheese, white bread | 235 kcal | 161 g | 378 kcal |
| Grilled with cheese, wheat bread | 230 kcal | 161 g | 370 kcal |
| Grilled, no cheese, white bread | 216 kcal | 140 g | 302 kcal |
| Grilled, no cheese, wheat bread | 210 kcal | 140 g | 294 kcal |
| Crispy fried chicken with cheese | 280 kcal | 161 g | 451 kcal |
| Crispy fried chicken with cheese, wheat | 275 kcal | 161 g | 443 kcal |
Cheese is the variable people expect to matter most, and by calories it barely does: 235 against 216 per 100 g, a difference of 19 calories. Saturated fat tells a different story. The cheese version carries 2.95 g per 100 g against 0.94 g without it — a bit over three times as much, from one slice.
Frying is the swing that actually shows up. The breaded fried fillet version is 280 calories per 100 g against 235 for the grilled one, so the same 161 g sandwich goes from 378 to 451. Fat per 100 g rises by about three-quarters, 13.82 g against 7.92 g, and protein falls from 21.64 g to 13.46 g, because breading replaces meat by weight. A fried panini is a worse sandwich twice over.
Wheat bread moves calories almost not at all: 230 against 235 per 100 g. What it moves is fiber, from 0.6 g to 1.8 g per 100 g — three times as much, though still a small number against the 28 g Daily Value.
Sodium is the row to watch
One 161 g panini delivers 784 mg of sodium. That is 34% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, paid for with 19% of a 2,000-calorie day. The ratio is the problem, not the number in isolation: bread, cured cheese and a seasoned fillet each bring salt, and pressing the sandwich adds none of it back in flavor terms. In table salt, 784 mg of sodium is roughly a third of a teaspoon.
The CDC's sodium guidance is that most Americans take in well over the recommended amount, mostly from packaged and restaurant food rather than the shaker. If you're watching sodium, the no-cheese version at 408 mg per 100 g against 487 mg is the easy edit, and it costs you nothing you'd notice.
Saturated fat is the second row worth a glance: 4.7 g per panini, 24% of the day, again mostly from the cheese. Protein is the row that redeems the sandwich. At 34.8 g it is one of the densest handheld protein sources in the lunch aisle, and MyPlate's protein guidance is built around exactly this kind of lean poultry portion.
How does a chicken panini compare?
| Sandwich | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken panini, grilled with cheese | 235 kcal | one panini, 161 g | 378 kcal |
| On wheat bread, with cheese | 230 kcal | one panini, 161 g | 370 kcal |
| Grilled, no cheese | 216 kcal | one panini, 140 g | 302 kcal |
| Crispy fried, with cheese | 280 kcal | one panini, 161 g | 451 kcal |
Our take: for weight loss, order it grilled and skip the cheese — 302 calories for a full sandwich, the lightest of the four per 100 g, and you keep 21.82 g of protein per 100 g. For staying full through a long afternoon, the standard grilled panini with cheese at 378 is the better buy, because 34.8 g of protein carries further than a 300-calorie salad. The one to leave on the menu is the crispy version: it costs 73 more calories than the grilled sandwich at the same weight and gives back less protein.
Most popular chicken panini brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Lean Cuisine Spinach, Artichoke & Chicken Panini | 188 cal |
| Stouffer's Southwest-Style Chicken Panini | 235 cal |
| Boar's Head Buffalo Chicken Panini | 235 cal |
| Fresh & Easy Chicken Panini | 200 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken panini FAQs
How many calories are in a chicken panini?
378 calories in a regular 161 g grilled chicken panini with cheese, which works out to 235 calories per 100 g. A large café-size panini of about 322 g is 757 calories. The number moves mainly with the size of the bread, not the filling.
How much protein is in a chicken panini?
34.8 g of protein in one 161 g panini, which is 70% of the 50 g Daily Value. Per 100 g the sandwich holds 21.64 g. That puts a grilled chicken panini among the highest-protein handheld lunches you can buy, ahead of most wraps and deli subs.
Is a chicken panini healthy?
It is 378 calories with 34.8 g of protein and 12.8 g of fat, which is a reasonable lunch. The weak spots are 784 mg of sodium, 34% of the day, and only 1.0 g of fiber. Grilled beats fried; wheat bread triples the fiber.
How many calories in half a chicken panini?
188 calories for a half panini of 80 g, the miniature or slider portion USDA lists for this record. If your half comes off a large 322 g sandwich, it is closer to 378 calories instead. Weigh it once and you will know which half you are eating.
Does a chicken panini have a lot of sodium?
784 mg of sodium in one 161 g panini, or 34% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, from just 19% of a day's calories. That is about a third of a teaspoon of table salt. Dropping the cheese takes it to 408 mg per 100 g from 487 mg.
Grilled vs fried chicken panini calories?
378 calories grilled against 451 fried, for the same 161 g sandwich. Per 100 g that is 235 against 280, with fat rising from 7.92 g to 13.82 g. Protein falls the other way, from 21.64 g to 13.46 g, because breading takes up weight that chicken would have filled.
How many carbs are in a chicken panini?
28.6 g of carbohydrate in a 161 g panini, 10% of the Daily Value, with 4.6 g of that as total sugars. Per 100 g the figure is 17.78 g. Almost all of it is the bread, so a thinner ciabatta or a half portion is the only real lever.
Chicken panini calories without cheese?
302 calories for a 140 g grilled chicken panini with no cheese, or 216 per 100 g. That saves 19 calories per 100 g against the cheese version, but cuts saturated fat from 2.95 g to 0.94 g per 100 g. The saturated fat, not the calories, is the reason to skip it.
Similar foods
- Beef brisket — 208 cal per thick slice
- Chicken — 203 cal for 3 oz roasted
- Roast Chicken — 203 cal per 3 oz
- Chile relleno — 326 cal per chile relleno
- Tempura shrimp — 109 cal for 6 large shrimp
- Asada taco — 243 cal per taco
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the panini for you, cheese and all.
