A 4 ounce boneless skinless chicken thigh has about 140 calories, 20 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fat, with no carbs and useful minerals.
Boneless skinless chicken thighs sit in a sweet spot between lean breast and richer skin-on pieces. Dark meat brings more flavor and tenderness, while removing the bone and skin keeps calories and fat in a moderate range. When you understand the numbers behind this cut, it becomes much easier to plan portions, hit protein targets, and keep meals satisfying.
Many people search for chicken thigh boneless skinless nutrition because they want clear data they can trust. The figures below draw from USDA-based nutrient data and practical serving sizes you might see on labels or in meal tracking apps.
Chicken Thigh Boneless Skinless Nutrition Basics
For raw meat, most databases list boneless skinless chicken thigh values per 100 grams. This size works well for recipes and for comparing cuts side by side. Per 100 grams of raw boneless skinless thigh, you get roughly 144 calories, 18.6 grams of protein, 7.9 grams of fat, and no carbohydrates. That balance makes this cut a high protein, moderate fat option.
| Nutrient | Amount | % Daily Value* |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 144 kcal | — |
| Protein | 18.6 g | 37% |
| Total Fat | 7.9 g | 10% |
| Saturated Fat | 1.7 g | 8% |
| Cholesterol | 92 mg | 31% |
| Sodium | 62 mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 272 mg | 6% |
| Phosphorus | 178 mg | 14% |
| Iron | 0.6 mg | 3% |
Numbers for boneless skinless chicken thigh can shift a little between brands, brines, and trimming styles. Still, the broad pattern stays the same: high quality protein, modest fat, no carbs, and useful amounts of minerals like phosphorus, iron, and potassium.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh Nutrition By Portion Size
Most home cooks and diners think in ounces, thighs, or portions on the plate, not in 100 gram blocks. A common serving is 4 ounces of boneless skinless thigh, either raw weight or cooked weight depending on the label. When cooked by a low fat method such as baking, grilling, or air frying, 4 ounces of boneless skinless thigh usually lands near 140–150 calories, about 20 grams of protein, and around 7 grams of fat.
One cooked skinless boneless chicken thigh that weighs about 116 grams after cooking contains close to 208 calories, nearly 29 grams of protein, and about 9.5 grams of fat. That serving keeps carbs at zero and supplies a solid chunk of your protein needs for the day. If you prefer smaller servings, half a cooked thigh still gives a useful protein bump with fewer calories.
When you log food in a tracker or read a package, check whether the serving size describes raw or cooked weight. Raw 4 ounce portions shrink as moisture cooks off, so the cooked weight will be lower while the calories and protein stay the same. Many meal planning tools explain this difference, and the method matters for accurate macro tracking.
Macronutrients In Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Protein Content
Protein is the main reason many people build meals around boneless skinless thighs. Around 19–21 grams of protein per 100 grams raw, or about 20 grams per cooked 4 ounce portion, helps with muscle repair and many daily body functions. Compared with many plant sources, that protein comes with a compact calorie package, so you can hit targets without oversized portions.
Fat Profile
Boneless skinless chicken thigh carries more fat than breast, yet still fits into a wide range of calorie goals. Per 100 grams raw, you see roughly 8 grams of fat, of which about 2 grams are saturated fat. The rest comes from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. That mix keeps texture and flavor high without pushing fat intake into a range that many people find hard to fit into their day.
Cooking method changes the fat picture. Pan frying in a large amount of oil or deep frying can drive the fat and calorie count up. Baking on a rack, grilling, broiling, or air frying let some fat drip away and avoid large amounts of added oil. If you track fat closely, lean cooking methods keep the numbers close to the raw data in the first table.
Carbohydrates
Plain boneless skinless thigh has zero carbohydrates and zero fiber. That makes it a flexible base for low carb, keto, or higher carb diets. Any carbs in your meal will come from sauces, marinades, breading, or side dishes, not from the meat itself. When you want more fiber and micronutrients, pair this cut with vegetables, whole grains, or legumes.
Micronutrients And Health Context
Beyond macros, boneless skinless thighs offer several useful micronutrients. They contain B vitamins such as niacin and vitamin B6, which help your body turn food into energy. They also supply iron, zinc, and phosphorus, all of which take part in oxygen transport, immune function, and bone health.
Per 100 grams raw, this cut gives about 0.6 milligrams of iron, around 178 milligrams of phosphorus, and more than 270 milligrams of potassium. While those amounts do not meet your full daily needs, they still add up when combined with fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy across the day.
If you track cholesterol, note that boneless skinless thigh contains around 90 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams raw, or roughly 80–90 milligrams per cooked 4 ounce serving. Current dietary advice from groups such as the American Heart Association places more weight on overall eating patterns and saturated fat intake than on cholesterol from single foods. People who manage cholesterol levels may prefer portion control and a mix of poultry, fish, and plant proteins.
For more detail on how different chicken cuts compare, you can read this Healthline article on chicken calories, which pulls from the same USDA data sets used by many nutrition calculators.
Chicken Thighs Versus Other Chicken Cuts
To put chicken thigh boneless skinless nutrition in context, it helps to see how it lines up against chicken breast and skin-on thigh. Broadly, boneless skinless thigh sits between the leanest cuts and the richest cuts. You gain flavor and tenderness compared with breast, while avoiding the highest fat levels found in wings or skin-on dark meat.
| Nutrient | Boneless Skinless Thigh | Skinless Chicken Breast |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 209 kcal | 165 kcal |
| Protein | 26 g | 31 g |
| Total Fat | 10.9 g | 3.6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 0 g | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 132 mg | 85 mg |
The table shows how this dark meat cut trades a bit more fat and calories for a softer texture. If your day includes plenty of vegetables and fiber, many people find that a slightly higher fat poultry cut still fits within calorie and fat ranges that work for them.
Using Boneless Skinless Thighs In Everyday Meals
Boneless skinless thighs fit into weeknight dinners, meal prep, and social meals. The higher fat content compared with breast helps meat stay juicy during roasting, grilling, or braising, which cuts down on dry leftovers. That texture can make it easier to stick with a protein rich pattern, since the meals feel more indulgent than the calorie count suggests.
When you build a plate, think in flexible portion blocks. A 4 ounce cooked portion pairs well with a generous serving of vegetables and a moderate starch such as rice, potatoes, or whole grains. If you need more protein, you might scale up to 5–6 ounces and trim carbs or fats from other parts of the meal to balance.
Sauces and marinades change the nutrition picture. Creamy sauces, cheese, or sugary glazes add calories, saturated fat, or added sugars. Light marinades based on citrus, herbs, garlic, and small amounts of oil keep the overall profile closer to the figures in the tables. Reading labels on bottled sauces helps you see whether most of the calories in a dish come from the meat or from the coating.
Tracking Boneless Skinless Thigh Nutrition Accurately
Apps and labels do not always match each other exactly, and that can confuse anyone who tries to track intake closely. In practice, most well known databases cluster near the same USDA numbers, with small differences due to brand, trimming, or cooking loss. When you see small shifts, the trend still reflects this lean dark meat cut as a source of solid protein with modest fat.
For home tracking, weighing food on a scale gives the most reliable numbers. Decide whether your log uses raw or cooked weights and stay consistent. If you batch cook several pounds of marinated thighs, you can weigh the cooked batch, divide by the number of portions, and log each share as that weight in grams. This habit smooths out variation between individual pieces.
Restaurant dishes bring more guesswork, since breading, oil, and portion size rarely appear on the menu. In that setting, treat nutrition values as estimates. You might log a standard entry for grilled boneless skinless thigh and allow some wiggle room in your daily calories to allow for hidden fat or sugar from sauces.
Final Thoughts On Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Chicken thigh boneless skinless nutrition gives you a useful mix of protein, moderate fat, zero carbs, and helpful minerals in one versatile cut. Compared with chicken breast, you trade a small calorie increase for more tenderness and flavor. Compared with skin-on dark meat, you keep fat and calories lower without giving up the benefits of dark meat texture.
If you like the taste and feel of dark meat and still want to manage calories, boneless skinless thighs can anchor many balanced plates. With simple cooking methods, thoughtful sauces, and sensible portions, this cut can fit into weight management, muscle gain, or general wellness goals while keeping meals enjoyable.