How Many Calories Are In Fried Chicken?

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 4 oz. breast
Calories 294	(1228kJ)
Amount Per Serving	% Daily
Total Fat 14.9g	23%
Saturated Fat 4g	20%
Trans Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 96g	32%
Sodium 311mg	13%
Total Carbohydrate 10.2g	3%
Dietary Fiber 0.3g	1%
Sugars 0g
Protein 28.1g	0%
Calcium	<1%
Potassium 227.1mg	0%

Fried chicken is beautiful, it’s delicious and it’s partly to blame for why you can’t lose weight. As one of America’s favorite foods, fried chicken and fried food in general is cited as one reason for growing obesity numbers. The good news however, is that eating fried chicken doesn’t have to be all bad.

Knowing fried chicken nutrition facts will make sure you enjoy yourself the right way. Keep reading to find out if its possible to eat fried chicken and still lose weight.

Let’s peel back that crunchy skin to see what fried chicken has to offer in terms of nutrition.

Major Nutrients Found In Fried Chicken

The most nutritious thing about fried chicken is that it is still chicken, which means it has lots of protein, calcium and potassium per serving so you do still get lots of nutrients. As long as you eat fried chicken in moderation and with a healthy side dish, as you can see, there’s really no reason to worry.

Where fried chicken begins to get us weight loss wannabes in trouble is fat and cholesterol. A four ounce fried chicken breast provides you with 32% of your daily cholesterol, which means you should monitor the cholesterol in your side dishes and other meals throughout the day. Fat and saturated fat in fried chicken should make you think twice about piling on the mashed potatoes and macaroni & cheese.

But like with all things, fried chicken is fine as long as you monitor your portion sizes and choose healthy side dishes like steamed vegetables.

Storing/Selecting

The best way to enjoy fried chicken is to make it yourself. This way you can choose the oil and decide whether its pan-fried or deep fried chicken. Choose chicken that is pink in color, not white or yellow as this means your chicken isn’t fresh. Prepared fried chicken should be crispy and golden brown.

Store fried chicken in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep in mind however that moisture may build up in the container if it isn’t air tight, which will turn your crispy fried chicken in to a mushy mess.

Eat It With:

Fried chicken is a protein that’s very versatile. Pair it with pasta or potatoes for a very hearty meal that could add more calories than you want. For best results eat fried chicken with steamed or baked vegetables that will satisfy your hunger without adding lots of calories to the meal. Cobb salad uses fried chicken as its main ingredient, although don’t let the ‘salad’ in Cobb salad fool ya; this bad boy has more than 700 calories before you add the dressing!