Whether it’s the centrepiece of a Sunday roast, sizzling on a family barbecue or a guilty pleasure served deep-fried from a fast-food restaurant, chicken is a staple of our diets.
And we eat it in staggering quantities.
Britons collectively consume roughly 2.45 million tonnes of chicken each year – around 35kg (77lb) per person, the equivalent of four decent-sized chicken breasts every week.
But while chicken is generally considered a healthy, low-fat source of protein, experts warn that not all versions are created equal.
As registered nutritionist Rob Hobson, author of The Low Appetite Cookbook, says: ‘A piece of chicken roasted with a little olive oil and seasoning is very different nutritionally from the same chicken deep-fried in batter or covered in a creamy sauce.’
So what are the healthiest ways to eat chicken – and which should be saved for an occasional treat?
Which cuts give you the biggest protein hit for the fewest calories, and which contain surprisingly high amounts of fat and salt?
We asked Rob Hobson to assess some of the most popular ways we eat chicken – from breast and thighs to wings, nuggets and a whole roast bird – and reveal the healthiest choices.
The UK gets through around 1.3billion chickens every year, with the average person eating poultry twice a week
Nutritionally, what’s actually in chicken?
Chicken has a reputation for being a particularly lean source of protein – but its nutritional make-up varies considerably depending on which part of the bird you eat.
Broadly, the meat falls into two categories: white meat, which includes the breast and tenderloin – the strip of meat beneath the breast – and dark meat, found in the thighs and drumsticks.
White meat is the leaner of the two. Skinless chicken breast contains roughly 165 calories and 1.6g of fat per 100g when cooked, while providing about 32g of protein.
‘If you’re looking purely at calories and fat, then skinless chicken breast is going to be the leanest choice,’ says Mr Hobson.
‘It is high in protein and very low in fat, so it’s particularly useful if you’re trying to increase your protein intake without adding lots of extra calories to your diet.’
But the skin makes a significant difference. Leave it on and the fat content can rise to around 8.5g per 100g.
Chicken thighs and drumsticks, meanwhile, are classed as dark meat and tend to be higher in both fat and calories. This is because these hard-working muscles naturally store more fat within the meat than the breast.
Chicken thighs contain around 209 calories per 100g, with roughly 7g of fat without the skin, increasing to around 16g with it.
But that doesn’t necessarily make dark meat the poorer nutritional choice. It contains higher levels of several important micronutrients, including iron, zinc and vitamins B12 and B2.
‘If you prefer thighs, they’re still a nutritious, protein-rich choice and the extra fat can make them more flavoursome and less likely to dry out during cooking,’ says Hobson.
Chicken is divided into these four main cuts, each with a different texture and flavour. These are wings, breasts, thighs and legs – also known as drumsticks
So, is chicken skin bad for you?
While leaving chicken skin on adds more fat and calories to the meat, Mr Hobson says it should not be seen as inherently ‘bad’.
‘Removing the skin is an easy way to make chicken leaner, but that doesn’t mean you can never eat crispy chicken skin,’ he says.
‘If you enjoy it, there’s room for it in a healthy diet. But if you’re regularly eating lots of other sources of saturated fat, removing the skin is a way to reduce your intake.
‘If it’s an occasional roast chicken and the crispy skin is your favourite bit, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
What about chicken mince?
Unlike beef mince, which is commonly sold in a choice of fat percentages, chicken mince tends to come in just one lean version in most supermarkets.
Depending on the brand, it can contain a mixture of white and dark meat – including breast, thigh and drumstick – minced together to achieve a particular fat content.
Typical supermarket versions contain around five per cent fat, making them a relatively lean source of protein. Higher-fat thigh mince is available, although it is much less commonly stocked.
The downside of very lean chicken mince is that it can easily become dry when cooked, as there is relatively little fat to keep the meat moist.
Minced chicken is also used to make products such as nuggets and some chicken burgers.
But it isn’t the mincing itself that makes these less healthy: coating the meat in batter or breadcrumbs, adding salt and cooking it with additional oil can significantly increase the calories, fat and salt.
The NOVA food classification of ultra processed food is pictured
Oven-baked or air-fried?
If keeping calories and fat as low as possible is the goal, poaching is arguably the healthiest way to cook chicken.
The method involves gently simmering the meat in water or stock until cooked through, meaning no oil or other fat needs to be added at all. The same is true of steaming, although it is a less common way of preparing chicken.
Baking or roasting can be almost as healthy. Chicken is cooked in the dry heat of an oven and requires little or no additional fat – although calories can quickly mount if it is liberally coated in oil or butter beforehand.
‘One simple tip is to measure your oil rather than pouring it freely from the bottle,’ says Mr Hobson. ‘Even healthy oils are calorie-dense, so it’s surprisingly easy to add several hundred calories to a tray of chicken without realising it.’
Air-frying works in much the same way as a small convection oven, circulating very hot air around the chicken to crisp its surface.
It can produce a result similar to frying while requiring only a small amount of oil – or none at all – making it another relatively low-fat option.
Grilling is also a lean cooking method because it requires little added fat and allows some of the chicken’s own fat to drip away.
However, experts suggest regularly eating meat that has been heavily charred is best avoided.
Cooking meat at very high temperatures can produce compounds called heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which have been linked to cancer in laboratory studies, although evidence that the amounts produced during normal cooking cause cancer in humans is less clear.
At the other end of the scale is deep-frying, where chicken is submerged in hot oil.
Particularly when the meat is coated in flour, batter or breadcrumbs, it can absorb oil during cooking, substantially increasing its calorie and fat content.
Does organic mean healthier?
Many supermarkets offer premium options such as corn-fed, higher-welfare, and organic chicken. And while they may seem like a healthier choice, the nutritional differences are small.
‘I think it’s important not to oversell the nutrition,’ Mr Hobson says.
‘While some research has found differences between organic and conventionally produced meat, the findings are not particularly consistent.’
Some organic chicken labels suggest the meat contains more omega-3, ‘healthy fats’ that may support your heart health.
However, studies such as the University of Strathclyde found no significant omega-3 advantage or even lower levels in some supermarket-bought organic chicken breasts.
Corn-fed chicken may also look more yellow because of pigments in the feed, but that doesn’t automatically make it healthier.
‘Personally, I would choose organic or higher-welfare chicken primarily because you value the farming and welfare standards rather than because you’re expecting a major nutritional advantage,’ Mr Hobson says.
How to make chicken dinner healthy
To get the most nutritional value from a chicken meal, Mr Hobson recommends serving it alongside plenty of fibre-rich plant foods.
‘Pair it with plenty of vegetables, a wholegrain such as brown rice or quinoa, or add beans, lentils or chickpeas,’ he says.
‘Suddenly you’ve got the protein from the chicken alongside fibre, plant foods and a much broader range of nutrients.’
And his final advice is not to automatically assume that breast is always best. While it may be the leanest cut, darker meat such as thighs and drumsticks is nutritious too – and provides higher levels of some vitamins and minerals.
