Prepping a whole chicken for rotisserie cooking is similar to getting it ready for roasting in your oven. This healthy dry cooking method keeps your lean protein low in fat and calories. Remove the giblets, rinse with cold water, pat dry and coat with your favorite seasonings. Place the bird on a rotisserie spit fork and cook it in the rotisserie oven or over a fire pit. If you are in a hurry, many grocery stores offer rotisserie chickens fully cooked and ready to go. Pair rotisserie chicken with seasonal vegetables or use chilled leftover chicken for your salad at lunch.
A 3-ounce portion of rotisserie chicken contains an average of 215 calories. Because rotisserie chicken includes the entire bird and both light and dark meat, the calories you consume may vary slightly depending on the piece you eat. If you consume only white meat, your caloric intake may be slightly less. Eating strictly dark meat and thighs can moderately increase the calories you consume.
The remaining calories in rotisserie chicken come from protein, which has 4 calories per gram. Enjoying 3 ounces of rotisserie chicken provides around 20 grams of protein, or 80 calories from protein. Between 10 to 35 percent of your total calories should come from protein, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. You need 50 to 175 grams of protein, or 200 to 700 calories from protein, for an average 2,000-calorie diet.
Cholesterol plays important roles in your body, such as producing hormones and acting as a structural component of veins, but your liver produces all of the cholesterol you need. Any extra cholesterol in your system comes from your diet. If you are generally healthy, you can have up to 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day. Do not consume more than 200 milligrams if you are at risk of high blood cholesterol levels or heart disease, MayoClinic.com reports. Eating 3 ounces of rotisserie chicken adds approximately 75 milligrams of cholesterol to your diet.
Most of the calories in rotisserie chicken come from fat. A 3-ounce serving has about 15 grams of fat. This amounts to 135 calories from fat, since fats contain 9 calories per gram. Around 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories should come from fat, which amounts to 44 to 78 grams for a 2,000-calorie diet. Rotisserie chicken is relatively high in saturated fat. This harmful fat raises low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, further increasing your risk of heart disease. No more than 10 percent of your total calories should come from saturated fat, according to MayoClinic.com. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you can have up to 22 grams of saturated fat per day. A 3-ounce portion of rotisserie chicken contains approximately 5 grams of saturated fat, which is nearly 25 percent of your total daily allowance.
FAQ
How many calories are in 3 oz of Rotisserie Chicken without skin?
How many calories are in 3 oz of white meat from Rotisserie Chicken?
How many calories is 2 oz of Rotisserie Chicken?
How many calories is 6 oz of Rotisserie Chicken?