Health Tip – When ordering wings off the menu, customers can opt for different sauces. By picking wings without sauce, they can easily cut down on how many calories are in KFC wings. This also reduces sodium and, in some cases, grams of fat. Ordering dipping sauce on the side can also help with portion control.
Providing delectable deep-fried chicken and home-style southern side dishes since 1952, Kentucky Fried Chicken boasts savory options from buttery biscuits to enormous family-size buckets of chicken. A majority of available meals include original recipe, extra crispy, or grilled chicken. For customers seeking KFC chicken with modest levels of fats and calories, grilled items remain the best possible options.
A hungry individual seeking traditional southern cooking from the fast food chain often consumes a couple pieces of chicken, one side, and a drink. Total calorie and fat counts vary significantly for standard meals, as chicken comes in the form of breasts, drumsticks, thighs, and wings. For instance, one extra crispy breast, one extra crispy drumstick, a single serving of mashed potatoes and gravy, and a 20oz. soft drink total more than 800 calories, 34 fat grams, and over 1,700 mg of sodium. The same meal with water and grilled chicken instead of crispy drops overall nutrition counts to just over 300 calories, with 12 fat grams in tow. However, sodium levels remain fairly high at around 1,300 mg.
Health Tip – Side dishes generally up the ante by providing additional calories, although some sides provide much smaller numbers in terms of calories, fats, and sodium. One biscuit possesses nearly 200 calories along with 7g of fat. Healthier choices for customers include green beans, corn on the cob, sweet kernel corn, and mashed potatoes without gravy. Opting for family sides increases calories, fats, and sodium levels significantly. Adding a beverage to meals may increase caloric intake greatly, as well. Substituting regular soda pop with diet drops calorie levels next to zero, while sodium levels remain unchanging, as soda pop drinks remain heavily concentrated in calories and sugar.
Four out of five KFC sandwich options contain sodium levels over 1,000 mg. Sandwiches featuring fried chicken possess about 20g of fat and over 500 calories. Additional meal options include go cups, which come with various chicken selections and potato wedges. Each choice contains around 500 calories. Customers may also select between the KFC Famous Bowl and chicken pot pies, both of which supply more than 700 calories, over 30g of fat, and 2,000 mg of sodium. Choosing the snack-size version of the bowl dramatically decreases each nutritional value.
A grilled chicken breast from KFC contains about 8 g of fat making it a low fat food. This is far less fat than an extra crispy chicken breast from KFC which contains 33 g of fat. The American Heart Association, or AHA, as well as the USDA dietary guidelines for Americans, recommends keeping total fat intake below 25 to 35 percent of total calories per day. KFC grilled chicken can be a low-fat food option which can help to keep your overall dietary fat intake lower and your heart healthier.
According to KFC, over 12 million people consume its chicken in over 109 countries around the world each and every day. KFC has over 5,200 restaurants in the United States alone and now offers four flavor varieties of its popular whole chicken products. The varieties include original recipe, extra crispy, spicy crispy, and the newest addition, grilled chicken. KFC grilled chicken offers less calories, fat and sodium and can be a smarter meal option for those in a hurry and on the go.
The AHA recommends limiting total saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of your overall daily caloric intake. One KFC grilled chicken breast provides 2.5 g of saturated fat. This is far less saturated fat than that contained in KFC crispy chicken and can be a better option for heart health. KFC grilled chicken provides 105 mg cholesterol per piece. This makes it somewhat high in cholesterol when looking at your overall daily cholesterol intake recommendations. The USDA dietary guidelines for Americans recommends keeping cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day. This means that one piece of grilled chicken from KFC takes up about one third of your daily cholesterol allotment.
A grilled chicken breast from KFC provides 34 g of protein making it a high protein food. When it comes to protein, all varieties of KFC chicken provide anywhere from 34 to 42 g per piece. Because of the varying needs of individuals based on activity factors and growth, there is no set recommendation for protein needs each day. However, in general the USDA recommends about 0.8 g of protein per kg body weight per day for the average adult. Based on this, the average 175 lb. man would require about 64 g of protein per day. One piece of KFC grilled chicken could easily meet about half of his daily protein needs.
When it comes to sodium, KFC grilled chicken provides the lowest amount of sodium per piece out of all the KFC chicken varieties. One grilled chicken breast provides 460 mg of sodium. This is not much when compared to the 1,010 mg of sodium contained in one piece of crispy chicken. The USDA recommends keeping sodium intake less than 2,300 mg per day.
FAQ
Is grilled chicken at KFC healthy?
If you want chicken at KFC but want to keep it healthy, go with their Kentucky Grilled Chicken. A breast contains 210 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 130 milligrams of cholesterol, and 710 milligrams of sodium.
How many carbs are in KFC grilled chicken?
How many calories are in Kentucky fried chicken grilled chicken?
What is the healthiest thing to eat at KFC?
For the healthiest dish at KFC, opt for the grilled chicken wings, which deliver 70 calories per wing thanks to the cooking method.
