Steamed Chicken Breast Nutrition: Calories, Protein & Macros

See steamed chicken breast calories, protein and macros by serving size. Learn how steam cooking, moisture, yield and added ingredients affect nutrition.

STEAM VAPOR HEAT NO DIRECT IMMERSION ZERO ADDED OIL

Steamed chicken breast is cooked by hot steam rather than being submerged in water. That makes it different from both boiled and poached chicken.

If you weighed your chicken after steaming, use an appropriate cooked chicken reference rather than raw chicken nutrition. The exact result can still vary with cooked serving weight, moisture retained, seasoning, soy sauce, or added oil.

Because a generic USDA database record explicitly named "steamed chicken breast" does not exist, we use the closest locked USDA moist-heat standard and display its reference terminology clearly.

Calculate My Steamed Chicken Nutrition Compare Steamed vs Boiled Chicken →

What Do We Mean by Steamed Chicken Breast?

Cut: Chicken breast

State: Cooked (Steamed vapor heat)

Bone: None

Skin: Removed

Added Oil: None

Sauce: None

Serving Basis: Cooked edible weight

Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC ID 171534 reference)

Steam-cooked chicken is not automatically identical to boiled, poached, stewed, roasted or grilled chicken. We identify the exact reference used rather than silently treating them as interchangeable.

What Kind of Steamed Chicken Did You Eat?

Select your preparation style to configure the calculator:

Plain Steamed Chicken Breast

Cleanest baseline: zero added oils, sugars or sodium from sauces. Cooked purely with water vapor.

Steamed Chicken Breast at a Glance

For plain steamed skinless chicken breast, the baseline reference values per 100 grams are:

Per 100 g 165 kcal

Protein 31.0 g

Total Fat 3.6 g

Carbs 0 g

Plain skinless breast cooked in steam vapor provides high protein density with no added cooking fat. If you add soy sauce, butter, or chili oil, calculate those ingredients as part of the total dish.

Calculate Your Steamed Chicken Breast Nutrition

Enter your cooked steamed chicken weight and select your preparation options:

Cooked Chicken Weight:

Preparation Style:

Skin Status:

Calculated Portion: 170 g steamed chicken breast

Calories 281 kcal

Protein 52.7 g

Fat 6.1 g

Sodium 126 mg

Reference basis: 165 kcal, 31.0g protein, 3.6g fat, 74mg sodium per 100g cooked breast.

Data classification: Calculated value scaled mathematically from USDA FoodData Central moist-heat reference (FDC ID 171534).

Steamed Chicken Breast Nutrition Facts per 100g

Reference nutrition profile for plain cooked steamed boneless, skinless chicken breast:

Nutrient	Amount per 100 g	% Daily Value	Data Classification
Calories	165 kcal	-	verified
Protein	31 g	62%	verified
Total fat	3.6 g	5%	verified
Saturated fat	1 g	5%	verified
Carbohydrate	0 g	0%	verified
Dietary fiber	0 g	0%	verified
Sugars	0 g	0%	verified
Cholesterol	85 mg	28%	verified
Sodium	74 mg	3%	verified
Potassium	256 mg	5%	verified
Phosphorus	228 mg	18%	verified
Selenium	27.6 mcg	50%	verified
Niacin (Vitamin B3)	13.7 mg	86%	verified
Vitamin B6	0.6 mg	35%	verified
Vitamin B12	0.34 mcg	14%	verified
Iron	0.43 mg	2%	verified
Zinc	0.8 mg	7%	verified

Steamed Chicken Breast Nutrition by Weight

Quick lookup table mathematically scaled from the USDA moist-heat reference:

Cooked Steamed Portion	Calories	Protein	Total Fat
1 oz / 28 g	46 kcal	8.7 g	1.0 g
3 oz / 85 g	140 kcal	26.3 g	3.1 g
4 oz / 113 g	186 kcal	35.0 g	4.1 g
5 oz / 142 g	234 kcal	44.0 g	5.1 g
6 oz / 170 g	281 kcal	52.7 g	6.1 g
8 oz / 227 g	375 kcal	70.4 g	8.2 g
100 g	165 kcal	31.0 g	3.6 g
150 g	248 kcal	46.5 g	5.4 g
200 g	330 kcal	62.0 g	7.2 g
250 g	413 kcal	77.5 g	9.0 g

Steamed vs Boiled Chicken: What Is the Difference?

Both methods cook without added oil, but they interact differently with water:

Feature	Steamed Chicken	Boiled Chicken
Chicken Immersed?	No (Sits above water on rack/basket)	Yes (Fully submerged in liquid)
Heat Source	Steam vapor	Hot boiling liquid
Liquid Contact	Minimal / surface condensate	Direct complete immersion
Nutrient Leaching to Liquid	Smaller practical role	More pronounced into broth
Surface Condensate	Present (let drain before weighing)	Liquid drains off immediately

Why Does Steamed Chicken Differ From Raw Chicken?

Cooking changes the water balance of the meat. Raw chicken contains roughly 74% water. As the breast steams, muscle proteins contract and expel a portion of that water. The finished cooked breast weighs less than it did raw, concentrating protein and nutrients per 100 grams (~31.0g vs ~22.5g in raw breast).

Sitewide Rule: Weighed raw? Log raw. Weighed after steaming? Log cooked.

Surface Condensate, Steamer Water, and Drippings

Surface Condensate: Freshly removed steamed chicken may have water droplets clinging to its surface. Allow the chicken to rest on a clean rack for 2 to 3 minutes to drain before placing it on the kitchen scale. Do not squeeze or press dry.

Water Below Steamer: The water underneath the steaming basket produces the steam but does not contribute calories or macros to the chicken. If discarded, it is not part of what you ate.

Calculate Your Own Steaming Yield

Use your kitchen scale to measure cooking yield for your steamed batch:

Raw Batch Weight (g):

Cooked Steamed Weight (g):

Your Cooked Serving (g):

Steaming Yield: 82.0% (Weight loss: 18.0%)

Your portion represents: 25.0% of the entire batch

Soy Sauce, Seasonings, and Added Oil

With Soy Sauce: A dish steamed with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic adds significant sodium (~400 to 600mg) and minor carbs. Calculate it as a recipe rather than plain chicken.

With Added Oil: Drizzling sesame oil or olive oil before or after steaming contributes approximately 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon.

Steamed vs Grilled and Baked Chicken Breast

Direct comparison of plain cooking methods per 100 grams edible portion:

Metric (per 100g)	Plain Steamed	Plain Grilled	Plain Baked
Calories	165 kcal	151 kcal	165 kcal
Protein	31.0 g	30.5 g	31.0 g
Total fat	3.6 g	3.2 g	3.6 g
Carbohydrate	0.0 g	0.0 g	0.0 g
Sodium	74 mg	74 mg	74 mg

How to Track Steamed Chicken for Meal Prep

Suppose you steam 1,200g of raw chicken breast and obtain 990g of cooked drained meat. If your meal portion is 247.5g, you consumed exactly 25% of the cooked batch (247.5 ÷ 990 = 0.25). Assign 25% of the total raw recipe macros to your container.

Cook Steamed Chicken Safely

USDA FSIS Safe Minimum Temperature: 165°F / 73.9°C

Do not rely on steaming time, white color, or firmness alone as proof of safety. USDA consumer safety standards require poultry to reach at least 165°F / 73.9°C in the thickest part of the breast measured with a digital food thermometer.

How We Source Steamed Chicken Nutrition

Our hierarchy for steamed chicken data:

Generic plain steamed chicken: USDA FoodData Central moist-heat cooked reference (FDC ID 171534 baseline).
Commercial pre-packaged products: Manufacturer Nutrition Facts panel.
Soy sauce, seasoned, or sauced dishes: Calculated from individual recipe ingredients.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories are in 100g of steamed chicken breast?

There is no single value we should publish without identifying the source. Current commercial steamed products and other cooked-breast references vary, so our reference table uses the exact USDA moist-heat cooked chicken breast standard of approximately 165 calories per 100 grams for plain skinless breast.

How much protein is in steamed chicken breast?

It depends on the exact product and food reference. One commercial steamed chicken-breast product lists 26 g per 100 g, while generic cooked breast references provide approximately 31.0 g per 100 g. These are different foods and should not be merged.

Does steaming chicken add calories?

Steam itself adds no calories. Added oil, butter, sauce or other ingredients can add calories, while moisture loss during cooking alters calories per 100 g through tissue concentration.

Does steamed chicken have carbs?

Plain chicken breast contains essentially no meaningful carbohydrate. Commercial or seasoned steamed products can contain carbs from marinades, starches, or sauces.

Does steaming preserve more nutrients than boiling?

We should not make a universal claim. Research shows cooking method can affect nutrient retention and weight loss, but outcomes depend on the chicken cut, nutrient, cooking duration, and experimental conditions.

Does steaming reduce protein?

Steamed chicken remains protein-rich. We do not use a fixed protein-loss percentage without appropriate breast-specific analytical evidence.

Is steamed chicken healthier than grilled chicken?

Neither method needs a universal health ranking. Plain steaming can be done without added fat, and plain grilling can also be prepared without substantial added fat. Compare actual ingredients, portions and source records.

Is steamed chicken the same as boiled chicken?

No. Steamed chicken normally sits above the cooking water and is heated by steam vapor, while boiled chicken is immersed directly in hot liquid.

Should I weigh steamed chicken raw or cooked?

Either can work if the nutrition source matches the measured state: raw weight uses raw data; cooked weight uses the selected cooked reference.

What temperature should steamed chicken breast reach?

USDA FSIS recommends reaching at least 165°F / 73.9°C in the thickest part of the breast, checked with a digital food thermometer.