Paneer vs Chicken breast: nutrition per 100 g

For people counting protein, the headline is closer than many expect. Raw skinless chicken breast has 21.8 g of protein per 100 g, ranking 17th of 257 foods, and paneer has 18.9 g, the highest of the three dairy foods in IFCT 2017. That is a gap of 2.9 g. The bigger difference is energy: chicken has 168 kcal and paneer 258 kcal, about 1.5 times as much. So per calorie, chicken breast gives noticeably more protein, which is why it is the default in many gym diets. Both are complete proteins.

Paneer carries 14.8 g of fat per 100 g, and 8.85 g of it is saturated, about 10.8 times the 0.82 g of saturated fat in chicken breast. IFCT 2017 lists total fat for the breast at 9.0 g, a figure that sits high next to its small fatty-acid values and is worth treating with some caution. Chicken has 62 mg of cholesterol per 100 g. For anyone watching saturated fat, chicken breast is the leaner choice, and paneer is best kept to measured portions, grilled or in bhurji rather than in cream gravies.

Paneer has 476 mg of calcium per 100 g, about 36.6 times the 13 mg in chicken, and covers 48 per cent of an adult's daily need. It also has about 3.5 times the zinc, 2.74 mg against 0.78 mg, and more phosphorus. Chicken has more potassium, 295 mg against 64 mg. Iron is the surprise: 0.9 mg in paneer and 0.83 mg in chicken breast, with chicken breast ranking last of 14 meats, poultry and eggs for iron and zinc. Red meat, liver, pulses and greens are far better iron sources than either.

Chicken breast is an excellent source of niacin: 8.06 mg per 100 g against 0.13 mg in paneer, covering 45 per cent of a man's daily need and 58 per cent of a woman's. It also has 0.53 mg of vitamin B6 against 0.04 mg, about 13.2 times as much, and more thiamine and vitamin E. Paneer has more folate, 93 micrograms against 10, and a little more riboflavin. Values are for raw foods; cooking chicken drives off water, so cooked chicken has more protein per 100 g than raw.