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Tinned chicken on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 22 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), drained, for around 140 calories. A small tin, drained, about 85 g (3.0 oz), gives roughly 19 g of protein for 119 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from tinned chicken alone you would need about 136 g (4.8 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How tinned chicken sits on a GLP-1
Tinned chicken is cooked, shredded chicken breast in brine or water, and drained it is about 22 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), soft, mild and salty, with no cooking and no fridge until it is open. On a GLP-1 it does the job tinned tuna does for people who have gone off fish: a small tin is a 19 g stop with a fork. The brine has a smell when the tin opens, which fades once it is drained and mixed with something.
When your appetite is small
Drain it well, then mash it with a spoon of mayonnaise or Greek yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon. That takes a small tin, about 85 g (3 oz), to about 21 g of protein in a soft, cold spread for two crackers or a lettuce leaf. Kept in the desk drawer or the glove box, it is the stop for the day the lunch plan fails.
Three ways to prepare it
Mashed with mayonnaise and lemon
Drain, mash, season. Chicken salad in a tin, about 21 g, and it spreads on a cracker rather than needing a plate.
Stirred into a mug of soup
A drained tin into a mug of tinned or packet soup. The soup goes from about 3 g to about 22 g and the chicken softens further in the heat.
Folded through a small curry or pasta sauce
A tin stirred into a jar of curry sauce or pesto pasta at the end. A hot meal with real protein and no raw meat handled.
What to eat it with
Mayonnaise, Greek yoghurt, lemon, avocado, celery, a mug of soup, a jar of sauce. Tinned chicken is bland, so it wants fat and acid, and it carries any flavour you give it.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tinned chicken | about 22 g | 140 kcal | this page |
| Rotisserie chicken | about 27 g | 190 kcal | See the page |
| Tinned tuna | about 25 g | 116 kcal | See the page |
| Flavoured tuna cups | about 20 g | 150 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, drained, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Tinned chicken in Australia, sold in small 85 g (3 oz) tins under supermarket and specialist labels, and less common in the UK, where larger supermarkets carry it. Canned chicken is a US staple in 5 oz (142 g) and 12.5 oz (354 g) cans from Swanson and Kirkland, and in pouches. Drained weight and protein per tin are on the label.
Questions people ask
Is tinned chicken as good as fresh?
For protein, yes: about 22 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) drained, the same as cooked chicken breast. It is softer, saltier and needs no cooking, which on a small appetite are advantages. Drain it and rinse it if the salt is a concern.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.