{"id":2804,"date":"2022-01-10T15:57:48","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T15:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/?p=2804"},"modified":"2023-10-12T19:12:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T19:12:49","slug":"whole-chicken-weights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/whole-chicken-weights\/","title":{"rendered":"Whole Chicken Weights, Sizes &#038; Servings (In Charts)"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:55.555555555556%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style>\n<p>Have you ever wondered about the average weight of whole chickens, both raw and cooked? This article discusses the various weights of whole chickens. I provide detailed charts and guides to help you understand how much meat you can expect from a chicken, while considering factors like cooking and different sizes. I also talk about the nuances of chicken sizes, cooked weights, meat yields, and serving sizes, offering a comprehensive view into managing chicken as a culinary ingredient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group has-base-2-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Contents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#raw-weight\">How Much Does a Raw Whole Chicken Weigh?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"#cooked-weight\">How Much Does a Whole Cooked Chicken Weigh?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"#meat-amount\">How Much Meat is There on a Whole Chicken?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"#serving\">How Much Roast Chicken is in a Serving?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"#serving-number\">How Many People Can You Serve Per Chicken?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><a href=\"#whole-chicken-faqs\">More Whole Chicken Weight FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken.jpg 900w, https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken-768x427.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 96px), 720px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20900%20500'%3E%3Crect%20width='900'%20height='500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3330 eager-load\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 96px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken.jpg.webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken.jpg.webp 900w, https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken-300x167.jpg.webp 300w, https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Decorative-image-of-a-whole-roast-chicken-768x427.jpg.webp 768w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"raw-weight\">How Much Does a Whole Raw Chicken Weigh?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whole raw chicken weights vary pretty considerably, and they&rsquo;re usually categorized into various sizes to make it easier for consumers to know what size they&rsquo;re buying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In general, whole raw chickens that you buy from stores, supermarkets, and butchers range in size from the smallest at around 1kg (2.2lb) to the largest at about 2.5kg (5.5lb).<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A raw average-sized medium chicken weighs around 1.4kg (3.1lb), and a chicken of this size will feed about 4 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When cooked, the chicken will reduce in weight due to loss of fluids.  I&rsquo;ll cover how much cooked chickens weigh and how much meat you can expect per chicken later on in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Whole Raw Chicken Size Guide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To keep things simple, I&rsquo;ve categorized chickens into sizes as they&rsquo;re generally sold in supermarkets and stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chart below shows average chicken weights in both metric and imperial, from small to extra-large:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Whole Raw Chicken Size<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Weight in kg &amp; lb&rsquo;s<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Small<\/strong><\/td><td>1-1.3kg \/ 2.2-2.87lb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Medium<\/strong><\/td><td>1.3-1.7kg \/ 2.87-3.75lb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Large<\/strong><\/td><td>1.7-2kg \/ 3.75-4.4lb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Extra Large<\/strong><\/td><td>2kg plus \/ 4.4lb plus<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-container-3 wp-block-columns has-base-2-background-color has-background\">\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-column\">\n<h4 style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Get the latest in innovative weighing scales<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/recommended-equipment\/#measuring\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/recommended-equipment\/#measuring\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">See our recommended weighing scales for quality and precision. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like this one, <a href=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/recommended-equipment\/#greater-goods-nutrition-food-scale\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/recommended-equipment\/#greater-goods-nutrition-food-scale\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Greater Goods Nourish Portions<\/a>, that not only weighs an ingredient &ndash; it also tells you the nutritional information for over 2000 different foods and enables you to make your own custom entries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"cooked-weight\">How Much Does a Whole Cooked Chicken Weigh?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The amount that chicken reduces in weight when it&rsquo;s cooked, depends on the quality of the chicken and whether it has added water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you know how much weight a whole chicken weighs after cooking, it&rsquo;s easy to calculate the cooked weight and potential meat yield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>How Much Weight Does a Whole Chicken Lose When Cooked?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Because a whole chicken contains bones and is covered with fatty skin it retains more liquid than skinless and boneless chicken which will dry out more during the cooking process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>As a general rule, a good quality free-range chicken with no added water will reduce in weight by around 25% when it&rsquo;s cooked<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So to calculate the weight of a cooked whole chicken, you will need to <strong>deduct 25% from the original raw weight.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Whole Cooked Chicken Size Guide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The chart below shows how much you can expect a chicken to weigh after cooking for each size category, in both metric and imperial weights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These figures are based on average amounts and assume that a chicken will reduce weight by around 25% during the cooking process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Whole Chicken Size<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Raw Weight in kg &amp; lb<\/strong><\/td><td><strong><strong>Cooked Weight in kg &amp; lb<\/strong><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Small<\/strong><\/td><td>1-1.3kg \/ 2.2-2.87lb<\/td><td>750-975g \/ 1.7-2.1lb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Medium<\/strong><\/td><td>1.3-1.7kg \/ 2.87-3.75lb<\/td><td>975g -1.3kg \/ 2.1-2.9lb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Large<\/strong><\/td><td>1.7-2kg \/ 3.75-4.4lb<\/td><td>1.3-1.5kg \/ 2.9-3.3lb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Extra Large<\/strong><\/td><td>2kg \/ 4.4lb plus<\/td><td>1.5kg \/ 3.3lb plus<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"meat-amount\">How Much Meat is There on a Whole Chicken?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I&rsquo;ve done some experiments to determine how much meat you can expect from a whole-cooked chicken based on each size category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This information is based on average weights and assumes that the bone and skin account for around 60% of the overall weight of a whole chicken.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please note, weights will differ slightly between each chicken depending on the size and other factors such as age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chart below shows the average cooked meat yield for each size of whole chicken (including the brown and white meat).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Whole Chicken Size<\/strong><br><strong>&amp; Raw Weight<\/strong><\/td><td><strong><strong>Cooked Weight in kg &amp; lb<\/strong><\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Average Meat Yield (cooked)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Small<\/strong><br><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><strong>1-1.3kg \/ 2.2-2.87lb<\/strong><\/td><td>750-975g \/ 1.7-2.1lb<\/td><td>300-390g<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Medium<\/strong><br><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><strong>1.3-1.7kg \/ 2.87-3.75lb<\/strong><\/td><td>975g -1.3kg \/ 2.1-2.9lb<\/td><td>390-520g<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Large<\/strong><br><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><strong>1.7-2kg \/ 3.75-4.4lb<\/strong><\/td><td>1.3-1.5kg \/ 2.9-3.3lb<\/td><td>520-600g<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Extra Large<\/strong><br><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><strong>2kg \/ 4.4lb plus<\/strong><\/td><td>1.5kg \/ 3.3lb plus<\/td><td>600g -800g<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-container-5 wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"serving\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">How Much Roast Chicken is in a Serving?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&rsquo;re meal planning or need to know the recommended portion size of roasted chicken meat, here&rsquo;s the information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Portion size<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Serving size per person<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Average<\/td><td>100\/3.5oz<br>(cooked meat)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Larger portion<\/td><td>120g\/4.2oz<br>(cooked meat)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For nutrition purposes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usda.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer external\" data-wpel-link=\"advanced\" title=\"\" class=\"wpel-icon-right\">USDA<i class=\"wpel-icon dashicons-before dashicons-lightbulb\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/a> confirms the recommended portion size of chicken as 100g (3.5oz), which is equal to 165 calories (in kcal). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&rsquo;re meal planning for a group of people, it&rsquo;s a good idea to allow for a larger portion of chicken per person to make sure there&rsquo;s enough for everyone, especially if they&rsquo;re a hungry group.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"serving-number\">How Many People Can You Serve Per Chicken?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on the recommended serving size per person, the chart below shows how many people you can expect to serve from average-sized chickens in each size category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Whole Raw Chicken Size<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Weight in kg &amp; lb<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Number of servings (people)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Small<\/strong><\/td><td>1-1.3kg \/ 2.2-2.87lb<\/td><td>2-3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Medium<\/strong><\/td><td>1.3-1.7kg \/ 2.87-3.75lb<\/td><td>4-5<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Large<\/strong><\/td><td>1.7-2kg \/ 3.75-4.4lb<\/td><td>5-6<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Extra Large<\/strong><\/td><td>2kg plus \/ 4.4lb plus<\/td><td>6-8<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Please note that meat yields can vary and these figures are based on averages. If you&rsquo;re feeding a hungry crowd, it&rsquo;s always a good idea to use the lower number of servings and cook an extra chicken or a larger size to make sure there&rsquo;s enough to go around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"whole-chicken-faqs\">More Whole Chicken Weight FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1642763507268\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">How much meat does a 3lb chicken yield?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">A chicken with a raw weight of 3lb (1.36kg) will weigh around 2.2lb (1.02kg) when cooked.  You can expect a brown and white meat yield of around 14.4oz (408g) per chicken.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1642763520503\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">How much meat does a 4lb chicken yield?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">A chicken with a raw weight of 4lb (1.8kg) will weigh around 3lb (1.36kg) when cooked.  You can expect a brown and white meat yield of around 1.2lb (544g) per chicken.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group has-base-2-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Related Articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope this post helped you to find the information you were looking for, you might also like the following related articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/chicken-meat-weights-calories\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2418\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Chicken Meat Weights &amp; Calories (All Types In Charts)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/chicken-leg-weights-calories\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2964\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Chicken Leg Weights, Calories &amp; Servings (In Charts)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/chicken-breast-weights\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Chicken Breast Weights, Calories &amp; Servings (In Charts)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/chicken-wing-weights-calories\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2998\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Chicken Wing Weights, Calories &amp; Servings (In Charts)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever wondered about the average weight of whole chickens, both raw and cooked? This article discusses the various weights of whole chickens. I provide detailed charts and guides &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2804"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6893,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions\/6893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weighschool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}