Chicken tikka calories and protein, next to 3 other grilled dishes.
Chicken tikka is one of the easiest dishes to fit around a protein target, as long as it is the dry, grilled kind. Here are the numbers for GymTribe's chicken tikka, three other grilled dishes beside it, and what pushes tikka up.
3 min read
01 / One serving
How many calories and how much protein are in chicken tikka?
GymTribe's chicken tikka is 200 g of chicken breast marinated in 80 g of Greek yogurt, tikka masala and lemon juice, grilled on skewers with half a bell pepper. One 310 g serving is 340 calories, 54 g of protein, 11 g of carbs and 8 g of fat, or about 110 calories and 17 g of protein per 100 g.
The chicken is most of it: 200 g of breast is about 240 calories and 45 g of protein. The yogurt marinade adds about 58 calories and 8 g of protein, so the marinade adds protein without adding much fat.
This is tikka as a dry grilled dish. Chicken tikka masala, the same chicken in a creamy tomato gravy, is a different number. For that, see butter chicken calories and protein.
02 / Side by side
Four grilled dishes, one serving each.
| Serving | Calories | Protein | Fat | Protein per 100 calories | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken tikka | 310 g | 340 | 54 g | 8 g | 15.9 g |
| Tandoori chicken | 240 g | 420 | 42 g | 24 g | 10.0 g |
| Grilled chicken with rice | 385 g | 630 | 51 g | 20 g | 8.1 g |
| Paneer tikka bowl | 500 g | 840 | 50 g | 50 g | 6.0 g |
A serving is one portion as the recipe makes it. Protein per 100 calories is a quick way to compare dishes of different sizes.
03 / Why they differ
What pushes tikka up.
- The cut of chicken. Breast is lean. Made with chicken pieces instead, the same recipe is about 444 calories and 23 g of fat, roughly 100 calories more, because pieces carry more fat.
- Cream and butter in the marinade. A tablespoon of cream adds about 50 calories and a tablespoon of butter about 100. Restaurant tikka is often brushed with butter or oil as it cooks.
- Oil on the grill. A tablespoon of oil is about 120 calories. A grill pan or an air fryer needs very little, so brushing lightly keeps tikka near the number above.
- What it comes with. Tikka on its own is protein and little else. With rice or naan it becomes a full plate, like the grilled chicken with rice above at 630 calories.
04 / Logging it
How to log chicken tikka.
Find chicken tikka in the GymTribe food catalog and set your portion, or weigh the cooked chicken and log it in grams. For a plate from a restaurant, photograph it with the AI calorie counter and check the portion before saving.
The other dishes in the table are tandoori chicken, grilled chicken with rice and the paneer tikka bowl. For curry, see chicken curry calories and protein.
Keep it simple
Dry tikka is protein, wet tikka is a sauce.
Knowing which one is on your plate does most of the work of logging it. These numbers come from GymTribe's recipes; they are estimates, not medical or clinical nutrition advice.
