The End of Chicken-Breast Dominance
May 1, 2025 | 1 min to read
The price of boneless chicken thighs is now rivaling that of white meat, reflecting a shift in consumer preference. Once regarded as a lesser choice, thighs are celebrated for being juicier and more flavorful while costing nearly half as much as boneless breasts. Recent grocery trends show thighs surpassing breasts in price, signaling a decline in the dominance of white meat as home cooks and restaurants embrace dark meat's versatility. The era of white meat in America may be coming to an end.
The price of boneless chicken thighs is finally catching up with the price of white meat.
Few things in life are both cheaper and better, but for a long time, this was true of the chicken thigh. Its superiority was passed like a shibboleth among food connoisseurs: Thighs are juicier, tastier, are almost half the price—preferable in just about every way to the boneless, skinless, flavorless breasts that reign supreme in America.
Well, the secret’s out. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I picked up a pack of boneless thighs that cost, pound for pound, some 50 cents more than boneless breasts. In fact, the cost of thighs has crept steadily upward for years now, and surpassed that of breasts for much of last year. In recent months, breasts have gained in price again, but white meat’s continued dominance no longer seems assured. Home cooks have embraced the flavor and versatility of dark meat; fast-casual restaurants such as Chipotle and Sweetgreen have it all over their menus. After a decades-long run, America’s white-meat era may finally be ending.
To read more, please visit The Atlantic.