You might find this interesting. I did this research for my own purposes, but thought I'd share.
For protein content and value, how do beans compare to lean meat, such as cooked chicken breasts?
1 1/3 cups of cooked beans contain about the same amount of protein (about 19 to 22 grams) found in 3 ounces of lean chicken, which is the portion size of chicken that I use as a standard.
1 1/3 cups of cooked beans is about the amount in 3/4 of a 15-oz can of cooked beans.
With regards to cooking dried beans at home, 1 1/3 cups of cooked beans uses .44 cup of dried beans, weighing about .22 lb (or 3 and 1/2 ounces).
In most cases, it's cheaper to cook beans from dried than to buy canned, cooked beans. (But if you're wanting to compare the cost of canned beans to lean chicken, you'll use the price of 3/4 of a can of beans.)
.22 lb of dried pinto beans costs me about 12 cents. Add about 3 cents for gas and water for cooking. So I estimate for the protein equivalent of cooked-at-home beans that is about what is contained in lean chicken, cooking pinto beans myself costs about 15 cents.
In comparison, 3 ounces of lean chicken costs me about 33 to 37 cents (when boneless, skinless chicken breasts are about $1.79 to $1.99/lb). So, cooking beans from dried will save me over half the cost of buying BSCB.
I used boneless, skinless chicken breast for my comparison as it's very lean, producing little residual fat to be factored into the equation.
When it comes to bone-in poultry, I've always roughly estimated that bones/skin comprise about 1/3 or slightly more of the weight of the chicken parts, with legs and thighs being a little bit more bone/skin-heavy than breasts. So, when I'm looking at the cost of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts, I don't quite double the price per pound to get an estimate of price per pound for the protein that we'll use. If you're looking for a more detailed analysis of the meat percentages of various chicken parts Texas Agricultural Extension Service has a very detailed report with instructions for cost comparisons, here.
Lately, my chicken purchases have been chicken leg quarters. Walmart currently has a 10-lb bag of leg quarters for about $6. If I figure the meat-only part of the leg quarter is roughly 60%, at 60 cents per pound, my protein costs about $1 per pound, or about 19 cents per 3-oz serving. Beans are still a better deal for me, but only by a few cents per serving. In addition, the leg quarters are not nearly as lean as chicken breasts, so the protein content of 3 ounces of meat-only leg quarters may not meet that of 1 1/3 cups of cooked beans.
I hope this all made sense. My head is a little off this evening. I spent the afternoon at the dentist, and my thinking may be off. Correct me if I'm wrong. Do check out the link above. It could help you determine if bone-in chicken products are a good value for you.
