High-protein foods, ranked by protein per 100 calories

Among 31 common foods in USDA data, the most protein per calorie comes from lean seafood, egg whites, skinless turkey and chicken breast, pork tenderloin and low-fat dairy, at about 17 to 23 grams of protein per 100 calories.^{[1, 10]} Lentils, black beans and chickpeas give 5 to 8 grams per 100 calories.^{[21, 22, 25]} Nuts and peanut butter give less than 5.^{[27, 28, 30]}

The ranking: 31 foods by protein per 100 calories

Every number below comes from one entry in USDA FoodData Central, the government's food composition database. Each food name carries a numbered link to its entry, so you can check it. All entries are from the SR Legacy data set, which was released in April 2018 and will not be updated.^[36]

To rank them, we divided each food's protein by its calories, as the last column shows. Meats, fish and beans are cooked unless the name says otherwise.

Some foods have more than one entry, and the entry changes the number. A second shrimp entry, listed simply as cooked shrimp, works out to 24.2 grams per 100 calories (24 ÷ 99 × 100).^[32] Two firm tofu entries differ almost twofold in protein per 100 grams (17.3 versus 9.04 grams), yet land close per calorie (12.0 versus 11.6).^{[13, 33]}

Whey protein powder is left out of the ranking. USDA's two generic whey powder entries disagree. One lists 78.1 grams of protein per 100 grams, the other 58.1.^{[34, 35]} Your tub's label is the better guide.

Why fat moves a food down the list

USDA calculates most calories with the Atwater factors: 4 calories per gram of protein, 9 per gram of fat and 4 per gram of carbohydrate.^[37] A gram of fat carries more than twice the calories of a gram of protein. So two foods with the same protein per gram can rank far apart per calorie.

Pumpkin seeds have 30.2 grams of protein per 100 grams, almost the same as roasted chicken breast at 31 grams.^{[24, 7]} But 100 grams of the seeds carry 559 calories, against 165 for the chicken.^{[24, 7]} Per 100 calories, chicken gives 18.8 grams and the seeds give 5.4.^{[7, 24]}

The same pattern shows up inside one food. Farmed Atlantic salmon carries more calories per 100 grams than wild (206 versus 182) and less protein, so it gives 10.7 grams per 100 calories against 14.0.^{[11, 14]} Nonfat Greek yogurt gives 17.3 and whole-milk Greek yogurt gives 9.3.^{[9, 18]}

What 30 grams of protein costs in calories

A sports nutrition position stand, written for athletes, gives 20 to 40 grams of protein as a general amount per serving, while noting that findings on the best amount are mixed.^[38] The worked example below takes 30 grams, the middle of that range, and works out how much of four foods it takes.

If you are eating less to lose weight, protein per calorie shows which foods fit more protein into fewer calories. If you have room in your calories, foods lower on the list can still add useful protein, along with fiber and fats. For daily totals, see how much protein you need.

Plant proteins: what the ranking leaves out

Beans and lentils rank in the middle, but they bring fiber. Cooked lentils have 7.9 grams of fiber per 100 grams and black beans have 8.7.^{[21, 22]} The meats and fish in the table list 0 grams.^{[1, 2, 7]} See how much fiber you need for where else to find it.

Digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS)

A score for protein quality: how much of each essential amino acid a protein delivers after digestion, compared with a reference protein. A 2013 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report recommended it to replace the older score, PDCAAS.^[41]

Grams are not the whole story on quality. In one lab analysis, protein isolates from plants such as oat, lupin and wheat had less of the essential amino acids than animal proteins. Lysine and methionine were typically lower in the plant proteins.^[42] The authors say mixing plant proteins, or plant and animal proteins, can give a profile close to animal protein.^[42] That study tested protein powders made from foods, not whole foods.

What the US dietary guidelines say

The 2020 to 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans describe protein foods as lean meats, poultry and eggs, seafood, beans, peas and lentils, and nuts, seeds and soy.^[39] They advise eating a variety in nutrient-dense forms.^[39] They say most meat and poultry should be fresh, frozen or canned and lean, rather than processed meats like hot dogs and luncheon meats.^[39]

Seafood is the gap. The 2020–2025 guidelines found that almost 90 percent of Americans do not meet the seafood recommendation.^[39] That edition lists salmon, sardines and trout among the choices higher in omega-3 fats and lower in mercury.^[39]

The 2025 to 2030 edition says to prioritize protein foods at every meal, from animal and plant sources.^[40] It sets a goal of 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, adjusted to your calorie needs.^[40] For vegetarians and vegans, it lists dairy, eggs, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu and tempeh.^[40] The two editions differ on dairy. The 2020 edition favors fat-free and low-fat dairy, and the 2025 edition says to include full-fat dairy with no added sugars.^{[39, 40]}

To turn a protein goal into meals, our guide on how to count macros walks through it, and calories and macros, explained covers how protein fits with carbs and fat. If you lift while eating less, see eating for a recomp.

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