The 34 Best Vegetarian Foods for Protein, Ranked. #1 Has 25% More Protein Than Chicken.

The #1 highest-protein vegetarian food on Earth packs 38.6 grams of protein per 100 grams.

That’s 25% more protein than chicken breast, gram for gram.

Whether you’re a committed vegetarian or just trying to eat less meat, here are the foods that actually deliver when protein is the goal.

I pulled the USDA’s FNDDS database (the same one the government uses for national nutrition surveys), filtered to every meat-free food in the system, and ranked them by protein per 100 grams.

That’s the headline number. But I also pulled a second figure for each: protein per 100 calories, which tells you whether that protein comes lean (Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs) or packaged with a ton of calories (most nuts and seeds).

That second number is the most useful thing in this article. A handful of almonds and a cup of cottage cheese both deliver protein.

One of them keeps you in your calorie budget. The other doesn’t.

Here are the 34 highest-protein vegetarian foods on Earth, counted down to the king.

34. Tofu

Tofu sits at the bottom of this list by weight and at the top by efficiency.

Protein: 7.2g per 100g, but 11.8g per 100 calories (one of the leanest sources here). At 61 calories per 100g, it’s the rare protein that doesn’t bring a calorie bill with it. Plus it’s a complete protein (all nine essential amino acids), which is something most plant foods can’t claim.

Press a block, cube it, marinate in soy and ginger, and pan-fry until golden. Crumble it like ground beef for a tofu Bolognese. Or blend silken tofu into a creamy lemon-garlic pasta sauce that fools everyone.

The trick is the press. Wet tofu = sad tofu.

33. Split Peas

Split peas are the slept-on legume that builds an entire meal in 30 minutes.

Protein: 8.3g per 100g, 7.1g per 100 calories. Plus 29% of your daily fiber and 20% copper at 117 calories per 100g. Yellow or green, both work the same.

Simmer with onion, carrot, celery, and smoked paprika for a thick split pea soup that beats anything from a can. Cook them into dal with cumin and turmeric for a 30-minute weeknight dinner. Or fold them cold into a curried rice salad with raisins and cilantro.

No soaking. Cooks in under an hour.

32. Peruvian Beans

Peruvian beans (canarios) are creamy, pale yellow, and an obsession in South American kitchens.

Protein: 8.5g per 100g, 4.4g per 100 calories. Plus 35% fiber and 19% copper at 192 calories per 100g. Texture is somewhere between cannellini and butter beans.

Cook them low and slow with garlic, cumin, and a bay leaf. Mash with lime and olive oil onto tostadas. Or stew them with tomato, onion, and ají for a Lima-style frijol.

Find them at Latin grocers in the dried-bean aisle. Worth the trip.

31. Kidney Beans

Kidney beans are the chili bean, but they’re way more than that.

Protein: 8.6g per 100g, 6.8g per 100 calories. Plus 31% folate, 27% copper, and 26% fiber at 126 calories per 100g. Both red and white kidney beans rank similarly.

Stew them with smoked paprika, tomato, and corn for a meatless chili that holds its own. Toss with red onion, parsley, and red wine vinegar for a deli-style salad. Or simmer them into rajma, the North Indian masala curry that ruined me for canned chili.

Cook dried, never canned. The texture is a different food.

30. Black Beans

Black beans are the all-purpose answer to “what’s for dinner.”

Protein: 8.8g per 100g, 6.7g per 100 calories. Plus 35% folate, 31% fiber, and 23% copper at 131 calories per 100g. The dark color is also anthocyanins, the same antioxidants that make blueberries famous.

Build a burrito bowl with cilantro-lime rice and pickled onions. Simmer them into a Cuban frijoles negros with bay and oregano. Or smash them onto crispy tostadas with avocado, jalapeño, and a fried egg.

Beans + rice = a complete protein. That’s not a wellness hack. That’s chemistry.

29. Chickpeas

Chickpeas became a snack, a dip, and a flour all at once.

Protein: 8.8g per 100g, 5.4g per 100 calories. Plus 40% folate, 39% copper, and 27% fiber at 163 calories per 100g.

Blend with tahini, lemon, and garlic for hummus that doesn’t taste like cement. Roast them crispy with smoked paprika for the snack you mindlessly eat by the handful. Or stew them with tomatoes and spinach for chana masala.

Chickpea flour also makes socca, a gluten-free flatbread that beats half the pizza crusts out there.

28. Lentils

Lentils are the legume that thinks it’s a protein. And it’s right.

Protein: 9.0g per 100g, 7.8g per 100 calories. Plus 43% folate, 28% fiber, and 28% copper at 115 calories per 100g. Red, green, brown, French, black, beluga. Different colors, all elite.

Simmer red lentils with cumin and tomato for a 25-minute dal. Fold French green lentils cold with feta, dill, and red onion for a salad. Or stew them with mushrooms and red wine for a lentil ragu over pappardelle.

Beans take an hour. Lentils take a sitcom episode.

27. Pinto Beans

Pinto beans are the workhorse of the Mexican kitchen.

Protein: 9.0g per 100g, 6.3g per 100 calories. Plus 40% folate, 32% fiber, and 24% copper at 142 calories per 100g.

Mash them with garlic, lime, and olive oil for a refried bean upgrade (skip the lard). Stew them with chipotle, onion, and beer for a smoky chili. Or roll them into a burrito with rice, cheese, and salsa verde.

A pound of dried pintos costs two bucks and feeds four people for two nights.

26. Pecans

Pecans break the lean-protein pattern in a big way.

Protein: 9.7g per 100g, but only 1.3g per 100 calories. That’s 754 calories per 100g, the highest on this list. Pecans deliver real protein, but they bring nearly twice the calories of any other entry per gram.

Toast them whole at 350°F for 8 minutes and they become a different ingredient. Fold them into a wild rice salad with cranberries and orange zest. Or candy them with maple and chili for a salad topping that lasts a week.

Eat them by the handful, not the bag.

25. Bean Sprouts

Bean sprouts are the protein hiding in plain sight at the grocery store.

Protein: 9.8g per 100g, 8.4g per 100 calories at only 116 calories per 100g. Plus 28% copper and 16% iron. The “bean” in bean sprouts is mung bean, the same legume that anchors Indian dal.

Stir-fry them with garlic, ginger, and soy for 90 seconds (any longer and they turn mushy). Pile raw onto pho or pad thai right at the end. Or fold them into a Vietnamese-style summer roll with rice noodles and herbs.

Fragile, fast, and surprisingly protein-packed.

24. Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is the leanest protein on this entire list.

Protein: 10.3g per 100g, and a staggering 17.5g per 100 calories at only 59 calories per 100g. That’s the highest protein-per-calorie ratio of any food in the ranking. Plain, nonfat, unsweetened is the version that earns that number.

Spoon it under granola and berries with a drizzle of honey. Use it instead of mayo in chicken-style salad with chickpeas and dill. Or whisk it with garlic and lemon into a tzatziki for grilled vegetables.

Skip the flavored cups. They’re dessert in disguise.

23. White Beans

White beans are the most slept-on legume in the family.

Protein: 10.8g per 100g, 6.4g per 100 calories at 168 calories per 100g (from a reduced-sodium can). Plus 28% folate, 26% copper, and 26% fiber.

Simmer cannellini with garlic, escarole, and olive oil for a Tuscan classic. Mash navy beans with rosemary and lemon zest onto sourdough toast. Or blend great northerns into a white bean dip with roasted garlic for the lazy hummus alternative.

Cannellini, navy, great northern. Same hero, different names.

22. Edamame

Edamame is the only legume that doubles as a bar snack.

Protein: 11.5g per 100g, 8.2g per 100 calories at 140 calories per 100g. Plus 72% folate, 37% copper, and a complete amino-acid profile (one of the few plant foods that can claim that).

Boil pods in salted water for 4 minutes, drain, hit with flaky salt, and squeeze them out with your teeth. Or buy them shelled and toss into a fried rice with sesame oil, egg, and scallions. Cold edamame also works in grain bowls.

Easiest dinner-adjacent protein on Earth.

21. Egg

Eggs are the gold standard protein, and the data backs the hype.

Protein: 12.4g per 100g, 8.7g per 100 calories at 143 calories per 100g. Plus a complete amino-acid profile with the highest bioavailability of any food (your body uses essentially all of it). Whole egg, boiled or poached.

Soft-boil for 6 minutes, peel, and pile on toast with chili crisp. Scramble with herbs and crumbled feta for a 5-minute breakfast. Or bake them into a sheet-pan shakshuka with tomatoes, peppers, and chickpeas.

One large egg = 6g protein for 70 calories. Hard to beat.

20. Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is the protein that 2026 turned back into a star.

Protein: 12.4g per 100g, 17.2g per 100 calories at only 72 calories per 100g. Second-highest protein-per-calorie on this list after Greek yogurt. Plain low-fat, low-sodium is the version that hits these numbers.

Spoon it onto sourdough toast with sliced tomato, flaky salt, and pepper. Blend it smooth and use as a creamy pasta sauce base. Or fold it into a savory pancake batter with chives and dill for the gym-bro brunch of the decade.

The texture takes getting used to. The macros do not.

19. Pine Nuts

Pine nuts pack real protein, but the calories come with them.

Protein: 13.7g per 100g, only 2.0g per 100 calories at 673 calories per 100g. Plus 147% copper and 62% vitamin E in a 100g serving.

Toast them in a dry pan for 3 minutes (watch closely, they burn fast). Blend into a classic basil pesto with parmesan and garlic. Or sprinkle whole onto a stone fruit salad with arugula and burrata.

Expensive. Worth it on the right dish, overkill on the wrong one.

18. Wasabi Peas

Wasabi peas are the crunchy snack that pretends it’s just spicy candy.

Protein: 14.1g per 100g, 3.3g per 100 calories at 432 calories per 100g. The base is dried green peas, which is why the protein number holds up. The wasabi coating is mostly horseradish, sugar, and starch.

Eat them by the handful straight from the bag. Toss with roasted nuts and dried edamame for a homemade Asian snack mix. Or crush them into a coating for crispy tofu cutlets.

Not a meal. A protein-packed crunch when you need one.

17. Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts are the protein nut with a daily-limit warning.

Protein: 14.3g per 100g, 2.2g per 100 calories at 659 calories. Plus an absolutely wild 193% copper and 90% magnesium per 100g. They’re also nature’s most concentrated selenium source. One nut a day covers your selenium needs. Two is fine. Six and you’re overshooting your weekly limit.

Chop them into a granola with oats, maple, and coconut. Grate them over a salad like parmesan. Or pulse with dates and cocoa for a no-bake energy ball.

One or two a day. Not a handful.

16. Walnuts

Walnuts are the brain-food nut that earned the headline.

Protein: 14.6g per 100g, 2.0g per 100 calories at 730 calories. The omega-3 content (alpha-linolenic acid) is what gets researchers excited. Plus 134% copper and 39% vitamin B6.

Toast halves at 350°F for 8 minutes and fold into a chickpea-and-arugula salad with shaved pecorino. Pulse with basil and garlic for a walnut pesto. Or bake them into banana bread with dark chocolate.

Buy them in the freezer aisle. They go rancid fast at room temp.

15. Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are the underrated dessert nut.

Protein: 15.0g per 100g, 2.4g per 100 calories at 628 calories. Plus 191% copper, 100% vitamin E, and 54% thiamin per 100g.

Roast them at 350°F for 12 minutes, then rub off the papery skins. Fold into a chocolate-hazelnut spread that’s basically homemade Nutella with way less sugar. Or chop them into a brown butter sage pasta with brown butter and parmesan.

Dessert nut, vegetable nut, salad nut. All viable.

14. Cashews

Cashews are the magic ingredient in plant-based “cheese” sauces.

Protein: 15.3g per 100g, 2.7g per 100 calories at 574 calories per 100g. Plus 247% copper, 62% magnesium, and 51% zinc.

Soak raw cashews for 4 hours, then blend with nutritional yeast, lemon, garlic, and water for a vegan “mac and cheese” sauce that fools omnivores. Toast them for a Thai-style curry topping. Or grind into cashew butter for the smoothest nut spread on Earth.

The plant-based dairy revolution runs on cashews.

13. Chia Seeds

Chia seeds turn liquid into pudding overnight, and they’re packed with protein doing it.

Protein: 16.5g per 100g, 3.4g per 100 calories at 486 calories. Plus 123% fiber, 103% copper, and 80% magnesium per 100g. That fiber number is the highest on this whole list.

Stir 3 tablespoons into a cup of almond milk with maple syrup, let it sit overnight, and you have pudding by morning. Sprinkle them onto yogurt and oatmeal. Or fold them into a smoothie for a thickening boost.

A little goes a long way. They expand 10x in liquid.

12. Flax Seeds

Flax seeds are chia’s older, less Instagram-friendly cousin.

Protein: 18.0g per 100g, 3.3g per 100 calories at 545 calories. Plus 149% copper, 89% magnesium, and 82% fiber. Same omega-3 story as walnuts, just denser.

Grind them in a coffee grinder right before using (whole flax passes through undigested). Stir ground flax into oatmeal, smoothies, or yogurt. Or use the gel from soaked seeds as an egg substitute in baking (1 tablespoon ground + 3 tablespoons water = 1 egg).

Buy ground only if you’ll use within a few weeks. Otherwise, whole and grind on demand.

11. Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are the cheapest seed on the protein leaderboard.

Protein: 19.3g per 100g, 3.3g per 100 calories at 582 calories. Plus a wild 203% copper, 174% vitamin E, and 93% phosphorus per 100g.

Toast them and fold into a kale Caesar salad. Use sunflower seed butter as a peanut-butter alternative for school lunches. Or grind raw seeds into a homemade pesto when you need something nut-free.

A 16-oz bag costs about $3. That’s $0.20 per 100g, the best protein dollar on this list.

10. Tahini

Tahini is sesame seeds with a job.

Protein: 19.7g per 100g, 2.8g per 100 calories at 697 calories. Plus 183% copper, 85% magnesium, and 83% thiamin.

Whisk it into a dressing with lemon, garlic, and water for a green salad that hits different. Drizzle over roasted carrots and chickpeas. Or fold into a chocolate brownie batter for fudgy results that taste vaguely halva-y.

Stir before using. Tahini separates like natural peanut butter.

9. Sesame Seeds

Sesame seeds are tahini, ungrounded.

Protein: 20.4g per 100g, 3.2g per 100 calories at 631 calories. Plus 156% copper, 82% magnesium, and 61% zinc per 100g.

Toast them for 60 seconds in a dry pan to wake up the flavor. Coat tofu cubes before pan-frying. Or sprinkle a generous amount over rice bowls, noodles, and stir-fries.

Black and white sesame look the same on the nutrient panel. Use whichever looks prettier.

8. Pistachios

Pistachios are the snack nut that thinks it’s a meal.

Protein: 21.0g per 100g, 3.7g per 100 calories at 572 calories. Plus 143% copper, 66% vitamin B6, and 58% thiamin.

Eat them in the shell so the cracking slows you down (the trick to portion control). Chop into a quick pesto with mint and parmesan. Or use them to coat a goat cheese log for the easiest holiday appetizer.

The green is real. The shell theatrics are the workout.

7. Almonds

Almonds are the most-eaten tree nut on Earth, and the protein backs it up.

Protein: 21.4g per 100g, 3.4g per 100 calories at 626 calories. Plus 171% vitamin E, 101% copper, and 88% riboflavin per 100g.

Eat a measured handful raw or roasted as a snack (an ounce is 23 nuts, about 165 calories). Slice and toast them for salads and grain bowls. Or blend into almond butter for the most versatile nut spread on the shelf.

Vitamin E content alone is worth the calorie cost.

6. Cheddar (and the rest of the cheese aisle)

Cheese is one entry on this list because it would otherwise eat half the rankings.

Cheddar: 23.3g protein per 100g, 5.7g per 100 calories at 409 calories. Plus 54% calcium and 37% phosphorus. But other cheeses hit harder per gram: Parmesan tops 35g/100g (the highest of any cheese), Swiss hits 27g, mozzarella delivers 22g, and feta lands around 14g with much fewer calories. Pick the one your dish needs.

Grate Parmesan over pasta, eggs, popcorn, and roasted vegetables. Cube Cheddar for a snack with apples and almonds. Melt mozzarella onto pizza, in a panini, over baked pasta. Crumble feta into a Greek salad with cucumbers, olives, and red onion.

Hard cheese > soft cheese, gram for gram. Cottage cheese (separately listed) leans even leaner.

5. Vegetarian Chicken Substitutes

The meatless chicken category (Quorn, Gardein, Beyond Meat, Tofurky, et al.) lands at #5 with serious numbers.

Protein: 23.6g per 100g, 10.5g per 100 calories at 224 calories. Plus 77% copper, 41% B6, and 27% phosphorus per 100g. Most of these are soy-based or mycoprotein-based (Quorn), with vital wheat gluten as a binder.

Sauté breaded vegetarian “chicken” cutlets and pile them onto a Caesar wrap with shaved parmesan. Toss strips into a quick tikka masala with tomato and cream. Or dice nuggets onto a sheet-pan dinner with sweet potato and broccoli.

Pick a brand by ingredient list, not packaging. Shorter is usually better.

4. Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is the protein source that doubles as a household staple.

Protein: 25.9g per 100g, 5.0g per 100 calories at 520 calories (for the reduced-fat version). Plus 64% copper, 60% vitamin E, and 40% magnesium per 100g.

Spread on whole-grain toast with sliced banana and chia seeds. Whisk into a peanut sauce with soy, lime, ginger, and chili crisp for noodle bowls. Or stir into a smoothie with banana, oats, and almond milk for the cheapest protein shake on Earth.

Natural is the move. The ingredient list should say “peanuts, salt.” That’s it.

3. Peanuts

Peanuts are technically legumes pretending to be nuts, and they out-protein nearly every actual nut.

Protein: 28.0g per 100g, 4.7g per 100 calories at 599 calories. Plus 59% copper, 46% vitamin E, and 42% magnesium per 100g.

Roast them in their shells at 350°F for 20 minutes for a baseball-game snack. Chop and fold into a Thai-style noodle salad with lime and cilantro. Or use them as the protein anchor in a gado-gado with steamed vegetables and peanut sauce.

The cheapest tree nut alternative on the protein leaderboard, and it’s not actually a tree nut.

2. Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are the seed that quietly beat every nut on this list.

Protein: 29.8g per 100g, 5.2g per 100 calories at 574 calories. Plus 142% copper, 131% magnesium, and 94% phosphorus per 100g. That magnesium number is wild, one of the highest from any food.

Toast them in a dry pan with salt and chili powder for a snack that beats potato chips. Sprinkle over Caesar salads, grain bowls, and pumpkin soup (cannibalistic but correct). Or grind into a green pumpkin seed pesto with cilantro and lime.

If you only buy one seed from this list, this is it.

1. Soy Nuts

Soy nuts beat every vegetarian food on this list, and they beat chicken breast by 25%.

Protein: 38.6g per 100g, 8.2g per 100 calories at 469 calories. That 38.6g/100g number is more than chicken breast (~31g), more than ground beef (~26g), and more than nearly any animal protein outside of biltong and bacon.

Eat them as a crunchy snack right out of the bag (salted or unsalted). Toss them onto a grain bowl with edamame and sesame seeds. Or chop into a salad as a crouton replacement with way more protein.

A complete protein, too. All nine essential amino acids in one snack.

The highest-protein vegetarian food on Earth is just a roasted bean.

The Bottom Line

The best protein source is the one you’ll actually eat.

Soy nuts don’t help if they sit in the pantry. Tofu doesn’t help if you can’t get past the texture. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese don’t help if you only buy them with the intention of eating them.

Pick three from this list. Eat two of them this week. The “where do you get your protein” question answers itself.

A Quick Note on Protein Quality

USDA numbers measure how much protein is in a food, not how complete it is. Complete proteins (all nine essential amino acids) come from soy foods (tofu, edamame, soy nuts), eggs, dairy, and quinoa. Most beans, grains, and nuts are individually incomplete, but combining them across a day (beans + rice, peanut butter + bread, hummus + pita) covers the gaps.

You don’t need to combine at every meal. Across a day is enough. Your body pools the amino acids from everything you eat.

That’s the whole game.