Data · 2026-09-21

Protein per 100 calories, ranked

Grams of protein per 100 kilocalories, for 32 everyday foods, with what one bite-sized portion actually carries. Built for the weeks when a normal portion feels enormous and every mouthful has to earn its place.

Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2018-04) · download the dataset

Why this ranking and not the usual one

Most food tables rank by protein per 100 grams, which quietly assumes you are going to eat 100 grams of the thing. When a GLP-1 medication has turned dinner into a side plate, that is the wrong denominator. Protein per 100 kilocalories answers the question you actually have: what gives me the most protein for the least room on the plate, and the least chewing.

Every figure in the table is the value in the USDA SR Legacy dataset, and each row links to its own record there. Nothing here is rounded for effect, and nothing is ours.

How to read it

g per 100 kcal is the ranking column. Higher is more protein for the same energy.
Per portion is the same food in the amount a person actually eats, which is the number that matters when the plate is small.
Per 100 g is the raw figure from the dataset, kept so the arithmetic is checkable.

Sort by any column. The default order is the ranking, best first.

The caveat that comes with every table

Protein is not the only thing on a plate, and a table that ranks one nutrient can quietly imply it is the only one that counts. It is not. Fibre, iron, calcium and the rest still matter, and the foods at the top of this table are top because they are dense, not because they are complete. Eat the vegetables too.

These are cooked-as-described values from a reference dataset, not values for the specific chicken you bought. Labels on packaged food override a table like this every time.


Fish, tuna, light, canned in water, drained solidsa small tin (85 g)	22.6	16.5 g	73	19.4
Crustaceans, shrimp, mixed species, cooked, moist heata small tin (85 g)	19.1	19.4 g	101	22.8
Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasteda palm-sized piece (100 g)	18.8	31 g	165	31
Pork, fresh, loin, tenderloin, separable lean only, cooked, roasteda palm-sized piece (100 g)	18.3	26.2 g	143	26.2
Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfata small pot (150 g)	17.3	15.3 g	88	10.2
Turkey, all classes, breast, meat and skin, cooked, roasteda palm-sized piece (100 g)	15.2	28.7 g	189	28.7
Fish, salmon, Atlantic, wild, cooked, dry heata palm-sized piece (100 g)	14	25.4 g	182	25.4
Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 2% milkfata small pot (150 g)	12.9	15.7 g	122	10.4
Beef, ground, 90% lean meat / 10% fat, crumbles, cooked, pan-browneda palm-sized piece (100 g)	12.4	28.4 g	230	28.4
Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfatea palm-sized piece (100 g)	12	17.3 g	144	17.3
New Zealand spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salta side portion (90 g)	10.8	1.2 g	11	1.3
Soybeans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salthalf a cup (85 g cooked)	10.6	15.5 g	146	18.2
Tempeh, cookeda palm-sized piece (100 g)	10.2	19.9 g	195	19.9
Egg, whole, cooked, poached1 large egg (50 g)	8.7	6.3 g	72	12.5
Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiled1 large egg (50 g)	8.1	6.3 g	78	12.6
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salthalf a cup (85 g cooked)	7.8	7.7 g	99	9
Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, with salta side portion (90 g)	6.8	2.1 g	31	2.4
Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, with added nonfat milk solids and vitamin A and vitamin D1 glass (240 ml)	6.8	8.4 g	122	3.5
Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salthalf a cup (85 g cooked)	6.7	7.5 g	112	8.9
Cheese, cheddar, sharp, sliceda matchbox (30 g)	5.9	7.3 g	123	24.2
Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared1 slice (28 g)	4.9	3.5 g	71	12.4
Seeds, pumpkin and squash seeds, whole, roasted, with salt addeda small handful (28 g)	4.2	5.2 g	125	18.6
Quinoa, cookedhalf a cup (85 g cooked)	3.7	3.7 g	102	4.4
Peanut butter, smooth style, without salta small handful (28 g)	3.7	6.2 g	167	22.2
Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dryhalf a cup (85 g cooked)	3.5	11.2 g	322	13.2
Raspberries, rawone piece (100 g)	2.3	1.2 g	52	1.2
Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, flesh, without salta side portion (90 g)	2.2	1.8 g	81	2
Rice, brown, medium-grain, cookedhalf a cup (85 g cooked)	2.1	2 g	95	2.3
Blueberries, rawone piece (100 g)	1.3	0.7 g	57	0.7
Bananas, rawone piece (100 g)	1.2	1.1 g	89	1.1
Avocados, raw, all commercial varietiesone piece (100 g)	1.2	2 g	160	2
Apples, raw, with skinone piece (100 g)	0.5	0.3 g	52	0.3

32 of 32 foods shown. Each food name links to its USDA record, where the figure can be checked.

Where the numbers come from

Every row is built from the USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy release, the public reference dataset for the nutrient composition of foods. Each food carries its FDC id in the table, and the id is the record at fdc.nal.usda.gov, so any number on this page can be checked in about thirty seconds.

Portions are chosen per food class: an egg is one large egg, a tin of tuna is 85 grams, cheese is a matchbox, meat and fish are a palm-sized piece. They are stated rather than hidden so you can disagree with them.

Dataset built 2026-09-21. If a figure looks wrong, tell us and we will re-check it against the record.

The rest of the cluster

GLP-1 nutrition, start to finish.

Protein, fibre, electrolytes, and the nutrients that slip when appetite drops, with the calculators.

Read the guide

Made in the USA

FDA-registered facility

GMP certified

Every dose printed

Nine good things

Third-party tested