Foods High in Protein: A Real Reference List

If you’re trying to hit a protein target, the fastest way to do it is to know which foods high in protein actually carry the weight. This is a reference list, not a meal plan: 44 real foods, grouped by type, with protein and calories per typical serving calculated from USDA FoodData Central.

Each table also shows protein per 100 calories, and each group is sorted by it, since that column shows what a food costs in calories for the protein it brings. An ounce of peanuts and a large egg are only a gram apart on protein, but the peanuts run about 85 more calories.

For a deeper look at one category, I’ve broken out full guides on meats, yogurt, fruits, drinks, and vegetables, each with more foods and more detail than fits in the summary below.

Poultry and red meat

Food	Serving	Protein	Calories	Protein per 100 cal
Turkey breast	3 oz, cooked	26g	125	20g
Chicken breast	3 oz, cooked	26g	140	19g
Pork tenderloin	3 oz, cooked	22g	120	18g
Beef top round	3 oz, cooked	27g	155	17g
Beef tenderloin steak, trimmed	3 oz, cooked	25g	170	15g
Ground turkey	3 oz, cooked	23g	175	13g
Lean ground beef, 90/10	3 oz, cooked	21g	175	12g
Ground chicken	3 oz, cooked	20g	160	12g

Top round carries the most protein per serving here, but turkey breast, chicken breast, and pork tenderloin all get more protein out of each calorie. Pork tenderloin, at 22g for 120 calories, sits with the poultry on that measure rather than with the beef. The steak figures are for the lean meat with the outer fat trimmed, which is how USDA separates them, so a steak eaten with its fat cap runs higher in calories.

Ground meat sits lower across the board. Ground chicken comes in 3g under ground turkey per 3 oz in these USDA entries, and both are generic entries, so the lean percentage on the package you actually buy moves the numbers. I usually buy 90/10 ground beef and use 93/7 ground turkey for lighter meals. More on why in High-Protein Meats.

For more cuts and a deeper comparison, see the full High-Protein Meats guide. If you’re building a dinner around one of these, start with High-Protein Chicken, High-Protein Beef, or High-Protein Turkey.

Seafood

Food	Serving	Protein	Calories	Protein per 100 cal
Shrimp	3 oz, cooked	20g	85	24g
Tuna, light, canned in water	3 oz, drained	16g	75	23g
Cod, canned	3 oz	19g	90	22g
Blue crab	3 oz, cooked	15g	70	22g
Tuna, skipjack	3 oz, cooked	24g	110	21g
Northern lobster	3 oz, cooked	16g	75	21g
Tilapia	1 fillet, raw (116g)	23g	110	21g
Queen crab	3 oz, cooked	20g	100	21g
Alaska king crab	3 oz, cooked	16g	80	20g
Spiny lobster	3 oz, cooked	22g	120	18g
Salmon, sockeye	3 oz, cooked	23g	135	17g
Tuna, light, canned in oil	3 oz, drained	25g	170	15g
Salmon, Atlantic, farmed	3 oz, cooked	19g	175	11g

Most of this table beats chicken breast on protein per calorie. Shrimp leads at 24g per 100 calories, even though its 20g per serving is below chicken’s 26g.

Species matters more here than in any other group. “Lobster” can mean 22g (spiny) or 16g (northern) per 3 oz, and crab runs from 20g for queen crab down to 15g for blue crab. Salmon splits the same way: sockeye carries 23g for 135 calories, while farmed Atlantic salmon, a fattier fish, carries 19g for 175 and lands last on this table.

Canned tuna is the odd one. In USDA’s entries, drained oil-packed light tuna carries more protein per 3 oz than water-packed (25g against 16g) along with almost 100 more calories. Water-packed wins on the per-calorie column, and the label on a specific can beats both numbers.

See everything tagged seafood, including the sheet-pan salmon with asparagus and the shrimp and cauliflower rice stir-fry. More on shrimp specifically in Is Shrimp High in Protein?, and on a prepared seafood dish in Is Sushi High in Protein?.

Eggs and dairy

Food	Serving	Protein	Calories	Protein per 100 cal
Greek yogurt, plain nonfat	1 container (170g)	17g	100	17g
Cottage cheese, 4%	1 cup	24g	215	11g
Ricotta, part-skim	1/2 cup	14g	170	8g
Egg	1 large	6g	80	8g
Swiss cheese	1 oz	8g	110	7g
Parmesan, grated	1 oz	8g	120	7g
Milk, 2%	1 cup	8g	120	7g
Cheddar cheese	1 oz	6g	115	6g
Feta	1 oz	4g	75	5g

Dairy splits into two groups. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese do real protein work on their own, with Greek yogurt the clear leader per calorie. Hard cheeses carry 6 to 8g an ounce but come with enough fat that they land around 6 to 7g per 100 calories, closer to nuts than to meat. I list them by the ounce because a cup of shredded cheese isn’t a serving anyone eats. Parmesan also carries about 510mg of sodium per ounce, and feta is the weakest cheese here on protein at 4g.

Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt both show up constantly in this kitchen: the high-protein pasta, the cottage cheese bowl, and the chicken salad all lean on one or the other for the protein boost instead of extra meat. See everything tagged cottage cheese or greek yogurt, or the full High-Protein Yogurt guide for a brand-by-brand label comparison of Greek, skyr, and plant-based options.

Nuts, seeds, and protein powder

Food	Serving	Protein	Calories	Protein per 100 cal
Soy protein isolate powder	1 oz (28g)	25g	95	26g
Whey protein powder	1 scoop	17 to 25g	110 to 115	16 to 22g
Pumpkin seeds, roasted	1 oz	8g	165	5g
Peanuts, dry-roasted	1 oz	7g	165	4g
Peanut butter	2 tablespoons	7g	190	4g
Almonds, dry-roasted	1 oz (about 23)	6g	170	3.5g
Sunflower seeds, dry-roasted	1 oz	5g	165	3g
Hazelnuts, dry-roasted	1 oz	4g	185	2g

This group holds both ends of the per-calorie scale on this page. Protein powder is close to pure protein, while nuts and seeds carry more calories from fat than from anything else, so even the best of them, pumpkin seeds, lands at 5g per 100 calories. Whey shows a range because the two USDA entries for it differ that much, and commercial powders vary by scoop size too, so the label on the tub is the number that counts.

Protein powder is the fastest way to add a specific, known amount of protein to something that otherwise wouldn’t carry much, which is exactly the role it plays in the overnight oats, the smoothie, and the peanut butter cookies here. More on almonds specifically in Are Almonds High in Protein?, and on nuts as a snack in High-Protein Snacks.

Plant-based protein

Plant sources carry less protein per calorie than animal sources, but several of them are genuinely high in both protein and fiber at once, which most animal proteins can’t claim.

Food	Serving	Protein	Calories	Protein per 100 cal
Firm tofu	1/2 cup (126g)	11 to 14g	100 to 105	11 to 13g
Edamame	1 cup	18g	190	10g
Lentils	1 cup, cooked	18g	230	8g
Black beans	1 cup, cooked	15g	225	7g
Chickpeas	1 cup, cooked	15g	270	5g
Quinoa	1 cup, cooked	8g	220	4g

The two soy foods lead, and tofu’s 11 to 13g per 100 calories puts it in the same range as ground turkey. Lentils carry 3g more protein per cup than black beans at about the same calories, and chickpeas cost the most calories of the three. Quinoa shows up on a lot of protein lists, but at 8g per cooked cup it carries less than half what lentils do, so it works better as a side than as the main protein.

For a meal built entirely around these, see High-Protein Vegetarian Meals or High-Protein Vegan Meals. More on tofu specifically in Is Tofu High in Protein?

How to actually use this list

Most high-protein meals aren’t one food doing all the work, they’re two or three of these stacked together. A bowl of Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder, a chicken thigh with a side of lentils, cottage cheese blended into a pasta sauce: the number adds up across the plate, not from a single ingredient.

This is food information, not a diet plan. It’s a reference for what’s actually in the food, not a recommendation for what you personally should eat.

FAQ

Do I need animal protein to hit a high-protein diet?

No. Plant sources carry less protein per calorie on average, so it usually takes a bit more planning, stacking lentils, tofu, edamame, and a plant-based protein powder rather than leaning on one food, but a high-protein day built entirely on plant sources is genuinely doable.

Does the cooking method change how much protein is in a food?

No. Grilling, baking, frying, or boiling a piece of chicken doesn’t add or remove protein, protein content is set by the food itself. What changes with cooking method is calories, fat, and sometimes water content, which is why a fried version of a food often looks worse per calorie even though the protein number barely moves.

Is more protein always better?

Not as a blanket rule. This list is information about what’s in the food, not a target to maximize. How much protein is right for you depends on your body, activity level, and goals, which is a conversation for a doctor or registered dietitian, not something a recipe site can responsibly answer. See What Is a High-Protein Diet for more on where the general reference points come from, and the protein calculator for what they come to at your weight.

Looking for where these show up in real recipes, start at High-Protein Meals and browse by protein source, meal, or diet from there. For a deeper look at one category, see High-Protein Meats, High-Protein Yogurt, High-Protein Fruits, High-Protein Drinks, or, for the vegetables on this list and which ones barely register, High-Protein Vegetables.