50 Foods High in Protein

Animal vs Plant Proteins

Traditionally, animal proteins have always been considered more superior than plant proteins. This led to the unfortunate and persistent thinking that we must consume animal flesh, fish or eggs to prevent protein deficiency. But study has found this to be untrue. Vegetarians aren’t in any way more protein-starved than their meat-eating counterparts.

“it is impossible to design an amino acid–deficient diet based on the amounts of unprocessed starches and vegetables sufficient to meet the calorie needs of humans.”According to a paper published in 2002, John McDougall, MD, concluded that “it is impossible to design an amino acid–deficient diet based on the amounts of unprocessed starches and vegetables sufficient to meet the calorie needs of humans.”

Of course, the emphasis here are unprocessed foods and eating enough to meet your caloric needs. If you’re a vegetarian who eats predominantly highly refined foods and is half-starving most of the time, it’s possible to end up lacking not just in proteins but also other nutrients.

Some people may argue that animal sources of proteins give us essential amino acids that can’t be found in plants.

Background: Amino acids are the Lego bricks of proteins: when they are assembled in different combination, we get proteins. In the past, eight amino acids are deemed as essential because our body can’t produce them, and therefore, they must be obtained through one’s diet. Conversely, another group of amino acids are labeled as non-essential because we can always create them when needed. It’s popularly believed that plants do not contained all the essential amino acids, and hence are regarded as incomplete protein sources.

As illustrated by Dr. McDougall’s study, this, again, is not true. Furthermore, the distinction between essential and non-essential amino acids is also increasingly blurred as more discoveries are made about proteins . As it turns out, we now know that under certain circumstances we can also become deficient in the so-called non-essential amino acids in the same way we can become deficient in essential amino acids.

For instance, people with malabsorption syndromes, certain metabolic disease, or lacking in vitamin B6, may not produce enough non-essential amino acids such as cysteine to meet their bodily requirements.

Now that we’ve cleared the air about proteins, let’s look at some non-dairy, whole foods that are high in protein!

Protein from Meats & Eggs

This table shouldn’t come as a surprise. Chicken, duck, turkey, beef, lamb and pork are all food rich in protein.

FOOD	QUANTITY	PROTEIN
Chicken breast with skin, roasted	1/2 breast (98g)	29.20
Turkey breast with skin, roasted	100g	28.71
Beef, bottom round, 1/8" trim fat, braised	3 oz ( 85g)	27.85
Pork, sirloin , boneless, broiled	3 oz (85g)	25.94
Pork, spareribs, braised	3 oz (85g)	24.70
Beef, top sirloin, 1/8" trim fat, broiled	3 oz (85g)	22.92
Lamb, composite of retail cuts, 1/8" trim fat, cooked	3 oz (85g)	21.68
Duck with skin, roasted	100g	18.99
Chicken thigh with skin, roasted	1 thigh (62g)	15.54
Chicken drumstick with skin, roasted	1 drumstick (52g)	14.06
Egg, white + yolk, hard-boiled	2 eggs (100g)	12.58

Protein from Seafood

Seafood is not just a rich source of protein, they also contain anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, including EPA and DHA. If you’re not allergic to sea creatures, don’t miss them out!

FOOD	QUANTITY	PROTEIN
Atlantic herring	1 fillet (143g)	32.93
Cuttlefish	100g	32.48
Alaskan salmon (canned)	100g	30.70
Octopus	100g	29.82
Skipjack tuna	100g	28.21
Tilapia	100g	26.15
Alaskan king crab	1 leg (134g)	25.93
Clam	100g	25.55
Blue mussel	100g	23.80
Sardine, canned in tomato sauce	3 sardines (114g)	23.78
Atlantic mackerel	1 fillet (146g)	20.99
Scallop	100g	20.54
Shrimp	3 oz (85g)	19.36
Squid	100g	17.94
Anchovy, canned in oil	1 can (2 oz)	13.00
Flatfish (flounder & sole species)	3 oz (85g)	12.95

Protein from Plants

Beans and tofu are plant foods that are high in protein. If you’re sensitive to beans, you may find fermented beans like tempeh and natto more tolerable, and they are also equally rich in protein.

FOOD	QUANTITY	PROTEIN
Tofu, hard	1/2 block (244g)	30.94
Tempeh, cooked	100g	18.19
Natto, used as is	100g	17.72
Durian, raw	2 fruits (1,204g)	17.70
Pumpkin & squash kernels, roasted	2 oz (56.70g)	16.92
Black beans, boiled	1 cup (172g)	15.24
Chickpeas, boiled	1 cup (164g)	14.53
Mung beans, boiled	1 cup (202g)	14.18
Sprouted soybeans, stir-fried	100g	13.10
Green soybeans, boiled	100g	12.35
Baked beans, canned	1 cup (254g)	12.07
Roasted mixed nuts (include peanuts)	1/2 cup (71g)	11.90
Winged beans, boiled	100g	10.62
Sunflower seeds, roasted	2 oz (56.70g)	10.96
Lentils, boiled	100g	9.02
Quinoa, cooked	1 cup (185g)	8.14
Spirulina, dried	2 tbsp (14g)	8.05
Soymilk, unfortified	1 cup (243g)	7.95
Avocado (Florida), raw	1 fruit (304g)	6.78
Wild rice, cooked	1 cup (164g)	6.54
Brown rice (long-grain), cooked	1 cup (195g)	5.03
White rice (long-grain), cooked	1 cup (158g)	4.25
Almond butter	1 tbsp ( 16g)	3.35