Most protein per calorie: 130 foods ranked

Spinach has more protein per calorie than an egg. It is true, it is in our data, and it is a poor reason to eat spinach for protein.

If you want the most protein for the fewest calories, the leaders on NutriScrolls are cod, tuna, shrimp, chicken breast and scallops, at 17.5 to 21.7 g per 100 kcal. That is the answer to the question people search. The catch is that a per-calorie ranking also rewards food that is mostly water: spinach and white mushrooms rank high because they have very few calories, not because they have much protein. Below you will find the ranking, the spinach problem, what studies say about protein and fullness, and a shortlist of foods that are high per calorie and still give a real amount in one serving.

Which foods give the most protein per calorie?

Per calorie is a sound way to think when calories are tight, which is the case for people losing weight, eating on a small appetite or taking a weight-loss medication. Every calorie has to carry more. So we ranked 130 foods on NutriScrolls by grams of protein per 100 kcal. Coffee and tea have almost no calories, and eleven dried spices are used by the pinch, so those 13 are not on the list.

Fresh herbs rank high on this list: basil, chives and coriander all sit in the top 20. They are eaten by the pinch, so we leave them out of the charts. That leaves a top 10 of mostly seafood.

The full ranking: all 130 foods by protein per 100 kcal

Every food on the list, fresh herbs included, with the protein in one default serving beside it. A high rank with a small amount per serving is the water effect described below.

Rank	Food	Protein per 100 kcal	Protein per serving
1	Cod	21.7 g	15.1 g in 3 oz
2	Tuna	21.4 g	18.7 g in 3 oz
3	Shrimp	19.1 g	19.4 g in 3 oz
4	Chicken breast	18.8 g	25.4 g in 4 oz
5	Scallops	17.5 g	10.3 g in 3 oz
6	White mushrooms	14 g	2.2 g in 1 cup
7	Wild Atlantic Salmon	14 g	16.9 g in 3 oz
8	Basil	13.7 g	0.2 g in 2 tbsp
9	Spinach	12.4 g	0.9 g in 1 cup
10	Sardines	11.8 g	22.7 g in 1 can
11	Oysters	11.7 g	8 g in 3 oz
12	Bok choy	11.5 g	1.1 g in 1 cup
13	Herring	11.4 g	15.3 g in 3 oz
14	Chicken drumstick	11.2 g	24 g in 1 drumstick with skin
15	Asparagus	11 g	2.9 g in 1 cup
16	Chives	10.9 g	0.1 g in 1 tbsp
17	Soybeans	10.6 g	31.3 g in 1 cup
18	Arugula	10.3 g	0.5 g in 1 cup
19	Farmed Atlantic Salmon	9.8 g	17.4 g in 3 oz
20	Coriander	9.3 g	0.1 g in ¼ cup
21	Mackerel	9.1 g	20.8 g in 1 fillet
22	Eggs	8.8 g	6.3 g in 1 large
23	Cocoa powder	8.6 g	1.1 g in 1 tbsp
24	Kale	8.3 g	0.6 g in 1 cup
25	Broccoli	8.3 g	2 g in 1 cup
26	Parsley	8.3 g	0.1 g in 1 tbsp
27	Garden cress	8.1 g	1.3 g in 1 cup
28	Dill	8 g	0.1 g in ¼ cup
29	Brussels sprouts	7.9 g	3 g in 1 cup
30	Lentils	7.8 g	17.9 g in 1 cup
31	Cauliflower	7.7 g	2.1 g in 1 cup
32	Endive	7.4 g	0.6 g in 1 cup
33	Zucchini	7.1 g	1.5 g in 1 cup
34	Great northern beans	7.1 g	14.7 g in 1 cup
35	Artichoke	7 g	4.2 g in 1 artichoke
36	Fava beans	6.9 g	12.9 g in 1 cup
37	Cranberry beans	6.9 g	16.5 g in 1 cup
38	Kidney beans	6.8 g	15.3 g in 1 cup
39	Lima beans	6.8 g	14.7 g in 1 cup
40	Ground beef	6.8 g	19.4 g in 4 oz
41	Black beans	6.7 g	15.2 g in 1 cup
42	Mung beans	6.7 g	14.2 g in 1 cup
43	Semi-skimmed cows milk	6.6 g	8.1 g in 1 cup
44	Iceberg lettuce	6.4 g	0.6 g in 1 cup
45	Peas	6.4 g	8.6 g in 1 cup
46	Pinto beans	6.3 g	15.4 g in 1 cup
47	Kohlrabi	6.3 g	2.3 g in 1 cup
48	Navy beans	5.9 g	15 g in 1 cup
49	Adzuki beans	5.9 g	17.3 g in 1 cup
50	Ground lamb	5.9 g	18.7 g in 4 oz
51	Hemp seeds	5.7 g	9.5 g in 3 tbsp
52	Thyme	5.5 g	0 g in 1 tsp
53	Pumpkin seeds	5.4 g	8.6 g in 1 oz
54	Chickpeas	5.4 g	14.5 g in 1 cup
55	Green beans	5.4 g	2.4 g in 1 cup
56	Peppermint	5.4 g	0.1 g in 2 tbsp
57	Cabbage	5.1 g	1.1 g in 1 cup
58	Celery	4.9 g	0.3 g in 1 stalk
59	Tomatoes	4.9 g	1.1 g in 1 medium
60	Chili peppers	4.7 g	0.8 g in 1 pepper
61	Peanuts	4.6 g	7.3 g in 1 oz
62	Wasabi	4.4 g	0.4 g in 1 tbsp
63	Oats	4.3 g	6.8 g in ½ cup
64	Cucumbers	4.3 g	0.7 g in 1 cup
65	Spelt	4.3 g	6.3 g in ¼ cup
66	Rhubarb	4.3 g	1.1 g in 1 cup
67	Garlic	4.3 g	0.2 g in 1 clove
68	Radishes	4.3 g	0.8 g in 1 cup
69	Wild rice	4.1 g	5.9 g in ¼ cup
70	Eggplant	3.9 g	0.8 g in 1 cup
71	Buckwheat	3.9 g	5.6 g in ¼ cup
72	Quinoa	3.8 g	6 g in ¼ cup
73	Bell peppers	3.8 g	1.2 g in 1 medium
74	Lemons	3.8 g	0.6 g in 1 fruit
75	Guava	3.8 g	1.4 g in 1 fruit
76	Beets	3.7 g	1.3 g in 1 beet
77	Almonds	3.7 g	6 g in 1 oz
78	Pistachio nuts	3.6 g	5.7 g in 1 oz
79	Sunflower seeds	3.6 g	5.9 g in 1 oz
80	Barley	3.5 g	5.7 g in ¼ cup
81	Flaxseeds	3.4 g	1.9 g in 1 tbsp
82	Chia seeds	3.4 g	4.7 g in 1 oz
83	Wheat	3.3 g	5.4 g in ¼ cup
84	Cashews	3.3 g	5.2 g in 1 oz
85	Sesame seeds	3.1 g	1.6 g in 1 tbsp
86	Rye	3.1 g	4.4 g in ¼ cup
87	Apricots	2.9 g	1.5 g in 3 apricots
88	Onions	2.8 g	1.2 g in 1 medium
89	Potatoes	2.7 g	4.4 g in 1 medium potato
90	Rosemary	2.5 g	0 g in 1 tsp
91	Cantaloupe	2.5 g	1.3 g in 1 cup
92	Leeks	2.5 g	1.3 g in 1 leek
93	Hazelnuts	2.4 g	4.2 g in 1 oz
94	Walnuts	2.3 g	4.3 g in 1 oz
95	Raspberries	2.3 g	1.5 g in 1 cup
96	Ginger	2.3 g	0.1 g in 1 tbsp
97	Carrots	2.3 g	0.6 g in 1 medium
98	Brazil nuts	2.2 g	4.1 g in 1 oz
99	Strawberries	2.1 g	1 g in 1 cup
100	Brown rice	2.1 g	3.6 g in ¼ cup
101	Pine nuts	2 g	3.9 g in 1 oz
102	Watermelon	2 g	0.9 g in 1 cup
103	Oranges	2 g	1.2 g in 1 fruit
104	Grapefruit	2 g	0.8 g in ½ medium
105	Kiwifruit	1.9 g	0.8 g in 1 fruit
106	White rice	1.8 g	3.2 g in ¼ cup
107	Sweet potatoes	1.8 g	2.1 g in 1 medium
108	Cherries	1.7 g	1.6 g in 1 cup
109	Acorns	1.6 g	1.7 g in 1 oz
110	Plums	1.5 g	0.9 g in 2 plums
111	Mango	1.4 g	1.4 g in 1 cup
112	Pecans	1.3 g	2.6 g in 1 oz
113	Blueberries	1.3 g	1.1 g in 1 cup
114	Avocados	1.3 g	2 g in ½ avocado
115	Bananas	1.2 g	1.3 g in 1 medium
116	Macadamia nuts	1.1 g	2.2 g in 1 oz
117	Papaya	1.1 g	0.7 g in 1 cup
118	Pineapple	1.1 g	0.9 g in 1 cup
119	Beer	1.1 g	1.6 g in 1 can
120	Grapes	1 g	1.1 g in 1 cup
121	Figs	1 g	0.8 g in 2 medium figs
122	Cranberries	1 g	0.5 g in 1 cup
123	Coconuts	0.9 g	0.9 g in 1 oz
124	Chestnuts	0.8 g	0.5 g in 1 oz
125	Olives	0.7 g	0.2 g in 5 large olives
126	Dates	0.7 g	0.9 g in 2 dates
127	Pears	0.6 g	0.6 g in 1 medium
128	Apples	0.5 g	0.5 g in 1 medium
129	Honey	0.1 g	0.1 g in 1 tbsp
130	Red wine	0.1 g	0.1 g in 5 fl oz

The first five are all lean fish, shellfish or poultry. White mushrooms tie with wild Atlantic salmon at 14.0 g, which tells you how generous the per-calorie view is to a vegetable. Soybeans are the first legume, at 10.6 g, in 17th place.

Cod, tuna, chicken breast and wild salmon have no carbohydrate in the USDA records, and shrimp has 1.5 g per 100 g, so the same foods also answer the search for foods low in carbs and high in protein. See our lists of foods high in protein, low in calories and low in carbs for the full tables.

What this ranking cannot show

Three honest limits. First, these are USDA records, and most are raw. The tuna record is raw skipjack, the shrimp record is cooked, the legumes are boiled and the sardines are canned, so a few comparisons are not like for like. Check a food page before you compare it with something you cooked.

Second, cooking that only drives off water changes protein per 100 g but not protein per calorie. Protein and calories concentrate together, so the ratio stays put. Oil, breading and sauce are different: they add calories without protein and pull the ratio down.

Third, the database has 143 foods and it is missing much of what a dieter eats for protein. There is no Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, protein powder or processed food, and milk is the only dairy food on the list. A food that is absent here may well be excellent. It simply was not measured.

Why does spinach beat eggs, and why does it not matter?

Per 100 kcal, spinach gives 12.4 g of protein and eggs give 8.8 g. Spinach has 23 kcal per 100 g, so 100 kcal of it weighs about 435 g, or roughly 14 cups. An egg has 143 kcal per 100 g, so 100 kcal of egg is about 70 g, about one and a half large eggs.

That is the whole trick. Spinach has 2.9 g of protein in every 100 g, but it is so light on calories that a calorie budget buys a mountain of it. A ranking per 100 kcal measures protein against calories. It does not measure how much you can fit on a plate or in a day.

Put the same two foods on a plate and the picture flips. To get 20 g of protein you would eat 699 g of spinach, which is over 20 cups and 161 kcal. The same 20 g from eggs is 159 g, a little over three large eggs, and 228 kcal. Spinach does cost fewer calories for 20 g, but it is a salad bowl you would need help carrying, and nobody is going to eat it.

Read the two charts together. Nuts look poor on the first one: 20 g of protein from almonds costs 548 kcal, about six times what cod costs. They look fine on the second, since 95 g of almonds is about three handfuls. Spinach is the mirror image: cheap on calories, absurd by weight.

The same happens across the list. Of the 130 foods, 70 need 500 g or more of food to supply 20 g of protein. Of the 18 foods that give 20 g for under 200 kcal, 7 need more than 600 g to do it: white mushrooms, basil, spinach, bok choy, asparagus, chives and arugula. That is the water effect, counted.

So the useful question has two parts. How much protein does a food give per calorie, and how much food does it take to get a useful amount? A food has to do well on both.

Does protein per calorie help when you are cutting back?

The per-calorie idea has real evidence behind it, though less than the headlines suggest. When people cut calories and raise protein, trials find modest gains in fat loss and in keeping muscle. Single high-protein meals make people feel a little fuller. Over months, the effect on appetite is harder to find.

The last study tests the “protein leverage” idea: when the protein in a diet is diluted, appetite drives people to eat more to get enough of it. A food with more protein per calorie gives a bigger share of its energy as protein. Using about 4 kcal per gram (our arithmetic), eggs are roughly 35% protein by energy and almonds roughly 15%. Cod is above 85%.

A review of trials and mechanisms by Leidy and colleagues reaches a sober conclusion. Tightly controlled studies show benefits, longer ones are mixed, and people who stick to a higher-protein diet do better than those who do not [7]. For how much to aim for, see protein maxxing. This post only asks where the protein comes from.

Does a bulky food help instead?

Here the spinach story gets a fair hearing. Foods that are mostly water have a low energy density: spinach has 0.23 kcal per gram, eggs 1.43 and almonds 5.79 (our arithmetic from the kcal per 100 g in our data). A line of research led by Barbara Rolls tests whether eating more of low-density foods lets people eat less energy without feeling short-changed.

So bulk has its own evidence, and it is a different job. Leafy greens, mushrooms and asparagus add volume for few calories, which can help you feel full. They are not where your protein will come from. Both ideas can sit on one plate, and each does its own work. The mistake is using one to do the job of the other.

Which foods pass both tests?

Combine the two questions. Put protein per 100 kcal on one axis and protein per serving on the other, and the foods you want sit in the top right corner: high per calorie, and a real amount in a serving. We drew the line at 8 g per 100 kcal and 10 g per serving. The FDA treats 20% of the Daily Value in a serving as high [9], and the Daily Value for protein is 50 g [10], which puts the rule of thumb at 10 g. Protein claims on labels have rules of their own, so treat 10 g as a guide, not a legal definition.

Twenty-six foods give 10 g or more of protein in their default serving, and 12 of those also reach 8 g per 100 kcal. They are cod, tuna, shrimp, chicken breast, scallops, wild salmon, sardines, herring, chicken drumstick, soybeans, farmed salmon and mackerel. The other 14 are beans, lentils, chickpeas, ground beef and ground lamb, which give plenty per serving at a higher calorie price.

Two details are worth a line. A 3 oz serving of scallops has only 59 kcal and 10.3 g of protein, while a can of sardines has 191 kcal and 22.7 g, so one is a light bite and the other a meal. And oysters miss the serving line at 8.0 g, even though they have 11.7 g per 100 kcal.

And for plant eaters?

Plants have fewer high-protein foods per calorie, but soybeans stand out: 10.6 g per 100 kcal and 31.3 g in a cup, for 296 kcal. Lentils give 17.9 g in a cup (230 kcal), and most beans give 13 to 17 g a cup at about 6 to 7 g per 100 kcal. Nuts and seeds are small-serving foods: 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds give 9.5 g for 166 kcal, and an ounce of almonds 6 g for 164.

Plant protein can do the job. A review of vegetarian diets concluded that legumes, nuts and seeds can meet protein needs in adults, and that worries about missing amino acids have been overstated [8]. One point is worth knowing. On our food pages, lentils score 86 for essential amino acids, with methionine plus cysteine the limiting one, while soybeans score 100. Eating a mix of plant foods across the day covers that. See our pages on beans and legumes, nuts and seeds and vegetables for protein, and our protein guide.

How do you use this on a plate?

Use the ranking to pick the protein, and the second question to check it is real food. Three habits follow.

• Pick a protein from the top right. A 3 to 4 oz portion of fish, chicken breast or shrimp, or a cup of soybeans, gives 15 to 31 g for 70 to 296 kcal, and you can eat it in one sitting.
• Add bulk separately. A cup of spinach or mushrooms fills the plate for 7 or 15 kcal. Count them as volume and as vitamins, and count their grams of protein as a small bonus.
• Keep the foods that rank low. Nuts, seeds and olive oil are poor per calorie and well studied for other reasons. See the most nutrient-dense foods for the same per-calorie catch with vitamins and minerals.

One reminder for small appetites. A calorie-lean protein does you no good if you cannot finish it. If you eat very little, a food with more protein per bite, like sardines or soybeans, may serve you better than a larger portion of cod. The right food is the one you will actually eat, in a portion you can finish.

Frequently asked questions

What food has the most protein per calorie?

Cod, with 21.7 g of protein per 100 kcal on NutriScrolls, followed by tuna (21.4), shrimp (19.1), chicken breast (18.8) and scallops (17.5). Among vegetables, white mushrooms lead at 14.0 g, and spinach has 12.4 g. Those vegetables rank high because they have so few calories, so a serving gives less than 3 g of protein.

Is spinach a good source of protein?

Not by weight or by serving. Raw spinach has 2.9 g of protein per 100 g and 0.9 g in a cup. It has more protein per calorie than an egg, but you would need 699 g, over 20 cups, to reach 20 g of protein. It earns its place for other nutrients and for volume, not as a protein source.

Is there a good protein-to-calorie ratio?

There is no official target. As a guide, 10 g of protein per 100 kcal is a high ratio: 18 of 130 foods on our list reach it. Pair it with a serving that gives at least 10 g, which is 20% of the Daily Value, the level the FDA calls high, so the food is worth eating for protein and not only for its calories.

Which foods are low in carbs and high in protein?

Cod, tuna, chicken breast and wild salmon have no carbohydrate in the USDA records, and shrimp has 1.5 g per 100 g. These are also among the leaders per calorie. Eggs have 0.7 g of carbohydrate per 100 g and 8.8 g of protein per 100 kcal. See our list of foods low in carbs.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central (SR Legacy and Foundation Foods): food records as used on NutriScrolls food pages. fdc.nal.usda.gov. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
2. Wycherley TP, Moran LJ, Clifton PM, Noakes M, Brinkworth GD. Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;96(6):1281-1298. doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.044321
3. Kohanmoo A, Faghih S, Akhlaghi M. Effect of short- and long-term protein consumption on appetite and appetite-regulating gastrointestinal hormones, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Physiol Behav. 2020;226:113123. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113123
4. Gosby AK, Conigrave AD, Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ. Protein leverage and energy intake. Obes Rev. 2014;15(3):183-191. doi:10.1111/obr.12131
5. Ello-Martin JA, Roe LS, Ledikwe JH, Beach AM, Rolls BJ. Dietary energy density in the treatment of obesity: a year-long trial comparing 2 weight-loss diets. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85(6):1465-1477. doi:10.1093/ajcn/85.6.1465
6. Ledikwe JH, Rolls BJ, Smiciklas-Wright H, et al. Reductions in dietary energy density are associated with weight loss in overweight and obese participants in the PREMIER trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85(5):1212-1221. doi:10.1093/ajcn/85.5.1212
7. Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, et al. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;101(6):1320S-1329S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.114.084038
8. Mariotti F, Gardner CD. Dietary protein and amino acids in vegetarian diets: a review. Nutrients. 2019;11(11):2661. doi:10.3390/nu11112661
9. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label. Current as of 5 Mar 2024. fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/how-understand-and-use-nutrition-facts-label. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
10. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels (protein: 50 g). Current as of 5 Mar 2024. fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.