List of foods by protein content


Below is a list organised by food group and given in measurements of grams of protein per 100 grams of food portion. The reduction of water content has the greatest effect of increasing protein as a proportion of the overall mass of the food in question. Not all protein is equally digestible. Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score is a method of evaluating the protein quality based on the amino acid requirements of humans.

Meat and mock meat

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Common red meats

  • Beef, cooked - 16.9 to 40.6
  • * high scores: braised eye-of-round steak 40.62; broiled t-bone steak 32.11; grilled lean steak 31.0
  • * average score: baked lean 24.47
  • * low score: corned beef: 16.91
  • Lamb, cooked - 20.91 to 50.9
  • * average score: grilled lean lamb chop 29.2

Less-common meat

White meat

  • Chicken: 27 to 32
  • * high score: grilled breast without skin 32
  • Pork: 26 to 32
  • * high score: grilled lean chop 31.6
  • Fish 20.3 to 24.9
  • * high score: grilled salmon 24.2 to 24.6; tuna canned in brine 23.5 to 24.9
  • * medium score: baked cod 23.9
  • * low score: farmed Atlantic salmon 20.4 ; grilled mackerel 20.3 to 20.8; grilled cod 20.8
  • Mock meat : 18.53 to 28.9
  • Seafood 10.0 to 22.6
  • * crab canned in brine 18.1
  • * cooked mussels 16.7 to 17.7
  • * cooked prawns 15.4 to 22.6
  • * crabsticks 10.0

Dairy

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Milk and Yogurt

Eggs

  • Cooked chicken eggs: 10.62 to 14.1

Vegetables, legumes, grains and nuts

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Vegetables

Legumes

Grains

Nuts

Other food elements

Natural protein concentrates :