High-Protein Foods Chart (Printable): 46 USDA Foods

Chicken breast to chickpeas, sorted by MyPlate group, with the grams in a household serving and what it counts toward on your plan. Free, no signup.

High-Protein Foods Chart by Food Group

A one-page chart of high-protein foods grouped by MyPlate food group, with the grams of protein in a household serving and what that serving counts toward on your plan. Every value comes from USDA FoodData Central.

What counts as a high-protein food?

A high-protein food delivers a real share of the day's protein in one normal serving. The working line is 10 grams or more in the serving you actually eat — about a fifth of the 50-gram Daily Value. Serving is the operative word: a per-100-gram number flatters foods nobody eats 100 grams of.

Animal foods clear the line easily. Three ounces of cooked tuna or roasted chicken breast carries 26 g, salmon 22 g, shrimp 13 g, and one large egg 6 g. Plant foods get there by the cupful — a cup of cooked soybeans is 31 g, edamame 18 g, lentils and black beans 16 g each — while nuts and seeds run 4 to 8 g an ounce, which makes them a topping rather than a main.

Dairy is a separate MyPlate group, but it holds some of the densest everyday protein there is: a cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt is 25 g, low-fat cottage cheese 25 g, and 1½ ounces of cheddar 10 g.

The short version

  • 10 g or more per serving is the practical line for a high-protein food — roughly 20% of the 50 g Daily Value.
  • 3 oz of cooked meat, poultry, or seafood: 13–26 g. One large egg: 6 g.
  • 1 cup of cooked beans, peas, or lentils: 14–16 g. A cup of soybeans doubles that at 31 g.
  • 1 oz of nuts or seeds: 4–8 g — pumpkin seeds lead, cashews and walnuts trail.
  • Each row also shows what the serving counts as on a MyPlate plan: 3 oz of chicken is 3 ounce-equivalents of protein foods, a cup of beans is 4.
  • Every value is a USDA FoodData Central figure converted to the household serving shown, and every food carries its USDA ID.

Grams of protein in the serving shown, highest first within each group.

Lean meats & poultry

  • Chicken breast, roasted, no skin — 3 oz (85 g): 26 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Beef round steak — 3 oz (85 g): 25 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Beef roast — 3 oz (85 g): 25 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Turkey — 3 oz (85 g): 24 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Pork chop, lean — 3 oz (85 g): 24 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Ground turkey, cooked — 3 oz (85 g): 23 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Pork roast — 3 oz (85 g): 23 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Ground beef, cooked — 3 oz (85 g): 22 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Chicken thigh, rotisserie, no skin — 3 oz (85 g): 20 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Beef jerky — 1 oz (28 g): 9 g (counts as 1 oz-eq protein)

Seafood

  • Tuna, cooked — 3 oz (85 g): 26 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Salmon, baked or broiled — 3 oz (85 g): 22 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Tilapia, baked or broiled — 3 oz (85 g): 21 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Sardines, canned — 3 oz (85 g): 21 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Halibut — 3 oz (85 g): 18 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Tuna, canned — 3 oz (85 g): 16 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Cod, baked or broiled — 3 oz (85 g): 16 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Crab — 3 oz (85 g): 15 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)
  • Shrimp — 3 oz (85 g): 13 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)

Eggs

  • Eggs, fried with no added fat — 2 large eggs: 12 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Egg, boiled or poached — 1 large egg: 6 g (counts as 1 oz-eq protein)

Beans, peas & lentils

  • Lentils, from dried — 1 cup cooked: 16 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Black beans, canned — 1 cup cooked: 16 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Kidney beans, canned — 1 cup cooked: 16 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Split peas, from dried — 1 cup cooked: 15 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Chickpeas, canned — 1 cup cooked: 15 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Pinto beans, canned — 1 cup cooked: 14 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)

Soy products

  • Soybeans — 1 cup cooked: 31 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Edamame — 1 cup cooked: 18 g (counts as 4 oz-eq protein)
  • Soybean curd (tofu) — 3 oz (85 g): 6 g (counts as 3 oz-eq protein)

Nuts & seeds

  • Pumpkin seeds, unsalted — 1 oz (28 g): 8 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Peanut butter — 2 Tbsp: 7 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Peanuts — 1 oz (28 g): 7 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Pistachios, unsalted — 1 oz (28 g): 6 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Almonds, unsalted — 1 oz (28 g): 6 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Sunflower seeds, unsalted — 1 oz (28 g): 5 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Chia seeds — 1 oz (28 g): 5 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Cashews, unsalted — 1 oz (28 g): 4 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)
  • Walnuts — 1 oz (28 g): 4 g (counts as 2 oz-eq protein)

Dairy

  • Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat — 1 cup: 25 g (counts as 1 cup dairy)
  • Cottage cheese, low fat — 1 cup: 25 g (counts as 1/2 cup dairy)
  • Yogurt, plain, nonfat — 1 cup: 10 g (counts as 1 cup dairy)
  • Mozzarella, part skim — 1 1/2 oz (43 g): 10 g (counts as 1 cup dairy)
  • Cheddar cheese — 1 1/2 oz (43 g): 10 g (counts as 1 cup dairy)
  • Soy milk, unsweetened — 1 cup: 9 g (counts as 1 cup dairy)
  • Milk, low fat (1%) — 1 cup: 8 g (counts as 1 cup dairy)

Generated from USDA FoodData Central data, August 2026. Values are per the serving shown for each food. MyPlate.food is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the USDA.

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