What has a lot of protein?

Proteins. THE nutrient of today. A few years ago, only physically active people drank protein shakes and ate protein bars, but nowadays many other people also pay attention to their protein intake. Dealing with your protein requirements in everyday life is not always easy. That's why the question often arises: What has a lot of protein?.

That's exactly what this article is about: I'll explain which foods are high in protein, how much protein we really need, and why proteins are so important in the first place.

Your knowledge to go: What has a lot of protein?

• A distinction is made between animal-based (e.g. meat and dairy products) and plant-based protein sources (e.g. legumes and nuts)

• Especially with vegetarian and vegan protein sources, it is important to combine different protein sources to obtain a complete amino acid profile.

• Protein powder and high-protein products can help meet your protein requirements.
  

Let's get started: What has a lot of protein?
Okay, you're right. It makes more sense if we start with the basics:

Your protein requirements

Let's take a look at how much protein you actually need per day. First of all: This question is far more comprehensive than you might initially think. That's why we have written two articles on the subject, where you can learn everything you need to know:

How much protein per day?

How much protein per kg?

In short: Protein requirements are individual and depend on many different factors, such as body weight, age, or activity level. For the general population, the recommendation is 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight. However, different values apply to other groups, such as physically active people (1.2-2 g) or older adults (1 g). Protein requirements are also higher during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Why are proteins important?

Why do we actually need to think about which foods are high in protein? Why are proteins so much in focus?
Proteins are incredibly versatile nutrients, and the current hype is certainly justified! Proteins are, after all, small all-rounders and important for our entire body.

In general, alongside carbohydrates and fats, we know proteins as one of the macronutrients. Proteins provide us with energy and also supply us with important building blocks for our bodies: amino acids.
In the body, proteins, or amino acids, are involved in various processes in many different areas:

• Energy metabolism

• Hormonal balance

• Bone and muscle metabolism

• Immune system

• …
  

It is therefore very important that we consume enough protein, to supply our body with important amino acids and thus contribute to a balanced diet. According to professional organizations, insufficient protein intake over the long term can lead to limitations in everyday life - e.g. reduced performance or increased fatigue. We don't want that! So make sure you consume enough protein and generally follow a protein-rich diet.
So, how do we approach this? What is high in protein?

What is high in protein - the best protein sources

When asking what is high in protein, a distinction is made between animal-based and plant-based protein sources.
To cut short the discussion that has probably already started about which option is actually better: What is the better choice differs from person to person. Depending on your personal values, diet, and preferences, either plant-based or animal-based proteins, or a wild mix of both, may be the right choice for you. You can find a detailed discussion of this topic in our article "Animal-based vs. plant-based protein".

But first, let's take a look at various protein-rich foods:
What is high in protein - an overview. 

Animal-based protein sources

When thinking about protein and considering what has a lot of protein, the keywords meat and eggs often come to mind immediately. And for good reason. These foods really do contain a lot of protein!
A small spoiler in advance: Plant-based protein sources are in no way inferior to animal-based ones.

Here is a brief overview of some animal-based foods that are high in protein:

Table: What is high in protein? Animal-based version                                                                   

Some important notes:

• The type of product (high-fat, low-fat,…), its preparation, and the exact variety of the product also influence the final protein content.

• The table is not complete; there are simply too many products to include them all here. Therefore, we have focused on some of the highest-protein and most commonly used foods.

• For most products, the protein content of the raw product is given: The cooked / fried / baked / … product has a different protein content.

• Don't be fooled: It is of course much easier to drink 100 g of milk than to eat 100 g of Parmesan … although …. Well, back to the topic: A high protein content per 100 g is not everything. Always consider how much of a food you can or want to eat.
  
  

Plant-based protein sources

Contrary to what many people assume, plant-based foods also contain large amounts of protein. Therefore, sufficient protein can also be consumed on a vegetarian and vegan diet. No wonder - there are vegan bodybuilders, too! They are living proof.
Legumes in particular stand out with very high protein contents comparable to those of meat. Soy is one of the best-known legumes, which is why it gets a separate place in our table.
So: What is high in protein in the world of plant-based foods?

Table: What is high in protein? Plant-based version

Some important notes:

• The type of product, its preparation, and the exact variety of the product also affect the final protein content.

• The table is not complete; there are simply too many products to include them all here. Therefore, we have focused on some of the highest-protein and most commonly used foods.

• For most products, the protein content of the raw product is given: The cooked / fried / baked / … product has a different protein content.

• Dried foods have a much higher protein content:
  dried tomato: 11.3 g / 100 g
  fresh tomato 0.8 g / 100 g

Fruit also naturally contains protein. However, the amounts are so small in comparison that we decided not to include them in our “What is high in protein?” list. You can still make smart choices when selecting fruit and choose higher-protein varieties such as berries (especially elderberries, with 2.5 g) or passion fruit, with 2.2 g of protein.

There is one product category missing from our overview on the topic “What has a lot of protein?” Quite clearly: protein powder. If those don't contain a lot of protein, then what does? Let's take a closer look.

Protein powder and high-protein products

Of course, our vegan protein powder, protein bars & Co. can also help meet your daily protein requirements. But one thing is clear: protein shakes are not a substitute for balanced meals. As a small snack, a quick serving of protein, or occasionally as a breakfast replacement when time is short, protein shakes are great.
With products like these, be sure to pay attention to the following points:

• Quality: ideally organic quality, sensible and high-quality ingredients, high protein content, as clean as possible

• biological value of the protein (more on this shortly)

• Composition: Does it contain other valuable ingredients such as fiber, vitamins, or healthy fatty acids?

As you can see, the question “What has a lot of protein?” is not the only relevant one; you also need to look at the product as a whole.

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Choose your proteins smartly

Protein is not just protein. And a product with an extremely high protein content is not necessarily better than one with a lower content. Why is that?!

Let's start with a brief explanation: Proteins consist of amino acids. These are divided into

• Non-essential amino acids (the body can produce them itself): alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine

• Essential amino acids (the body cannot produce them itself (in sufficient quantities), so they must be obtained through food: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine

So if we want to meet our protein requirements, our goal should always be to consume as much of all amino acids as we need. How can we do that? Through a balanced and varied diet and smartly combining different foods. After all, all foods contain different types, ratios, and amounts of amino acids.
Animal-based foods often already contain all the important amino acids - with plant-based protein sources, you need to pay a little more attention. Here, it can help to combine different plant-based protein sources, as their amino acid profiles then complement each other, resulting in an almost complete amino acid profile.

Example: grains and legumes (e.g., lentil stew with bread): 
Grains: low in lysine, threonine and tryptophan, but rich in methionine
Legumes: low in methionine, but rich in threonine and tryptophan

Instead of simply choosing based on the highest protein content (as in “What contains a lot of protein?!”), you should also pay attention to biological value.
Oh oh, a new technical term! Don't worry, biological value simply describes how efficiently a protein from food can be converted into the body's own protein. A prerequisite for this is a good amino acid profile. So we want an amino acid profile that is as complete as possible, with a good ratio of amino acids, so that we can achieve a high biological value.

A suitable protein powder we developed especially for you. Feel free to give it a try!

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Conclusion: What contains a lot of protein?

So what contains a lot of protein? Legumes, nuts, seeds & kernels, as well as meat, dairy products and fish, are the frontrunners. A balanced diet is the best foundation for meeting your protein needs. Feel free to combine different food groups, such as protein-rich vegetables, tofu or meat and legumes, into a protein-rich meal. We also have a great recipe collection with high-protein dishes for you - feel free to take a look!

PS: Feel free to take a screenshot of our table above. Then, when you ask yourself again while shopping, “What had a lot of protein again?” you’ll have the answer right at hand.

Do you have questions? Feel free to send me an email - I look forward to hearing from you! :)

Literature & Sources

1. Bieler, S. (2021). Swiss Nutritional Value Table. 3rd edition. BLV (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office).

2. German Nutrition Society e. V. (2021). Selected questions and answers about protein and essential amino acids. 

3. Heseker, Prof. Dr. H. & Heseker, B. (2019/2020). The Nutritional Value Table. 6th edition. DGE (German Nutrition Society e.V.)

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