Vegetarian protein sources: grams per 100g

Plant-based eating can meet protein needs, but the density is lower, so you need to eat more volume to hit the same gram target. The protein calculator can help you set your daily target, then this table gives the per-100 g values for common vegetarian foods, drawn from USDA FoodData Central. Values are for the edible portion, raw unless noted.

Soy, tofu and tempeh

Legumes and lentils

Grains and cereals

Nuts and seeds

Dairy and eggs

Sample day

A 70 kg (154 lb) person aiming for 1.6 g/kg needs 112 g of protein. That could come from:

Protein quality

Animal proteins contain all essential amino acids in one source. Most plant proteins do not — rice is low in lysine, beans are low in methionine. Soy foods (tofu, tempeh, edamame) and quinoa are complete proteins on their own. For other plants, you do not need to combine them in the same meal; eating a variety across the day covers your amino-acid needs.

Digestibility varies too. Wheat gluten (seitan) and legumes are less digestible than dairy or eggs, meaning your body absorbs fewer of the grams listed. The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) for egg is 1.0, for soy about 0.91, and for wheat gluten about 0.25 to 0.50. If you rely on lower-digestibility sources, aim slightly above your gram target to compensate.

PDCAAS measures protein quality against a reference pattern, but theFAO now recommends DIAAS(Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score) instead. DIAAS measures amino acids absorbed after digestion rather than protein tolerated, which gives a more accurate — and usually lower — score for plant proteins because their digestibility is incomplete. For this reason, a food with a PDCAAS of 1.0 (like egg) does not automatically mean it is the highest-scoring option under DIAAS; plant proteins that digest well, like soy isolate, can score in the 0.90–1.00 range under DIAAS too. Both scores are upper-bound estimates, so treat gram targets as targets to reach or exceed, not precise requirements.

Formulas are estimates, not medical advice.

Sources

All values are from USDA FoodData Central (FDC), which assigns a unique FDC ID to each food and reports nutrients per 100 g of edible portion.