High-Protein Foods: A Real Reference List

If you’re trying to hit a protein target, the fastest way to do it is to know which foods actually carry the weight. This is a reference list, not a meal plan: real foods, grouped by type, with protein per typical serving pulled from USDA FoodData Central. No supplements, no rankings, just the numbers.

Animal protein

Animal proteins carry the highest protein density per calorie of anything on this list, which is why most high-protein cooking leans on them.

• Chicken breast (3 oz, cooked): about 26g protein
• Turkey breast (3 oz, cooked): about 25g protein
• Lean beef, 90/10 (3 oz, cooked): about 22g protein
• Salmon (3 oz, cooked): about 22g protein
• Shrimp (3 oz, cooked): about 18g protein
• Eggs (1 large): about 6g protein
• Ground chicken or turkey (3 oz, cooked): about 22g protein

If you’re building a dinner around one of these, start with High-Protein Chicken, High-Protein Beef, or High-Protein Seafood.

Dairy

Dairy is where a lot of the highest-protein-per-calorie options actually live, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt in particular.

• Cottage cheese, 4% (1 cup): about 24g protein
• Greek yogurt, plain nonfat (170g container): about 17g protein
• Cheddar cheese (1 oz): about 7g protein
• Milk, 2% (1 cup): about 8g protein

Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt both show up constantly in this kitchen: the high-protein pasta, the cottage cheese bowl, and the chicken salad all lean on one or the other for the protein boost instead of extra meat. See everything tagged cottage cheese or greek yogurt.

Plant-based protein

Plant sources carry less protein per calorie than animal sources, but several of them are genuinely high in both protein and fiber at once, which most animal proteins can’t claim.

• Lentils (1 cup, cooked): about 18g protein
• Black beans (1 cup, cooked): about 15g protein
• Chickpeas (1 cup, cooked): about 15g protein
• Edamame (1 cup): about 18g protein
• Firm tofu (1/2 block, about 124g): about 21g protein
• Quinoa (1 cup, cooked): about 8g protein
• Peanut butter (2 tablespoons): about 7g protein
• Almonds (1 oz, about 23 almonds): about 6g protein

For a meal built entirely around these, see High-Protein Vegetarian Meals or High-Protein Vegan Meals.

How to actually use this list

Most high-protein meals aren’t one food doing all the work, they’re two or three of these stacked together. A bowl of Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder, a chicken thigh with a side of lentils, cottage cheese blended into a pasta sauce: the number adds up across the plate, not from a single ingredient.

This is food information, not a diet plan. It’s a reference for what’s actually in the food, not a recommendation for what you personally should eat.

Looking for where these show up in real recipes, start at High-Protein Meals and browse by protein source, meal, or diet from there.