Highest-protein foods, ranked
Find the highest-protein option, wherever you eat.
Every food, powder and menu item is scored by the share of its calories that come from protein. Rankings aren't for sale.
Get your daily protein target ↓Protein density: % of calories from protein
How we score it →Why density, not grams? A label's protein grams depend on how big the serving is. Density tells you what each gram of protein costs you in calories. The 16 g in a nonfat Greek yogurt costs 90 kcal. Getting the same 16 g from McDonald's Hotcakes costs about 1,030.
That gap matters most when calories are limited: when you're cutting, eating less on a GLP-1, or holding on to muscle as you age.
- Greek yogurt, plain nonfat (170 g) 71.1%
- Chipotle chicken burrito bowl 31.6%
- McDonald's McDouble 22.0%
- McDonald's Hotcakes 6.2%
The four tiers, in the wild
How every food on this site stacks up.
37 representative foods across four categories, plotted by grams of protein per 100 calories — the volume-eating standard. Whole foods and home-cooked staples cluster on the right; most packaged snacks cluster on the left.
| Category | Food | g protein per 100 cal | Protein density | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole foods | Chicken breast (cooked, 100 g) | 18.8 | 75.2% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Canned tuna in water, drained (1 can, 142 g) | 21.8 | 87.3% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Top-round steak (grilled, 4 oz) | 17.9 | 71.6% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Salmon fillet (cooked, 5 oz) | 10.5 | 42% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Greek yogurt, plain nonfat (170 g) | 17.8 | 71.1% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Cottage cheese, low-fat 2% (1 cup) | 13 | 51.9% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | 93/7 lean ground beef (cooked, 4 oz) | 13.6 | 54.5% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Tofu, firm (100 g) | 11.7 | 46.9% | Platinum |
| Whole foods | Edamame, shelled (1 cup) | 9.5 | 37.9% | Gold |
| Whole foods | Lentils, cooked (1 cup) | 7.8 | 31.3% | Gold |
| Whole foods | Banza chickpea pasta, cooked (from 2 oz / 56 g dry) | 5.8 | 23.2% | Silver |
| Whole foods | Regular spaghetti, cooked (from 2 oz / 56 g dry) | 3.6 | 14.5% | Avoid |
| Whole foods | Whole-milk yogurt, plain (170 g) | 5.7 | 22.9% | Silver |
| Home-cooked plates | 2 scrambled eggs + toast | 6 | 23.8% | Silver |
| Home-cooked plates | Rice & black beans (1 cup) | 4.7 | 18.6% | Silver |
| Home-cooked plates | Pasta + marinara (2 cups) | 3.5 | 14.1% | Avoid |
| Home-cooked plates | Peanut butter sandwich | 3.4 | 13.5% | Avoid |
| Home-cooked plates | Oatmeal w/ banana | 2.6 | 10.4% | Avoid |
| Restaurant mains | McDonald's Hotcakes (no sausage) | 1.6 | 6.2% | Avoid |
| Restaurant mains | McDonald's McChicken | 3.5 | 14% | Avoid |
| Restaurant mains | McDonald's Big Mac | 4.2 | 16.9% | Silver |
| Restaurant mains | McDonald's McDouble | 5.5 | 22% | Silver |
| Restaurant mains | McDonald's Egg McMuffin | 5.5 | 21.9% | Silver |
| Restaurant mains | Starbucks Bacon & Gruyère Egg Bites | 6.3 | 25.3% | Gold |
| Restaurant mains | Tim Hortons Chili (regular) | 6.8 | 27.1% | Gold |
| Restaurant mains | Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl (brown rice, black beans, fajita veg, salsa, romaine) | 7.9 | 31.6% | Gold |
| Restaurant mains | Chipotle Double Chicken Salad (supergreens, fajita veg, tomato salsa, no dressing) | 15.7 | 62.9% | Platinum |
| Restaurant mains | Chipotle Chicken (single portion) | 17.8 | 71.1% | Platinum |
| Packaged snacks | Fage Total 0% Plain Greek Yogurt | 20 | 80% | Platinum |
| Packaged snacks | David Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bar | 18.7 | 74.7% | Platinum |
| Packaged snacks | Quest BBQ Tortilla Style Protein Chips | 13.6 | 54.3% | Platinum |
| Packaged snacks | Magic Spoon Cocoa Cereal | 9.3 | 37.1% | Gold |
| Packaged snacks | Whisps Cheddar Cheese Crisps | 7.5 | 30% | Gold |
| Packaged snacks | ALOHA Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough | 5.8 | 23.3% | Silver |
| Packaged snacks | RXBAR Chocolate Chip Protein Bar | 5.7 | 22.9% | Silver |
| Packaged snacks | Lenny & Larry’s Chocolate Chip Complete Cookie | 3.6 | 14.5% | Avoid |
| Packaged snacks | Hippeas Cinnamon Sugar Chickpea Puffs | 3.1 | 12.3% | Avoid |
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The Benchmark Tiers
Every food on this site gets scored on protein density (calories from protein ÷ total calories) and assigned to one of four tiers. The tier system reveals at a glance whether something is genuinely high-protein or just marketed that way.
Whey isolate, lean turkey, egg whites
Greek yogurt, chicken breast, most protein bars
Whole eggs, tofu, mixed nuts + jerky
"Protein-labelled" granola, peanut butter, most cereals
Want the math? Read the methodology → · Browse high protein, low calorie foods → · Look up any food in the protein in food calculator → · See which cereals rank highest → · Learn what counts as complete protein foods → · See fast food protein rankings → · Read how casein protein compares to whey →