What whole food has the highest Protein Density?

Of the 17 whole foods we track, Tuna, yellowfin (raw, 4 oz) has the highest Protein Density: 28g protein in 125 kcal from a 113g serving — 89.6% of calories from protein (Platinum tier). Runners-up: Canned tuna in water, drained (1 can, 142 g) (36g, 87.3%) and Chicken breast (cooked, 100 g) (31g, 75.2%).

Whole Foods Protein Database

Every plain whole-food protein source on the site, ranked by Protein Density (% of calories from protein). Lean meats, fish, dairy, plant proteins, and the one pasta swap that almost doubles the density of the same plate.

Nutrition values come from USDA FoodData Central (SR-Legacy / Foundation) for every entry except Banza chickpea pasta, which USDA does not catalogue — that one row is sourced from the manufacturer panel and flagged below. See methodology for the discipline.

Watching your grocery budget? See which of these are the cheapest protein sources per gram, ranked from official USDA and BLS price data.

17 whole foods tracked · sorted by Protein Density (descending)

Where the choice matters most

Two head-to-head pairs make the case better than any single row can: regular pasta swapped for Banza chickpea pasta, and whole-milk yogurt swapped for nonfat Greek yogurt — same recipe, same serving, very different tier.

Pasta swap

Regular spaghetti

14.5%

8g P · 220 kcal

Banza chickpea

28.0%

14g P · 200 kcal

Same 2 oz / 56 g dry serving. The chickpea version lifts the same plate from Avoid to Gold and adds 6g of protein.

Yogurt aisle

Whole-milk, plain

22.9%

6g P · 105 kcal

Greek nonfat, plain

71.1%

16g P · 90 kcal

Same 170 g serving. Same dairy aisle. Greek nonfat carries 2.7× the protein and lands in Platinum. See the highest-protein yogurts, ranked →

Filters17/17

Showing 17 / 17

Tier

Platinum (40%+)Gold (25–39%)Silver (15–24%)Avoid (<15%)

Brand

Country

						Quality	Serving
Tuna, yellowfin (raw, 4 oz) Fish	89.6%	28g	125	22.4g	—	Complete	113g
Canned tuna in water, drained (1 can, 142 g) Fish	87.3%	36g	165	21.8g	—	Complete	142g
Chicken breast (cooked, 100 g) Meat	75.2%	31g	165	18.8g	—	Complete	100g
Top-round steak (grilled, 4 oz) Meat	71.6%	34g	190	17.9g	—	Complete	113g
Greek yogurt, plain nonfat (170 g) Dairy	71.1%	16g	90	17.8g	—	Complete	170g
Lean ground pork (cooked, 4 oz) Meat	66.7%	35g	210	16.7g	—	Complete	113g
Pork loin chop (cooked, 4 oz) Meat	63.6%	31g	195	15.9g	—	Complete	113g
93/7 lean ground beef (cooked, 4 oz) Meat	54.5%	30g	220	13.6g	—	Complete	113g
Cottage cheese, low-fat 2% (1 cup) Dairy	51.9%	24g	185	13g	—	Complete	226g
Tofu, firm (100 g) Plant	46.9%	17g	145	11.7g	—	Complete (mod.)	100g
Salmon fillet (cooked, 5 oz) Fish	42%	31g	295	10.5g	—	Complete	142g
85/15 ground beef (cooked, 4 oz) Meat	40.7%	29g	285	10.2g	—	Complete	113g
Edamame, shelled (1 cup) Plant	37.9%	18g	190	9.5g	—	Complete (mod.)	155g
Lentils, cooked (1 cup) Plant	31.3%	18g	230	7.8g	—	Complete (mod.)	198g
Banza chickpea pasta, cooked (from 2 oz / 56 g dry) Pasta	28%	14g	200	7g	—	Complementary	140g
Whole-milk yogurt, plain (170 g) Dairy	22.9%	6g	105	5.7g	—	Complete	170g
Regular spaghetti, cooked (from 2 oz / 56 g dry) Pasta	14.5%	8g	220	3.6g	—	Complementary	140g

Source provenance

Every row's protein/calorie values map to a public USDA record. The single exception is documented below.

Food	USDA description	Source
85/15 ground beef (cooked, 4 oz)	Beef, ground, 85% lean meat / 15% fat, patty, cooked, broiled	# USDA FDC #174032
93/7 lean ground beef (cooked, 4 oz)	Beef, ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat, patty, cooked, broiled	# USDA FDC #174752
Banza chickpea pasta, cooked (from 2 oz / 56 g dry)	—	Manufacturer label*
Canned tuna in water, drained (1 can, 142 g)	Fish, tuna, light, canned in water, without salt, drained solids	# USDA FDC #171986
Chicken breast (cooked, 100 g)	Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted	# USDA FDC #171477
Cottage cheese, low-fat 2% (1 cup)	Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 2% milkfat	# USDA FDC #172182
Edamame, shelled (1 cup)	Edamame, frozen, prepared	# USDA FDC #168411
Greek yogurt, plain nonfat (170 g)	Yogurt, Greek, nonfat, plain, CHOBANI	# USDA FDC #171312
Lean ground pork (cooked, 4 oz)	Pork, ground, 96% lean / 4% fat, cooked, crumbles	# USDA FDC #169193
Lentils, cooked (1 cup)	Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	# USDA FDC #172421
Pork loin chop (cooked, 4 oz)	Pork, fresh, loin, top loin (chops), boneless, separable lean only, cooked, broiled	# USDA FDC #168253
Regular spaghetti, cooked (from 2 oz / 56 g dry)	Pasta, cooked, enriched, without added salt	# USDA FDC #169737
Salmon fillet (cooked, 5 oz)	Fish, salmon, Atlantic, farmed, cooked, dry heat	# USDA FDC #175168
Tofu, firm (100 g)	Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate	# USDA FDC #172475
Top-round steak (grilled, 4 oz)	Beef, round, top round steak, boneless, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 0" fat, choice, cooked, grilled	# USDA FDC #168740
Tuna, yellowfin (raw, 4 oz)	Fish, tuna, fresh, yellowfin, raw	# USDA FDC #175159
Whole-milk yogurt, plain (170 g)	Yogurt, plain, whole milk	# USDA FDC #171284

*Manufacturer label is used only where USDA SR-Legacy has no equivalent record. Today that covers Banza chickpea pasta only (USDA does not catalogue chickpea pasta as a distinct food). Values come straight off the package nutrition panel.

Nutrition data sourced from USDA FoodData Central (SR-Legacy / Foundation). Rankings calculated by Protein Density (% of calories from protein). Tier thresholds: Platinum ≥ 40%, Gold 25–39%, Silver 15–24%, Avoid < 15%. See methodology for the math. The full product database (204 rows, CSV/JSON + schema) is an open CC BY 4.0 dataset: download it on GitHub. The 17 whole-food records on this page are also served live by the free, no-auth JSON API.