Highest protein beans and legumes, ranked

18 beans, lentils, peas and soy ranked by protein per 100 g cooked and by Protein Density — the share of each food's calories that comes from protein. Every figure is USDA SR-Legacy data at the same 100 g cooked serving, so no bean wins here just by being heavier per cup.

Protein per 100 calories

The same ranking in absolute terms — grams of protein you get per 100 calories spent. Protein Density is exactly four times this number, so the order never differs.

Beans and legumes, USDA (100 g cooked)

Top 18 by protein / 100 cal.

Bars colored by Protein Density (% of calories from protein) tier. Values in g/100cal.

Static image of this chart (for sharing)

Bar chart: top 18 Beans and legumes, USDA (100 g cooked) foods ranked by Protein / 100 cal. 1. USDA Lupini beans, 13.3 g/100cal, 16g protein, 120 kcal. 2. USDA Soybeans, 10.6 g/100cal, 18g protein, 170 kcal. 3. USDA Edamame, 10 g/100cal, 12g protein, 120 kcal. 4. USDA Lentils, 7.8 g/100cal, 9g protein, 115 kcal. 5. USDA Fava beans, 7.3 g/100cal, 8g protein, 110 kcal. Full ranking in the adjacent list.

Every bean and legume, ranked: protein per 100 g

Grams of protein and calories per 100 g cooked (about half a cup), the protein you get per 100 calories, and the Protein Density tier. Sorted by density; the protein column alone would order a few rows differently.

Bean / legume	Protein / 100 g	Calories / 100 g	Protein / 100 cal	Density	Quality
Lupini beans 100 g cooked	16g	120	13.3g	53.3% Platinum	Complete (mod.)
Soybeans 100 g cooked	18g	170	10.6g	42.4% Platinum	Complete (mod.)
Edamame 100 g cooked	12g	120	10g	40% Platinum	Complete (mod.)
Lentils 100 g cooked	9g	115	7.8g	31.3% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Fava beans 100 g cooked	8g	110	7.3g	29.1% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Kidney beans 100 g cooked	9g	125	7.2g	28.8% Gold	Complete (mod.)
White (cannellini) beans 100 g cooked	10g	140	7.1g	28.6% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Black-eyed peas 100 g cooked	8g	115	7g	27.8% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Lima beans 100 g cooked	8g	115	7g	27.8% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Black beans 100 g cooked	9g	130	6.9g	27.7% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Great northern beans 100 g cooked	8g	120	6.7g	26.7% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Split peas 100 g cooked	8g	120	6.7g	26.7% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Mung beans 100 g cooked	7g	105	6.7g	26.7% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Green peas 100 g cooked	5g	80	6.3g	25% Gold	Complete (mod.)
Pinto beans 100 g cooked	9g	145	6.2g	24.8% Silver	Complete (mod.)
Adzuki beans 100 g cooked	8g	130	6.2g	24.6% Silver	Complete (mod.)
Navy beans 100 g cooked	8g	140	5.7g	22.9% Silver	Complete (mod.)
Chickpeas 100 g cooked	9g	165	5.5g	21.8% Silver	Complete (mod.)

How the tiers fall

3 of 18 reach Platinum (lupini beans, soybeans, edamame), 11 land Gold and 4 land Silver. Nothing here falls to Avoid — beans and legumes are a genuinely protein-dense food group. But the spread inside it is wide: 53.3% down to 21.8%, because pulses carry a substantial carbohydrate calorie load that varies by species. The tier thresholds are on the methodology page.

About the quality badge

Every row carries the same badge, and that is the finding rather than a rendering bug: on amino-acid quality all 18 of these pulses classify alike — complete, moderate DIAAS. None of the ranking above comes from protein quality; all of it comes from density.

Treat the badge as a label, never as a number. Our DIAAS coefficients are published for isolate forms — commercial pea and soy protein isolate — and whole cooked pulses score meaningfully lower than their isolates do, so we deliberately do not rank these foods on a DIAAS-adjusted figure. See complete protein, scored by DIAAS for what those isolate numbers mean and where they apply.

Beans and legumes protein: common questions

Which beans have the most protein?

Per calorie, the highest-protein beans and legumes in USDA data are lupini beans (53.3%), soybeans (42.4%) and edamame (40%). At the top, lupini beans carry 16 g of protein in 120 calories per 100 g cooked. 3 pulses reach Platinum tier (40%+ of calories from protein): lupini beans, soybeans and edamame. Ranked by grams per cup instead, the order shifts because cup weights differ; per calorie it does not.

How much protein is in beans?

Cooked beans and legumes carry 5 to 18 g of protein per 100 g (about half a cup) in USDA SR-Legacy data, with lupini beans at the top and chickpeas at the bottom. Most common beans — black, pinto, kidney, navy — land close to 9 g per 100 g cooked.

Are beans a good source of protein?

Yes. 14 of the 18 beans and legumes here reach Gold tier or better, meaning at least 25% of their calories come from protein, and none fall to Avoid tier (under 15%). The trade-off is that every gram of pulse protein arrives with roughly two to three grams of carbohydrate, so hitting a high protein target on beans alone means a large calorie budget — the density column shows exactly how large for each one.

Are beans a complete protein?

Soybeans and edamame are complete. Other pulses are lower in the sulfur amino acids (methionine and cysteine) but not missing them, and the old rule that you must combine beans with grains at the same meal was retired decades ago — the body pools amino acids across the day. The practical constraint with plant protein is quantity and leucine dose, not completeness; see our DIAAS-scored guide to complete protein for the numbers. Complete protein, scored by DIAAS →

How much protein is in edamame?

Edamame has 12 g of protein and 120 calories per 100 g cooked — 40% of its calories come from protein (Platinum tier), or 10 g of protein per 100 calories. That ranks it #3 of 18 beans and legumes by Protein Density.

How much protein is in lentils?

Lentils has 9 g of protein and 115 calories per 100 g cooked — 31.3% of its calories come from protein (Gold tier), or 7.8 g of protein per 100 calories. That ranks it #4 of 18 beans and legumes by Protein Density.

How much protein is in black beans?

Black beans has 9 g of protein and 130 calories per 100 g cooked — 27.7% of its calories come from protein (Gold tier), or 6.9 g of protein per 100 calories. That ranks it #10 of 18 beans and legumes by Protein Density.

How much protein is in chickpeas?

Chickpeas has 9 g of protein and 165 calories per 100 g cooked — 21.8% of its calories come from protein (Silver tier), or 5.5 g of protein per 100 calories. That ranks it #18 of 18 beans and legumes by Protein Density.

Nutrition data from USDA FoodData Central (SR-Legacy), each record resolved by ingest/verify-foods.mjs and carrying its own FDC id. Protein Density = protein calories ÷ total calories, computed by lib/benchmark.ts. All servings are 100 g cooked, without salt.