How much protein do seniors need?
At least 1.2g per kilogram of bodyweight per day, and some guidance goes to 1.5g/kg for older adults who are ill or recovering.
High Protein Foods for Seniors
After 60, the body responds less efficiently to protein, so intake needs to go up rather than down — at least 1.2g per kilogram of bodyweight, spread evenly.
Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) responds to two things: resistance exercise and enough protein at each meal. A 25–30g dose per meal is roughly what is needed to trigger muscle protein synthesis in older adults.
The practical challenge is usually appetite and chewing, so the list below leans toward soft, dense, easy foods.
Easy protein sources for older adults
Protein and calories per 100g, from the Protein Hunter database.
| Food | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 🥤 Whey protein isolate | 90g | 400 |
| 🐟 Salmon (cooked) | 25g | 250 |
| 🐟 Cod (cooked) | 23g | 107 |
| 🥚 Whole egg | 13g | 155 |
| 🧀 Cottage cheese (low-fat) | 12g | 72 |
| 🥣 Quark | 12g | 77 |
| 🍢 Firm tofu | 12g | 76 |
| 🧀 Ricotta (whole milk) | 11g | 174 |
| 🥣 Greek yogurt (plain, 0%) | 10g | 59 |
| 🫘 Lentils (cooked) | 9g | 116 |
| 🥛 Whole milk | 3.4g | 61 |
| 🥛 Kefir | 3.3g | 41 |
Per 100g.
Making it practical
- Aim for 25–30g of protein at each of three meals rather than one large protein meal.
- Soft, easy options: eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, flaked fish, lentil soup, milk-based drinks.
- Add milk powder or a scoop of whey to soups and porridge — a large protein increase with no extra volume to chew.
- Pair protein with resistance exercise, even light bands or bodyweight work; without it, protein alone does far less.
Add up your whole meal
Type what you ate in plain words and Protein Hunter returns protein and calories for the full plate.
Try the Protein CalculatorCommon questions
Why do older adults need more protein?
Muscle becomes less responsive to protein with age, so a larger per-meal dose is needed to trigger the same repair response.
What are easy high protein foods for the elderly?
Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, milk, flaked white fish and lentil soup are all soft, dense and easy to prepare.
Keep reading
Protein CalculatorAdd up any meal in plain words.Protein database230+ foods with protein and calories.How much protein per daySet the target these foods feed into.What is Protein Hunter?
Protein Hunter is a protein and nutrition app with a database of 232 foods — from a leaf of kale to a wagyu steak — plus AI tools that answer protein questions, count a whole meal, build recipes to a macro target, and track what you actually eat.
- Search any food
- Count a full meal
- Recipes to your macros
- Scan a plate or label
Why it's different: the numbers are calculated from a fixed ingredient database rather than guessed, and when a target is not physically achievable the app says so instead of inventing a figure.
Start Hunting