Which Indian food is highest in protein?
Paneer (18g per 100g) and soya products lead among vegetarian options; chicken and eggs lead overall.
High Protein Indian Foods
Indian food is legume-rich, which is a strong starting point — the usual gap is protein density, since dals are around 9g per 100g cooked.
Paneer at 18g per 100g and soya chunks (a soy protein product) are the two easiest upgrades to a vegetarian Indian plate. Curd and eggs handle the rest.
The practical rule: add one dense source to a meal that already contains dal and rice, and it moves from about 15g to over 30g.
Indian protein staples
Protein and calories per 100g, from the Protein Hunter database.
| Food | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 🐔 Chicken breast (cooked) | 31g | 179 |
| 🥜 Peanuts | 26g | 567 |
| 🧀 Paneer | 18g | 265 |
| 🫛 Soybeans (cooked) | 17g | 173 |
| 🥚 Whole egg | 13g | 155 |
| 🍢 Firm tofu | 12g | 76 |
| 🥣 Greek yogurt (plain, 0%) | 10g | 59 |
| 🫘 Lentils (cooked) | 9g | 116 |
| 🫘 Chickpeas (cooked) | 9g | 164 |
| 🫘 Kidney beans (cooked) | 9g | 127 |
| 🫘 Mung beans (cooked) | 7g | 105 |
| 🥛 Whole milk | 3.4g | 61 |
Per 100g.
Getting an Indian plate above 30g
- Add 100g of paneer to any sabzi — that is 18g of protein.
- Chana masala made with 200g of cooked chickpeas is about 18g before anything else on the plate.
- Curd with every meal adds 4–10g depending on the type.
- Soya chunks are the cheapest large protein jump available in most Indian kitchens.
- Rajma and rice together form a complete amino acid profile.
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
How much protein is in dal?
Cooked dal is around 9g of protein per 100g, so a 200g serving is roughly 18g.
Can Indian vegetarians get enough protein?
Yes — paneer, curd, dals, chana, soya and milk make 100g+ per day very achievable.
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.
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