Can you build muscle without eating meat?
Yes. Total protein and training drive muscle growth; the source matters much less than the amount.
High Protein Foods Without Meat
Cutting meat does not cut protein. Dairy, eggs, soy foods and legumes cover the whole range, and several of them are leaner than meat per calorie.
Quark at 12g per 100g and 77 calories beats most meats on protein per calorie. Seitan at 25g per 100g matches beef.
The one adjustment worth making is variety: rotating soy, legumes, dairy and seeds covers amino acids and micronutrients that a single source would miss.
Meat-free protein sources
Protein and calories per 100g, from the Protein Hunter database.
| Food | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 🌱 Pea protein isolate | 80g | 380 |
| 🌿 Hemp seeds | 31g | 553 |
| 🍞 Seitan | 25g | 370 |
| 🍢 Tempeh | 19g | 193 |
| 🫛 Natto (fermented soybeans) | 18g | 212 |
| 🥚 Whole egg | 13g | 155 |
| 🍢 Firm tofu | 12g | 76 |
| 🥣 Quark | 12g | 77 |
| 🧀 Cottage cheese (low-fat) | 12g | 72 |
| 🥣 Skyr | 11g | 63 |
| 🫛 Edamame (cooked) | 11g | 122 |
| 🥣 Greek yogurt (plain, 0%) | 10g | 59 |
| 🫘 Lentils (cooked) | 9g | 116 |
| 🫘 Chickpeas (cooked) | 9g | 164 |
Per 100g.
Structuring a meat-free day at 130g
- Breakfast: 250g skyr with seeds — about 32g.
- Lunch: 200g firm tofu stir-fry with edamame — about 35g.
- Dinner: 100g seitan with lentils — about 43g.
- Snack: 200g cottage cheese — about 24g.
- Total: roughly 134g, no meat involved.
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
What has more protein than meat?
Per 100g, parmesan (35g), seitan (25g), protein powders (80–90g) and dried foods like biltong (50g) all match or exceed most cuts of meat.
Is fish considered meat here?
This list works for both — every food on it is meat-free, and most are also fish-free.
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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