Bone broth does contain real protein, typically 8 to 10 grams per cup, but it’s an incomplete protein source that works best as a supplement to your diet rather than a primary protein. The protein in bone broth is almost entirely collagen, which lacks one essential amino acid your body can’t make on its own. That distinction matters depending on why you’re counting protein in the first place.
How Much Protein Is in Bone Broth
A cup of bone broth delivers roughly 8 to 10 grams of protein, which is noticeably more than regular broth or stock (typically 2 to 6 grams per cup). The exact amount varies depending on how long the bones simmered, what type of bones were used, and whether the broth was homemade or store-bought. Commercial brands can range anywhere from 6 to 12 grams per cup depending on concentration.
For context, a cup of bone broth gives you about as much protein as one large egg. That’s a meaningful contribution, but not enough to anchor a meal on its own if you’re aiming for 20 to 30 grams of protein per sitting, which is what most adults need to feel full and support muscle maintenance.
Why Bone Broth Protein Is “Incomplete”
The protein in bone broth comes from collagen, the connective tissue protein that breaks down from bones, joints, and cartilage during long cooking times. Collagen is missing tryptophan, one of the nine essential amino acids your body needs from food. Because of this gap, collagen scores a zero on the standard protein quality scale (called PDCAAS) used by nutrition scientists. That’s the same scoring system that rates eggs, dairy, and soy near the top.
This doesn’t mean the protein is useless. It means your body can’t use collagen protein alone to build and repair all the tissues it needs to. If bone broth were your only protein source, you’d eventually develop a deficiency. But that’s an extreme scenario most people will never face.
Bone Broth Protein vs. Muscle-Building Protein
If your goal is building or maintaining muscle, bone broth protein is significantly less effective than complete protein sources. A study in healthy older women compared collagen protein to whey protein (the kind found in dairy) for stimulating muscle growth. Whey increased muscle protein synthesis both at rest and after exercise, while collagen only showed a small effect after exercise and failed to meaningfully boost muscle building over a longer period. The researchers concluded that whey was clearly more effective for preserving muscle mass.
This matters most for older adults trying to prevent age-related muscle loss, athletes focused on recovery, and anyone relying on protein supplements to hit their daily targets. If you’re drinking bone broth specifically to support muscle, you’ll want to pair it with complete protein sources like meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or legumes combined with grains.
Where Bone Broth Protein Does Shine
Collagen protein has a different amino acid profile than muscle meat, and that difference carries its own advantages. Bone broth is rich in glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, amino acids that are major building blocks of the connective tissue throughout your body. Collagen makes up 25 to 30% of all the protein in your body, found in skin, tendons, ligaments, and the lining of your gut.
Research on bone broth’s individual components suggests benefits for gut health specifically. The amino acids in bone broth, particularly glutamine and glycine, appear to support the intestinal lining, reduce inflammation in the gut wall, and improve nutrient absorption. A 2025 review in Digestive Diseases and Sciences found that these nutrients help fortify the intestinal barrier in both healthy people and those with inflammatory bowel disease. These are benefits you won’t get from a chicken breast or a protein shake.
Glycine also plays a role in sleep quality and the production of antioxidants your body makes internally. Most people eating a typical Western diet get plenty of essential amino acids from meat and dairy but relatively little glycine and proline compared to what their bodies can use. Bone broth fills that specific gap well.
How to Count It in Your Daily Protein
You can absolutely count the 8 to 10 grams per cup toward your daily protein total. Just don’t let it replace complete protein sources at meals. A practical approach: treat bone broth as a bonus rather than a cornerstone. Sipping a cup between meals, using it as a base for soups with added meat or beans, or having it alongside a balanced meal all work well.
The typical Western diet already contains more than enough essential amino acids from other animal foods. Adding bone broth on top of that creates no imbalance. In fact, swapping some of your complete protein intake for collagen-rich foods may actually improve the overall amino acid diversity in your diet, since most people are heavy on muscle meat and light on the connective tissue amino acids that bone broth provides.
If you’re tracking protein for a specific goal, like hitting 100 grams a day, counting two cups of bone broth as roughly 16 to 20 grams is reasonable. Just make sure the remaining 80 grams come from sources that deliver all nine essential amino acids.