Most adults need at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, regardless of the source. For a 150-pound person, that works out to about 54 grams. But if you’re getting your protein entirely or mostly from plants, you’ll likely want to aim higher, closer to 1.0 to 1.1 grams per kilogram, to account for the way your body digests and uses plant proteins compared to animal proteins.
The Baseline: How Much Protein You Actually Need
The standard recommendation for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, or about 0.36 grams per pound. That’s a minimum to prevent deficiency in a sedentary adult, not an optimal target. For someone weighing 175 pounds (80 kg), that comes to 64 grams per day.
Plant proteins are digested slightly less efficiently than animal proteins. Your body absorbs a smaller percentage of the amino acids from lentils or wheat than it does from eggs or whey. The Netherlands’ health ministry, for example, recommends that people following a fully vegan diet eat about 1.3 times the standard protein recommendation to compensate. For that same 175-pound person, that bumps the daily target from 64 grams to roughly 83 grams. This isn’t a dramatic increase, but it matters if you’re eating at the margins.
Why Plant Protein Quality Varies
Not all protein is created equal, and the difference comes down to two things: the mix of essential amino acids and how well your gut can absorb them. Scientists measure this with a score called DIAAS (Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score). Dairy proteins like whey consistently score higher than plant proteins like soy, pea, and wheat. Wheat scores particularly low because it’s missing key amino acids and is harder for the body to break down. Soy protein isolate fares better, scoring close to some animal sources, while pea protein falls somewhere in the middle.
The practical takeaway: if you’re relying on a single plant protein source, especially grains, you’ll fall short on certain amino acids. But combining different sources throughout the day, like beans with rice, tofu with quinoa, or lentils with nuts, fills those gaps naturally. You don’t need to combine them at every meal. Eating a variety over the course of a day is enough.
How Much Athletes Need on a Plant-Based Diet
If you exercise regularly, the baseline recommendation isn’t enough. Endurance athletes typically need 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram per day, while strength athletes need at least 1.6 grams per kilogram. People doing both cardio and resistance training (concurrent training) may need 1.7 to 2.2 grams per kilogram to support muscle and recovery.
For a 175-pound lifter, that upper range means roughly 175 grams of protein per day. That’s a lot of tofu. But the research is reassuring: vegan athletes who hit sufficient protein targets show no measurable disadvantage in muscle growth or strength gains compared to omnivores. The key phrase is “sufficient.” It’s possible that the optimal intake for a plant-based athlete is modestly higher than for an omnivore eating the same amount of protein from animal sources, but the difference appears small when protein sources are varied and high quality.
To put this in food terms, getting 130 grams of plant protein per day might look like: a protein shake with 30 grams of pea protein, a block of firm tofu (about 40 grams), a cup of cooked lentils (18 grams), two cups of edamame (34 grams), and a serving of whole grain bread with peanut butter (12 grams). It requires planning, but it’s doable.
The Leucine Factor
Your muscles don’t just respond to total protein. They respond especially to an amino acid called leucine, which acts like a trigger for muscle repair and growth. After eating a protein-rich meal, muscle building peaks about two to three hours later, and leucine is what flips that switch.
The target for each meal is roughly 2.5 to 3 grams of leucine alongside 25 to 30 grams of total protein. Leucine is present in all protein-containing foods, but it’s more concentrated in animal sources. Plant foods contain less per serving, which means you either need larger portions or need to choose leucine-rich plant foods. Soy, peanuts, lentils, and pumpkin seeds are among the better plant sources. A cup of cooked soybeans provides about 2.5 grams of leucine, while a cup of cooked lentils provides roughly 1.3 grams.
Spreading your protein across three or four meals rather than loading it all into dinner helps you hit that leucine threshold more often throughout the day, which supports better muscle maintenance overall.
Protein Targets for Adults Over 65
Aging changes the equation. After 65, your muscles become less responsive to protein, a phenomenon researchers call “anabolic resistance.” Expert groups have proposed raising the protein recommendation for older adults to 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilogram per day, even for those who aren’t particularly active, just to maintain existing muscle mass.
For older adults eating exclusively plant-based, applying the 1.3x digestibility adjustment brings the recommendation to roughly 1.3 to 1.5 grams per kilogram per day. For a 150-pound older adult, that’s 89 to 102 grams of protein daily. This is where things get challenging. Many older adults have smaller appetites and eat less overall. Plant-based protein sources tend to be bulkier and more filling per gram of protein than animal sources. Eating enough lentils, beans, and tofu to reach those targets can feel like a lot of food.
Protein powders made from soy or pea protein can help bridge that gap without requiring massive portion sizes. Fortified plant milks, tempeh, and seitan (which packs about 25 grams of protein per serving) are also efficient choices for keeping portions manageable.
Plant Protein and Kidney Health
One area where plant protein has a clear advantage is kidney health. For people with reduced kidney function, plant-based protein diets generate fewer waste products that the kidneys need to filter. They also reduce acid buildup in the blood and help control blood pressure by lowering the strain on the kidney’s filtering units.
Studies on people with chronic kidney disease have found that vegetarian low-protein diets delay the need for dialysis, improve bone mineral balance, and support a healthier gut microbiome compared to mixed diets with animal protein. For people with diabetes and kidney concerns, plant-based diets also appear to improve insulin sensitivity. Even for people without kidney problems, the lower metabolic burden of plant protein is considered a long-term benefit, especially at higher protein intakes.
Practical Daily Targets by Body Weight
- 130 lb (59 kg), sedentary: 59 to 77 grams per day
- 150 lb (68 kg), sedentary: 68 to 88 grams per day
- 175 lb (80 kg), sedentary: 80 to 104 grams per day
- 175 lb (80 kg), endurance athlete: 96 to 128 grams per day
- 175 lb (80 kg), strength athlete: 128 to 176 grams per day
- 150 lb (68 kg), adult over 65: 88 to 102 grams per day
The ranges above already factor in the roughly 30% increase recommended for fully plant-based eaters. If you eat some animal protein alongside plants, you can aim toward the lower end. If your diet is entirely vegan, aim toward the higher end and prioritize variety across soy, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.