A cup of chopped raw broccoli (about 91 grams) contains roughly 2.6 grams of protein. That’s modest compared to meat or beans, but it’s surprisingly high for a vegetable. In fact, about 33% of broccoli’s calories come from protein, giving it one of the best protein-to-calorie ratios in the produce aisle.
Protein by Serving Size
The exact amount depends on how much you eat and whether it’s cooked. A 100-gram serving of raw broccoli provides 2.8 grams of protein and just 34 calories. A full cup of cooked, boiled broccoli (156 grams) bumps that up to 3.7 grams, since cooking shrinks the florets and you end up fitting more broccoli into the same cup.
Here’s a quick reference:
- 1 cup raw, chopped (91g): 2.6g protein
- 1 cup cooked, boiled (156g): 3.7g protein
- 100g raw: 2.8g protein
Why Cooking Changes the Numbers
You might notice that cooked broccoli seems to have more protein per cup than raw. This isn’t because cooking creates protein. It’s a density issue. Heat causes broccoli to lose water and shrink, so a cup of cooked broccoli is physically more broccoli (156 grams vs. 91 grams raw). If you compare equal weights, the protein content is nearly identical. So the cooking method matters less than how much total broccoli ends up on your plate.
Protein Quality in Broccoli
Not all protein is created equal. What matters for your body is the amino acid profile, specifically whether a food contains the essential amino acids you can’t make on your own. Broccoli actually contains all eight essential amino acids: valine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, lysine, and tyrosine. That’s a more complete spread than many vegetables offer.
The catch is quantity. A cup of cooked broccoli delivers about 0.27 grams of leucine, the amino acid most important for triggering muscle repair. For context, most research suggests you need around 2 to 3 grams of leucine per meal to maximize that response. So broccoli contributes, but it won’t get you there alone. Pairing it with chicken, tofu, eggs, or legumes fills those gaps easily.
How Broccoli Compares to Other Vegetables
Among common vegetables, broccoli is near the top for protein per 100 grams:
- Kale: 2.9g per 100g
- Broccoli: 2.8g per 100g
- Cauliflower: 1.9g per 100g
- Spinach: 0.86g per 100g
Spinach often gets credit as a protein-rich green, but raw spinach actually contains less than a third of broccoli’s protein per 100 grams. Kale edges broccoli out slightly. Cauliflower, despite being broccoli’s close botanical relative, falls noticeably behind.
Can Broccoli Meaningfully Add to Your Protein Intake?
Broccoli alone won’t replace a chicken breast (which packs around 31 grams per serving). But thinking of vegetables as zero-protein foods is a mistake. If you eat two cups of cooked broccoli with dinner, that’s over 7 grams of protein, roughly the same as one egg. Across a full day of meals that include generous servings of vegetables, grains, and legumes, those grams add up faster than most people expect.
This matters most for people eating plant-based diets, where protein comes from many smaller sources rather than one or two large ones. Broccoli’s 33% protein-to-calorie ratio means you’re getting a solid return without loading up on calories. For comparison, white rice gets about 8% of its calories from protein. Broccoli is four times more protein-dense on a per-calorie basis.
The practical takeaway: broccoli is a useful supporting player for protein. It brings essential amino acids, very few calories, and a long list of other nutrients. Treat it as a protein bonus on top of whatever main source you’re already eating, not as a replacement for one.