One cup of cooked moong dal (about 200 grams) provides roughly 14 to 15 grams of protein. Per 100 grams cooked, that’s 7.6 grams, putting moong dal on par with chickpeas and red lentils as one of the higher-protein pulses available.
Raw, dried moong dal is more concentrated. A single tablespoon of dry mung beans contains around 1.6 grams of protein, and a full cup of dried beans packs close to 50 grams. Since most people eat it cooked (and cooking roughly triples the weight due to water absorption), the cooked figures are the ones that matter for meal planning.
How Moong Dal Compares to Other Pulses
Moong dal holds its own against the most popular legumes. Here’s how they stack up per 100 grams, boiled from dry:
- Red lentils (masoor dal): 7.7 g protein
- Chickpeas (chana): 7.6 g protein
- Mung beans (moong dal): 7.6 g protein
The differences are negligible. If you already cook with moong dal regularly, you’re getting essentially the same protein density as other common dals and legumes. The real advantage of moong dal is its digestibility. It’s lighter than rajma or chana dal, cooks faster, and tends to cause less bloating, which is why it’s often the first dal introduced to children and recommended during illness recovery.
How Much of Your Daily Protein This Covers
The international recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. For a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, that works out to 56 grams of protein per day. A single generous serving of cooked moong dal, roughly one cup, delivers about 14 to 15 grams, covering around 25 to 27% of that daily target.
If you’re physically active or over 65, your needs are likely higher, closer to 1.0 to 1.2 grams per kilogram. In that case, a cup of moong dal still contributes meaningfully but should be part of a varied protein intake throughout the day rather than your sole source.
Protein Quality and Limiting Amino Acids
Not all protein is created equal, and moong dal has one notable gap. Its limiting amino acids are the sulfur-containing ones: methionine and cysteine. According to FDA analysis of mung bean protein, the amino acid score for methionine and cysteine combined is just 0.65, meaning the protein is about 65% as complete as an ideal reference protein when these amino acids are the bottleneck.
In practical terms, this means your body can’t use 100% of moong dal’s protein for muscle building and repair unless you also eat foods rich in methionine. Rice is the classic pairing, and there’s good science behind the tradition. Rice is low in lysine but adequate in methionine, while moong dal is rich in lysine (about 7% of its total protein) but short on methionine. Eating them together gives your body a more complete amino acid profile. You don’t need to combine them in the same meal, just across the same day.
What Happens When You Sprout Moong Dal
Sprouted moong beans are a popular salad and snack ingredient, but sprouting actually lowers the total protein concentration. During germination, enzymes break down the stored proteins into free amino acids and smaller molecules. Sprouted mung beans contain roughly 2 grams of protein per 100 grams, compared to 7.6 grams in the cooked whole dal. That’s a significant drop.
The trade-off is that the protein and other nutrients in sprouts may be easier for your body to absorb, since the same enzymatic process reduces some of the compounds that normally interfere with digestion. Sprouts are a fine addition to your diet, but if you’re counting on moong dal specifically for protein, the cooked whole or split form delivers far more per serving.
Nutrients Beyond Protein
Moong dal isn’t just a protein source. Even a small amount of raw mung beans (one tablespoon, about 13 grams) contains 0.88 mg of iron, 24.6 mg of magnesium, and 81 mcg of folate. Scale that up to a full cooked serving and you’re getting a substantial portion of your daily folate needs, which is especially relevant during pregnancy or for anyone on a plant-heavy diet.
The iron in moong dal is the non-heme type, which your body absorbs less efficiently than the iron in meat. Pairing your dal with something rich in vitamin C, like tomatoes, lemon juice, or a side of peppers, can significantly boost absorption. This is one reason many traditional dal recipes finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Getting the Most Protein From Moong Dal
A few simple choices affect how much usable protein you actually get from your moong dal:
- Choose whole or split dal over sprouts if protein is your priority. Cooked dal has nearly four times the protein concentration of sprouts.
- Pair with grains like rice, roti, or millet to compensate for moong dal’s low methionine content and create a more complete protein meal.
- Soak before cooking. Soaking for several hours reduces compounds that can interfere with protein digestion, and it shortens cooking time.
- Eat it consistently. One cup of dal per meal, twice a day, gives you 28 to 30 grams of protein from dal alone, covering more than half the RDA for most adults.
For vegetarians and vegans relying on pulses as a primary protein source, moong dal is one of the most practical options available. It’s affordable, cooks quickly, digests easily, and delivers a protein density that matches or beats most other legumes gram for gram.