Edamame, lentils, and spinach top the list of vegetables and plant foods with the most protein per serving. Edamame delivers 22 grams of protein per cooked cup, making it one of the most protein-dense options in the produce aisle. But plenty of other vegetables contribute meaningful amounts, and knowing which ones pack the most can help you build meals that keep you full longer.
Legumes and Pulses: The Protein Heavyweights
If you’re looking for vegetables that rival meat in protein content, legumes are your best bet. They consistently outperform every other category of plant food on a per-serving basis.
Edamame (young soybeans) leads the pack at about 22 grams of protein per cooked cup. It’s also one of the rare plant foods that qualifies as a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids your body can’t make on its own. Most other beans and legumes are missing adequate amounts of certain amino acids, particularly methionine and tryptophan.
Lentils come in second at roughly 18 grams per cooked cup, followed by black beans at about 15 grams and chickpeas at 12 grams per cup. These numbers make legumes comparable to a serving of yogurt or a couple of eggs. They’re also packed with fiber, which slows digestion and keeps blood sugar steady, something pure protein sources like chicken breast don’t offer.
The one caveat with most legumes (other than soy) is that they’re incomplete proteins. That doesn’t mean you need to stress about combining foods at every single meal. Eating legumes alongside grains, nuts, or seeds over the course of a day fills in the amino acid gaps naturally. Think rice and beans, lentil soup with bread, or hummus with pita.
Green Vegetables With Surprising Protein
Green vegetables won’t match legumes gram for gram, but several provide more protein than you’d expect, especially considering how few calories they contain.
Cooked spinach is the standout here, delivering 5.3 grams of protein per cup. That’s roughly 11% of the daily value, and it comes with only about 40 calories. The key word is “cooked.” Raw spinach wilts down dramatically, so a cup of cooked spinach represents a much larger volume of leaves and, consequently, more concentrated nutrition.
Kale and broccoli land close together at 3.8 and 3.7 grams per cooked cup, respectively. Brussels sprouts, peas, and asparagus fall in a similar range. Individually, these numbers seem modest, but vegetables rarely appear alone on a plate. A stir-fry with a cup each of broccoli and edamame over rice gets you past 25 grams of protein before you add any meat or tofu.
Green peas deserve a special mention. A cooked cup contains about 8 to 9 grams of protein, which is why pea protein has become such a popular ingredient in plant-based protein powders and meat alternatives.
Mushrooms: Not a Vegetable, Still Worth Knowing
Mushrooms are fungi, not vegetables, but they show up in the produce section and most people think of them as interchangeable in meals. On a dry-weight basis, mushrooms are surprisingly protein-rich. Button mushrooms are about 25% protein by dry weight, and shiitake mushrooms come in around 21%. In practice, though, mushrooms are mostly water. A cup of raw sliced white mushrooms has only about 2 to 3 grams of protein.
Where mushrooms shine is as a volume food. They add meaty texture and umami flavor to dishes without many calories, making it easy to bulk up a meal that already has a stronger protein source like beans or tofu.
How Plant Protein Differs From Animal Protein
Not all protein is absorbed equally. Scientists measure protein quality using a score called PDCAAS, which accounts for both amino acid content and how well your body digests it. Animal proteins like eggs and dairy score at or near a perfect 100. Soy scores 91, which is excellent for a plant source. Wheat, by comparison, scores just 42.
Most vegetables are limited in the amino acids methionine and lysine. Legumes tend to be low in methionine and tryptophan, while grains are low in lysine. This is why pairing legumes with grains (beans and rice, peanut butter on whole wheat) creates a more complete amino acid profile. You don’t need to combine them at the same meal. Your body pools amino acids throughout the day.
A handful of plant foods do provide complete protein on their own: soy (including edamame and tofu), quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. If you eat a variety of these alongside your vegetables, amino acid balance takes care of itself without any complicated planning.
Practical Ways to Increase Protein From Vegetables
The simplest strategy is to build meals around legumes rather than treating them as a side dish. A cup of lentils as the base of a grain bowl, a black bean chili, or an edamame-heavy stir-fry can each deliver 15 to 22 grams of protein from the legume component alone.
Cooking greens concentrates their protein. A cup of raw spinach has less than a gram of protein, but a cup of cooked spinach (which started as a much larger pile of leaves) has over five grams. Sautéing, steaming, or adding greens to soups lets you eat a larger effective serving without trying.
- Edamame: ~22 g protein per cooked cup
- Lentils: ~18 g per cooked cup
- Black beans: ~15 g per cooked cup
- Chickpeas: ~12 g per cooked cup
- Green peas: ~8–9 g per cooked cup
- Cooked spinach: ~5.3 g per cup
- Cooked kale: ~3.8 g per cup
- Cooked broccoli: ~3.7 g per cup
Adding nutritional yeast as a topping is another easy boost. It’s a complete protein, and two tablespoons add about 8 grams. Sprinkle it on roasted vegetables, popcorn, or pasta for a savory, cheese-like flavor with a protein payoff.