List of High Protein Foods

When it comes to an easy to use list of high protein foods, it’s super simple if you break it down into categories. Adding protein to your meals is simply a must. Not with protein shakes but whole foods. Using the list below, you can easily obtain the protein you need per day for muscle building. There’s no reason you can’t get all your protein needs or close to it by consuming whole foods.

If you aren’t sure about how much protein do you need a day to build muscle, that’s a topic covered in a previous blog post. Be sure you know what you need and then simply use these foods to ensure you are supporting your muscle building efforts.

Important Note: Not all proteins are created equal. This is just a list of high protein foods. Some proteins listed will have more fat. Some will require more servings than other high but higher fat and calorie dense proteins. However, by looking at this list, you can see that if you design your meals correctly, you an easily get enough protein from whole foods sources without needing weight gainer shakes or protein shakes to consume your daily totals.

Animal Protein: 40z uncooked

* Lamb loin: 32.1g (4oz roasted)
* Buffalo (bison) steak, top round: 26.3g
* round, top, lean (select): 26.1g
* Elk (game meat): 25.9g
* round, eye of, lean (select): 25.2g
* sirloin, top, lean (select): 25g
* tenderloin (filet): 25g
* ground, 95% lean: 24.3g
* Buffalo (bison) steak, top sirloin: 24.2g
* flank steak, lean (select): 24.2g
* round, tip, lean (select): 24.2g
* Pork tenderloin: 23.6g
* ground, 90% lean: 22.7g

Seafood:

* Salmon, wild Alaskan: 28.8g
* Tuna, Yellow fin (tuna steak): 26.5g
* Tuna, canned in water, albacore: 26g
* Tuna, canned in water, chunk light: 26g
* Shrimp: 23g
* Mackerel, canned in olive oil: 24g
* Squid: 17g

Poultry: 4oz uncooked

* Turkey breast, skinless: 33.9g
* Turkey, ground 99% lean: 28g
* Ostrich steak: 28g
* Chicken breast, light meat, skinless, 99% lean: 26g
* Venison steak (deer meat): 25.9g
* Chicken breast, ground, lean: 24g
* Chicken breast, canned: 18g

Starchy Vegetables, Grains, Beans and Legumes:

* Lentils: 9g
* Beans, Adzuki, canned, 1/2 cup: 8.7g
* Lima beans, canned: 7g
* Beans, black, canned: 7g
* Beans, Garbanzo (chickpeas), canned: 7g
* Beans, navy, canned: 7g
* Rice, wild, dry: 6.5g per cup
* Black eye peas, canned: 6g
* Beans, pinto, canned: 6g
* Oatmeal, old-fashioned (no sugars added): 5g
* Potato, white: 4.2g
* Pumpkin, canned: 3.6g

Dairy:

* Cottage cheese, 1% low fat: 17.5g
* Cheddar, low fat, block: 18g per 2 inch cube
* Cottage cheese, 2% low fat: 15.5g
* Milk, skim, 1 cup: 8g
* Milk, 1% low fat; 1cup: 8g
* Milk, 2% low fat, 1 cup: 8.1g
* Cottage cheese, non-fat: 16.2g

Breads, Cereal, Pasta and Grains:

* Bagel, plain, whole wheat: 12g
* Bagel, plan, whole wheat high fiber: 11g
* Bagel, multi-grain: 11g
* Quinoa, uncooked: 10g
* Brown rice (boil in the bag): 9.3g
* Shredded Wheat, spoon size (boxed cold cereal): 6g
* Bulgar (whole grain), dry: 8.6g
* Oat bran (hot cereal): 6g
* Tortilla, multi-grain, low fat: 7g
* Spaghetti, whole wheat, uncooked: 9g

Fruit:

* Goji berries (wolfberries), dried: 4g
* Cantaloupe (melon): 2.3g
* Cherries, pitted: 2g
* Pear: 1g
* Lemon: 1.3g
* Raspberries: 1.2g
* Watermelon: 1g

Fibrous Vegetables and Greens:

* Broccoli, raw, chopped: 4.6g
* Artichoke, fresh, edible portions: 4.2g
* Kale, raw, chopped: 2.2g
* Peas, green, frozen: 4g
* Turnip, greens: 2.4g
* Brussels sprouts, raw, chopped: 3g
* Leeks raw: 1.6g

Fats, Oils, Nuts and Seeds:

* Hemp seeds: 11.4g
* Pumpkin seeds, shelled, roasted: 9.4g
* Peanuts, raw: 8.6g
* Almonds, raw: 7g
* Sunflower seed, shelled: 7g
* Sesame seeds, whole, dried: 6g

Getting enough protein is simple to do when you know what foods will give you the most bang for your buck. My #1 rule is that if you are trying to build muscle, you should not be consuming more than 20% of your daily protein needs thru liquid sources. That means, if you find yourself getting most of your protein thru supplement shakes, you are simply approaching it incorrectly. The choice of your foods will make all the difference.

Additional Resources of Foods High in Protein:

* List of High Protein Foods from Common Sense Health
* List of High-Protein Foods and Amount of Protein in Each
* List of High Protein Foods from the Harvard School of Public Health
* Best High Protein Foods
* Foods High in Protein: Top 10 Healthy Choices

The above list is a guide not a definitive resource. There’s many sample meals plans and pre-fabricated muscle building meal plans you can download. Then you take those plans, and adjust as necessary. Add more servings or cut servings. If you want a support community including a complete list of foods that any sane bodybuilder would recommend, check out the Burn The Fat Inner Circle community.

A Quick Tour of the Burn The Fat Kitchen.

You’ll be able to download an entire food list of approved bodybuilding foods broken down into:

1. Food items
2. Quantity
3. Weight
4. Calories
5. Protein
6. Carbs
7. Fats
8. Fiber

Only 6 pages in length, the list of approved foods beats any database currently in existence for the bodybuilder. It’s a 6 page grocery shoppers dream (used for shopping online for in the store). You’ll never wonder what foods you should buy to build muscle or burn fat.

You’ll find this Burn The Fat Inner Circle foods list among many other tools, a support community and a selection of the top fitness experts in the world. There’s no reason you have to do this journey alone without expert advice and the tools you need.