High-Protein, Low-Calorie Foods: 30 Best Choices, Ranked by Protein per Calorie

The short answer: the foods that give you the most protein for the fewest calories are shrimp, canned light tuna, white fish (pollock, cod, tilapia and halibut), egg whites, skinless turkey and chicken breast, and nonfat Greek yogurt. Each delivers roughly 17 to 24 grams of protein for every 100 calories.

Below are 30 foods, ranked, with the numbers from the USDA's nutrition database. After the list come meals that put them together.

How to read this list

Every food is ranked by protein per 100 calories. That's the fairest way to compare a cup of cottage cheese with a piece of fish, because it shows how much protein you get for the calories you spend.

• Cooked or raw matters. Meat and fish lose water as they cook, so the same food has more calories and protein per ounce once it's cooked. Example from USDA: 4 oz of raw 95% lean ground beef has about 155 calories and 24 grams of protein. 4 oz of the same beef, cooked, has about 218 calories and 33 grams. Every meat and fish below is listed cooked unless it says otherwise. If you weigh your food raw, use the raw numbers on the package.
• Brands vary. Protein powders, deli meats, yogurts and cheeses differ by brand. When a package has a Nutrition Facts label, the label wins.
• Calories are rounded to the nearest calorie, and protein to the nearest gram.

The full ranking: 30 high-protein, low-calorie foods

Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy database. Each food's USDA ID is listed at the end of this article.

Fish and seafood: the leanest protein there is

Seafood takes seven of the top 11 spots. Most white fish and shellfish are very low in fat, so nearly all their calories come from protein.

• Shrimp: 27 grams of protein for 112 calories in 4 oz. It's the leanest food on this list, cooks in three minutes, and is often sold frozen and peeled.
• Canned light tuna (in water): 22 grams for 97 calories in 4 oz drained. It's cheap, shelf-stable and ready to eat. Choose "in water," not "in oil."
• Pollock, cod, tilapia, halibut: mild white fish, all between 98 and 145 calories for 4 oz cooked. Pollock is the fish in many frozen fillets and fish sticks. Check the label, though, since breading adds calories.
• Crab and scallops: both around 110 to 125 calories for 4 oz, with 22 to 23 grams of protein.
• Sockeye salmon: 30 grams of protein for 176 calories. It ranks lower than white fish because it has more fat, but much of that is the omega-3 fat that fish is known for.
• Smoked salmon (lox): 10 grams for 67 calories in 2 oz. It's high in sodium, so treat it as a topping, not a main course.

Meat and poultry: lean cuts only

The cut matters more than the animal. A skinless breast or a "round" or "loin" cut is lean. Wings, thighs with skin, ribs and higher-fat ground meat are a different food, nutritionally.

• Turkey breast (skinless): 34 grams for 166 calories in 4 oz. It's slightly leaner than chicken breast.
• Chicken breast (skinless): 35 grams for 186 calories. It's the most protein per serving on this list.
• Bison: 32 grams for 162 calories in 4 oz of lean, roasted meat.
• Pork tenderloin: 30 grams for 162 calories. It's one of the leanest cuts of pork.
• Beef eye of round: 34 grams for 184 calories, lean only.
• 95% lean ground beef: 33 grams for 218 calories, cooked. If you want ground beef, this is the version to buy.
• 93% lean ground turkey: 31 grams for 241 calories, cooked. It has more calories than 95% lean ground beef. "Turkey" doesn't automatically mean leaner, so read the percentage on the package.

Eggs and dairy: easy breakfasts and snacks

• Egg whites: 11 grams of protein for 51 calories in 3 large whites. Liquid egg whites in a carton make this easy.
• Nonfat Greek yogurt (plain): 17 grams for 100 calories in a 6 oz container. Flavored versions add sugar and calories, so check the label.
• 1% cottage cheese: 28 grams for 163 calories in a cup.
• Skim milk: 8 grams for 83 calories in a cup.
• Part-skim string cheese: 7 grams for 71 calories. It's an easy snack you can take anywhere.
• Whole eggs: 13 grams for 155 calories in 2 large hard-boiled eggs. They rank lower than egg whites because the yolk carries the fat. They're still a filling, inexpensive food, and many people combine one whole egg with extra whites.

Plant proteins: good options, a little more calorie-dense

Plant proteins rank lower because they come packaged with carbohydrates or fat. They also bring fiber, which most animal foods don't have.

• Firm tofu: 22 grams of protein for 181 calories in 1/2 cup.
• Tempeh: 17 grams for 166 calories in 3 oz.
• Edamame: 18 grams for 188 calories in a cup, shelled.
• Lentils: 18 grams for 230 calories in a cup, cooked.
• Black beans: 15 grams for 227 calories in a cup, cooked.

If most of your protein comes from plants, eat a variety. Animal foods tend to be complete proteins, while many plant foods lack one or more essential amino acids. Mixing plant sources over the day covers that gap (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).

Quick and convenient

• Whey protein powder: about 23 grams for 106 calories per 30-gram scoop, based on USDA's generic entry. Brands vary a lot, so use your label.
• Deli turkey breast: 8 grams for 59 calories in 2 oz. It's quick, but it's a processed meat and it's high in sodium. USDA lists about 500 mg of sodium in 2 oz, and the daily limit for adults is under 2,300 mg (FDA). Harvard's nutrition researchers advise limiting processed meats, including deli turkey (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Use it sometimes, not every day.

Low-calorie, high-protein meals

Here's what these foods look like on a plate. Calories and protein for every ingredient come from USDA data.

Breakfasts

Lunches

Dinners

The calories above don't include cooking oil unless it's listed. A tablespoon of olive oil adds about 120 calories, so measure it.

Snacks

How to build your own meal without blowing your calories

Use the same four steps for every plate:

1. Pick your protein first. Choose one food from the list above, aiming for 25 to 40 grams. That's usually 4 to 6 oz of cooked meat or fish, a cup of cottage cheese, or a yogurt plus a scoop of whey.
2. Fill half the plate with vegetables. Broccoli, peppers, salad greens, spinach and cucumber add volume for very few calories.
3. Measure the starch. Rice, potatoes, tortillas and bread aren't off-limits. Just measure them. A 1/2 cup of cooked rice is about 100 calories, and most people pour two or three times that.
4. Measure the fat. Oil, butter, dressing and cheese are where "healthy" meals quietly double their calories.

Then log it. These foods only help you lose weight if your total calories for the day stay under the number your body burns. If you don't know your number, start here: Know Your Number. For the tracking itself, see How to Count Calories Without Going Crazy.

Why protein matters when you're losing weight

When you eat less, your body can lose muscle along with fat. Eating more protein helps protect it.

A review of 24 controlled trials, covering 1,063 adults with overweight or obesity, compared higher-protein and standard-protein diets with the same calories. The higher-protein diets (about 1.07 to 1.60 grams per kilogram of body weight a day) produced slightly more weight loss and fat loss, and kept about 0.43 kg (about 1 pound) more lean mass. The trials averaged about 12 weeks (Wycherley et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012).

That's a modest benefit, not magic. But it's one more reason to put protein first.

For comparison, the official minimum (the RDA) is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound (Harvard Health Publishing). The RDA is the amount needed to avoid deficiency, not necessarily the best amount while you're dieting. To figure out your own target, see How Much Protein Do I Need?. For more on keeping muscle while you lose fat, see the Muscle and Body Composition Guide.

Common mistakes

• Trusting the front of the package. "High protein" bars, chips and cereals often carry more calories than protein. Check the Nutrition Facts label. If a snack has 200 calories and 10 grams of protein, that's 5 grams per 100 calories, which is worse than every food on this list.
• Treating jerky as a lean snack. USDA lists 1 oz of beef jerky at 115 calories, 9 grams of protein and about 500 mg of sodium. That's about 8 grams of protein per 100 calories, near the bottom of this ranking.
• Assuming "turkey" means lean. 93% lean ground turkey (241 calories per 4 oz cooked) has more calories than 95% lean ground beef (218).
• Mixing up raw and cooked weights. If you weigh chicken raw and log it as cooked, or the other way around, your numbers will be off.
• Forgetting the oil. Two tablespoons of oil in the pan add about 240 calories. That's more than the 4 oz of shrimp you're cooking.
• Eating only the foods you don't like. You don't have to live on plain cod. Choose the foods on this list you actually enjoy. The plan you'll follow beats the "perfect" plan you'll quit.

Frequently asked questions

What foods are high in protein and low in calories?

Shrimp, canned light tuna, white fish (pollock, cod, tilapia, halibut), egg whites, skinless turkey and chicken breast, and plain nonfat Greek yogurt. Each delivers about 17 to 24 grams of protein per 100 calories, according to USDA data.

What is the lowest-calorie protein?

Per gram of protein, shrimp is the leanest food on this list: 27 grams of protein for 112 calories in 4 oz cooked. Canned light tuna and Alaska pollock are close behind.

Is chicken or turkey breast lower in calories?

Skinless roasted turkey breast is slightly lower: 166 calories and 34 grams of protein in 4 oz, versus 186 calories and 35 grams for chicken breast.

Are eggs a high-protein, low-calorie food?

Egg whites are: 11 grams of protein for 51 calories in three large whites. Whole eggs have more calories because of the yolk (155 calories and 13 grams for two). They're still a good, filling choice.

What are good high-protein, low-calorie snacks?

Plain nonfat Greek yogurt (100 calories, 17 grams), a whey shake made with skim milk (189 calories, 32 grams), two hard-boiled eggs (155 calories, 13 grams), and shelled edamame (188 calories, 18 grams).

Can I lose weight just by eating high-protein foods?

Not by itself. Weight loss depends on eating fewer calories than you burn. High-protein, low-calorie foods make that easier because you get more protein for the calories you eat. They don't replace the calorie target. Read why you have to count calories.

The bottom line

Pick your protein from the top of this list. Fill half your plate with vegetables. Measure your starch and your fat. Track your calories. That's the method, and the foods you enjoy are the ones that will make it stick.

Want a plan built around foods you actually like? Book a free consult.

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About the author: Brian is The Diet Rebel, an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Coach and Certified Weight Management Specialist, with a Precision Nutrition Certificate in Nutrition and Coaching.

This article is for education, not medical advice. If you have kidney disease or another medical condition, ask your doctor before changing how much protein you eat.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018 release). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ — USDA food ID (FDC ID) for each food:
   • Shrimp, cooked: 175180
   • Light tuna, canned in water, drained: 173709
   • Alaska pollock, cooked: 173726
   • Whey protein powder: 173180
   • Cod, baked: 171956
   • Egg whites: 172183
   • Turkey breast, skinless, roasted: 171496
   • Tilapia, baked: 175177
   • Halibut, baked: 174201
   • Bison, lean, roasted: 173852
   • Alaska king crab, cooked: 174202
   • Chicken breast, skinless, roasted: 171477
   • Scallops, steamed: 167742
   • Pork tenderloin, lean, roasted: 168250
   • Beef eye of round, lean, roasted: 170633
   • Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat: 170894
   • Cottage cheese, 1% milkfat: 173417
   • Sockeye salmon, baked: 173692
   • Smoked salmon (lox): 173687
   • Ground beef, 95% lean, pan-browned: 174028
   • Deli turkey breast, sliced: 172941
   • Ground turkey, 93% lean, pan-browned: 172851
   • Firm tofu (calcium sulfate): 172475
   • Tempeh, cooked: 172467
   • Skim milk: 171269
   • Edamame, prepared: 168411
   • Part-skim mozzarella: 170847
   • Whole eggs, hard-boiled: 173424
   • Lentils, boiled: 172421
   • Black beans, boiled: 173735
   • Also used for meals and examples: raw 95% lean ground beef 171790; beef jerky 167536; strawberries 167762; blueberries 171711; spinach 168462; whole-wheat bread 172688; whole egg, raw 171287; romaine 169247; cucumber 168409; tomato 170457; olive oil 171413; white rice 168878; brown rice 169704; broccoli 169967; salsa 174524; corn tortillas 175036; baked potato 170093; red bell pepper 170108; onion 170000; apple 171688
2. Wycherley TP, et al. Effects of energy-restricted high-protein, low-fat compared with standard-protein, low-fat diets: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23097268/
3. Harvard Health Publishing. How much protein do you need every day? https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-much-protein-do-you-need-every-day-201506188096
4. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source. Protein. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/what-should-you-eat/protein/
5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sodium in Your Diet. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/sodium-your-diet

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