Ask ten vegans to name the best protein source and you'll get ten answers, because "best" depends on what you're optimising: a bodybuilder counts grams per 100 g, a student grams per euro, and most of us minutes of weeknight effort. This guide ranks ten staple vegan protein sources three ways, then combines them into one practical shortlist.
First, the target. In the UK, the reference intake is 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day — about 45 g for a 60 kg adult — and The Vegan Society notes that around 1 g per kg has been suggested for vegans. This article is informational only: if you're training hard, pregnant, or managing a health condition, get a personal target from a registered dietitian.
First, retire the complete-protein myth
You may have heard that plant proteins are "incomplete" and must be paired — rice with beans, in the same bowl, or the protein doesn't count. That advice is decades out of date. As The Vegan Society puts it, plant proteins contain all the essential amino acids; foods simply carry them in different ratios.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' position paper concludes that appropriately planned vegan diets are "healthful, nutritionally adequate" for all stages of life. Eat a reasonable variety of protein sources across the day and the amino acids sort themselves out — no meal-by-meal choreography required.
One practical footnote: lysine. Grain proteins — including seitan, which is pure wheat gluten — are relatively low in it, while legumes are rich in it. If seitan is your main protein, make sure lentils, beans, tofu or peas appear somewhere in your day. That's the whole strategy.
The rankings at a glance
Protein figures are for the food as eaten (cooked or rehydrated) unless noted. Cost figures are rough estimates based on typical European supermarket prices in mid-2026 — your shop will shift the numbers, but rarely the order.
| Source | Protein (as eaten) | Protein per € (est.) | Convenience | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seitan | ~18–25 g / 100 g | ~100+ g homemade, ~20 g shop-bought | Medium | Low in lysine; off-limits if you avoid gluten |
| Tempeh | ~20 g / 100 g | ~15 g | Medium | Price; the fermented tang divides opinion |
| TVP (soy mince/chunks) | ~16 g / 100 g rehydrated (51 g dry) | ~85 g | High | Tastes of whatever you season it with — season it |
| Tofu | ~12 g / 100 g (regular; firm is higher) | ~20 g | High | Needs pressing or marinating for texture |
| Peanuts & nuts | ~21–26 g / 100 g | ~65 g (peanuts) | Very high | The protein arrives with a lot of calories |
| Lentils | ~9 g / 100 g cooked | ~90 g (dried) | High | Red ones need no soak; others do |
| Beans & chickpeas | ~8–9 g / 100 g cooked | ~65 g dried, ~20 g canned | High (canned) | Canned convenience costs 3× per gram |
| Green peas | ~5 g / 100 g | ~25 g (frozen) | Very high | A helper, not a headliner |
| Quinoa | ~4 g / 100 g cooked | ~20 g | Medium | Well-balanced amino acids, modest totals |
| Soy milk | ~3 g / 100 ml | ~25 g | Very high | Most other plant milks carry almost no protein |
Ranked by protein per 100 g: seitan takes it
Seitan is concentrated wheat gluten, and it shows: a typical portion carries roughly 18–25 g of protein per 100 g, depending on the recipe. Its raw material, vital wheat gluten, is about 70% protein by weight — which is why homemade seitan is such an outlier in the cost ranking below.
Tempeh comes next at around 20 g per 100 g. Because it's made from whole fermented soybeans, you also get fibre that tofu leaves behind. Rehydrated TVP lands near 16 g per 100 g, and regular tofu around 12 g — firmer blocks pack more protein because they hold less water, so check the label of the exact block in your basket.
Nuts look spectacular on paper — peanuts reach about 26 g per 100 g — but that 100 g also carries roughly 570 kcal. Treat them as a protein top-up, not a main. And the plant-milk fine print matters: soy milk's ~3 g per 100 ml is comparable to cow's milk, while most almond, oat and rice milks offer close to none.
Quinoa deserves an honest framing: at about 4.4 g per 100 g cooked, it's high in protein for a grain, with an unusually well-balanced amino acid profile that includes lysine. It's a great base for a protein-rich bowl — it just isn't the protein.
Compare the protein before you buy
Two tofu blocks, two plant milks — which one actually carries more protein? Let VeganCheckr do the label maths:
- Open VeganCheckr and tap Scan, then scan the first product's barcode.
- Scan the second product and open the comparison view.
- Read protein, sugar, fat and calories side by side — and save the winner to your list.
Ranked by protein per euro: lentils and TVP run away with it
This is where the ranking flips. A €2.50 kilo of dried red lentils cooks up to roughly two and a half kilos of food carrying around 220 g of protein — close to 90 g of protein per euro. TVP is in the same territory: at around €6 per kilo and 51 g of protein per 100 g dry, it delivers roughly 85 g per euro from a bag that lives happily in your cupboard for months.
The stealth winner is homemade seitan. Vital wheat gluten flour sells for a few euros per kilo and is about 70% protein, which works out to well over 100 g of protein per euro — several times cheaper than shop-bought seitan, which sits closer to 20 g per euro alongside tofu and tempeh.
Dried beans beat canned by a wide margin: cooking your own works out around three times cheaper per gram of protein than the ~20 g per euro you get from cans. If cost is your main constraint, our guide to eating vegan on a budget turns these numbers into an actual shopping list.
Ranked by convenience: what you'll eat on a Tuesday
Peanut butter on toast and a glass of soy milk require zero skill and ten seconds. Canned beans and frozen peas are one step behind: drain, heat, done. Tofu is genuinely fast once you stop treating it preciously — cube it, sear it hot, sauce it.
TVP is the most underrated convenience food in this list: shelf-stable, rehydrated in five minutes, and it absorbs any sauce you throw at it. Red lentils cook from dry in about 15 minutes with no soaking. Tempeh needs a marinade or a good sear to win people over, quinoa needs a rinse and 15 minutes, and homemade seitan — kneading, resting, simmering — is a weekend project you batch, not a weeknight fix.
The best vegan protein source isn't the one with the biggest number per 100 g — it's the one you'll actually cook on a wet Tuesday evening.
The overall podium
1. Tofu — good numbers on every axis: solid protein, fair price, five-minute cooking, sold everywhere. 2. Red lentils — the per-euro champion that's also fast and foolproof. 3. TVP — pantry-stable, cheap, and quietly high in protein. Seitan takes the density crown and tempeh the whole-food crown, but the podium goes to the foods that survive contact with real life.
Stack a normal day and the target takes care of itself: porridge made with soy milk plus a spoon of peanut butter (~15 g), a lunch of red lentil soup (~20 g), a tofu stir-fry with rice (~25 g), and a handful of peanuts (~8 g) lands roughly 70 g of protein without a single supplement. While you're thinking about nutrients, remember the one a food-first approach can't cover — here's what vegans actually need to know about B12.
Buying protein bars, powders or "high-protein" products? Check the label
The protein aisle is where vegans get caught out most. Bars and powders routinely contain whey, casein, milk powder, honey or gelatine — and "plant-powered" marketing on the front doesn't promise a vegan ingredient list on the back, a gap we unpack in plant-based vs vegan. Emulsifiers like E471 can be animal- or plant-derived, and spotting the difference takes practice — our field guide to reading food labels covers the technique.
Vet any protein product in seconds
Instead of decoding whey, casein and E-numbers in the aisle:
- Open VeganCheckr and tap Scan, then point your camera at the bar or powder's barcode.
- No barcode result? Use the ingredient scan to photograph the printed label instead.
- Read the verdict with evidence — flagged ingredients like milk protein or E471 are listed with the reason.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to combine plant proteins at every meal?
No. All plant foods contain all nine essential amino acids, just in different ratios, so eating a variety of protein sources across the day is enough. The Vegan Society and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics both confirm that deliberate meal-by-meal combining is unnecessary.
What is the cheapest vegan protein source?
Dried red lentils and TVP typically deliver the most protein per euro — in the region of 80–100 g of protein per euro at typical 2026 supermarket prices. Homemade seitan made from vital wheat gluten is in the same league.
How much protein do vegans need per day?
The UK reference intake is 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day — about 45 g for a 60 kg adult — and The Vegan Society notes that around 1 g per kg has been suggested for vegans. For a personal target, ask a registered dietitian.
Which vegan food has the most protein per 100 g?
Among foods as eaten, seitan leads with roughly 18–25 g per 100 g, followed by tempeh at about 20 g. Dry TVP is over 50% protein by weight, but once rehydrated it lands around 16 g per 100 g.
Check any product in seconds
VeganCheckr scans barcodes and ingredient labels, flags hidden animal ingredients and E-numbers, and shows you the evidence. Free on the App Store.
Scan with your iPhone camera