High Protein Vegetarian Foods: 29 Indian Foods Ranked per Serving (and How Eggs and Chicken Compare)

The highest protein vegetarian foods in an Indian kitchen are soya chunks (26 g in a cooked katori), paneer (18 g per 100 g), plain Greek yogurt (15 g a katori) and firm tofu (17.3 g per 100 g). Dal gives 8 to 10 g a katori, which is why a dal-and-roti day stalls around 50 g. Below: 29 foods ranked per serving and per calorie, what our vegetarian members actually ate, and full days at 60, 80 and 100 g.

The ranking: 29 vegetarian foods by protein per serving

Per serving, the way you actually eat it: a katori of dal, a 100 g block of paneer, a handful of seeds. Foods marked * come from USDA values, for the ones our Indian database does not hold yet.

From the YourTrainer kitchen photo library.

Protein per calorie: the list that matters on a fat loss plan

Per serving rewards big, rich foods. Per 100 kcal shows how much protein you get for the calories you spend, which is what decides a fat loss plan. Whey, plain Greek yogurt and soya chunks lead. Paneer drops down the list because about two thirds of its calories come from fat; it is still a good food, just not a lean one.

What our vegetarian members actually ate

We looked at a small sample of fully logged days in the YourTrainer app. Members who logged no egg, meat or fish reached a median of 51 g of protein a day (the middle half of days ran from 36 to 67 g). Members who also ate eggs or meat reached 88 g. Only 39% of the vegetarian days reached 60 g and 11% reached 80 g.

Two things stand out. Roti, rice and oats supplied as much protein as dal did, because they are eaten in bigger amounts. And whey did more work than paneer for the members who used it. Neither is a problem; it just shows the gap is closed by adding one dense protein food per meal, not by eating more dal.

How much protein does a vegetarian need?

ICMR-NIN sets the adult requirement at 0.83 g per kg of body weight a day (ICMR-NIN dietary guidelines), about 50 g for a 60 kg adult. That is the floor for health, not the target for building muscle. A meta-analysis of 49 trials found that gains from strength training levelled off at about 1.6 g per kg a day (Morton et al., 2018), about 96 g for 60 kg. Our protein calculator gives your own number in katoris and pieces.

A 60 g, 80 g and 100 g vegetarian day

Three real days built only from the database, no supplements. Each one adds one dense protein food to the day before it.

The 100 g day has no whey and comes to 1,625 kcal. The jump from 62.4 g to 103.7 g costs 295 kcal, mostly the paneer bhurji. For more ways to fill each meal, see high protein breakfasts without whey and 100 g of protein a day, vegetarian.

Protein per rupee: the cheapest vegetarian protein

On a budget, the order changes again. Soya chunks are the cheapest protein in an Indian kitchen by a wide margin, and dal is next. Paneer costs about 14 times as much per gram of protein as soya.

Every item, with its price and source, is in the protein cost calculator.

Five mistakes that keep vegetarians low on protein

1. Counting dal as the protein. A katori of toor dal has 8 g. Getting 100 g from dal alone would take about twelve katoris.
2. Counting a "serving" of paneer as 100 g. The typical paneer entry in our members' logs was 50 g, about a quarter of a 200 g pack and roughly 9 g of protein.
3. Fruit-only snacks. A banana has about 1 g of protein. Roasted chana (8 g a katori) or Greek yogurt turns a snack into a protein meal.
4. Protein bars as the answer. Many are mostly sugar and fat around 10 g of protein. Read the label: protein should be at least a third of the grams of carbs plus fat.
5. No protein at breakfast. A katori of poha has 4.5 g and upma 5.5 g. Two moong dal chillas have 18 g; a katori of plain Greek yogurt has 15 g.

If you also eat eggs, chicken or fish

For comparison, the same household servings for non-vegetarian food. Per calorie, a grilled chicken breast beats every vegetarian food except whey, and Greek yogurt and soya chunks come close. Per serving, soya chunks match it.

More in how many eggs a day are safe and the egg protein calculator.

Jain, no onion no garlic, and vegan

• Jain: soya chunks, paneer, Greek yogurt, tofu, dal and chana all fit; nothing in the top ten is a root vegetable. Families who keep stricter rules (same-day curd, no green vegetables on tithi days, no raw curd with pulses) need the plan arranged around them.
• No onion, no garlic: protein does not change when the tadka does. Rajma, chole and paneer cooked with tomato, ginger and hing have the same grams.
• Vegan: soya chunks, tofu, tempeh, edamame, peanuts, hemp and pumpkin seeds. See vegan protein without dairy or whey.

Living abroad: what to buy

In a US, UK or Canadian supermarket, plain Greek yogurt, firm tofu, cottage cheese and frozen edamame are the easiest high protein vegetarian foods. Indian grocers stock soya chunks, paneer and every dal. Check hard cheese for rennet and flavoured yogurt for gelatin. Our protein per dollar tool ranks them by price, and protein per rupee does the same for India.

Quick answers

Which vegetarian food has the most protein?

Per serving, cooked soya chunks: 26 g in one katori for 172 kcal. Paneer has 18 g per 100 g and plain Greek yogurt 15 g a katori.

How can a vegetarian get 100 g of protein a day without whey?

Add one dense protein food to each meal: moong dal chillas with Greek yogurt at breakfast, soya chunks at lunch, roasted chana as a snack and paneer bhurji at dinner. That day comes to about 103.7 g of protein in 1,625 kcal.

Is dal a good source of protein?

It helps, but it cannot carry a day alone: a katori of cooked dal has 8 to 10 g. Pair it with a denser food such as paneer, soya, tofu or Greek yogurt.

Keep reading

• How much protein should an Indian eat? A vegetarian chart
• Soya keema: a high protein vegetarian dinner
• Paneer bhurji for breakfast
• Which dal has the most protein?
• Whey vs plant protein
• Is plant protein harder to digest?
• Building muscle as a vegetarian: a 12-week plan
• Vitamin B12 for Indian vegetarians
• Protein for Indians hub

Want a plan built around the vegetarian food you already cook? Start Your Journey.

How we counted

• Food values: YourTrainer Indian food database: cooked household servings, values reconciled from IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and USDA FoodData Central. Foods marked * use USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy values (firm tofu 172475, tempeh 174272, edamame 168411, cottage cheese 172182, hemp seeds 170148, pumpkin seeds 170556, peanut butter 172470, almonds 170567, cooked quinoa 168917).
• Member numbers: A small sample of member food logs from the YourTrainer app, 19 April to 2 November 2026, members only. Vegetarian means no egg, meat or fish was logged in that time; a fully logged day has at least three meals. Shares and medians only; the sample is small, so read them as a pattern, not a national figure.
• Protein per 100 kcal is protein divided by calories for the same serving.