Beans, lentils and soy
How much protein is in lentils?
A cup of boiled lentils has about 18 g of protein.
That's 9 g of protein per 100 g, or 7.8 g for every 100 calories.
Protein per serving
| Serving | Weight | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 198 g | 18 g | 230 |
| ½ cup | 99 g | 8.9 g | 115 |
| 100 g | 100 g | 9 g | 116 |
How lentils compares
Other beans, lentils and soy, ranked by how much protein you get per 100 calories.
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Protein per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|
| Tofufirm, made with calcium sulfate | 17 g | 12 g |
| Tempehuncooked | 20 g | 11 g |
| Soybeansboiled | 18 g | 11 g |
| Edamamefrozen, prepared | 12 g | 9.8 g |
| Split peasboiled | 8.3 g | 7.1 g |
| Kidney beansboiled | 8.7 g | 6.8 g |
| Lima beansboiled | 7.8 g | 6.8 g |
| Black beansboiled | 8.9 g | 6.7 g |
| Green peasfrozen, boiled | 5.2 g | 6.6 g |
| Pinto beansboiled | 9 g | 6.3 g |
| Soy milkwith added calcium and vitamins | 2.6 g | 6 g |
| Navy beansboiled | 8.2 g | 5.9 g |
| Refried beanscanned | 5 g | 5.5 g |
| Chickpeasboiled | 8.9 g | 5.4 g |
| Baked beanscanned, vegetarian | 4.8 g | 5.1 g |
| Hummusstore-bought | 7.4 g | 3.2 g |
How it fits into a meal
For building muscle, Schoenfeld and Aragon's 2018 review of the research suggests about 0.4 g of protein per kilogram of body weight at each meal, spread over at least four meals a day. At 170 lb (77 kg), that's about 31 g a meal. A cup of boiled lentils covers about 58% of that.
Work out your own daily and per-meal target with the protein calculator.
Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central ("Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt", FDC ID 172421). Actual values vary by brand, recipe and cooking method, so treat these numbers as close estimates.