Vegetables

How much protein is in spinach?

A cup of raw spinach has about 0.9 g of protein.

That's 2.9 g of protein per 100 g, or 12 g for every 100 calories.

Protein per serving

Protein and calories in common servings of spinach, from USDA data.
ServingWeightProteinCalories
1 cup30 g0.9 g7
1 bunch340 g9.7 g78
100 g100 g2.9 g23

How spinach compares

Other vegetables, ranked by how much protein you get per 100 calories.

FoodProtein per 100 gProtein per 100 calories
Mushroomswhite, raw 3.1 g 14 g
Asparagusboiled 2.4 g 11 g
Kaleraw 2.9 g 8.3 g
Cauliflowerboiled 1.8 g 8 g
Brussels sproutsboiled 2.6 g 7.1 g
Zucchiniraw, with skin 1.2 g 7.1 g
Broccoliboiled 2.4 g 6.8 g
Artichokeboiled 2.9 g 5.5 g
Green beansboiled 1.9 g 5.4 g
Cornsweet yellow, boiled 3.4 g 3.6 g
Potatobaked, with skin 2.5 g 2.7 g
Carrotsraw 0.9 g 2.3 g
Sweet potatobaked in skin 2 g 2.2 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 raw spinach covers about 3% of that.

Work out your own daily and per-meal target with the protein calculator.

Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central ("Spinach, raw", FDC ID 168462). Actual values vary by brand, recipe and cooking method, so treat these numbers as close estimates.