20 of the Best High Protein Vegan Foods
Protein is the one nutrient that everyone asks about as soon as you mention vegan or plant-based diets. “Where do you get your protein?”
We’ll discuss what protein is, why we need to worry about it on a plant-based diet, and where to find great plant-based protein sources.
What is protein?
Protein is a category of organic compounds that are found in all living things.
Protein is essential for the functioning of the human body. From muscle to hormones, much of our body is composed of protein.
Proteins are simply molecules that are composed of smaller units called amino acids. Long strands of different amino acids, link together in various formations to create different proteins.
Whilst there are hundreds of amino acids in existence, only 20 amino acids are utilised by the human body.
They’re absolutely necessary for human growth and health.
Of these 20 amino acids, the human body can produce 11. The other 9 must be obtained through our diet. These are called the ‘essential’ amino acids.
Proteins themselves can be hugely complicated and intricate structures. However, we don’t need to consume proteins ‘whole’ for our own bodies to get what they need. We just need to consume the amino acids that they’re made of. Our bodies then take these building blocks and put them together to create the thousands of intricate proteins that make up our bodies.
This means we need to be less concerned with “getting enough protein”, and more concerned with getting enough of the right amino acids.
So, can you get all the protein you need from plants?
Absolutely! In fact all protein that exists originates from plants. Unlike animals, plants are able to utilise nitrates to create amino acids. In fact, only plants have the ability to create amino acids.
And all animals get their protein directly, or indirectly from plants.
Herbivores, like cows and elephants eat plants to extract the protein they need, whereas carnivores eat other animals that have already done the hard work of extracting protein from plants.
In this infographic you can see how protein found in beef, hemp seeds and broccoli compare.
Almost all plant-based foods contain all the essential amino acids that your body needs.
What makes the situation a little bit tricky, is that plants don’t tend to contain the nine essential amino acids in the correct proportions required by the human body. (Just as an aside, meat contains amino acids in much closer proportions to those we require, because, as animals, our bodies and structures are so similar.)
So that means, if we’re getting all of our protein from plants, we just need to pay attention to which amino acids we’re getting on our diet. By carefully choosing a range of different plant-based proteins we can ensure we get the range of amino acids we need in the correct proportions.
All of this was taken into account when designing the meal plans for our 6 week Plantstart Program, giving you everything you need to know about vegan nutrition and cooking.
How much protein do we need?
Many experts feel that people eating a plant-based diet should consume a slightly higher minimum because plant proteins can be harder for the body to digest than animal protein sources.
They recommend, for vegans, 0.9 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
That’s 54 grams a day for a 60 kilogram person (132 pounds), 63 grams a day for a 70 kilogram person (154 pounds), or 72 grams for an 80 kilogram person (176 pounds).
It shouldn’t be hard to meet and these minimums with a well planned plant-based diet.
Why do we need protein?
Protein isn’t just for body builders and athletes, it’s an essential for all of us. Among other things, we need it for:
- The healthy functioning of our immune systems
- To create antibodies that protect us from infection and viruses.
- The production of hormones such as insulin
- Essential amino acids play an important role in maintaining energy levels.. A deficiency can lead to low energy levels and effect mental clarity.
- A lack of amino acids can impact on your nervous system and mental wellbeing. In fact, amino acid depletion — specifically tryptophan — has been shown to have links to depression. This amino acid is required for the production of serotonin (which is well-known for its role in mood and sleep regulation).
20 of the best vegan protein sources
The good news is there is no shortage of great sources of plant based protein.
Hemp seeds have a fantastic amino acid balance, and then you have pumpkin, sunflower and chia seeds. Nuts like almonds and cashews. Tofu and soy based products and of course grains and legumes.
This infographic is taken from our vegan nutrition and cooking course and shows some of the best protein sources, by weight.
You can learn everything you need to know about vegan nutrition, as well as enjoying 6 full weeks of nutritionist approved mealplans in our course over on Udemy. Check it out!
So, what about amino acids?
Now, We’re going to take things a little further and expand our understanding of amino acids.
Let’s recap what we learned so far:
- Protein is made from building blocks called amino acids
- 9 amino acids cannot be produced by the body and you must get them from your diet — they are called Essential amino acids.
Now, If a food source is low in a particular amino acid, that amino acid is called the limiting amino acid.
All food sources have at least one limiting amino acid. That is, there aren’t any foods that have the “perfect” amino acid profile for us to eat. That’s why we need a well-thought out and varied diet.
Almost all plant-based sources of protein are lacking in one or the other of two essential amino acids:
- Lysine
- Methionine
So when we’re planning our plant-based diet, we want to make sure we’re getting good sources of both of these amino acids.
Let’s look at an example so you can se what I mean. Let’s take walnuts for our example.
This diagram shows the amino acid profile for 100 grammes of Walnuts.
They contain all the essential amino acids — but not in the correct proportions that we need.
Look at the lysine — only 20% of your recommended intake. So we say Lysine is the limiting amino acid.
Now, if walnuts were our only source of protein, we’d need to eat 500g of Walnuts a day to get all the lysine we require — and that’s a lot of walnuts!
Of course, the way we avoid this problem is by choosing a variety of protein sources.
Complementary vegan protein sources
Some food combinations are complementary protein sources. These common combinations balance each other out by combining good sources of lysine with good sources of methionine.
Let’s take our example again. Remember that walnuts are low in the essential amino acid lysine. Lentils, on the other hand, are higher in lysine, but lower in methionine.
So, if we eat a meal that contains both lentils and walnuts we’ll get a better balance essential amino acids.
Let’s take another example. Grains such as rice (and especially wild rice) are high in the amino acid methionine, but they are very low in lysine.
Conversely, legumes (beans and lentils) are generally lower in methionine. Eating both foods together will enable us to get obtain a better balance of the amino acids that we need for good health.
Such complementary protein combinations are very common in traditional diets and form staples around the world:
- Lentils and bread
- Black beans and rice
- Hummus and pita bread
Complete proteins
Sources of protein that have a more balanced amino acid profile are sometimes referred to as “complete proteins”.
It’s a bit confusing, because often foods that are called complete proteins aren’t actually completely balanced, they’re just better sources of lysine and methionine than other plant sources.
To make getting the protein you need as easy as possible for you, in the kitchen guide this week you’ll find a guide to grains & legumes which you can download and keep.
Key Takeaways
- Those of us eating a vegan, or majority plant-based diet, need to aim for 0.9 grams of protein per kilo of body weight.
- That’s 54 grams a day for a 60 kilogram person (132 pounds), 63 grams a day for a 70 kilogram person (154 pounds).
- It’s important that we think about getting adequate amounts of essential amino acids, especially lysine and methionine that are lacking on a plant-based diet.
- In order to get adequate protein, and amino acids, we should eat a wide variety or whole grains and legumes to ensure we’re getting enough protein every day.
Health warning
The information in this article is taken from our Udemy course, which teaches you everything you need to master vegan cooking and nutrition.
We’ll provide you with all the meal plans, recipes, information and nutritional guidelines you need to start or enhance your vegan journey. The course includes 6 weeks of nutritionist-approved meal plans.
The programme, and this article, contains lots of information about nutrition, and while it’s been made in conjunction with a nutritionist, it doesn’t constitute any kind of health advice, and is provided to you as information only. You should seek health advice from a medical professional if you have any concerns at all — only they are qualified to help you.
