How Much Protein Is in an Egg (and 24 More Foods), per Serving

One egg (55 g without the shell) has 6.9 g of protein and 79 calories. A small can of tuna in water (60 g, 2.1 oz, drained) has 15.3 g; a 250 ml glass of 2% milk (about 1 cup), 8.3 g; a 125 g (4.4 oz) Greek yogurt, 11.3 g; and 100 g (3.5 oz) of cooked lentils, 9.0 g^[8]. Below are 25 foods per real serving, not just per 100 g, and how to put together 25 to 30 g at a meal when your appetite is small.

Every figure comes from the site’s food pages, which use values from USDA FoodData Central^[8]. I multiply each page’s protein and calories per 100 g by its usual serving and round at the end. If you want the ranking per 100 g, it’s in high-protein foods, and why protein fills you up is in the most filling foods.

Protein per serving: a table of 25 foods

Sorted from most to least protein per serving. Each name links to its food page, and the “Source” column to the exact USDA entry^[8].

Three things the table shows:

• An egg has less protein than people think, but in very little volume. It ranks 21st per serving because one egg doesn’t weigh much. Two eggs give 13.9 g for 157 calories, almost the same as a plate of lentils (13.5 g)^[8].
• Per 100 g is misleading for nuts. Peanuts have 24.4 g per 100 g, close to tuna, but a sensible serving is 30 g (1.1 oz): 7.3 g of protein for 176 calories. A tub of skyr gives 17.0 g for 90 calories^[8].
• Beans and lentils land around 13 g a plate. And they bring fiber: 100 g (3.5 oz) of cooked lentils has 9.0 g of protein, 7.9 g of fiber and 116 calories^[8]. If you eat little or skip meat, the plant protein guide compares 20 plant foods.

What counts as a serving in this table

Each serving is the “usual serving” on the food’s page: a realistic amount for a meal or a snack, not a recommendation. Before you compare with what you eat, it helps to know how it’s measured:

• Edible weight. Eggs without the shell; tuna, jack mackerel and sardines drained; beans and lentils already cooked.
• Meat and fish, raw. Raw chicken breast, beef, cod and salmon are weighed before cooking, the way you’d weigh them on a kitchen scale. The cooked chicken breast is the only meat weighed after cooking.
• Liquids in milliliters. For milk I count 1 ml as 1 g. The 250 ml serving is a little more than a US cup (8 fl oz).
• Small cans. The 60 g (2.1 oz) of tuna is a small can, drained. If yours gives 80 g (2.8 oz) drained, that’s 20.4 g of protein.
• One brand’s label. USDA has no generic entry for skyr, so its page uses the label of one plain nonfat skyr. Yours may differ a little.
• Latin American-style queso fresco. It’s the one USDA analyzed. Other fresh cheeses, such as Spain’s queso de Burgos or Colombia’s queso campesino, vary mostly in fat, so the label is the one to trust.

How much protein you need per day and per meal

These are the general references for healthy adults:

For someone who weighs 154 lb (70 kg), EFSA’s 0.83 g/kg^[2] works out to about 58 g a day. EFSA is the European Food Safety Authority. The 2025 advisory, from four US scientific societies, notes that with obesity it’s unclear whether to use current weight or another weight, because current weight can overestimate needs. As an alternative, it proposes a fixed target of 80 to 120 g a day, which may be easier to stick to^[1]. Split 80 g over three meals and you get about 27 g per meal.

Your own number depends on your age, weight and health, especially if you have kidney disease. Talk it over with your doctor or a registered dietitian. The protein calculator gives you a starting point for that conversation, and protein and muscle on GLP-1 medications explains why it matters.

How to reach 25-30 g per meal with a small appetite

On semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), people eat less at each sitting. The 2025 advisory acknowledges that this makes protein hard to reach and offers three ideas: eat the protein-rich part of the meal first, choose low-volume protein foods (fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and nuts), and, when hunger is low, try small, frequent meals^[1].

These combinations all go past 25 g with 123 to 401 calories, using only foods from the table:

Totals are summed before rounding; oil and anything you add aren’t counted. If a whole plate won’t fit, there are two ways around it:

• Protein first. Start with the tuna, chicken or egg and leave the sides for last. If you fill up halfway, the important part is already in.
• Split it in two. Half a serving of lentils (75 g) with a hard-boiled egg gives 13.1 g; a cottage cheese (100 g) mid-afternoon adds 10.4 g. Together, 23.5 g. Filling snacks on GLP-1 medications has 25 more ideas.

The advisory also suggests keeping red and processed meats moderate or minimal and favoring beans and lentils, dairy, seafood, eggs and lean poultry^[1].

Common mistakes when counting protein

Mixing up raw and cooked. Raw chicken breast has 22.5 g of protein per 100 g; cooked, 29.0 g^[8], because it loses water. If you weigh 150 g (5.3 oz) of cooked chicken and use the raw figure, you get 33.8 g; with the cooked figure it’s 43.5 g. Oats go the other way: 40 g of dry rolled oats have 5.3 g of protein, and our serving of oatmeal cooked with water, 200 g, has 5.1 g^[8]. Almost the same protein in five times the weight, because the oats soak up water. Always check whether a label or table means raw, dry or cooked.

Counting the whole can. With tuna and sardines, what you eat is the drained weight. The can’s net weight includes the water or oil.

Weighing the egg with its shell. In the European Union, egg sizes S, M, L and XL are set by weight with the shell, under Regulation 589/2008^[5]. The 6.9 g in the table is for 55 g of egg without it. For reference, USDA counts a large egg as 50 g without the shell, with 6.3 g of protein^[8].

Trusting deli meats and sausages. They add quick protein, but also sodium. From the USDA entry on each food page^[8]:

The WHO recommends that adults have less than 2,000 mg of sodium a day, equal to 5 g of salt^[6]. A 30 g serving of cured ham, two or three thin slices, is already 40% of that. The unsalted canned tuna in the table has 30 mg per small can^[8], but if your can has added salt, it will have quite a bit more.

Forgetting the calories that come with the protein. With a small appetite, every bite counts. Salmon gives 25.5 g with 260 calories and cod 26.7 g with 123 calories^[8]: both are fine, but they don’t take up the same room on a day when you eat little. And with milk, skim actually has slightly more protein per 250 ml (8.9 g) than 2% (8.3 g) or whole milk (7.9 g)^[8].

What a label can say about protein

In the European Union, Regulation 432/2012 authorizes three health claims for protein: protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass, to the maintenance of muscle mass and to the maintenance of normal bones. They can only be used on foods that are at least a “source of protein”^[4]. If a package promises more than that, such as weight loss or curbing hunger because of its protein, that promise isn’t among the authorized claims.

Eating well, not eating as little as possible

Counting protein is a way to eat enough with a small appetite, not to eat the minimum. If you’ve gone days without covering the basics, if food makes you anxious or if you skip meals to make up for eating, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian. MedlinePlus notes that eating disorders are serious mental health conditions and that getting help matters^[7].

Frequently asked questions

How much protein is in an egg?

An egg weighing 55 g without the shell has 6.9 g of protein and 79 calories, according to USDA. A 50 g egg, USDA’s large egg, has 6.3 g, raw or hard-boiled. Two egg whites (66 g) give 7.2 g for only 34 calories^[8], because the fat is in the yolk.

How much protein is in chicken?

Skinless chicken breast has 22.5 g per 100 g raw and 29.0 g per 100 g cooked. A 5.3 oz (150 g) raw breast gives 33.8 g, and 3.5 oz (100 g) of cooked shredded chicken, 29.0 g with 151 calories^[8].

How much protein is in a can of tuna?

A small can of tuna in water, 60 g (2.1 oz) drained, has 15.3 g of protein and 70 calories. Drained tuna has 25.5 g per 100 g, so a can that gives 80 g (2.8 oz) drained has 20.4 g^[8].

How much protein is in a glass of milk?

A 250 ml glass (about 1 cup) of 2% milk has 8.3 g of protein and 125 calories. Whole milk has 7.9 g and skim, 8.9 g^[8]. Taking out the fat doesn’t take out the protein.

How much protein is in a Greek yogurt?

A 125 g (4.4 oz) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt has 11.3 g of protein and 121 calories. Nonfat Greek yogurt has 12.8 g with 74 calories, and regular plain yogurt 4.3 g^[8]. “Greek-style” yogurts vary a lot between brands, so the label is the one to trust.