The Most Filling Foods, According to the Science (With Per-Serving Data)

The foods that fill you up most per calorie combine a lot of water or volume, protein or fiber, and little fat. These are the 10 with the most support behind them. The first seven have a direct measurement in Holt’s 1995 satiety index; the last three make the list because of what we know about protein and energy density.

1. Boiled potatoes: 323 on the Holt index, the highest of the 38 foods in the study, with just 87 kcal per 100 g (3.5 oz).
2. Oatmeal (cooked with water): 209, with 71 kcal per 100 g because it cooks in so much water.
3. Whole fruit, especially oranges (202) and apples (197). Whole fruit fills you up more than applesauce or juice.
4. Whole grains: whole-wheat pasta scored 188 and whole-wheat bread 157, compared with 119 and 100 for their white versions.
5. Lean meat: lean beef scored 176. Chicken breast and turkey breast bring almost 19 and 21 g of protein per 100 kcal.
6. Eggs: 150 on the Holt index, with 12.6 g of protein per 100 g.
7. Beans and lentils: lentils scored 133. A 150 g serving of cooked lentils (about ¾ cup) brings 13.5 g of protein and 11.9 g of fiber for 174 kcal.
8. White fish and canned tuna in water: cod and canned light tuna both top 21 g of protein per 100 kcal.
9. Vegetables, and a salad to start the meal: the vegetables in our database, not counting potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava or plantain, have 15 to 44 kcal per 100 g. A light salad before the main course lowered the total eaten at the meal.
10. Plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese: 9 and 10.4 g of protein per 100 g, for under 100 kcal.

I built this guide from Holt’s original study and the trials and reviews I cite in each section. The data for each food come from USDA FoodData Central and are on its page in our food database, which is in Spanish (the numbers read the same). One caveat before we start: satiety is a tool for eating well, not for eating as little as possible.

What makes a food filling

Satiation is what makes you stop eating during a meal; satiety is how long it takes for hunger to come back. The Holt index mostly measures the second. Five properties matter more than the rest.

Protein

A 2015 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes that higher-protein meals have a modest satiating effect: more fullness and more satiety hormones. But short-term trials don’t show people eating less at the next meal. The authors suggest that at least 25 to 30 g of protein per meal might improve appetite control. That’s a general proposal, not a prescription for any one person. In Holt’s study, protein was linked to more satiety, though less strongly than water or fiber.

Fiber

The evidence is less clear-cut than you often hear. A 2013 systematic review looked at 107 fiber treatments in 44 publications. Only 39% reduced perceived appetite, and only 22% reduced what people ate afterward. The best results came from beta-glucan (a type of soluble fiber found in oats and barley), rye and mixed high-fiber diets. My reading: fiber helps more as part of a whole, bulky food, such as beans, fruit or whole grains, than as an isolated ingredient.

Water, volume and energy density

Energy density is the number of calories per gram. Fruit and vegetables have very few because they’re mostly water. In Holt’s study, the weight of the serving was the factor most closely tied to satiety, followed by water content.

Barbara Rolls, of Penn State University, sums it up in a 2009 review: we tend to eat a fairly constant weight of food. In a trial with 18 women who ate the same weight of a dish in three versions, the densest version added up to about 1,800 kcal a day and the least dense to about 1,380, with no difference in hunger or fullness. In another trial with 42 women, a first-course salad with light dressing cut the calories of the meal by 7% (150 g, about 5 oz) or 12% (300 g, about 10.5 oz). Loaded with cheese and regular dressing, the salad raised them by 8% to 17%.

Chewing and eating slowly

A meta-analysis of 22 studies found that eating more slowly is linked to eating less at that meal, although hunger didn’t change over the following three and a half hours. A 2015 review found that chewing more reduced food intake in 10 of 16 experiments. The authors consider this preliminary and at risk of publication bias, and the first author worked for a chewing-gum manufacturer.

The form of the food: solid, puréed or liquid

In a trial with 58 adults, eating an apple before lunch cut the total calories of the meal by 15% compared with having nothing. The apple was more filling than applesauce or apple juice with the same weight and calories, and adding fiber to the juice didn’t close the gap. Chewing a whole food works in your favor.

What happens in your body when you feel full (in brief)

When you eat, your gut releases hormones that report to your brain. One of them is GLP-1: the US Wegovy label describes it as a physiological regulator of appetite and calorie intake, with receptors in several brain areas involved in appetite regulation. Another is PYY. Ghrelin, the “hunger hormone”, works the other way. Food affects them: in Hall’s 2019 trial, the diet without ultra-processed foods raised PYY and lowered ghrelin. The full physiology is in the guide on the science of satiety.

Holt’s satiety index, explained

In 1995, Susanne Holt and her team at the University of Sydney published the satiety index of common foods. Here’s how it worked:

• They tested 38 foods in six groups: fruits, bakery products, snack foods, carbohydrate-rich foods, protein-rich foods and breakfast cereals.
• Every serving had 240 kcal (1,000 kJ), whatever it weighed.
• Groups of 11 to 13 people ate each food and rated how full they felt every 15 minutes for 2 hours. Afterward, they could eat freely from a buffet.
• White bread was set at 100. A food scoring 200 was twice as filling as white bread for the same calories.

The highest score went to boiled potatoes (323) and the lowest to croissants (47). Satiety was linked to the weight of the serving, water, fiber and protein; fat and palatability (how tasty the food was) were linked to less satiety.

These are the 21 foods in our database that Holt measured. I’ve added how much 240 kcal weighs according to our data: the most filling foods tend to take up a lot of room.

Food	Holt index	kcal per 100 g (3.5 oz)	Amount for 240 kcal	Our score (1 to 5)
Boiled potato, with skin	323	87	276 g (9.7 oz)	4
Oatmeal, cooked with water	209	71	338 g (11.9 oz)	5
Orange	202	47	511 g (18.0 oz)	5
Apple, with skin	197	52	462 g (16.3 oz)	5
Whole-wheat pasta, cooked	188	149	161 g (5.7 oz)	4
Lean beef (top round)	176	124	194 g (6.8 oz)	5
Grapes	162	69	348 g (12.3 oz)	4
Whole-wheat bread	157	252	95 g (3.4 oz)	3
Popcorn, air-popped	154	387	62 g (2.2 oz)	1
Egg	150	143	168 g (5.9 oz)	5
White rice, cooked	138	130	185 g (6.5 oz)	2
Lentils, cooked	133	116	207 g (7.3 oz)	5
Brown rice, cooked	132	123	195 g (6.9 oz)	3
Pasta, cooked	119	158	152 g (5.4 oz)	2
Banana	118	89	270 g (9.5 oz)	4
Corn flakes	118	384	63 g (2.2 oz)	1
French fries	116	312	77 g (2.7 oz)	1
White bread	100	266	90 g (3.2 oz)	1
Vanilla ice cream	96	207	116 g (4.1 oz)	1
Peanuts	84	567	42 g (1.5 oz)	1
Butter croissant	47	406	59 g (2.1 oz)	1

Index: Holt et al., 1995. Calories and amounts: USDA FoodData Central, as used in our food pages (in Spanish). Beef and egg are weighed raw; everything else as eaten. The amounts are approximate: Holt’s team used its own recipes and servings.

Look at the orange: 240 kcal is 511 g (18 oz), almost three 180 g (6.3 oz) oranges. The index measures satiety per calorie, not per real-life serving.

The limits of the Holt index

• Only 38 foods. Some were generic, such as “cheese”, “yogurt” or “fish”, and don’t match any of our food pages, so I don’t assign them a value.
• 240 kcal servings, not real ones. The 59 g of croissant is close to our usual serving (60 g); 511 g of orange is not.
• Small samples: 11 to 13 people per food, with a lot of variation (potatoes scored 323 ± 51).
• Only 2 hours, with single foods rather than full meals, back in 1995.
• The link with what people ate next was weak: those who felt fuller ate somewhat less at the buffet, but not by much.

Our satiety score (1 to 5): what it is and what it isn’t

Every food page carries a satiety score from 1 to 5. It’s my estimate, not a measurement. I calculate it with a simple rule from USDA per-100 g values, using the factors that Holt and other studies link to satiety:

Criterion (per 100 g, as eaten)	Points
Starting point	1
Energy density of 80 kcal or less	+2
81 to 160 kcal	+1
161 to 300 kcal	0
301 to 500 kcal	−1
More than 500 kcal	−2
Protein: 8 g or more per 100 kcal	+2
Protein: 4 to 7.9 g per 100 kcal	+1
Fiber: 4 g or more per 100 kcal	+2
Fiber: 2 to 3.9 g per 100 kcal	+1
Solid food with 70 g of water or more	+1
Liquid (milk, juice, soda)	−1
Liquid with 8 g of sugars or more	−2

The result is capped at a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5. Of the 104 published foods, 57 score 5, 11 score 4, 9 score 3, 9 score 2 and 18 score 1.

For the 21 foods Holt measured, the two rankings agree fairly well (a rank correlation of 0.75, calculated from our data), with exceptions:

• Popcorn: 154 on Holt, 1 here. The rule looks at calories per gram, but 240 kcal of air-popped popcorn is close to 8 cups, a big bowl full of air. The rule can’t see volume.
• Boiled potatoes: 323 on Holt, 4 here. The rule rates them well, but it can’t explain why they came out on top.

When a Holt value exists, it beats ours, and I show it on each food page.

20 foods with the most protein and fiber per calorie

I ranked the 104 published foods by protein plus fiber per 100 kcal. The table shows what a typical serving provides; the serving is a reference, not a recommendation.

#	Food	Protein + fiber per 100 kcal	Typical serving	Protein	Fiber	kcal
1	Nopales (cactus paddles), cooked	22.3 g	150 g (about 1 cup)	2.0 g	3.0 g	23
2	Spinach	22.0 g	100 g (about 3 cups)	2.9 g	2.2 g	23
3	Light tuna, canned in water	22.0 g	60 g (2.1 oz)	15.3 g	0.0 g	70
4	Atlantic cod	21.7 g	150 g (5.3 oz)	26.7 g	0.0 g	123
5	Tilapia	20.9 g	150 g (5.3 oz)	30.2 g	0.0 g	144
6	Turkey breast, skinless	20.8 g	125 g (4.4 oz)	29.6 g	0.0 g	143
7	Swiss chard, cooked	19.9 g	150 g (a scant cup)	2.8 g	3.2 g	30
8	Romaine lettuce	19.6 g	80 g (about 1½ cups shredded)	1.0 g	1.7 g	14
9	Pork tenderloin	19.3 g	125 g (4.4 oz)	26.3 g	0.0 g	136
10	Chicken breast, cooked	19.2 g	100 g (3.5 oz)	29.0 g	0.0 g	151
11	Lean beef (top round)	19.0 g	125 g (4.4 oz)	29.5 g	0.0 g	155
12	Chicken breast, skinless	18.8 g	150 g (5.3 oz)	33.8 g	0.0 g	180
13	White mushrooms	18.6 g	100 g (about 1½ cups sliced)	3.1 g	1.0 g	22
14	Chicken thigh, skinless	16.3 g	120 g (4.2 oz)	23.6 g	0.0 g	145
15	Broccoli	15.9 g	150 g (about 1½ cups chopped)	4.2 g	3.9 g	51
16	Cauliflower	15.7 g	150 g (about 1½ cups chopped)	2.9 g	3.0 g	38
17	Ground beef, 95% lean	15.6 g	120 g (4.2 oz)	25.7 g	0.0 g	164
18	Cabbage	15.1 g	80 g (about 1 cup shredded)	1.0 g	2.0 g	20
19	Jack mackerel, canned	14.9 g	80 g (2.8 oz)	18.6 g	0.0 g	125
20	Jicama	14.8 g	100 g (about ¾ cup sliced)	0.7 g	4.9 g	38

Data: USDA FoodData Central, as used in our food pages (in Spanish). Meat and fish are weighed raw, except the cooked chicken breast and the drained canned fish (tuna and jack mackerel); vegetables, raw except the nopales and chard, which are cooked. Cup measures are approximate. There are more options on the lists of high-protein and high-fiber foods (in Spanish).

Vegetables lead the list per calorie, but they bring little per serving: they’re the volume on your plate. Beans and lentils just miss the top 20 (lentils come 22nd), but they are the only group that brings a lot of both. A serving of black beans adds up to 13.3 g of protein and 13.1 g of fiber.

What to choose at each meal

These aren’t menus, just combinations of foods from our database that add protein, fiber or volume. How much you eat depends on your appetite, your activity level and your health. To filter and sort all 104 foods yourself, try the filling-foods finder (in Spanish).

Breakfast

• Oatmeal with chopped apple or strawberries.
• Plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with kiwifruit or pear.
• An egg with whole-wheat toast and tomato.
• A whole orange instead of a glass of orange juice.

Lunch

• Beans or lentils as the main dish (lentils, chickpeas, white beans or black beans) with vegetables.
• A starter salad of romaine, tomato and cucumber with a light dressing.
• Chicken, lean beef or salmon with a boiled potato, whole-wheat pasta, quinoa or brown rice.

Dinner

• Cod or another fish with zucchini and green beans.
• Scrambled eggs or an omelet with spinach and mushrooms.
• Turkey with a boiled sweet potato and broccoli.

Snacks

• Whole fruit: an apple, a pear or some grapes.
• Carrot or red bell pepper sticks with a little hummus.
• Air-popped popcorn: 154 on the Holt index, well above restaurant French fries (116).
• A small handful of almonds or walnuts: they’re less filling per calorie, but they pack a lot into a small amount.

For complete meals with the math done, see 12 high-protein breakfasts for low-appetite days; for lunches, dinners and snacks, see 15 filling meals that keep you full on fewer calories.

What isn’t as filling as it looks

Liquid calories

Drinking calories fills you up less than eating them. A 2013 systematic review of 253 tests in 48 publications found that people compensated better, by eating less afterward, when what they had first was solid or semi-solid. Overeating happened mostly after liquids.

In a trial with 15 people, participants took about 450 kcal a day for 4 weeks as soda and, in another period, as jelly beans. With the jelly beans, they ate less of everything else; with the soda, they didn’t, and their weight went up only in that period. In our database, orange juice scores 1 and a whole orange scores 5.

Milk sits in between: it brings protein, but it’s a liquid.

Ultra-processed foods

In a 2019 NIH trial, 20 adults lived on a research ward for four weeks: two on an ultra-processed diet and two on a diet without ultra-processed foods. The meals on offer were matched for calories, sugars, sodium, fiber and macronutrients, and participants could eat as much as they wanted. On the ultra-processed diet, they ate about 508 kcal more a day, and ate faster, without rating those meals as more pleasant or feeling hungrier. The trial is small and short, but it fits with Holt: the croissant (47), ice cream (96) and corn flakes (118) sit near the bottom.

Not everything healthy is filling, either: olive oil has 884 kcal per 100 g, and the nuts in our database have between 560 and 654. They have a place on your plate, but not the job of filling you up.

Satiety and GLP-1 medications

If you take semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro), satiety plays a different role. According to the US Wegovy label, semaglutide decreases calorie intake, most likely by acting on appetite. On these drugs, the challenge usually isn’t feeling full, but making sure the little you eat gives you what you need.

That’s why what each serving provides matters more than how much it fills you. Lentils, Greek yogurt or a fish fillet do both; a huge plate of vegetables can take up what little room you have. I go through it phase by phase, including what to eat when you’re nauseous, in what to eat on GLP-1 medications. The filling-foods finder (in Spanish) can sort foods by protein per serving. No food replaces treatment, and decisions about medication belong to you and your doctor.

Satiety for eating well, not for eating as little as possible

Choosing filling foods is about eating with less stress, getting to your next meal without ravenous hunger, and making sure your plate gives you what you need. It isn’t about eating as little as possible: filling up on water and vegetables so you don’t eat anything else isn’t healthy.

If food makes you anxious, if you skip meals to make up for eating, or if hunger frightens you, talk to a health professional. MedlinePlus, from the US National Library of Medicine, points out that eating disorders are serious mental health conditions, not a lifestyle choice, and that there are treatments that can help.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most filling food?

On the Holt index, boiled potatoes (323), more than three times the score of white bread. That’s satiety per calorie, in 240 kcal servings, over 2 hours.

Which fruit is the most filling?

Of the fruits Holt measured, oranges (202) and apples (197), followed by grapes (162) and bananas (118). Whole fruit fills you up more than applesauce or juice.

Are nuts filling?

Per calorie, not very: peanuts scored 84 on the Holt index, below white bread. Per serving, a 25 g handful of almonds (about 20 nuts, 0.9 oz) brings 5.3 g of protein and 3.1 g of fiber for 145 kcal. They’re a good addition, not the base for filling up.

Is there a natural appetite suppressant?

The foods in this guide are the option with the most data behind them. I don’t review or recommend supplements or “appetite suppressant” products; if you’re considering one, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Is whole-wheat bread more filling than white?

On the Holt index, whole-wheat bread scored 157 and white bread 100. The same goes for pasta: 188 for whole-wheat and 119 for white. Brown rice, on the other hand, didn’t beat white rice (132 vs. 138).

Do filling foods help with weight management?

They help you manage your appetite: in Rolls’s trials, lowering energy density cut calories without more hunger. But almost all these studies last hours or a few weeks, and weight depends on many more factors. For a personal plan, the right person is a registered dietitian.