How Much Protein Do You Really Need? A visual guide for every type of eater

Whether you prefer meat, tofu or another source, protein is an important part of a balanced diet. It’s what helps your body perform its most essential tasks, like regulating hormones and building muscle.

For many of us it is around 100 grams of protein is a good daily goal. However, your health and activity largely determine how much you need, so it is best to consult a dietitian or doctor about your specific needs. There is one calculator available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website to get the minimum amount protein needed to meet basic nutritional needs.

To make meeting your protein goals easy, this visual guide puts 100 grams of protein into perspective for a vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous diet.

The grams were calculated by taking the information from the nutrition label on packaged items and weighing them if necessary. The grams listed in this manual are specific to the products used for this experiment. So your numbers may vary if you look at a different brand for the following products.

What 100 grams of protein looks like for omnivores

Eating 100 grams of protein per day should be quite easy if you have no dietary restrictions. Here’s one way to do it:

• Two eggs (12 grams)
• Snack cheese (5 grams)
• Greek yogurt (15 grams)
• Beef sausage (14 grams)
• One can of tuna (27 grams)
• ½ cup oatmeal (5 grams)
• 2 ounces deli ham (10 grams)
• 1 ounce mixed nuts (5 grams)
• Two slices of rye bread (10 grams)

Everything pictured above comes to 103 grams, which puts you slightly above the 100 gram target.

What 100 grams of animal protein looks like

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to get 100 grams of protein from animal products:

• Four eggs (24 grams)
• One can of tuna (27 grams)
• Three beef meatballs (15 grams)
• 2 ounces turkey bacon (10 grams)
• 3 ounces turkey fillet (24 grams)

This amounts to a perfect 100 grams of protein. If you ate all of this in one day, plus bread and other non-animal products, you would easily exceed 100 grams of protein per day.

What 100 grams of protein looks like for vegetarians

For vegetarians, 100 grams of protein might look like this:

• Four eggs (24 grams)
• ½ cup oatmeal (5 grams)
• Two snack cheeses (10 grams)
• ¼ cup protein granola (10 grams)
  
• A portion of Greek yogurt (15 grams)
• One tablespoon of hemp seeds (4 grams)
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter (7 grams)
• One scoop of vegetable protein powder (20 grams)

This actually amounts to 99 grams of protein, which is pretty close and still a great number for the day.

What 100 grams of protein looks like for vegans

What you see isn’t quite what you get with the amount of protein here:

• 1 ounce of nuts (5 grams)
• ½ cup oatmeal (5 grams)
• A protein granola bar (8 grams)
• Two slices of rye bread (10 grams)
• ¼ cup protein granola (10 grams)
• One tablespoon of hemp seeds (4 grams)
• Two tablespoons of chia seeds (10 grams)
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter (7 grams)
• One scoop of vegetable protein powder (20 grams)

This amounts to 79 grams of protein. If we double the mixed nuts, chia seeds and hemp seeds, we get 93 grams of protein. You can add an extra tablespoon of peanut butter or eat a full cup of oats, instead of half a cup, to get closer to 100 grams.

This board also excludes high-protein vegan meat substitutes such as tofu, tempeh, or plant-based meats like the Impossible burger. These food sources can make it easier to get 100 grams of protein for someone who has a vegan diet.