Vegan Recipes with More Protein than Chicken
Can you and your kids really get enough protein on a vegan diet? I guarantee that if you start to think about going vegan, someone, somewhere is going to ask you about protein.
So, the short answer to the protein on a vegan diet question is, yes, you can easily get enough protein on a vegan diet.
But, just for fun, I thought I’d find some vegan foods that have more protein than a piece of chicken. Just to show you that there’s plenty of protein in vegan foods.
I had planned on doing my comparisons to a chicken breast, but when I entered a medium chicken breast into Foodworks to check how much protein it has, I found that a chicken breast has 55g of protein. That is a ridiculously huge amount of protein for kids, and more than double what the average 6 year old actually needs. Plus I don’t think many kids actually eat chicken breast….
So I decided to use a chicken thigh, and 6 chicken nuggets.
| Type of Chicken | Protein |
| Chicken Breast (medium) | 55g |
| Chicken Thigh (small) | 28g |
| 6 Chicken Nuggets | 15g |
How Much Protein Do Kids Actually Need?
So before we look at protein in vegan foods, how much protein do kids actually need? I bet you’ll be surprised to see that it really isn’t that much!
| Age | Protein per Day |
| 1 – 3 years | 14g |
| 4 – 8 years | 20g |
| Boys | |
| 9 – 13 years | 40g |
| 14 – 18 years | 65g |
| Girls | |
| 9 – 13 years | 35g |
| 14 – 18 years | 45g |
So, while protein is essential for growing kids, they certainly don’t need as much as some people would make you believe.
If you’re looking for more information on protein for kids, check out my post Can Kids Get Enough Protein on a Vegan Diet.
Vegan Recipes with More Protein than a Piece of Chicken
First up I’ve got a family favourite recipe. We have this at least once a week. Coming in at 28g of protein per serve, my Lentil Bolognese recipe has the same amount of protein as a chicken thigh, and way more than 6 nuggets.
Next is my personal favourite, my Vegan Lasagne recipe. One serve gives you 33g of protein, and I know which one I’d prefer to be eating!
If you’re really looking for a protein hit, my Glazed Seitan Roast recipe has a whopping 45g protein per serve. If you aren’t gluten intolerant, then seitan is a great vegan meat replacement.
Vegan Foods with More Protein than Chicken
It’s all well and good to have recipes that have more protein than chicken, but what about individual foods? After all, chicken is just a single ingredient.
Well, sadly for my fun experiment, I didn’t actually find many vegan foods with more protein than a piece of chicken. But I’m not that worried, to be honest, because chicken has a LOT of protein in it. Far more than we actually need (especially when you consider that it’s only one food we’ll eat in a whole day).
Having said that, while not many foods have more protein than chicken, there are a lot of vegan foods that still pack a considerable protein punch. I’ve listed them in the table below with the amount of protein in 112g (the same weight as a chicken thigh).
| Food | Protein |
| Pea Protein | 87g |
| Pumpkin Seeds | 34g |
| Chicken Thigh | 28g |
| Seitan | 27g |
| Peanut Butter | 25g |
| Sesame Seeds | 25g |
| Cashew Nuts | 19g |
| Tofu | 13g |
| Chickpeas | 7g |
| Green Peas | 5g |
So while there aren’t a lot of vegan foods with more protein than chicken, there are still a lot of vegan options with plenty of protein to keep your kids healthy and strong.
