Best foods for high protein

Protein does the structural work in the body: it builds and repairs muscle, forms enzymes and antibodies, and tends to keep you fuller than the same calories of carbohydrate or fat. This page ranks the 497 foods in our database that qualify as high protein, ordered by our Nutrient Density Score, a 1 to 100 measure of how much nutrition a food delivers per calorie rather than per serving.

Because the score is calculated per calorie, dried herbs and spices dominate the top of the list. Dried basil scores 99 with 23 g of protein per 100 g, and dried spearmint and paprika sit just behind. They are genuinely protein-dense on paper, but you use them by the teaspoon, so they season a dish far more than they feed it.

For protein you can actually build a meal around, look to whole-food entries like raw pork liver, which pairs 21.4 g of protein per 100 g with a score of 98 and a realistic serving size. Read the ranking as two lists in one: concentrated seasonings at the very top, and substantial protein sources just below. This is a data reference, not dietary advice, and individual protein needs vary with body size, activity, and health.