The best plant-based protein sources aren’t some exotic shopping list — they’re mostly tins, pulses and staples you can pick up in any UK supermarket, and getting enough is far easier than the “where do you get your protein?” crowd would have you believe. This is a grouped reference list of the best vegan protein sources, with approximate protein per serving and a quick note on each, so you can mix and match without overthinking it.

Whether you’re fully vegan or a vegetarian topping up around eggs and dairy, the same principle holds: spread a bit of protein across every meal and the daily total takes care of itself.

How much plant protein you actually need

Most adults do well aiming for roughly 0.8 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, nudging higher if you’re training hard or trying to hold onto muscle in a calorie deficit. For a 70kg person, that’s somewhere between 56 and 84 grams a day.

The thing people miss is that plant foods stack up fast once you stop relying on a single “protein item” per meal. A bowl of lentil dhal, a slice of seeded toast and a handful of almonds can quietly deliver 30+ grams before you’ve even thought about it. The job isn’t finding one perfect food — it’s building a few protein-dense habits.

A quick word on completeness. A “complete” protein contains all nine essential amino acids in useful amounts. Animal foods tend to be complete; many plant foods are a little lower in one or two amino acids (grains are typically low in lysine, most legumes are low in methionine). This is where the old advice to carefully combine proteins at every meal comes from — and it’s largely outdated. Your body maintains an amino acid pool across the day, so as long as you eat a variety of plant proteins across the day, completeness sorts itself out. Soya, quinoa, buckwheat and hemp are complete on their own anyway. More on this in How to Get Enough Protein on a Plant-Based Diet.

Legumes and pulses

The backbone of plant-based eating — cheap, filling and packed with fibre alongside the protein.

• Lentils (red, green, puy) — around 18g per cooked 200g serving. The workhorse of vegan protein; brilliant in dhals, soups and bolognese-style sauces.
• Chickpeas — about 15g per 240g tin (drained). Roast them, blend into hummus, or chuck them into a curry or salad.
• Black beans / kidney beans — roughly 15g per 240g tin. Great in chilli, burritos and bean burgers.
• Baked beans — a genuinely underrated 10g per half a tin, and already in most UK cupboards. Watch the sugar and salt, but it counts.
• Peas — around 8g per 150g serving. Frozen peas are one of the easiest protein top-ups going.

Quick note: pulses bring serious satiety because of the fibre, which is why bean-heavy meals keep you full for hours.

Soya: tofu, tempeh and edamame

Soya is the heavyweight here — it’s a complete protein and the most efficient way to push your plant protein high.

• Tofu (firm) — about 17g per 150g block portion. Press it, season it well, and it’ll take on any flavour. Silken tofu is lower but blends into creamy sauces and smoothies.
• Tempeh — around 20g per 100g. Fermented, nuttier and denser than tofu, with a firmer bite that holds up to grilling.
• Edamame — roughly 11g per 100g. Steamed young soya beans; a perfect high-protein snack with a bit of salt.
• Soya mince / soya chunks (TVP) — about 12–13g per 50g dry. Cheap, shelf-stable and ideal for swapping into mince-based dishes.

If you only adopt one new habit, making soya a regular feature is the single biggest lever for plant protein.

Seitan

Made from wheat gluten, seitan is the most protein-dense plant option by weight and has a genuinely meaty, chewy texture.

• Seitan — around 21–25g per 100g, depending on the brand or recipe.

The catch: it’s low in lysine, so don’t make it your only protein — pair it across the day with legumes and you’ve covered the gap. Obviously off-limits if you’re coeliac or avoiding gluten.

Grains (including quinoa)

Grains are usually thought of as carbs, but they pull real weight on protein, especially across a day’s worth of meals.

• Quinoa — about 8g per cooked 185g cup, and it’s a complete protein, which makes it stand out among grains.
• Buckwheat — roughly 6g per cooked serving and also complete; great as porridge or in soba noodles.
• Oats — around 5g per 40g dry serving. Porridge with milk alternative, seeds and nut butter becomes a surprisingly protein-rich breakfast.
• Wholemeal bread / wholewheat pasta — about 5g per slice and 13g per 100g dry pasta respectively. The everyday background protein that adds up.

Nuts and seeds

Calorie-dense, so portion sensibly — but they’re an easy, no-cook way to top up protein and healthy fats.

• Hemp seeds — about 10g per 30g, and a complete protein. Sprinkle on porridge, salads or smoothies.
• Pumpkin seeds — around 9g per 30g. Brilliant as a crunchy salad or yoghurt topper.
• Peanut butter — roughly 7–8g per 2 tablespoons. Technically a legume, but it lives with the nuts in most kitchens.
• Almonds — about 6g per 30g handful.
• Chia seeds — around 5g per 30g, plus they thicken into a pudding with plant milk overnight.

Plant-based dairy and meat alternatives

Convenience options that make hitting your target far easier on busy days — quality varies, so read the labels.

• Soya milk — about 7–8g per 250ml, comfortably the highest-protein milk alternative (oat and almond milks are usually 1–3g, so soya wins if protein is the goal).
• Soya / pea-protein yoghurt — roughly 6–10g per pot, depending on brand.
• Pea-protein “mince” and burgers — typically 15–20g per serving; check that protein content rather than assuming.
• Vegan protein powder (pea, soya or blends) — around 20–25g per scoop, the simplest way to close a gap after training or in a smoothie.

A label tip: many “veggie” products lean on breadcrumbs and oil rather than actual protein, so the protein-per-100g figure is the number worth checking.

Putting it together day to day

Here’s how painless a high-protein plant-based day looks in practice: porridge made with soya milk, hemp seeds and peanut butter (~20g) for breakfast, a lentil and chickpea soup with seeded bread (~25g) for lunch, and a tofu stir-fry with edamame and quinoa (~30g) for dinner. That’s roughly 75 grams without a single supplement — and three snacks haven’t even been counted.

The honest challenge isn’t sourcing the protein, it’s knowing you’ve actually hit your number, because plant protein is spread across so many foods rather than sitting in one obvious chunk on the plate. This is exactly where logging helps: with Nutrify you photo-log your plant meals and it estimates the calories, macros and protein automatically — so you can see your daily total building and spot whether you’re genuinely low or just assuming you are. Pair that with a planning resource like High Protein Vegetarian Meals and the guesswork disappears.

A light note: this is general guidance, not personalised dietary or medical advice. If you have specific health conditions, are pregnant, or are making big changes to your diet, it’s worth checking in with a registered dietitian or your GP — and vegans in particular should plan for vitamin B12, which isn’t reliably found in plant foods.

Frequently asked questions

What has the most protein in a plant-based diet? By weight, seitan (around 21–25g per 100g) and tempeh (around 20g per 100g) top the list, with tofu and soya-based products close behind. For everyday volume and value, lentils and other pulses deliver the most protein per pound spent.

Do you need to combine proteins at every meal? No. The idea that you must pair specific foods within a single meal is outdated. Your body keeps an amino acid pool throughout the day, so eating a variety of plant proteins across the day is all you need to get the full range of essential amino acids.

Is plant protein as good as animal protein? For building and maintaining muscle, yes — provided you eat enough total protein and enough variety. Some plant proteins are slightly lower in individual amino acids or marginally less digestible, but eating a bit more overall and including complete sources like soya and quinoa closes any gap comfortably.

Can you build muscle on a vegan diet? Absolutely. Plenty of strength and endurance athletes do. The keys are hitting your total daily protein (lean towards the higher end, around 1.6–2.2g per kg if training hard), spreading it across meals, and leaning on dense sources like tofu, tempeh, seitan and a protein powder if convenient.

Are nuts and seeds a good main protein source? They’re a great top-up rather than a main source — they’re calorie-dense, so relying on them for most of your protein adds up quickly. Use them to add 5–10g here and there alongside legumes and soya.

The bottom line

Getting enough protein on a plant-based diet is genuinely straightforward once you build a few dense habits around legumes, soya, seitan, quinoa and a scattering of nuts and seeds — and forget the myth that every meal needs carefully combined proteins. Eat a variety across the day and you’ll hit your target without much thought. If you want certainty rather than guesswork, Nutrify lets you photo-log your meals to track protein and variety as it adds up.