Calories in Common Sources of Protein

Calories in One Gram of Protein: How Major Sources Compare

by 6

If dropping pounds is your plan, then you no doubt have calories on the brain. Check out the chart below to find out which sources of protein contain the fewest calories. It might be just the tidbit of info to help shave calories off your meals so you reach your goal weight faster.



Source of Protein Calories per gram of protein
Ground beef 6.5
Chicken breast 4.2
Roasted turkey 4.5
Salmon 9.3
Tilapia 4.9
Ham 10
Bacon 14.8
Skim milk 10.5
Two percent milk 15.1
Plain soymilk 14.3

Keep on reading to see the calorie count for other common sources of protein.


Source of Protein Calories per gram of protein
Cheddar Cheese 26.4
Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt 18.5
Vanilla Greek Yogurt 7.5
Extra firm tofu 9.2
Tempeh 11.3
Seitan 5
Long grain brown rice 43.2
Quinoa 28.2
Kidney beans 12.5
Garbanzo beans 18.6
Whole Egg 11.8
Egg whites 4.7
Peanut butter 26.3
Almonds 23.3

Source: Thinkstock
NutritionCaloriesProteinWeight LossHealthy Living

6 Comments

Giasbash6260 Giasbash6260
MY FAVORITE SOURCE OF PROTEIN = SALMON! Oh my oh my, I love that fish more than... ah ha ha.
yogarunlive yogarunlive
@lilxmissxmolly - I completely agree! I'm always looking for the most "protein bang for my calorie buck" but if I didn't know about nutrition I would be confused. Side note - I've found a store brand of Greek yogurt that has 16 grams of protein and is only 110 calories!
lilxmissxmolly lilxmissxmolly
I agree with the commenters above. A gram of protein has 4 calories, a gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories, and a gram of fat has 9 calories. ALWAYS. I get that your point was foods with the most protein bang for calorie buck, but it could be really confusing for people just learning about nutrition.
Jenny Sugar Jenny Sugar
Knowing how protein sources compare calorically is really helpful for people trying to lose weight. I used to eat regular yogurt until I realized that Greek yogurt contains over twice the amount of protein for the same amount of calories. Unfortunately it boils down to simple math when trying to lose weight, and it helps to knows how to get the protein you need without going overboard on calories.
Runnergirl13 Runnergirl13
This is totally misleading and going to confuse a ton of people. It's great to break down a protein source, but please label it as such. Posts like this are a big chunk of why people spiral into eating disorders - it's misleading and makes you think about waaaaay too much instead of just fueling your body with what it needs and a good balance of nutrients.
graduatedsqueaks graduatedsqueaks
It's a bit misleading to label it as "gram of protein". One gram of actual protein always has 4 calories. But I'm guessing you mean 1 gram of protein-source (or eating enough of a protein source to get 1 gram of protein) has a certain number of calories. Which really means, some protein sources have fat in them (1 gram of fat is 9 calories) or carbohydrates (1 gram of carbs is 4 calories).
Make Yourself With the Nike Training Club App
Make Yourself With the Nike Training Club App
Homemade Whole Wheat Cracker Recipe
A Reader Recipe: Whole Wheat Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers