10 World’s Best Protein Sources Ranked Low to High (No Meat or Dairy)

Today we're going to reveal 10 of the world's best veg protein sources and rank them from a source which has 7 grams of protein all the way to a source with 27 grams of protein, all in just one serving. Starting at number 10 is bhuna chana or roasted brown chickpeas. This small katori will give you 7 grams of protein and costs just ₹6. Did you know Indian wrestlers, our pahelwans, have had bhuna chana for centuries? It was their go-to energy boost long before protein powder even existed. You can eat it directly as a snack or enjoy it in the form of a mid-meal chaat by mixing it with chopped cucumber, tomato, and capsicum and a creamy dressing or chutney. Coming in at number 9 is a food that's so One of the best protein-rich nuts is so affordable, it's often nicknamed as the poor man's almond. If you haven't already guessed, I'm talking about peanuts.

Moongphali.

Just one handful gives you about 8 grams of protein and would cost just ₹8. While all nuts have some amounts of protein, peanuts are amongst the highest. You can eat them straight as a snack, in a mid-meal, or roast and crush them over your poha, upma, or chaat, or even have it in the form of peanut butter and top it on fruits or blend it into your smoothie. Harsh and I love having it just added over a banana. It's so delicious. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter will also give you 8 grams of protein. Moving to number 8 is a food I think all Indian mothers love— green peas or mutton. 1 cup of cooked peas also gives you 8 grams of protein. You can eat it as a sabzi with chapati, mix it into khichdi, stuff it inside rotis, Or add it to rice or millets to make a pulao. This is what my mom does knowing how much I love it every time I visit her in Delhi. Also, what I find fascinating is that if you just blend a cup of cooked peas with water, coconut milk, fresh mint, ginger, lemon, salt, and pepper, you'll have a creamy protein-rich pea mint soup ready to enjoy. Alright, now before we proceed, we need to clear one big misconception that protein is only for big muscles. That's actually the smallest thing protein does inside your body. It has 3 far more important roles. First, protein is basically your body's building material. Think of your body as a house. Protein is basically the bricks. Your organs, your nails, your hair are all built from it. Remove it, and over time, the structure begins to weaken. Second, protein enables your everyday function. It strengthens the functional muscles that are attached to your skeleton. When they are strong, you move through the world with ease. You out of a car without effort, climb stairs without holding the railing, carry groceries without your arms shaking. And third, protein determines how well you age. Did you know that after the age of 30, your muscle mass naturally begins to decline? After 60, that muscle loss becomes even more rapid. You can't stop this, but you can drastically slow it down by eating enough protein while also strength training. So how much protein do you actually need each day? And currently, are you even meeting that mark? We'll get to that very soon. But first, let's see what's at rank number 7. Sprouts. Now you may already be growing moong sprouts at home, which are fantastic. But there are 3 other varieties that pack nearly double the protein of moong and almost nobody is talking about. These are black chana, masoor, and kulthi sprouts. Kulthi is also known as horse gram. Do you know that kulthi is so high in protein that it was traditionally fed to horses before a race for high energy? That's literally how it got the name horse gram. All 3 of these sprouts give you approx 9 grams of protein in just 100 grams, which is about this katori. But wait! Who has the time to make sprouts? It's such a hassle. Actually, that's not true. Sprouting is very simple, just 3 steps. First, soak your legume overnight. Second, wrap them in a cotton cloth in the morning, place them in a bowl and cover. And third, rinse once a day to keep them slightly damp. That's it. In 24 to 48 hours, you'll see tiny tails emerging. And that's your sprout. You can lightly steam them, add lemon and salt, and eat them with any meal.

But I already eat chana and masoor as dal. That doesn't count?

It absolutely does. Cooked dals are also fantastic sources of protein, giving you about 8 grams in a bowl. Sprouting just makes them lighter to digest and slightly more bioavailable, meaning your body can absorb the nutrients from them a bit more effectively. When we get to rank number 5, I'll also share with you another way to eat lentils that most people have never even heard of. And once you see it, you'll never look at dal the same way again. But first, let's see what's at rank 6. It's a food so powerful that farmers in Bihar and UP have been carrying it to their fields for generations, mixing it with water and chugging it down before full days of extremely hard physical labour. This was probably India's original protein shake, decades before industries decided to put protein in a kulfi. Well, this is a drink of sattu, which is nothing but roasted chana ground into a flour. One glass of sattu drink gives you 12 grams of protein and costs less than ₹8 to make. To make it, just blend half a cup of sattu with 1 cup of cold water, lemon, Cumin, black salt, a bit of green chilli, and top with some fresh coriander and mint. It even tastes great. Before we move to the next, and I feel the most surprising food in this video, we must discuss probably one of the most controversial questions when it comes to protein. Okay, so green peas, 8 grams of protein, sprouts 9, sattu 12. But I still don't get it. How much total protein do I need in a day? Well, the World Health Organization says you need about 0.8 grams of protein per kg of your body weight. But that's just the bare minimum so that your body doesn't start losing muscle. For most people living fairly sedentary lives, a more ideal number is 1 gram protein per kilogram of body weight per day. So for example, So if you weigh 55 kilos, aim for roughly 55 grams of protein in one day. That's it, no calculator needed. But for people who are training hard, let's say lifting heavy weights, doing CrossFit, intense gym sessions, your muscles are going through a lot of wear and tear. In this case, you need more building material, so the requirement goes up to around 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kg of your body weight per day. So for example, a 75 kilo person training seriously will need, on the higher side, 120 grams of protein. Now, can you really get 55 or even 120 grams of protein in a day without touching animal-based foods? And are plant proteins really incomplete proteins, or is that the biggest myth of all? We'll get to that very soon, but first, let's see what's at rank number 5. How many of you have grown up eating this masoor, but almost always in one form dal? But what if I told you the same humble lentil can turn into this soft, sliceable red lentil tofu, which you can use as paneer? And one serving of it gives you 13 grams of protein and costs just ₹7. When I first made this, I was shocked. It took barely 10 minutes in the kitchen, needed no fancy equipment, no chemistry, just 2 really simple ingredients— red lentils and water. To make it, soak half a cup of red lentils overnight. Next morning, drain out the water and blend the soaked lentils with 1 cup of fresh water until smooth. Then cook this mixture on medium heat, stirring it continuously until it thickens into Into a paste like this. Add a pinch of salt, pour it into a container, and refrigerate for an hour to set. And suddenly you have this beautiful block of red lentil tofu, which you can cut into cubes. This entire block contains 26 grams of protein, which means if you eat about half of it in a meal, that's 13 grams of protein right there. Now, the first time I tasted this. Plain, quite honestly, I did not like it. It tasted a bit weird, to be honest. And then I realized you're not supposed to have it as it is. You have to cook it, marinate it like a paneer tikka, add it to a gravy, toss it into a sabzi, and suddenly this red lentil tofu becomes one of the tastiest things in your day. You can also make this tofu with the masoor with the skin on, and even with whole. मूंग, it turns out just as good. I'm also very excited to tell you about another block which gives you almost double the protein as red lentil tofu coming in at number one, and no, it's not got even a drop of cow's milk. But before that, I quickly want to share that we've uploaded quite a few recipes using this red lentil tofu on the Satvik app, and not just that, here you'll also find many other delicious recipes of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, soups, salads, guilt-free desserts, all free of cost. Simply select what you want to make. You can even see the reviews that others have left for that dish. Keep your phone on the counter, follow the step-by-step instructions, and by the end you'll have a delicious dish ready on your plate. Over 3 lakh people have already downloaded the app. Moving to rank number 4 is something Most Indian homes have been eating for generations. Besan ka chilla. Two chillas give you sixteen grams of protein. That's more than a two egg omelette. Wait, pause. Let that sink in because the next time your friend, your family member, your gym trainer tells you that you need to eat meat or dairy to get enough protein, you can show them this. To make one chilla, take about forty grams of besan, which is slightly less than a cup. This contains 8 grams of protein. Add whatever vegetables you have at home along with a little salt, cumin, turmeric, and water. Mix, pour it on the pan, and that's it. You can enjoy these for any meal. You can even make them colorful. Blend some spinach into the batter and suddenly you've got a green cheela. Grate some beetroot and your breakfast turns bright pink. The price? Each chilla costs around ₹12. If you want variety, you can also make chillas from moong dal. They give you about the same amount of protein.

But wait, I have heard that plants are incomplete proteins and they miss some essential amino acids.

This is not a problem because the amino acid that one plant lacks, another plant is full of. And the moment you eat them together, They complete each other. Take a simple example of rice. Rice is slightly low in an amino acid called lysine. If you eat rice every day for three months, you'll get lysine deficiency. But nobody on earth does that. We eat rice with dal, and dal is rich in lysine. So the moment you combine dal and rice, the amino acids complement each other, and suddenly you have a complete protein. Moving to number 3 is a food that's been wildly misunderstood, but nutritionally it's one of the strongest plant proteins on Earth. It's also one that contains all 9 essential amino acids on its own. Well, I'm talking about soy, which can be consumed in 3 delicious forms, each of which gives you roughly 17 grams of protein in a serving. First is tofu. Brands like HealthOnPro, Plants, Moose, Mother Nature, and Urban Platter have relatively clean quality tofu that you can order. Interestingly, tofu is priced roughly the same as dairy paneer. But if you have the ability, make tofu at home. It's also pretty simple. In fact, the didi who helps us in the kitchen has become so trained now that she makes amazing quality tofu for us every week. We've also shared the full step-by-step process of how to make Soy tofu on the Satvik app. Tofu absorbs flavour like a sponge, so you can stir fry it with vegetables, add it to salads, crumble it into wraps, or cook it just like paneer. Second, tempeh. Tempeh is basically fermented soy and comes with a slightly nutty, almost like an earthy flavour. Currently, there's just one brand in India selling a clean version of it, which is called Hello Tempeh. Just slice it. Pan fry it for a few minutes and it becomes a wonderful side dish that you can add to your meals. And lastly, you can even enjoy soybeans as whole. Just cook them exactly how you would cook like your chola or rajma. 100 grams of firm tofu, tempeh, or cooked soybeans gives you round about 17 grams of protein. All right, now before we move to rank number 2, I just want to say that our team works for over 2 months straight, you know, on the research, trials, shooting, editing of every YouTube video that you watch. And this time they have decided that if this video crosses 2 million views, we'll make a part 2 where we go undercover and investigate one of the biggest protein industries in the world— the egg industry. So subscribe to Satvic Movement if you don't want to Coming to number 2 is something we've received hundreds of questions about. It is plant-based protein powder. One scoop of this typically gives you around 24 grams of protein. Now, before I tell you the cleanest ones available in the market, you must ask yourself whether you surely even need this. If you are easily meeting your protein needs through whole foods, then why bother? Foods like the ones we've covered today, you absolutely don't need this. But if you're struggling to meet your protein requirements through whole foods alone, especially if you're doing strength training, let's say, then a plant protein powder can help you. To be honest, in the beginning of my health journey, I was completely against any protein powders because most of them on the supermarket shelves are loaded with sugar, artificial flavors, and really nasty things. But as I went deeper into this subject, I realized that there are a few brands doing honest work in this space. Just to be clear, none of them are sponsored. We at Satvic Movement don't make a single rupee recommending these to you. These are Cosmix Plant Protein, True Basics Clean Plant Protein, The Whole Truth Plant Protein, Origin Nutrition Plant Protein. If you do decide to try one, use it for a week or two and observe how your body responds, because everyone digests protein powders differently. Each scoop on average costs around ₹85, making this the most expensive source of protein on this list. But as I shared, not everyone needs it.

But one chicken breast gives you almost double the protein of this powder. Wouldn't it be easier to just eat meat?

Sure, if protein was the only thing that mattered. But food is never just about protein. Animal flesh brings protein, yes, but along with saturated fat, cholesterol, and the biological stress that the animal experienced before slaughter. The tension, the fear, the terror, the stress hormones, all of which unknowingly enter our human system when we consume Whole plant foods, on the other hand, are completely different. They also bring protein, but they arrive with fiber, minerals, and protective nutrients that actually help your body heal. Which is why large population studies consistently show that people who replace animal protein with plant protein have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers. So yes, A plant-based diet does require more careful planning, but in the long run, it's a far healthier and more compassionate way to nourish your human body. All right, are you ready for the number 1 plant protein source on this list that gives you 27 grams in just one serving? Just like soy, this is one that contains all the essential amino acids and hence is a complete protein. Well, this is something nobody expects. Watermelon seed paneer. Watermelon seed paneer? Yes, paneer made entirely from seeds. But why not just regular dairy paneer? Well, if you're still asking this question, it means that you haven't watched this video where Harsh and I went inside the dairy industry of India with hidden cameras to see what really lies behind the dairy we consume. What we saw were probably The most painful, heart-shattering things we have ever witnessed. That's why we make paneer with seeds, and it gives you the same amount of protein as dairy paneer. Plus, it's much cleaner because it doesn't contain the artificial growth hormones and antibiotics that cow milk paneer does. And the taste? Take my promise that if you serve it to someone without telling them, they will not even realize It isn't made of dairy. Watermelon seed? What? Oh my God! Here's how simple it is to make. Take 2 cups of watermelon seeds, also called magaj. Soak them for about 6 hours, then blend them with 4 cups of fresh water until completely smooth. Strain it and you'll get a rich watermelon seed milk like this. Now heat that milk in a pan and something magical happens. It begins to to curdle. The solids separate. Then strain it through a cloth, remove the excess water inside, flatten the residue, and place something heavy on top to press it firm. 30 minutes later, you'll be left with a block of protein-packed plant-based paneer, which contains about 80 grams of protein. Assuming that you'll eat about a third of this block in one serving, that's 27 grams of protein. Oh, Also, you can make this exact same paneer with pumpkin seeds too. Same measurements, same process. Once ready, you can use this in every paneer dish that you already love. All right, now that we've learned the 10 sources, what do you think? Is it really possible to get your needed amount of protein, be it 55 grams or 120 grams a day, without animal-based foods? Well, let's see. Meet Minnie, our Satvic team member. Her daily protein requirement is about 55 grams. Can we make it happen? Well, if she starts her day with the morning smoothie— bananas, coconut milk, and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter— that's 12 grams of protein for breakfast. Mid-morning, she grabs 2 handfuls of roasted chana— that's another 6 grams. For lunch, she eats 1 bowl of cooked peas, 2 chapatis, and a big bowl of veggies. That's 18 grams of protein. In the evening, she snacks on a handful of roasted peanuts. That's 8 grams. And for dinner, she enjoys a warm vegetable soup with 100 grams of tofu stir-fry on the side. That adds another 17 grams. If you add it all up, she's got 61 grams of protein in the day. She didn't just meet her goal, she comfortably exceeded it. With regular, everyday food, no supplements, no complicated products. It honestly really puzzles me why people suddenly become nutritionists and start asking, but where will you get your protein? The moment you say that you're on a plant-based diet. Now let's look at Skanda, another Satvic team member. He weighs 75 kgs and does heavy weight training every day. So as we had seen earlier, he needs 120 grams of protein in a day on the higher side. That sounds like a lot. How do we meet it? Let's see. He starts his morning with one scoop of protein powder blended with water. That's 24 grams of protein. For breakfast, he has two besan chillas along with a side of steamed sprouts. That's 25 grams. Mid-morning, he snacks on two small sesame peanut ladoos, adding another eight grams. For lunch, he has one katori of dal, three chapatis, a big bowl of veggies, and half a serving of seed paneer. on the side, that's 33 grams. In the evening, he drinks a glass of sattu, another 12 grams. And for dinner, he has a red lentil tofu stir-fry with millets on the side, giving him 19 grams more. If you add that all up, it brings his total to 121 grams of protein for the day. And we have met the protein need even for someone doing intense weightlifting, just through plant-powered foods. That's all from my side. I will see you in the next video.

Bye!