The 20 highest-protein veggies, and which one has the most

Edamame has the most protein of any vegetable you are likely to find in a supermarket: about 18 g in a cup of cooked, shelled beans. Strictly, edamame is a legume (young soybeans picked green), and so are the next three on most lists of high-protein vegetables: lentils, lima beans and green peas. Among green vegetables in the everyday sense, cooked spinach and collard greens lead, at about 5 g a cup.

That short answer also explains why lists of the 20 highest-protein veggies disagree so much. Some count legumes and some leave them out. Some measure a cup raw, some a cup cooked, some per 100 calories. Below is one table with one consistent method, followed by what the numbers mean once they are on a plate.

How the table works

All figures are approximate, rounded from typical USDA values for vegetables cooked without salt, boiled unless the row says baked. Cooking matters more than people expect. A cup of raw spinach weighs about 1 oz (30 g); a cup of cooked spinach weighs about 6 oz (180 g), because the leaves collapse. Measuring cooked is closer to what actually ends up on your fork.

The Type column marks legumes clearly. They are the seeds or pods of plants in the pea family, and nutritionally they sit somewhere between a vegetable and a bean. Variety, growing conditions and cooking time all shift the numbers a little, so treat them as a guide rather than a label.

The 20 highest-protein vegetables (approximate values)

Kale is missing on purpose. It is a fine vegetable, but a cooked cup gives only a few grams of protein, less than collards or spinach, and its reputation runs well ahead of its numbers.

Which vegetable has the most protein?

Edamame, at about 18 g a cup, with lentils level with it, though lentils are a pulse rather than anything you would call a vegetable at the market. Set the legumes aside and the honest answer is that no green vegetable is a big protein source by portion. Spinach and collards lead at roughly 5 g a cooked cup, with sweet corn and artichoke hearts close behind.

The idea that spinach is packed with protein comes from measuring per calorie. Raw spinach has about 23 calories and close to 3 g of protein per 100 g, so roughly half its calories come from protein. Impressive on paper. But getting 20 g of protein from spinach alone would take about 1.5 lb (700 g) of raw leaves, a sinkful. Green vegetables add a few useful grams to every meal. They cannot carry the meal by themselves.

Where legumes fit

Edamame, lentils, lima beans and peas belong to the same plant family as chickpeas, black beans and kidney beans. US dietary guidance counts beans, peas and lentils both as a vegetable subgroup and as a protein food, which is why they turn up on both kinds of list.

For anyone eating mostly plants, legumes are where the protein is. A cup of cooked lentils carries more protein than four cups of cooked broccoli. They also pair naturally with grains, which fill each other's amino acid gaps across a day, a point covered at more length in plant protein for people who train. Dried lentils need no soaking and cook in 20 to 30 minutes, and beans are easy once you have a routine; cooking beans, lentils and chickpeas from dry has the timings.

Frozen edamame and peas deserve a permanent place in the freezer. Both go from frozen to cooked in about five minutes, and both are picked and frozen young, so they keep their sweetness.

How to build a meal around them

The pattern that works is simple: one legume or soy food carries the protein, a grain adds a few grams and some substance, and one or two vegetables top it up. Four plates, with approximate totals:

1. Lentil and spinach bowl. 1 cup cooked lentils, 1 cup cooked spinach wilted with garlic and lemon, and 1/2 cup cooked brown rice. About 25 g.
2. Pea and broccoli pasta. 2 oz (56 g) dry wholewheat pasta, 1 cup peas and 1 cup broccoli tossed in the last three minutes of cooking, olive oil, lemon zest and 1 tbsp nutritional yeast. About 22 g.
3. Edamame and sugar snap salad. 1 cup edamame, 1 cup sliced sugar snap peas, a handful of leaves, 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds and a sesame and rice vinegar dressing. About 25 g.
4. Succotash bowl. 1 cup lima beans, 1/2 cup sweet corn and a few slices of okra or a chopped tomato, cooked together in a little oil and served over 1/2 cup cooked quinoa. About 19 g.

Notice where the protein in each comes from. In every case the legume is the largest single source, and the other vegetables add 3 to 5 g between them. That is a useful, honest role. For days when even that falls short, a scoop of plant-based protein powder stirred into porridge fills the gap without much thought.

Cooking tips that keep vegetables on the plate

Protein is not lost in any meaningful amount when vegetables are cooked. What boiling does wash out is some of the water-soluble vitamins, vitamin C and folate in particular, so steaming or cooking in a small amount of water is kinder to those. The bigger problem is usually that overcooked vegetables are dull, and dull vegetables get left.

• Roast brassicas hot. Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower at 425°F (220°C) for 20 to 25 minutes, with oil and salt, turn sweet and charred at the edges.
• Brown mushrooms properly. A hot pan, no crowding, and no stirring for the first few minutes, until they stop releasing water and start to colour.
• Cook greens down into things. A whole 10 oz (280 g) bag of spinach shrinks to little more than a cupful and disappears into dal, pasta sauce or soup.
• Use frozen without guilt. Frozen peas, edamame, corn and spinach are usually frozen soon after picking, and in midwinter they are often better than tired fresh ones.
• Add fat and acid. Olive oil, tahini or a few nuts help you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in greens, and lemon or vinegar wakes everything up.
• Keep asparagus and sugar snaps brief. Two or three minutes in boiling water or a hot pan keeps them bright and crisp.

Short answers

Are any vegetables a complete protein?

Edamame, being soybeans, carries a good spread of all the essential amino acids. Most other vegetables contain all nine in small amounts, but the totals are low enough that completeness hardly matters. Variety across the day takes care of it.

Is corn a vegetable?

Botanically it is a grain, and dried corn is treated as one. Sweet corn eaten fresh off the cob or from the freezer is usually counted as a starchy vegetable in the kitchen and in dietary guidance.

Raw or cooked?

Both are fine. Cooked portions simply pack more vegetable into a cup, which is why cooked figures look higher. Eat whichever you will actually eat more of.

A bag of frozen edamame, a bag of frozen peas and a bag of dried lentils will do more for the protein in your week than any amount of kale. Put all three on the shopping list for this weekend.