Fiber + Legumes & Beans with Fiber

Black beans fiber comes to about 15 grams per cooked cup, or 7.5 grams in a half cup, which is more than half of a woman’s daily target in one cup. They also bring about 15 grams of protein, plenty of folate and magnesium, and in one small trial, a black bean meal kept insulin lower than a fiber-matched meal without beans.

Canned beans fiber holds up well: canned black beans match or beat home cooked ones per calorie, and canned chickpeas tie. Canned pinto and kidney beans come in about 14 to 24% lower per calorie in USDA data, and the bigger losses from the can are folate and the sodium you gain.

Navy beans are the beans with most fiber per serving, at 9.6 grams in a cooked half cup, followed by split peas, lentils, mung beans and pinto beans. Count fiber per calorie instead and mung beans move up to second, while soybeans and edamame drop near the bottom.

Do lentils have fiber? Yes, a lot: one cup of boiled lentils has 15.6 grams, about 56% of the Daily Value, for 230 calories. That’s more fiber per cup than almost any grain, fruit or vegetable you can buy.

Do chickpeas have fiber? Plenty: a cup of chickpeas boiled from dry has 12.5 grams, about 45% of the Daily Value. A rinsed cup from a can has 9.6 grams, and chickpea flour has four times the fiber of white flour.

Does hummus have fiber? Yes: a quarter cup of store-bought hummus has about 3.4 grams, roughly 12% of the Daily Value. Scoop for scoop it even edges out plain chickpeas, though it brings about twice the calories.

Do edamames have fiber? Yes: a cup of shelled edamame has about 8.1 grams, close to 30% of the Daily Value, plus 18 grams of protein. That makes these young soybeans one of the few foods that’s high in both fiber and protein.

Do beans have fiber? Yes, plenty: half a cup of cooked navy beans has 9.6 grams and a cup of black beans about 15 grams, more than half the Daily Value. Beans are among the richest everyday fiber sources you can buy.