In this article
- Vegan protein with most fiber per 100 grams
- A plant based protein fiber ranking that shifts by the gram
- Dry on the bag, cooked on the plate
- How many grams cover a day’s fiber
- Legume nutrition beyond protein and fiber
- Weighing portions for meal prep
- Soy, seitan and seeds by the gram
- Where grains fit in
- Reading vegan protein labels
- The limits of per gram numbers
- Vegan protein and fiber: questions people ask
- Sources
Tofu is one of the best known vegan proteins, so it’s easy to assume it brings plenty of fiber as well. It doesn’t: 100 grams of firm tofu has 2.3 grams of fiber, while the same weight of cooked navy beans has 10.4 grams, according to USDA FoodData Central.
That makes navy beans the vegan protein with most fiber when you compare by weight. Black beans, split peas, lentils, chickpeas and mung beans all follow within about 3 grams.
This guide ranks vegan proteins per 100 grams, the way you’d weigh them for meal prep, then looks at dry versus cooked labels and the minerals legumes bring along.
Vegan protein with most fiber per 100 grams
Weighing food removes the guesswork of cups and scoops. The table shows each food cooked or ready to eat, per 100 grams.
| Vegan protein (100 g) | Fiber | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy beans, cooked | 10.4 g | 8.2 g | 140 |
| Black beans, cooked | 8.7 g | 8.8 g | 132 |
| Split peas, cooked | 8.3 g | 8.3 g | 118 |
| Lentils, cooked | 7.9 g | 9.0 g | 116 |
| Chickpeas, cooked | 7.6 g | 8.8 g | 164 |
| Mung beans, cooked | 7.6 g | 7.0 g | 105 |
| Edamame, cooked | 5.2 g | 11.9 g | 121 |
| Lupini beans, cooked | 2.8 g | 15.6 g | 119 |
| Quinoa, cooked | 2.8 g | 4.4 g | 120 |
| Firm tofu | 2.3 g | 17.3 g | 144 |
| Hemp seeds, hulled | 4.0 g | 31.6 g | 553 |
| Chia seeds | 34.4 g | 16.5 g | 486 |
Cooked legumes cluster tightly, between 7.6 and 10.4 grams of fiber and 7 to 9 grams of protein. Soy foods and lupini flip that balance, with roughly twice the protein and a fraction of the fiber.
Seeds sit apart because they’re eaten in spoonfuls, not 100 gram portions. Chia’s 34.4 grams looks enormous here, but a tablespoon is closer to 12 grams.
A plant based protein fiber ranking that shifts by the gram
Ranking by weight moves a few foods around compared with ranking by the cup. A cup of chickpeas weighs only 164 grams, while a cup of lentils weighs 198 grams.
So chickpeas look closer to lentils per cup than they do per gram. By weight, they also carry the most calories of any cooked legume here, 164 per 100 grams.
Split peas show the most even balance of the group, with 8.3 grams of fiber and 8.3 grams of protein in every 100 grams. Black beans and chickpeas come close behind.
Mung beans go the other way. With 105 calories per 100 grams, they’re the lightest legume in the table yet still give 7.6 grams of fiber.
Not sure how many grams of fiber your day should hold? Our fiber calculator gives you a personal target to weigh these portions against.
Dry on the bag, cooked on the plate
Bags of dried beans list nutrition for the dry, uncooked seed. Cooked beans soak up water, so the same nutrients get spread across a heavier food.
| Legume (100 g) | Fiber, dry | Fiber, cooked | Protein, dry | Protein, cooked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black beans | 15.5 g | 8.7 g | 21.6 g | 8.8 g |
| Chickpeas | 12.2 g | 7.6 g | 20.5 g | 8.8 g |
| Lentils | 10.7 g | 7.9 g | 24.6 g | 9.0 g |
The drop mostly reflects water weight rather than fiber lost in the pot, which is why a dry label can look nearly twice as impressive as the cooked bowl.
Compare like with like. Use dry values when you weigh beans straight from the bag, and cooked values when you weigh them after cooking or straight from a can.
How many grams cover a day’s fiber
Mayo Clinic suggests about 25 grams of fiber a day for women 50 and younger and 38 grams for men in that range. This is how much of each vegan protein it would take to reach those numbers alone:
| Vegan protein (cooked) | Grams for 25 g fiber | Grams for 38 g fiber |
|---|---|---|
| Navy beans | 240 g | 365 g |
| Black beans | 287 g | 437 g |
| Lentils | 316 g | 481 g |
| Chickpeas | 329 g | 500 g |
| Edamame | 481 g | 731 g |
| Firm tofu | 1,087 g | 1,652 g |
Nobody should get all their fiber from one food, but the gap is telling. You’d need more than a kilogram of tofu to match what about 240 grams of navy beans gives you.
In practice, a daily portion of 100 to 150 grams of cooked legumes covers roughly a third to half of the lower target. Vegetables, fruit and whole grains can fill in the rest.
Legume nutrition beyond protein and fiber
Legumes also carry minerals and B vitamins. Per 100 grams of dry seed, FoodData Central lists:
- Lentils: 6.51 mg of iron and 479 micrograms of folate.
- Black beans: 5.02 mg of iron and 444 micrograms of folate.
- Chickpeas: 4.31 mg of iron and 557 micrograms of folate.
The FDA sets the Daily Value for iron at 18 mg and for folate at 400 micrograms. By weight, all three dry legumes cover more than a full day’s folate in 100 grams, and lentils give over a third of the iron Daily Value.
These are dry weight figures, so the amounts per 100 grams of cooked legumes are lower for the same water weight reason. A cooked bowl still makes a solid contribution to both nutrients.
Harvard’s Nutrition Source describes pulses, the dried seeds of legume plants, as an inexpensive source of protein, folate, iron and both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soy foods and seitan offer protein, but they don’t bring the same fiber package.
Weighing portions for meal prep
Picture two lunch boxes, each with 150 grams of cooked protein. One holds lentils and the other firm tofu.
- Lentils, 150 g: about 11.9 grams of fiber and 13.5 grams of protein.
- Firm tofu, 150 g: about 3.5 grams of fiber and 26.0 grams of protein.
Tofu nearly doubles the protein, while lentils more than triple the fiber. Splitting the box, 75 grams of each, lands near 7.7 grams of fiber and 19.7 grams of protein.
That kind of mix often works better than choosing one or the other. It gives you a strong protein dose with a meaningful share of your fiber for the day. Weighing once or twice is usually enough to learn what 150 grams looks like in your own containers.
Looking for meal prep recipes that pair lentils, beans and tofu? Our recipe eBooks are full of easy, high fiber vegan lunches.
Soy, seitan and seeds by the gram
Protein dense vegan foods trade fiber for concentration. Per 100 grams, firm tofu gives 17.3 grams of protein and lupini beans 15.6 grams, against 2.3 and 2.8 grams of fiber.
Vital wheat gluten, the base of seitan, is about 75% protein by weight, with roughly half a gram of fiber per 100 grams. It’s one of the most concentrated vegan proteins available, and one of the lowest in fiber.
Edamame sits between the two camps. Per 100 grams it gives 11.9 grams of protein and 5.2 grams of fiber, so it brings more protein than any cooked bean except lupini and more fiber than tofu or lupini.
Hulled hemp seeds carry 31.6 grams of protein per 100 grams with 4.0 grams of fiber. Chia is the opposite, with twice as much fiber as protein by weight.
Where grains fit in
Quinoa is often listed as a vegan protein, and it does bring some, 4.4 grams per 100 grams cooked. Its fiber, 2.8 grams, matches lupini and edges out tofu.
Grains shine when they’re mixed with legumes. A bowl that’s half quinoa and half black beans by weight averages about 5.8 grams of fiber and 6.6 grams of protein per 100 grams, for about 126 calories.
That’s a useful middle ground for anyone who finds a full bowl of beans too heavy.
Reading vegan protein labels
A few quick checks make labels easier to compare:
- Note whether the panel is for dry or cooked beans, lentils and grains.
- Check the serving size in grams, not just cups or scoops.
- Compare fiber and protein on the same line rather than looking at protein alone.
- For tofu, tempeh and meat alternatives, look for the fiber line on the brand you buy, since it varies.
- For canned legumes, use the drained weight when you portion them.
Mayo Clinic recommends adding fiber gradually and drinking plenty of water. That matters most when you move from tofu and seitan toward a legume heavy plate.
If beans tend to leave you bloated, our gut health guides explain how to build up to larger portions comfortably.
The limits of per gram numbers
Cooked weights depend on how much water your beans absorb, which varies with cooking time and method. A softer, longer cooked pot of beans will weigh a little more and show slightly less fiber per 100 grams.
Treat the cooked values here as close estimates rather than exact figures. For the most accurate count from home cooked legumes, weigh them dry before cooking and use the dry label values.
Either way, the order holds steady. Beans, peas and lentils stay at the top for fiber, and soy foods, lupini and seitan stay near the bottom.
Vegan protein and fiber: questions people ask
Which vegan protein has the most fiber by weight?
Cooked navy beans do, with 10.4 grams of fiber per 100 grams. Black beans follow at 8.7 grams and split peas at 8.3 grams.
How much fiber is in tofu?
Firm tofu has about 2.3 grams of fiber per 100 grams, along with 17.3 grams of protein. It is a strong protein source but a modest fiber source.
Why does the label on dry beans show more fiber?
Dry beans haven’t absorbed water yet. Black beans list 15.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams dry and 8.7 grams cooked, mostly because cooked beans carry water weight.
Are lentils or chickpeas better for fiber?
They’re close. Per 100 grams cooked, lentils have 7.9 grams of fiber and chickpeas 7.6 grams, but lentils have fewer calories, 116 against 164.
Do legumes provide iron?
Yes. Dry lentils provide 6.51 mg of iron per 100 grams, and black beans 5.02 mg, against an 18 mg Daily Value.
Is seitan a good source of fiber?
No. Vital wheat gluten, the base of seitan, has only about half a gram of fiber per 100 grams, though it is about 75% protein.
How can I balance protein and fiber in a vegan meal?
Combine a legume with a protein dense food. Half lentils and half tofu by weight gives roughly 7.7 grams of fiber and 19.7 grams of protein in 150 grams.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. “FoodData Central,” SR Legacy (navy beans, black beans 173734, split peas, lentils 172420, chickpeas 173756, mung beans, edamame, lupins 172424, quinoa, firm tofu 172475, hemp seed hulled 170148, chia seeds 170554, vital wheat gluten). 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” 2024. fda.gov
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Legumes and Pulses.” The Nutrition Source. 2024. nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet.” Mayo Clinic. 2025. mayoclinic.org
