🍛 Food & Nutrition
High Protein Vegan Foods in India
What to actually eat, in what quantity, with Indian price tags.
How much you actually need
The standard recommendation is 0.8g per kg body weight per day for sedentary adults. For most Indians, that's 50–65g. If you train hard or lift, aim for 1.2–1.6g per kg — so 80–120g.
You don't need more than this. The 'eat 2g per kg' culture is from bodybuilding forums, not nutrition science.
The top 20 Indian-vegan protein foods
| Food | Protein per 100g | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Soya chunks (dry) | 52g | Cheapest by far. ₹50/200g pack |
| Hemp seeds | 31g | Sprinkle on dal / oats |
| Peanuts | 26g | Snack, peanut butter, sattu |
| Black chana (dry) | 22g | Chaat, sundal, curry |
| Almonds | 21g | Soaked, in milk, snack |
| Kala chana / rajma (dry) | 22g | Same family, similar protein |
| Lentils (dry) | 24g | Toor, masoor, urad — all around this range |
| Pumpkin seeds | 19g | Snack, salad topper |
| Tempeh | 19g | Indonesian fermented soy — slow but spreading in India |
| Edamame | 12g | Imported, premium |
| Quinoa (dry) | 14g | Pricey. Use millets instead |
| Sattu | 22g | Bihari power flour. ₹100/kg |
| Tofu | 8g | Per 100g block; 16g per typical 200g block |
| Soy milk | 3g | Per 100ml; Sofit/Staeta |
| Whole wheat roti | 11g | Per 100g flour, ~3g per roti |
| Brown rice | 7g | Per 100g cooked, ~2.5g per cup |
| Green peas | 5g | Per 100g cooked |
| Oats | 13g | Per 100g dry, ~5g per serve |
| Chia seeds | 17g | 1 tbsp = 2g; also fibre |
| Plant protein powder | 22g/scoop | Pea+brown rice blends, Indian-made |
A sample 100g-protein day
- Breakfast: oats (50g) + soy milk (200ml) + peanut butter (15g) + banana → ~17g
- Mid-morning: sattu drink (30g sattu in water with salt + lemon) → ~7g
- Lunch: dal (1 katori) + brown rice (1 cup) + sabzi + roasted chana (50g) → ~25g
- Snack: peanuts (handful, 30g) → ~8g
- Dinner: tofu (200g pan-fry) + roti (2) + sabzi → ~30g
- Evening: plant protein shake (1 scoop, optional) → ~22g
That's 109g. Without trying hard, without supplements being mandatory.
What about 'complete protein'?
The old rule about combining rice + dal at every meal is over. Modern nutrition science (PCRM, Harvard Chan, BDA) all say the same thing: eat a variety of plant proteins across a day and your body assembles the amino acids it needs from its own pool. You don't need to combine them on one plate.
Plant protein powders that are good
- Origin Nutrition — clean, well-formulated, third-party tested.
- Plix Life — flavour-forward, good for shakes.
- OZiva — easy availability, women-targeted variants.
- TrueBasics (HealthKart) — budget option, reliable.
- Pintola — peanut protein powder, cheap, great in chai.
Skip powders with added whey 'isolate', dairy proteins, or vague 'amino blends.'
References
Written by Malavika Malaviya. Last updated 20 June 2026. Found something out of date? Tell us.
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