Vegan Protein Calculator — Target and Plant Sources

Going vegan does not change the recommendation, which is set per kilogram of body weight regardless of where the protein comes from. It changes the shopping list and the serving sizes. Get your number below, then check it against what plants actually deliver.

Same target, different arithmetic on the plate

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics holds that appropriately planned vegetarian and vegan diets are “healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits,” and that they suit every life stage from pregnancy through older adulthood, athletes included. Nothing in the Dietary Reference Intakes sets a separate protein RDA for people who avoid animal products, and the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines apply the same goal — 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg per day — to everyone.

That last figure raised the bar for plant-based eaters more than for anyone else, because it is the same number reached from a lower-density starting point. The Guidelines’ own section on vegetarians and vegans lists protein among the nutrients where vegan diets show shortfalls, alongside vitamins A, D, E, B6 and B12, calcium, iron, zinc and several others, and advises diversifying plant protein sources for amino acid balance. This page is essentially the practical answer to that warning.

What does differ is density. Most animal foods close a large block of the target in one item; reaching the same total from plants usually means three items instead of one — and each of them arrives with carbohydrate and fiber, which is why plant-based days tend to feel fuller at the same protein total.

What plant foods actually deliver

Values from USDA FoodData Central, converted to servings a US kitchen recognizes:

Food	Serving	Protein
Vital wheat gluten (seitan base), dry	1 oz (28 g)	21 g
Tempeh	3 oz (85 g)	17 g
Edamame, shelled, cooked	1 cup (155 g)	18 g
Lentils, cooked	1 cup (198 g)	18 g
Black beans, cooked	1 cup (172 g)	15 g
Chickpeas, cooked	1 cup (164 g)	15 g
Tofu, extra firm	3.5 oz (100 g)	10 g
Quinoa, cooked	1 cup (185 g)	8 g
Peanut butter	2 tbsp (32 g)	7 g
Soymilk, unsweetened	1 cup (240 mL)	7 g

Two entries in that list carry the day. Vital wheat gluten is 75 percent protein by weight before hydration, which is why seitan behaves like a meat replacement rather than a side dish. Soy — tempeh, tofu, edamame, soy flour at 51 g per 100 g — is the other anchor.

Build a 120 g day from the top of the table and it takes four servings. Build it from quinoa and peanut butter and it takes fifteen.

Amino acids: variety, not pairing

The old advice to combine rice and beans in the same meal has not held up. Individual plant proteins are limited in one or another essential amino acid, but the body draws on a pool that persists across the day, so eating a range of legumes, grains, nuts and seeds over the course of a day covers the profile. Soy is the convenient exception that needs no partner at all.

Digestibility is the more practical gap. Protein locked in a fiber-rich matrix is absorbed less completely than protein from an egg, which is a reason to sit at the middle of your target range rather than at its floor if plants supply all of it.

The nutrient protein calculators keep quiet about

Vitamin B12 is the one a vegan diet cannot solve with better planning. The Academy’s position paper is direct: vegans need reliable sources of vitamin B-12, such as fortified foods or supplements. It comes essentially only from animal products, deficiency develops slowly and quietly, and fortified plant milks are not a plan unless you actually check the label and drink them daily.

Iron, zinc and omega-3 belong on the same watch list, though none of them carries the same all-or-nothing character as B12.

For the target itself and where each figure comes from, start at the protein calculator; if you eat eggs or dairy, the vegetarian protein calculator has an easier food table to work with; and the per-kilogram arithmetic is laid out on protein per kg of body weight.

This content is informational and does not replace evaluation by a physician or a registered dietitian.