Protein Foods include all foods made from seafood; meat, poultry, and eggs; beans, peas, and lentils; and nuts, seeds, and soy products. Beans, peas, and lentils are also part of the Vegetable Group. To learn more, visit the Beans, Peas, and Lentils page.
Eat a variety of protein foods to get more of the nutrients your body needs. Meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat, like 93% lean ground beef, pork loin, and skinless chicken breasts. Choose seafood options that are higher in healthy fatty acids (called omega-3s) and lower in methylmercury, such as salmon, anchovies, and trout.
If you are vegetarian or vegan, the advice to eat meat, poultry, and seafood does not apply to you. Vegetarian protein options include beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy products.
The amount of protein foods you need depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity. The amount can also depend on whether or not you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Most Americans eat enough from the Protein Foods Group but need to select leaner varieties of meat and poultry. They may also need to increase the variety of protein foods selected and choose meats less often.
Find the right amount for you by getting your MyPlate Plan. For general guidance by age, see the table below.
The following examples count as 1 ounce-equivalent from the Protein Foods Group:
The table below lists amounts that count as 1 ounce-equivalent in the Protein Foods Group towards your daily recommended amount.
The table below lists amounts that count as 1 ounce-equivalent in the Protein Foods Group towards your daily recommended amount. Note: Click on the title row to expand the table. If you are on a mobile device, you may need to turn it to see the full table.
*These are general recommendations by age. Find the right amount for you by getting your MyPlate Plan.
This chart lists specific amounts that count as 1 ounce-equivalent (oz-equiv) in the Protein Foods Group towards your daily recommended intake:
1 ounce cooked lean beef, goat, ham, lamb, or pork
1 ounce cooked lean ground beef or pork
1 slice of luncheon or deli meats (beef, chicken, ham, pork, turkey)
1 ounce cooked game meats (bear, bison, deer, elk, moose, opossum, rabbit, venison)
1 ounce cooked organ meats
1 ounce cooked (without skin) chicken, ostrich, or turkey
2 ounces cooked Cornish hen, duck, goose, pheasant, or quail
1 sandwich slice of turkey or chicken breast (4½" x 2½" x ⅛")
1 ounce cooked finfish (black sea bass, catfish, cod, flounder, freshwater trout, haddock, hake, halibut, herring, light tuna, mackerel, mullet, perch, pollock, salmon, sea bass, snapper, sole, tilapia, whiting)
1 ounce cooked shellfish (clams, crab, crayfish, lobster, mussels, octopus, oysters, scallops, shrimp, squid (calamari)
1 ounce canned fish (anchovies, freshwater trout, herring, light tuna, salmon, sardines)
1 ½ egg whites (or 3 tablespoons liquid egg white product)
½ ounce of nuts (12 almonds, 24 pistachios, 7 walnut halves)
½ ounce of seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, or squash seeds) hulled, roasted
1 tablespoon of almond, cashew, peanut, or sunflower butter, or sesame paste (tahini)
¼ cup (about 2 ounces) of tofu
1 ounce tempeh, cooked
¼ cup of cooked beans, peas or lentils (such as bayo, black, brown, fava, garbanzo, kidney, lima, mung, navy, pigeon, pink, pinto, or soy, or white beans, or black-eyed peas (cow peas) or split peas, and red, brown, and green lentils)
¼ cup of baked beans or refried beans
1 falafel patty (2 ¼", 4 oz)
6 tablespoons hummus
Protein foods provide nutrients important for maintaining your health and body.
Many Americans get the right amount of protein needed from meat, poultry, and eggs, but do not meet the recommendations for seafood or nuts, seeds, and soy products. Meeting this can help increase the amount of important nutrients your body needs, like unsaturated fats, dietary fiber, and vitamin D. It also helps limit the amount of sodium and saturated fats from you get from processed meat and poultry.
Meat, poultry, seafood, beans, peas, lentils, eggs, nuts, seeds, and soy products give the body many nutrients. These include protein, B vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and B6), vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium.
Some protein food choices are high in saturated fat. These include:
To help keep saturated fat intake below 10% of daily calories, limit the amount of these foods you eat.
Seafood contains a range of nutrients, notably the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Eating about 8 ounces per week of a variety of seafood, the amount recommended for many adults, as part of a healthy diet, can support health. Some types of fish, such as salmon and trout are also natural sources of vitamin D, a nutrient that many people don't get enough of.
Seafood varieties commonly consumed in the United States that are higher in EPA and DHA and lower in a type of mercury, in the form of methylmercury, include salmon, anchovies, sardines, Pacific oysters, and trout. The amount of recommended seafood varies based on age, weight, and level of physical activity. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provide joint advice to limit methylmercury exposure from seafood for women who might become pregnant or who are pregnant or lactating and young children. See Advice About Eating Fish for more information.
Vegetarians get enough protein from this group as long as the variety and amounts of foods selected are adequate. Protein sources from the Protein Foods Group for vegetarians include eggs (for ovo-vegetarians); beans, peas, and lentils; nuts, seeds (including nut and seed butters), and soy products (tofu, tempeh).
For more information on beans, peas, and lentils, see Beans, Peas, and Lentils page.
Curious about the foods in the Protein Foods Group? What does a one-ounce equivalent of protein foods look like? Check out the Food Group Gallery! This is also a great resource if you're trying to change up the protein foods that you eat or you want to bump up the variety with something new.
Black sea bass, sunflower seeds, tofu. they're all waiting for you in the Food Group Gallery!
