How much protein is in edamame?
Edamame has 8.9 g of protein per 1/2 cup (75 g) — that's 11.9 g per 100 g, or about 3.4 g per ounce. One 1/2 cup is roughly 18% of the 50 g Daily Value for protein.
USDA FoodData Central · frozen, prepared · FDC 168411
Protein & macros by portion
| Portion | Protein | Calories | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 cup (75 g) | 8.9 g | 91 | 3.9 g | 6.7 g |
| 100 g | 11.9 g | 121 | 5.2 g | 8.9 g |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 3.4 g | 34 | 1.5 g | 2.5 g |
Values computed from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 168411, SR Legacy). frozen, prepared.
The vegetable that eats like a protein
Most vegetables and plant snacks bring a gram or two of protein and call it a day. Edamame — young, green soybeans, picked before they harden into the dry beige soybeans that become tofu and soy milk — is in a different class entirely. At 11.9 g of protein per 100 g, it carries roughly 8.9 g in a 1/2-cup (75 g) serving and about 18 g in a full cup, which puts it ahead of most cooked beans and lentils and far ahead of any salad green. For a food you can eat by the handful, that’s a remarkable return.
The bigger headline is quality, not just quantity. Because edamame is soy, it’s a complete protein: it supplies all nine essential amino acids in genuinely usable amounts, scoring in the same league as eggs, dairy, and meat on the digestibility-corrected scales (PDCAAS and DIAAS) that nutritionists actually use. That’s rare for a vegetable. Beans run low in methionine and grains run low in lysine, which is why the old advice was to pair them — but edamame needs no rice-and-beans partner to count. It stands on its own.
The bonus: fiber, and the fact that you’ll actually eat it
Protein density is the lead, but edamame doesn’t arrive alone. A 1/2-cup serving brings about 4 grams of fiber — a real chunk of a day’s worth — plus iron, folate, and potassium, all for around 90 calories. Protein and fiber are the two most satiating things on a nutrition label, and edamame stacks both, which is why a bowl of pods quiets an appetite the way a handful of crackers never will.
It’s also one of the few high-protein plant foods that’s genuinely snackable. Steamed pods with a little salt are a finger food you graze on; shelled beans drop straight into salads, grain bowls, and stir-fries; and the frozen bags keep for months, so it’s a protein you can have on hand without planning. A food has to actually get eaten to count, and edamame clears that bar in a way that dried lentils on the top shelf often don’t.
Where it fits — and how it relates to tofu
For anyone eating plant-based or just building a meatless meal, edamame is a top pick. It does the one thing that’s hardest to do without meat: deliver complete, high-quality protein in a form you’ll reach for repeatedly. Rotate it with tofu, tempeh, beans, and lentils and you’ve got a varied, complete plant-protein base.
It’s worth knowing exactly how edamame and tofu relate, because it’s the same plant at two life stages. Edamame is the whole young bean — water, fiber, and all. Tofu is what you get when mature soybeans are turned into soy milk and that milk is curdled and pressed; squeezing out the water concentrates the protein, which is why firm tofu runs higher per gram (about 17 g per 100 g) than edamame’s 11.9. Neither is “better” — edamame wins on fiber and snackability, tofu wins on protein density and on soaking up whatever you cook it with. Together they cover most of what a soy-forward diet needs.
How much of any of this you need depends on your size and goals; our protein-per-day guide walks through the math so you can size a portion against a real number instead of guessing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is edamame a complete protein?
Yes. Edamame is just young green soybeans, and soy is the rare plant food that supplies all nine essential amino acids in usable amounts. That puts its protein quality alongside animal foods on the scales nutritionists use (PDCAAS and DIAAS) — so unlike most beans, peas, and grains, edamame doesn't need to be 'combined' with another protein to count as complete.
How much protein is in a cup of edamame?
A full cup of shelled edamame (about 150 g) holds roughly 18 grams of protein, based on 11.9 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 168411). The common 1/2-cup serving (75 g) is about 8.9 g, and an ounce is about 3.4 g.
Is edamame high in protein for a vegetable?
Unusually high. At 11.9 g per 100 g it out-protein-s nearly every common vegetable and edges out most cooked beans and lentils. Among plant snacks you can eat by the handful, very little touches it — which is exactly why it shows up on this site as a real protein source rather than a side dish.
Edamame vs tofu — which has more protein?
They're the same soybean, but tofu is more concentrated per gram. Edamame is the whole young bean, water and all; tofu is made by curdling soy milk and pressing out the water, which packs more protein into each ounce (firm tofu runs about 17 g per 100 g vs edamame's 11.9 g). Edamame wins on fiber and on being a ready-to-eat snack.
Is edamame good for more than just protein?
Yes — it's a genuinely well-rounded food. A 1/2-cup serving brings about 4 g of fiber along with iron, folate, and potassium, all for around 90 calories. The fiber plus the protein is a big part of why a bowl of pods is so filling.
Is edamame a good protein source for a plant-based or meatless diet?
It's one of the best. Because soy is a complete protein, edamame lets people eating little or no meat hit real protein without stacking grains and legumes to fill amino-acid gaps. Rotate it with tofu, tempeh, lentils, and beans and you cover a lot of ground. See our guide on how much protein you need per day to size your portions.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-03, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 168411 ('Edamame, frozen, prepared,' SR Legacy). We re-verify reference pages on a regular cadence.
Whole-food values are USDA reference data and are not assigned a Labelgrade — that score is for branded packaged products, where ingredients and added sugar/sodium actually vary. See our methodology and how much protein you need per day.