Protein keeps you full and helps hold on to muscle when you are losing weight, but many Nigerian meals are built around starch. These are the foods that do the most for your protein.
Most protein for the calories
This ranks foods by grams of protein in every 100 calories, the fairest way to compare a stick of suya with a bowl of pepper soup.
Protein per 100 kcal, highest first
Ponmo (Cow skin)
Protein per 100 kcal
20g
Serving
1 serving (100g)
Protein
22g
kcal per serving
110
Goat Meat (Stewed)
Protein per 100 kcal
19g
Serving
1 serving (100g)
Protein
27.1g
kcal per serving
143
Chicken Breast
Protein per 100 kcal
18.8g
Serving
100g cooked
Protein
31g
kcal per serving
165
Beef (Stew meat)
Protein per 100 kcal
16.8g
Serving
1 serving (100g)
Protein
32.5g
kcal per serving
194
Ewedu
Protein per 100 kcal
16.7g
Serving
1 ladle (100g)
Protein
7g
kcal per serving
42
Catfish Pepper Soup
Protein per 100 kcal
13.8g
Serving
1 bowl (300g)
Protein
39g
kcal per serving
282
Goat Pepper Soup
Protein per 100 kcal
13.4g
Serving
1 bowl (250g)
Protein
35g
kcal per serving
262
Sardines (tinned)
Protein per 100 kcal
11.8g
Serving
1 tin (95g)
Protein
23.4g
kcal per serving
198
Suya
Protein per 100 kcal
11.4g
Serving
1 stick (100g)
Protein
28g
kcal per serving
245
Kilishi
Protein per 100 kcal
11.3g
Serving
1 pack (50g)
Protein
22.5g
kcal per serving
200
Asun (Peppered goat)
Protein per 100 kcal
11.2g
Serving
1 serving (100g)
Protein
26g
kcal per serving
233
Peppered Chicken
Protein per 100 kcal
10.9g
Serving
1 piece (120g)
Protein
30g
kcal per serving
275
The biggest protein servings
Most protein in one normal serving
Catfish Pepper Soup
Serving
1 bowl (300g)
Protein
39g
kcal per serving
282
Isi Ewu
Serving
1 plate (200g)
Protein
38g
kcal per serving
518
Nkwobi
Serving
1 plate (200g)
Protein
36g
kcal per serving
500
Goat Pepper Soup
Serving
1 bowl (250g)
Protein
35g
kcal per serving
262
Beef (Stew meat)
Serving
1 serving (100g)
Protein
32.5g
kcal per serving
194
Beans deserve a mention: a cup of boiled beans carries 28.1g of protein, along with plenty of carbohydrate.
- •Build each meal around a protein: fish, chicken, goat meat, eggs, beans or moi moi.
- •Pepper soup is one of the leanest ways to eat meat or fish.
- •Ask for an extra piece of meat or fish rather than an extra wrap.
Want a protein target in grams?
Try the macro calculator →
Figures are estimates for typical home-cooked portions, from measured Nigerian portion studies, USDA FoodData Central and the FAO/INFOODS West African food tables. Not medical advice.
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