Legumes, soy and plant protein
Edamame on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 11 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), shelled, cooked, for around 120 calories. A cupped handful, shelled, about 80 g (2.8 oz), gives roughly 9 g of protein for 96 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from edamame alone you would need about 273 g (9.6 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How edamame sits on a GLP-1
Edamame are young soybeans, sweet and firm with a pop when you bite them, and they are the highest protein of the green vegetables by a distance at about 11 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), complete protein rather than the partial protein of other beans. On a GLP-1 the best thing about them is the format: eaten from the pod, salted, one at a time, they slow you down, and slow eating is exactly what a small stomach wants. They are also frozen, so they are always there.
When your appetite is small
A bowl of pods from the freezer, three minutes in boiling water or the microwave, salt, and eat them with your fingers while you decide what else to have. A cupped handful of shelled beans, about 80 g (2.8 oz), is 9 g of protein and it usually gets a stalled appetite moving.
Three ways to prepare it
In the pod with salt
Frozen pods, three minutes in boiling water, sea salt. The most relaxed way to eat protein there is, and about 9 g per handful of shelled beans.
Shelled and stirred through rice or noodles at the end
Frozen shelled edamame thrown into a bowl of fried rice, a noodle soup or a stir fry in the last minute. Colour, sweetness and 5 or 6 g without any effort.
Blended into a green dip
Shelled edamame, lemon, garlic, olive oil and a spoon of Greek yoghurt, blended. A brighter, higher protein hummus for crackers or cold prawns.
What to eat it with
Salt, chilli, sesame oil, soy sauce, lime. As a starter before a real protein, or thrown into a bowl that already has chicken, prawns or tofu in it.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edamame | about 11 g | 120 kcal | this page |
| Firm tofu | about 14 g | 130 kcal | See the page |
| Peas | about 5 g | 80 kcal | See the page |
| Tempeh | about 19 g | 190 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, shelled, cooked, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Edamame in all three countries, sold frozen in the pod or shelled. Shelled beans are sometimes labelled mukimame in the US and soya beans in the UK. Australian supermarkets and Asian grocers both carry them in the freezer.
Questions people ask
Is edamame a complete protein?
Yes. Soy carries all the essential amino acids, which sets edamame apart from other beans. At about 11 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) shelled, a handful is 9 g, so treat it as a strong starter or a side rather than the whole stop.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.