Legumes, soy and plant protein
Kidney beans on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 8 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked or tinned, drained, for around 125 calories. Half a tin, drained, about 130 g (4.6 oz), gives roughly 10 g of protein for 162 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from kidney beans alone you would need about 375 g (13.2 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 kidney beans sits on a GLP-1
Kidney beans have a tougher skin and a floury inside, which makes them the bean people most often find heavy on a GLP-1. They are about 8 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz) with a lot of fibre, and a big bowl of chilli beans sits in a slow stomach for a long time. Where they earn their place is in chilli con carne, where they stretch the mince and soak up the sauce, and the mince does the heavy lifting on protein.
When your appetite is small
Make chilli with more mince than beans, not the other way round. A small bowl with 100 g (3.5 oz) of cooked beef mince and half a tin of kidney beans is about 36 g of protein, and frozen in single portions it is a hot 30 g stop in three minutes. Skip the rice if there is no room; the chilli is the meal.
Three ways to prepare it
Chilli con carne, frozen in single serves
Mince, tomato, cumin and half a tin of beans per portion. It reheats in a mug and it is the most reliable cold weather protein stop we know.
Warmed in tomato sauce with a poached egg
Tinned chilli beans or plain beans in passata, an egg poached on top, cheese grated over. About 20 g in a small dish.
Cold in a small salad with tuna
Rinsed beans, tinned tuna, red onion and lemon. No cooking, about 30 g with a whole tin of tuna, and it keeps two days.
What to eat it with
Beef mince, tuna, egg, cheese or sour cream, which bring the protein the beans lack, and tomato, cumin, chilli and lime for flavour. Kidney beans on their own in a big bowl are the plate that goes back half eaten.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kidney beans | about 8 g | 125 kcal | this page |
| Black beans | about 9 g | 130 kcal | See the page |
| Chickpeas | about 8 g | 150 kcal | See the page |
| Beef mince | about 26 g | 180 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, cooked or tinned, drained, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Red kidney beans in all three countries, tinned plain or in a sauce: chilli beans in Australia, chili beans in the US, kidney beans in chilli sauce in the UK. Dried kidney beans must be boiled hard before they are safe, which is one reason the tin wins on a small appetite.
Questions people ask
How much protein is in a tin of kidney beans?
A standard tin drains to about 250 g (8.8 oz), which is roughly 20 g of protein along with a lot of fibre. On a GLP-1, half a tin beside mince, tuna or an egg is a better plan than a whole tin on its own.
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.