Nuts, seeds and grains
Peanut butter on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 24 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), smooth or crunchy, no added sugar, for around 590 calories. Two tablespoons, about 30 g (1.1 oz), give roughly 7 g of protein for 177 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from peanut butter alone you would need about 125 g (4.4 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 peanut butter sits on a GLP-1
Peanut butter is rich, sticky and comforting, about 24 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), and two tablespoons is 7 g of protein for around 180 calories. On a GLP-1 the stickiness matters more than the numbers: it clings to the mouth and the throat, and on a day when your mouth is dry it is hard to get down without a drink. In a smoothie or stirred into porridge it loses that problem and keeps the flavour.
When your appetite is small
Use one tablespoon, about 15 g (0.5 oz), as a flavour rather than two as a spread. A tablespoon blended into a milk and whey smoothie makes a shake taste like a milkshake and adds 4 g; a tablespoon stirred into porridge or onto a protein pot does the same. Peanut butter on two slices of toast is a filling 12 g that leaves no room.
Three ways to prepare it
Blended into a whey and milk smoothie
Milk, a scoop of whey, a tablespoon of peanut butter and half a banana. About 35 g, and the peanut butter is why it gets finished.
Stirred through hot porridge
A spoon melted into a small bowl of porridge made on milk. It makes the bowl richer and adds 4 g.
On apple slices or celery
A thin smear on apple slices or into celery sticks. A snack that is crunchy, wet and small, which is a good combination on a bad afternoon.
What to eat it with
Milk, banana, oats, whey, apple, dark chocolate. Peanut butter is the flavour that gets a protein shake drunk, so put it with milk protein rather than counting it as the protein.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut butter | about 24 g | 590 kcal | this page |
| Peanuts | about 25 g | 570 kcal | See the page |
| Almond butter | about 21 g | 610 kcal | See the page |
| Whey concentrate | about 78 g | 400 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, smooth or crunchy, no added sugar, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Peanut butter in all three countries. Australian and UK supermarkets sell no added sugar or salt versions as standard; in the US, natural peanut butter is the one without added sugar and hydrogenated oil. Powdered peanut butter, PB2 and similar, is a US product with the fat pressed out and about 50 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz) dry.
Questions people ask
Is peanut butter high in protein?
By weight, about 24 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), but a two tablespoon serve is only 7 g for around 180 calories. It is a useful flavour in a protein shake or porridge, not a protein source on its own. Powdered peanut butter, where you can find it, gives more protein for far fewer calories.
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.