Legumes, soy and plant protein
Silken tofu on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 6 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), silken, soft, for around 60 calories. Half a block, about 150 g (5.3 oz), gives roughly 9 g of protein for 90 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from silken tofu alone you would need about 500 g (17.6 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 silken tofu sits on a GLP-1
Silken tofu has the texture of a set custard: cool, smooth, and it slides down without any chewing at all. That makes it one of the few savoury foods that works on a day when swallowing solid food feels like too much. The trade is protein density. At about 6 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) it is less than half of firm tofu, so on its own half a block is 9 g, a start rather than a stop. Its real job is as a carrier that makes other protein easier to get in.
When your appetite is small
Blend it. Half a block, 150 g (5.3 oz), blended with a scoop of whey or pea protein and some frozen fruit makes a thick, cold smoothie of about 30 g that is smoother than anything made on yoghurt. In a savoury direction, cubes in a hot miso broth with an egg cracked in is a warm, wet 15 g that needs a spoon and nothing else.
Three ways to prepare it
Blended into a smoothie with protein powder
Silken tofu, a scoop of protein, frozen mango, a splash of milk. The tofu gives the smoothie body without the sourness of yoghurt.
Cold, with soy, sesame and spring onion
The Japanese hiyayakko: a slab of cold silken tofu with soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and spring onion. About 9 g, and one of the gentlest plates there is.
Cubed into miso soup with an egg
Silken tofu cubes in miso broth, an egg stirred through at the end. Warm, soft and about 15 g in a bowl.
What to eat it with
Soy, ginger, sesame, spring onion, miso in a savoury bowl; mango, banana, honey and protein powder in a sweet one. It is a blank, so it needs both flavour and a second protein.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silken tofu | about 6 g | 60 kcal | this page |
| Firm tofu | about 14 g | 130 kcal | See the page |
| Custard | about 3 g | 100 kcal | See the page |
| Miso soup | about 2 g | 25 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, silken, soft, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Silken tofu in all three countries, also sold as soft tofu, and in shelf stable cartons under the Mori-Nu name in the US and Australia. Japanese grocers sell it as kinugoshi. The block in water in the chilled section and the carton on the shelf are the same food; the carton keeps for months.
Questions people ask
Is silken tofu high in protein?
No. It is about 6 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), so half a block is 9 g. It is on this list because it is the easiest texture to swallow on a bad day and because blended with a scoop of protein powder it turns into a 30 g smoothie.
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.