How to get enough protein on a vegan diet (and actually enjoy it)

The protein picture on a plant-based diet

Most active women need between 1.2g and 2.0g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily - hit the higher end if we train regularly. For a 65kg woman, that means somewhere between 78g and 130g daily. On a vegan diet, that number is completely achievable. The challenge is building a day that hits it without turning every meal into a maths exercise.

Whole food plant sources are the foundation, and they are more powerful than most people realise. The macro numbers are worth building into your reference point so our choices feel confident.

Whole food sources worth knowing by heart

Legumes do the heaviest lifting. According to the USDA FoodData Central database, a 100g serving of cooked lentils delivers around 9g of protein alongside a substantial hit of fibre and iron. Chickpeas and black beans come in at roughly 7-9g per 100g cooked. These are slow-release, satisfying, and versatile - they work in everything from salads to baked goods.

Edamame is one of the most underused sources in the category. USDA nutritional data puts a 150g serving of shelled edamame at around 12-14g of protein, and it takes four minutes to prepare from frozen. If there is one snack worth keeping in rotation, this is it.

Tofu and tempeh are the workhorses of plant-based protein. Firm tofu runs at approximately 8g per 100g. Tempeh - fermented, denser, with a nutty depth - delivers closer to 19g per 100g, making it one of the highest plant-protein foods available. Both are complete proteins, meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids. For women managing hormone balance, soy isoflavones are beneficial for women's nutrition - a position supported by a 2019 review published in Nutrients examining soy isoflavone intake in women.

Seitan, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, and green peas round out the list. Hemp seeds at 3 tablespoons give around 10g. Nutritional yeast - two tablespoons - adds 8g with a savoury, almost cheesy flavour that works well stirred into sauces or sprinkled over roasted vegetables. These are the sources to layer across a day rather than rely on in a single meal.

Where the daily target gets difficult

Knowing your sources is the easy part. Building a day that hits 100g-plus without either spending three hours meal prepping or eating the same four foods on rotation is a different challenge entirely.

Breakfast is manageable - a tofu scramble, a legume-loaded bowl, or protein-rich oats. The gap opens up everywhere else: the mid-morning stretch before lunch, the 4pm wall, the post-training window when you need protein quickly and a full meal is not practical, and the late evening when dinner was earlier than planned. The convenience options in this category rarely deliver both the protein numbers and the flavour to make reaching for them feel like a genuine choice.

That is the specific gap the NUAH plant-based brownie range fills - real food with a serious protein hit, ready when the meal window closes.

Building a day that works

This is the specific problem the NUAH Vegan Chocolate Protein Brownie was built to solve. Real food that delivers a serious protein hit and tastes genuinely indulgent.

The brownie is dense, fudgy, and chocolatey - the texture satisfies cravings outright. It is lab-tested and doctor-balanced, formulated from clean plant-based ingredients to deliver the protein numbers your day needs without the flavour sacrifice that most convenience options ask for.

If we'd rather bake our own, the KB recipe library has you covered. The Vegan Brownie Premix builds on the same nutritional position - high protein, plant-based, genuinely indulgent - and gives you full control over what goes in.

Berry brownies

This is the brownie for the days when you want something that looks as good as it tastes. The berries soften into pockets of sharpness against a deep, fudgy chocolate base - the contrast is exactly what makes it satisfying rather than cloying. The kidney beans in the batter are invisible in flavour but significant in protein and fibre, which means each square earns its place in a high-protein vegan day. These bake well on a Sunday and hold in the fridge all week.

Product: Vegan Brownie Premix

Cook time: 40 min | Oven: 180°C

Ingredients

200g Vegan Brownie Premix

½ tin kidney beans (or chickpeas)

2 eggs (or 1 banana)

250ml milk

2 tbsp nut butter

1 cup berries

Method

Add premix to bowl. Blend beans, eggs, milk. Combine, fold in nut butter and half the berries. Bake 40 min. Serve with remaining berries and nut butter. Note: full tin of beans = extra fudgy.

Banana and peanut butter mug brownie

Two and a half minutes in the microwave. That is the time investment between wanting something real and having it. This mug brownie is warm, yielding, and rich in a way that feels earned - the banana adds moisture and natural sweetness, the peanut butter runs through it in ribbons. It makes post-training nutrition feel like a reward. Make it once and it becomes the habit that holds our protein targets together on the difficult days.

Product: Vegan Brownie Premix

Cook time: 2 min 30 sec (microwave) | Servings: 1

Ingredients

60g Vegan Brownie Premix

1 banana

1 tbsp peanut butter

30ml milk

Toppings: Ice cream, nut butter

Method

Mash half banana. Add peanut butter and milk, mix. Add premix, stir. Slice remaining banana, arrange in mug. Pour brownie mix over. Microwave 2 min 30 sec. Top with ice cream and nut butter.

Vegan brownie cookies

Two ingredients. The result is a proper cookie - crisp at the edge, chewy in the centre, with the deep cacao flavour of a brownie in a format you can batch, bag, and take anywhere. These are the item in the bag that makes a long day manageable. Plant-based precision and genuine indulgence, delivered in the same two-ingredient formula.

Product: Vegan Brownie Premix

Cook time: 15-20 min | Oven: 170°C

Ingredients

100g Vegan Brownie Premix

100ml plant-based milk

Method

Combine and mix until dough forms. Roll into balls on baking tray. Press down with fork. Bake 170°C for 15-20 min.

Building a day that works

The practical principle is layering. No single meal or snack carries the whole target - the goal is multiple sources across the day, each contributing meaningfully. Whole foods at meals, something like the NUAH Vegan Chocolate Protein Brownie when the gap between meals opens up and a full prep session is not realistic.

The women who hit their protein targets consistently on a plant-based diet have options they genuinely want to reach for, ready when the gap appears.

For more on why protein is especially important for women's hormone balance and energy regulation, read this piece on the link between protein and female hormones.

Frequently asked questions

How much protein do vegan women need per day?

Most active women need between 1.2g and 2.0g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily. At the higher end of that range for regular training. A 65kg woman aiming for 1.6g per kg needs around 104g per day - entirely achievable on a plant-based diet with the right sources in place.

What are the highest protein whole foods on a vegan diet?

Tempeh leads the list at approximately 19g per 100g. Edamame delivers 12-14g per 150g serving. Firm tofu runs around 8g per 100g. Lentils and chickpeas sit at 7-9g per 100g cooked. Hemp seeds add around 10g per three tablespoons. Layering several of these across a day gets you to target without needing a single outsized meal.

Is soy protein safe for women to eat regularly?

A 2019 review published in Nutrients supports moderate soy consumption as safe and beneficial for women. The isoflavones in soy - often cited as a concern - do not disrupt hormone balance at normal dietary amounts, a finding consistent with the review's conclusions. Tofu, tempeh, edamame, and hemp seeds are all reliable, high-quality protein sources.

What can we eat for a fast 25g protein hit on a vegan diet?

Prepared options matter here. The NUAH Vegan Chocolate Protein Brownie is built specifically for this - a real food option delivering a serious protein hit with no compromise on flavour. For home baking, the Vegan Brownie Premix recipes - berry brownies and the banana mug brownie - give you batch-prep options that hold across the week.

Do vegan proteins count as complete proteins?

Some do - tofu, tempeh, edamame, and hemp seeds all contain all nine essential amino acids. Others are incomplete individually but combine well across a day's eating. Eating a varied plant-based diet naturally covers the full amino acid profile without needing to obsess over combining specific foods at every meal.