Protein content
5.3 g of protein in 1 cup cooked (180 g) of spinach, or 12.9 g for every 100 kcal it supplies.
Share of this food's calories that come from protein - it is very protein-dense.
| Protein per 100 kcal | 12.9 g |
|---|---|
| Protein per 100 g | 2.97 g |
| Protein per serving | 5.3 g in 1 cup cooked (180 g) |
| Calories from protein | 52% |
| Leucine per serving | 0.42 g |
| Rank in vegetables, per 100 kcal | 7th of 105 |
| Rank of all foods, per 100 g | 625th of 796 |
| Share of 50 g Daily Value | 11% per serving |
| Protein quality | Incomplete protein |
One 1 cup cooked, 5.3 g protein.
Every 100 kcal of spinach brings 12.9 g of protein. On that measure it ranks 7th of the 105 vegetables in this database and 192nd of all 796 foods on the site. Measured by weight instead, its 2.97 g per 100 g ranks 20th in its group.
Protein accounts for roughly 52% of the calories in spinach, making it very protein-dense. The rest comes from fat and carbohydrate, so it adds a solid amount of protein while still carrying real energy - useful when you are eating to a calorie target rather than under one.
USDA lists 0.26 g of fat per 100 g of spinach, too little for a protein-to-fat ratio to mean much.
Set against hash browns, another vegetable entry in the database, a serving carries about 0.6 g more protein (hash browns has 4.7 g per 1 cup).
It is an incomplete protein on its own; pairing it with other plant foods across the day covers the full range of essential amino acids. The serving quoted here is measured by volume at 180 g, and it covers about 11% of the 50 g FDA Daily Value for protein.
Serving sizes
| Portion | Weight | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 g | 100 g | 2.97 g | 23 kcal |
| 1 cup cooked (serving used here) | 180 g | 5.3 g | 41 kcal |
The USDA record lists no other household measure for this food; protein and calories scale from the per-100 g figures.
Amino acids
| Amino acid | Per 100 g | Per serving | mg per g protein |
|---|---|---|---|
| leucine | 0.231 g | 0.42 g | 78 |
| lysine | 0.182 g | 0.33 g | 61 |
| valine | 0.168 g | 0.3 g | 57 |
| isoleucine | 0.152 g | 0.27 g | 51 |
| threonine | 0.127 g | 0.23 g | 43 |
| phenylalanine | 0.134 g | 0.24 g | 45 |
| methionine | 0.055 g | 0.1 g | 19 |
| histidine | 0.066 g | 0.12 g | 22 |
| tryptophan | 0.04 g | 0.07 g | 13 |
Per-100 g values are the amino acid analysis on the USDA record. The serving and per-gram-of-protein columns are arithmetic on those values; they are not a protein quality score.
Related
Highest-protein vegetables per serving · Most protein-dense foods · Highest protein per 100 g
Head to head
Quick answers
2.97 g. The 1 cup cooked serving used on this page weighs 180 g and so carries 5.3 g.
12.9 g. That figure divides its 2.97 g of protein per 100 g by its 23 kcal per 100 g, so it does not depend on serving size.
No. On its own, the protein in spinach is short of at least one essential amino acid; other protein sources across the day fill the gap.
About 11%. One 1 cup cooked serving has 5.3 g, and the FDA Daily Value for protein is 50 g.
Figures from USDA FoodData Central record #168463 (Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt), SR Legacy data. USDA data is in the public domain. Values are the published reference figures for that record, not lab measurements for a specific brand or batch.