High-Protein Indian Vegetarian Snacks: Protein per Serving (IFCT 2017)
Peanuts, paneer, whole moong, chana and milk are the usual high-protein vegetarian snacks in India. This guide takes protein, fat and calories per 100 g from the ICMR-NIN Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), then adds up seven snack servings with weights we chose, so you can see where the grams come from. It is the snack companion to our breakfast guide and our lunch and dinner guide.
The short answer
By our arithmetic from IFCT 2017, the servings below range from 3.7 g of protein (almonds) to 9.4 g (paneer cubes). Nuts carry the most fat: raw groundnut has 39.63 g of fat per 100 g and almond 58.49 g, against 24.78 g for paneer. Our reading: the weight of the serving matters as much as the food, so weigh a snack once before you trust your eye.
Protein per 100 g of common snack foods
Each row is one IFCT 2017 Table 1 row, per 100 g as listed in the book; energy in kJ is converted at 4.184 kJ per kcal. Everything is dry or raw (uncooked), apart from milk, which is as sold. The table is sorted by protein per 100 g.
| Food (IFCT 2017 row) | Protein per 100 g | Fat per 100 g | Calories per 100 g | Protein per 100 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground nut (peanut), raw (H012) | 23.65 g | 39.63 g | 520 kcal | 4.5 g |
| Sunflower seeds (H020) | 23.53 g | 51.85 g | 586 kcal | 4.0 g |
| Green gram, whole (whole moong), dry (B011) | 22.53 g | 1.14 g | 294 kcal | 7.7 g |
| Paneer (L003) | 18.86 g | 24.78 g | 305 kcal | 6.2 g |
| Bengal gram, whole (kala chana), dry (B002) | 18.77 g | 5.11 g | 287 kcal | 6.5 g |
| Almond (H001) | 18.41 g | 58.49 g | 609 kcal | 3.0 g |
| Walnut (H021) | 14.92 g | 64.27 g | 671 kcal | 2.2 g |
| Rice, puffed (murmura) (A012) | 7.47 g | 1.62 g | 362 kcal | 2.1 g |
| Milk, whole, cow (L002) | 3.26 g | 4.48 g | 73 kcal | 4.5 g |
IFCT 2017 has no row for makhana, sattu, curd (dahi), tofu, roasted chana, sprouts or packaged snacks, so we give no numbers for them here; use the pack label.
Seven example snack servings
These weights are ours, not a recommendation. Each serving is the sum of its IFCT rows at the weight shown, dry or raw, before water, soaking and cooking fat.
| Snack (weights are ours) | What is counted | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw peanuts | 30 g raw peanuts | 7.1 g | about 160 kcal |
| Almonds | 20 g almonds | 3.7 g | about 120 kcal |
| Paneer cubes | 50 g paneer | 9.4 g | about 150 kcal |
| Moong chaat (dry weight) | 40 g dry whole moong | 9.0 g | about 120 kcal |
| Kala chana chaat (dry weight) | 40 g dry kala chana | 7.5 g | about 110 kcal |
| Peanut bhel | 20 g puffed rice + 20 g raw peanuts | 6.2 g | about 180 kcal |
| Glass of cow milk | 200 g whole cow milk | 6.5 g | about 150 kcal |
Not counted: oil, ghee, salt, chutney, lemon, onion and tomato in the chaat, and any sweetener in milk. We weigh pulses dry because soaking and cooking add water; see our high-protein Indian foods guide for protein per 100 g across more foods.
One snack pair, added up
A moong chaat made from 40 g of dry whole moong (9.0 g protein, about 120 kcal) with a 200 g glass of whole cow milk (6.5 g, about 150 kcal) comes to 15.5 g of protein and about 260 kcal (calories are rounded separately to the nearest 10, so the parts need not add to the total). It is an illustration of the arithmetic, not a target.
What the numbers say
- Peanuts carry protein and fat together. IFCT lists 23.65 g of protein and 39.63 g of fat per 100 g of raw groundnut, so 30 g is about 160 kcal.
- Paneer is ahead of the nuts per 100 kcal. 6.2 g of protein per 100 kcal against 4.5 g for raw groundnut and 3.0 g for almond.
- Dry pulses make a large snack once cooked. 40 g of dry whole moong gives 9.0 g of protein, but it soaks up water, so the bowl on your table is much bigger than 40 g.
For the plate-level arithmetic of a full day, see the lunch and dinner guide and the breakfast guide.
What this page leaves out
- A protein target or a calorie target: we have not looked up one for any body weight, so we give none.
- Cooked values and foods with no IFCT row (makhana, sattu, curd, tofu, roasted chana, sprouts, packaged snacks).
- Anything about weight loss, muscle gain or health outcomes: the page adds up food data and makes no claim about what a snack does to your body.
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Join the NYUS waitlistFrequently asked questions
How much protein is in a handful of peanuts?
Our arithmetic from IFCT 2017: raw groundnut (H012) has 23.65 g of protein per 100 g, so the 30 g serving in this guide holds 7.1 g of protein and about 160 kcal, because the same row has 39.63 g of fat per 100 g. The weight is ours; a loose handful can be much more than 30 g.
Which has more protein for its calories, paneer or peanuts?
In IFCT 2017, paneer gives 6.2 g of protein per 100 kcal and raw groundnut 4.5 g, so per calorie paneer is ahead. Per 100 g, though, raw peanuts have more protein (23.65 g against 18.86 g for paneer). Our reading: the better pick depends on whether you are counting grams of food or calories.
Does IFCT 2017 have roasted chana, makhana or sattu?
No. We searched the IFCT 2017 PDF on 23 October 2026 and found no row for makhana (fox nut), sattu, curd, tofu or roasted chana; the only roasted row is roasted wheat vermicelli. The chana in this guide is the dry whole Bengal gram row (B002), which is not the same food as the roasted snack, so check the pack label for roasted chana.
What does a moong chaat and milk snack come to?
By our arithmetic from IFCT 2017 rows, 40 g of dry whole moong (B011) and 200 g of whole cow milk (L002) come to 15.5 g of protein and about 260 kcal, before the moong is soaked or cooked and before lemon, chutney or oil. The weights are ours, not a recommendation.
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017). Table 1, per 100 g edible portion, read from the PDF 23 Oct 2026: cereal A012 (PDF page 41), pulses B002 and B011 (page 42), nuts and seeds H001, H012, H020 and H021 (pages 55 to 56), milk L002 and paneer L003 (page 57). Energy converted from kJ at 4.184 kJ per kcal.
The serving weights, the sums, the snack pair, the protein-per-100-kcal figures and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own arithmetic or opinion, not from a study. Names in brackets (peanut, whole moong, kala chana, murmura) are our matching to the IFCT row names.