Soya Chunks Protein per 100g: Dry vs Soaked, and How Much a Day

Dry soya chunks have about 51–52 g of protein per 100 g. Once soaked or boiled, 100 g of chunks has only about 17 g, because the chunks soak up roughly twice their weight in water. So a 50 g dry serving, about a big handful, gives about 26 g of protein and 164 kcal, whether it looks like 50 g or 150 g on your plate.

The protein figure on the packet is for the dry product. Most of the "soya chunks have 52 g protein" confusion comes from applying that number to soaked chunks.

How much protein do soya chunks have?

Soya chunks are textured soy protein, made from soy flour after the oil has been removed. The Institute of Food Research and Product Development at Kasetsart University describes textured soy protein as made from defatted soy flour with more than 50% protein.

The closest database entry is USDA's defatted soy flour: per 100 g, 51.5 g protein, 327 kcal, 1.2 g fat and 17.5 g dietary fibre. Your packet label may differ a little; if it does, use the label's number.

Weigh dry chunks on a kitchen scale once. After that you'll know what your usual handful or katori of dry chunks weighs.

Dry vs soaked soya chunks: why does the number drop?

Water. Soya chunks are sponges. The same food technology institute recommends rehydrating them at about 1 part chunks to 2 parts water, waiting five minutes and then squeezing out the excess.

If the chunks take up all that water, 50 g dry becomes about 150 g. The protein doesn't change, but now it's spread over three times the weight.

The multipliers are illustrations; how much water stays in depends on how long you soak and how hard you squeeze. That's why the only number that's reliable is the dry weight. Measure dry, then cook however you like.

The same idea applies to dal: the protein in a bowl depends on how much raw dal went in, not the water.

How do soya chunks compare with other protein foods?

On protein per calorie, dry soya chunks beat almost every vegetarian food and come close to chicken breast.

IFCT values are from ICMR-NIN's IFCT 2017. Whole soybean has more fat (about 20 g per 100 g) because the oil hasn't been removed. For paneer in detail, see paneer protein per 100 g.

Is soya protein good quality?

Yes. It's one of the few plant proteins that scores close to animal protein.

• DIAAS: a 2020 review (Herreman et al., Food Science & Nutrition) gave soy a mean DIAAS of 91, in the "high quality" band (75–99), limited slightly by methionine and cysteine. Whey scored 85 and egg 101 in the same table. Rice and wheat were below 50.
• PDCAAS: a 2011 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found PDCAAS values of 0.95–1.00 for soy protein isolates and concentrate, depending on the lab. The authors worked for a soy ingredient company, so read it alongside the independent DIAAS review above.

Eating soya with roti or rice covers the small methionine gap. ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 recommend pairing pulses with cereals at about 3:1 by raw weight for exactly this reason, and list soyabean among the rich sources of protein.

Does soya reduce testosterone or affect hormones in men?

The research says no. It's a common worry among people who train, so here's what the evidence shows.

A large, recent analysis is a 2021 meta-analysis by Reed et al. in Reproductive Toxicology. It pooled 41 clinical studies in adult men who ate soy foods, soy protein or isoflavone extracts. Total testosterone was measured in 1,753 men and free testosterone in 752. The authors found no significant effect of soy protein or isoflavones on total testosterone, free testosterone, estradiol, estrone or SHBG, and no effect when they split the data by dose or study length.

So a daily katori of soya sabzi won't lower your testosterone. If you've read about individual case reports, those are the reason the meta-analysis was done, and the pooled clinical data didn't back them up.

If you have a thyroid condition, a hormone-related condition, or take regular medication, ask your doctor about your diet as a whole rather than cutting foods on your own.

How much soya chunks can you eat a day?

There's no official daily limit from ICMR-NIN. A practical range for most healthy adults is 25–50 g dry a day, which gives about 13–26 g of protein.

The real limit for most people is fibre. Fifty grams of dry chunks brings about 9 g of fibre, a big jump if your diet is mostly white rice and refined atta. NHS hospital guidance on high-fibre diets warns that raising fibre suddenly can cause wind, bloating and stomach upset, and advises increasing it gradually and drinking enough fluid. The same leaflet gives 30 g a day as the adult target. So start with 20–25 g dry a few times a week and build up.

One more nuance: the ICMR-NIN 2024 guidelines group foods by how processed they are, and their table (15.2) lists commercially produced soy chunks, tofu and peanut butter among examples in the most-processed group. That's about the manufacturing, not the protein, so read the ingredient list on your pack. It's still sensible to treat them as one protein among several, alongside dal, curd, milk and, if you eat them, eggs.

Set your daily protein target first with the protein calculator, then see where soya fits. For a full day of meals, the 100 g protein vegetarian diet uses 30 g of dry soya at lunch as one piece of the plan.

Easy ways to use 30–50 g dry soya

• Soya pulao: 30 g dry chunks with 80 g raw rice, about 15 g protein from the soya alone
• Soya bhurji: chunks boiled, squeezed and minced, cooked like paneer bhurji with onion and tomato
• In a sabzi: a handful in matar, aloo or mixed veg; log it with the oil in the calorie counter
• Soya keema: chunks minced fine, or soya granules, cooked with peas and rolled in a roti

The short version

• Dry soya chunks: about 51–52 g protein and 327 kcal per 100 g
• The packet value is for dry chunks; soaked chunks are about 17 g per 100 g
• 50 g dry gives about 26 g protein, however much it weighs after soaking
• Always measure soya by dry weight
• Soy protein is high quality (DIAAS 91); eat it with roti or rice
• A 41-study meta-analysis found no effect of soy on testosterone or estrogen in men
• 25–50 g dry a day is a sensible range; build up slowly because of the fibre

Useful links

• USDA FoodData Central: defatted soy flour
• IFCT 2017, Indian Food Composition Tables (ICMR-NIN)
• Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 (ICMR-NIN)
• Reed et al. 2021, soy and male reproductive hormones meta-analysis
• Herreman et al. 2020, DIAAS of plant and animal proteins
• Textured vegetable protein, IFRPD Kasetsart University

This is general information, not medical advice. If you have kidney disease, a thyroid condition, are pregnant or are under 18, check your protein needs with a doctor or registered dietitian.