How Much Protein Is in Beef? A Meat Protein Comparison Chart

A 3-ounce (85g) serving of cooked beef contains 22-29 grams of protein, depending on the cut and fat content. Leaner cuts like eye of round and sirloin have the most protein per calorie. Fattier cuts like ribeye have slightly less protein by weight but more total calories. Here's the full breakdown — every major cut, every common meat — so you can stop guessing and start knowing.

Ground Beef Protein by Fat Content

Ground beef is the most common beef people buy. The protein content varies based on the lean-to-fat ratio. Leaner grinds have more protein per serving because protein replaces the fat.

All values are for 3 oz (85g) cooked weight:

The difference between extra lean and regular: 5g of protein and 120 calories. Same 3 oz serving. If you're trying to hit protein targets without overshooting calories, 90/10 or 93/7 is the move. If you're keto or carnivore and want the fat? 80/20 works.

Quick note: these numbers are cooked. Raw ground beef weighs more but has the same total protein — it just loses water during cooking. A 4 oz raw patty becomes roughly a 3 oz cooked patty. The protein stays.

Steak Protein by Cut

Now the fun part. How much protein is in your steak?

All values for 3 oz (85g) cooked, trimmed of visible fat:

Eye of round is the protein king — 29g per 3 oz with only 4g of fat. But it's also the toughest cut on the list. If you want a steak that's both high-protein and enjoyable to eat, top sirloin and flank steak are the sweet spot.

Ribeye has the most fat and the lowest protein per serving, but it's also the most flavorful because intramuscular fat (marbling) is what makes steak taste like steak. Nobody picks ribeye for macros. They pick it because it's delicious.

Beef Roasts and Other Cuts

Organ meats deserve a mention. Beef heart has 28g of protein per 3 oz with almost no fat — it's essentially a lean muscle (because it is one). Beef liver packs 24g plus absurd amounts of vitamin A, B12, iron, and copper. Your grandma knew what she was doing.

Meat Protein Comparison: Beef vs. Everything Else

Here's how beef stacks up against other animal proteins. All values for 3 oz (85g) cooked:

Chicken breast wins the protein-per-calorie race. Always has. Turkey is close behind. But beef holds its own — top sirloin matches chicken breast on protein and adds more iron, zinc, B12, and creatine. Those micronutrients matter, especially for recovery and energy.

The takeaway: if you're chasing protein, chicken breast and lean beef are neck and neck. If you care about micronutrient density — especially iron and B12 — beef has the edge. If you want omega-3s, eat salmon. The best protein source is the one you'll actually eat consistently.

Raw vs. Cooked: Why the Numbers Are Confusing

This trips people up. The USDA lists protein for both raw and cooked meat, and the numbers look different.

Here's what happens: when you cook meat, it loses water. A 4 oz (113g) raw chicken breast becomes roughly a 3 oz (85g) cooked breast. The protein doesn't evaporate — only water does. So the cooked version has more protein per ounce because it's more concentrated.

Rule of thumb: Raw meat loses about 25% of its weight during cooking. If you track macros using raw weight, use the raw nutrition data. If you weigh cooked meat, use cooked data. Just don't mix them — that's where the math falls apart.

The protein is identical. The serving size just changed because water left.

Grass-Fed vs. Grain-Fed: Does It Affect Protein?

The protein content is virtually identical. A 3 oz serving of grass-fed sirloin has about the same 26g of protein as grain-fed.

Where they differ:

• Fat composition. Grass-fed beef has 2-5x more omega-3 fatty acids and significantly more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) — a fatty acid linked to reduced inflammation and improved body composition in some studies.
• Total fat. Grass-fed beef is leaner overall. Less marbling, less total fat per serving.
• Micronutrients. Grass-fed beef tends to have higher levels of vitamin E, beta-carotene, and antioxidants.

The protein is the same. The quality of the fat around it is different. We cover this in depth in our grass-fed protein powder article. And if you're curious how a scoop of protein powder compares to eating a steak, our what is beef protein isolate piece breaks down the processing and nutrition.

How Does Beef Protein Powder Compare?

One scoop of PaleoPro Paleo Protein Powder delivers 26g of protein. That's equivalent to:

• 3 oz cooked top sirloin
• 3.5 oz cooked 90/10 ground beef
• 3 oz cooked chicken breast
• About 4 large eggs

The advantage of protein powder isn't that it has more protein than whole food. It doesn't. The advantage is convenience. No cooking, no cleanup, no refrigeration needed. Mix with water and you're done in 30 seconds.

The advantage of whole beef is everything else — iron, zinc, B12, creatine, and the satisfaction of eating real food. Protein powder supplements your diet. It doesn't replace your meals.

Both matter. Use protein powder when convenience matters. Eat steak when you can. Our complete guide to beef protein powder covers when supplementing makes sense.

Frequently Asked Questions

What meat has the most protein per serving?

Chicken breast and turkey breast lead at 26-27g per 3 oz cooked serving, with the lowest fat content. Among beef cuts, eye of round tops the list at 29g per 3 oz. Beef heart is surprisingly high at 28g. But the real answer depends on what "per serving" means to you — per ounce, per calorie, or per dollar. Chicken wins per calorie. Beef liver wins per micronutrient density. Tuna wins per dollar.

How much protein is in a pound of ground beef?

A pound (16 oz) of raw 90/10 ground beef contains approximately 84g of protein. After cooking, you'll have about 12 oz of meat (water loss), but the total protein stays at roughly 84g. So whether you measure raw or cooked, a pound of raw 90/10 ground beef gives you about 84g of protein total.

Is beef or chicken better for building muscle?

Both work. Protein is protein for muscle building — your muscles don't know whether the amino acids came from a cow or a chicken. The key factors are total protein intake and leucine content, which are similar across beef and chicken. Beef provides more iron, zinc, B12, and creatine, which support energy and recovery. Chicken is leaner and cheaper. Research has found that red and white meat produce equivalent effects on muscle protein synthesis when matched for protein content.

Does cooking beef reduce the protein content?

No. Cooking changes the structure of protein (denaturation) but doesn't destroy it. The same thing happens when you fry an egg — the texture changes but the protein remains. What cooking does remove is water, which is why cooked meat weighs less than raw. The protein per ounce increases in cooked meat because it's more concentrated, but the total protein in the portion stays the same.

How many eggs equal the protein in a steak?

A 6 oz sirloin steak has about 52g of protein. One large egg has about 6g. So you'd need roughly 8-9 eggs to match one steak on protein. Eggs have the advantage of being cheap and versatile. Steak has the advantage of being steak. Both are complete proteins with excellent amino acid profiles.

Is beef protein powder as nutritious as eating beef?

For protein and amino acids, yes — beef protein isolate delivers a comparable amino acid profile to eating beef. For micronutrients, whole beef wins. A steak gives you iron, zinc, B12, creatine, and other nutrients that are stripped during protein isolation. Think of protein powder as concentrated protein without the extras. For more on this comparison, see our benefits of beef protein powder breakdown.

Want 26g of beef protein without the cooking? PaleoPro Paleo Protein Powder delivers the amino acid profile of a steak in one scoop — four ingredients, zero dairy, ready in 30 seconds. Browse the full protein collection.

Sources:

1. USDA FoodData Central. Nutrient data for beef cuts, poultry, and fish. fdc.nal.usda.gov
2. Daley, C.A., et al. (2010). "A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef." Nutrition Journal, 9:10. PMC
3. Sharp, M.H., et al. (2018). "The Effects of Beef Protein Isolate and Whey Protein Isolate Supplementation on Lean Mass and Strength." JISSN, 15(1). PMC
4. Mathai, J.K., et al. (2017). "Values for digestible indispensable amino acid scores (DIAAS) for some dairy and plant proteins may better describe protein quality than values calculated using the concept for protein digestibility-corrected amino acid scores (PDCAAS)." British Journal of Nutrition, 117(4). PubMed