trail-food · data
Plant Based Backpacking Protein Per Ounce
Protein powder, nutritional yeast and TVP carry the most protein per ounce of the 21 vegan trail foods here. Oil, nuts and peanut butter carry the most calories. Every row links to the manufacturer's label for calories and protein, with vegan status taken from the ingredient list where the brand does not certify it, and uses food weight as packed, without packaging or camp water.
Short answer: protein powder, nutritional yeast and TVP give you the most protein for the weight. Oil, nuts and peanut butter give you the most calories. My own carries leaned on a bag of Bob’s Red Mill TVP from Bishop, refried beans and couscous from Kennedy Meadows, and protein powder in more than one resupply, so those foods are here with the rest of a normal vegan shop.
The table
An ounce here is 28.35 grams of food as packed. Tortillas and peanut butter include the moisture already in them. Rice, beans and noodles are weighed dry, before you add water. Packaging isn’t counted.
| Product and label | Label serving | Protein g/oz | kcal/oz |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOW soy protein isolate, unflavored | 24 g; 90 kcal; 20 g protein | 23.6 | 106 |
| NOW pea protein, unflavored | 33 g; 120 kcal; 24 g protein | 20.6 | 103 |
| NOW nutritional yeast flakes | 9 g; 35 kcal; 5 g protein | 15.7 | 110 |
| Bob’s Red Mill TVP | 23 g; 80 kcal; 12 g protein | 14.8 | 99 |
| Manitoba Harvest natural hemp hearts | 30 g; 180 kcal; 10 g protein | 9.4 | 170 |
| Planters unsalted dry-roasted peanuts | 28 g; 170 kcal; 8 g protein | 8.1 | 172 |
| Mother Earth dehydrated lentils | 28 g; 110 kcal; 7 g protein | 7.1 | 111 |
| SKIPPY creamy peanut butter | 32 g; 190 kcal; 7 g protein | 6.2 | 168 |
| Mother Earth dehydrated refried bean mix | 28 g; 100 kcal; 6 g protein | 6.1 | 101 |
| NOW raw unsalted almonds | 38 g; 220 kcal; 8 g protein | 6.0 | 164 |
| NOW raw unsalted sunflower seeds | 35 g; 200 kcal; 7 g protein | 5.7 | 162 |
| NOW organic black chia seeds | 12 g; 50 kcal; 2 g protein | 4.7 | 118 |
| NOW organic whole raw unsalted cashews | 30 g; 170 kcal; 5 g protein | 4.7 | 161 |
| GoMacro peanut butter chocolate chip MacroBar | 69 g; 290 kcal; 11 g protein | 4.5 | 119 |
| NOW organic rolled oats | 40 g; 150 kcal; 5 g protein | 3.5 | 106 |
| Minute instant white rice | 46 g; 170 kcal; 4 g protein | 2.5 | 105 |
| Lotus millet & brown rice ramen cakes | 70 g; 250 kcal; 6 g protein | 2.4 | 101 |
| Mission soft taco flour tortillas | 49 g; 140 kcal; 4 g protein | 2.3 | 81 |
| Sun-Maid golden raisins | 40 g; 130 kcal; 1 g protein | 0.7 | 92 |
| Ellyndale organic extra virgin olive oil | 14 g; 120 kcal; 0 g protein | 0.0 | 243 |
| Native Forest dairy-free coconut milk powder | 8 g; 60 kcal; <1 g protein | <3.6 | 213 |
Reading the numbers
The powders win on protein by a long way. Oil wins on calories and has no protein at all. A resupply needs some of both, and no table can tell you which of these you’ll still want to eat on day six.
Peanut butter earns its spot because it goes straight into a tortilla with no water and no stove. Beans and TVP turn a pot of rice or couscous into a real dinner. Read the directions on the exact package, since dehydrated beans and TVP don’t all cook the same way.
A few rows need a note. The Lotus ramen is a millet and brown rice cake, so don’t use its numbers for a fried wheat ramen packet. The Planters peanuts are the unsalted ones; seasoned versions have their own label. Native Forest lists under a gram of protein per serving, so that row shows an upper limit.
What a day adds up to
The seven-day food list builds a full day from these same products and lands around 3,425 calories and 105 grams of protein. In Mammoth I figured I was eating 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day, so that’s about the right range for a thru-hike. Getting more meant carrying more.
Checking a food that isn’t here
Take the label’s protein or calories, multiply by 28.35 and divide by the serving size in grams. That gives you the per-ounce number. For a whole food bag, use the grams you packed in place of 28.35. Some oil labels list fluid ounces, so go by grams.
Labels are rounded and a different flavor can change the numbers, so treat these as close rather than exact. Manufacturer labels checked October 8, 2026.
For ready-made pouches, see the vegan backpacking meals you can buy in 2026, with calories and protein for each.
