Most foods are good at one or the other. Meat, fish and dairy bring protein and no fibre at all. Fruit, vegetables and wholegrains bring fibre and not much protein. Below are three lists: high fibre foods, high protein foods, and the short overlap of foods that carry a meaningful amount of both.
Where the numbers come from: every food figure in the tables and lists below is from the Australian Food Composition Database (AFCD, Release 3), published by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Figures are grams per 100g of the food as described (dry, cooked or canned). Brand, variety and cooking all move them a little. Recipe figures are each recipe's own published per-serve numbers.
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Why the Overlap Is Small
Fibre is a plant structure. Animals do not have it, so no animal food contains any. That rules out the entire protein aisle most people reach for first: chicken, beef, fish, eggs, milk and cheese all deliver zero fibre in the AFCD.
Plants have plenty of fibre but are usually lower in protein. The foods that do both well are concentrated in one place: legumes, nuts and seeds.
High Fibre Foods
These are the most fibre-dense foods in everyday Australian kitchens. The top of the list is eaten by the spoonful, not the bowl, so look at the everyday foods further down too.
| Food | Fibre / 100g | Protein / 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Psyllium, uncooked | 88.7g | 3.0g |
| Wheat bran, unprocessed | 41.8g | 14.8g |
| Chia seeds | 33.2g | 23.8g |
| Linseed (flaxseed) | 32.9g | 21.6g |
| Lupin, dehulled flakes, uncooked | 27.0g | 36.9g |
| Oat bran, unprocessed | 16.7g | 16.7g |
| Figs, dried | 14.3g | 3.6g |
| Barley, pearl, uncooked | 13.1g | 9.9g |
| Rolled oats, uncooked | 9.5g | 12.2g |
| Globe artichoke, boiled | 9.5g | 3.3g |
| Wholemeal flour, plain | 8.8g | 11.6g |
| Prunes | 7.7g | 2.6g |
| Chickpeas, dried and boiled | 7.6g | 7.2g |
| Wholemeal bread | 6.9g | 10.4g |
| Avocado, hass | 5.9g | 1.6g |
| Raspberries | 4.8g | 1.1g |
| Baked beans, canned | 4.8g | 4.8g |
| Pear, unpeeled | 3.8g | 0.4g |
For context, the NHMRC Adequate Intake for fibre is 25g a day for adult women and 30g for adult men. If you are adding fibre, add it gradually and drink more water as you go, because a sudden jump can cause bloating.
High Protein Foods
Of foods as eaten, cooked lean meat and fish lead on protein per 100g, and every one of them has zero fibre. Dry legumes, soy products and seeds can match or beat them per 100g, but cooking adds water (lentils drop from 25.5g dry to 7.3g boiled), and they bring the fibre with them.
| Food | Protein / 100g | Fibre / 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Beef rump steak, lean, grilled | 32.0g | 0g |
| Kangaroo loin fillet, grilled | 30.1g | 0g |
| Chicken breast, lean, grilled | 29.8g | 0g |
| Prawns, cooked | 27.1g | 0g |
| Tuna, canned in brine, drained | 26.1g | 0g |
| Cheddar cheese | 24.6g | 0g |
| Atlantic salmon, grilled | 22.9g | 0g |
| Cottage cheese | 17.0g | 0g |
| Eggs, poached | 13.1g | 0g |
| Textured vegetable protein (soy) | 51.5g | 17.5g |
| Lupin, dehulled splits, uncooked | 37.5g | 27.8g |
| Soy beans, dried | 31.3g | 20.1g |
| Pumpkin seeds | 30.2g | 4.6g |
| Lentils, dry | 25.5g | 14.4g |
| Peanuts, raw | 24.7g | 8.2g |
| Tofu, firm | 12.8g | 1.0g |
Dry and cooked figures are not directly comparable: cooking adds water, so 100g of boiled lentils carries far less than 100g of dry lentils. For how much protein you need in a day, see how much protein you need per day.
Foods High in Protein and Fibre: Legumes and Pulses
The strongest category for both by a wide margin, and the reason most high-protein, high-fibre eating ends up built on beans.
| Food | Protein / 100g | Fibre / 100g | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lupin, dehulled splits, uncooked | 37.5g | 27.8g | Highest combined of the legumes here. Declared allergen in Australia. |
| Soy beans, dried | 31.3g | 20.1g | Also sold as tofu and tempeh |
| Red kidney beans, dried and boiled | 7.9g | 7.2g | Must be cooked thoroughly, never eaten raw |
| Lentils, dried and boiled | 7.3g | 4.1g | No soaking required |
| Chickpeas, dried and boiled | 7.2g | 7.6g | Most versatile across sweet and savoury |
| Red kidney beans, canned | 6.6g | 6.5g | The easy tinned option |
| Chickpeas, canned | 6.3g | 5.7g | Rinse before use |
| Baked beans, canned | 4.8g | 4.8g | An even split, ready to eat |
Nuts and Seeds
Denser than cooked legumes because there is no water in them, but also much higher in fat and energy, so portion size matters more.
| Food | Protein / 100g | Fibre / 100g | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chia seeds | 23.8g | 33.2g | The strongest seed for both |
| Linseed (flaxseed) | 21.6g | 32.9g | Easiest to use ground |
| Sunflower seeds | 24.7g | 13.0g | Easy to add to bread and muesli |
| Almonds, raw | 19.7g | 11.0g | Best all-round nut for this pairing |
| Peanuts, raw | 24.7g | 8.2g | Technically a legume; common allergen |
| Pistachios, raw | 17.0g | 7.7g | A snack nut |
| Pumpkin seeds | 30.2g | 4.6g | Good savoury topper |
| Hemp seeds | 29.8g | 4.2g | Strong protein, modest fibre |
| Psyllium | 3.0g | 88.7g | Almost pure fibre. No real protein. |
Wholegrains
Lower in protein than the two groups above, but they form the base of most meals, so the totals add up quickly.
- Rolled oats: 12.2g protein, 9.5g fibre (uncooked). The best everyday grain for this pairing.
- Wholemeal pasta: 12.5g protein, 9.9g fibre (dry).
- Wholemeal bread: 10.4g protein, 6.9g fibre. Check the label for wholemeal flour as the main ingredient.
- Pearl barley: 9.9g protein, 13.1g fibre (uncooked).
- Quinoa, cooked: 3.6g protein, 3.4g fibre. Popular, but weaker than its reputation once cooked.
Vegetables
No vegetable is high in protein in absolute terms, but several are respectable for their energy, and all bring fibre.
- Green peas, frozen and boiled: 5.2g protein, 6.1g fibre. The highest protein of the common vegetables here, with good fibre.
- Brussels sprouts, boiled: 4.0g protein, 4.8g fibre.
- Sweetcorn on the cob, cooked: 4.0g protein, 4.7g fibre.
- Broccoli, raw: 4.0g protein, 3.5g fibre.
- Globe artichoke, boiled: 3.3g protein, 9.5g fibre. High fibre for a vegetable.
High Protein, High Fibre Recipes
The easiest way to get both in one go is a recipe built on the foods above: oats, berries, chia, flax and other plant foods for the fibre, with a scoop of lupin protein for the protein. These are from our recipe collection, with the figures each recipe publishes per serve.
| Recipe | Protein / serve | Fibre / serve |
|---|---|---|
| High protein Biscoff overnight oats | 35g | 14g |
| Berry yoghurt protein smoothie | 69g | 13g |
| Dee's overnight oats | 39g | 12g |
| Berry blast protein smoothie | 43g | 12g |
| Creamy Biscoff protein oats | 49g | 9g |
| Strawberry oat protein smoothie | 71g | 9g |
| Cherry flax protein smoothie | 70g | 9g |
| Iced mocha protein coffee | 43g | 9g |
| High protein oat and lupin porridge | 40.7g | 8.9g |
| Mango coconut protein smoothie | 60g | 8g |
| Peanut butter protein cookies | 13g | 6g |
The fibre in these comes from the oats, fruit, seeds and nuts, not the protein powder. Swap the fruit or milk and the numbers move, so treat them as a guide.
High Protein Foods for Breakfast
Breakfast is where most people come up short on protein, because the usual foods (toast, cereal, fruit) are carbohydrate and fibre. From the lists above, eggs, cottage cheese, peanut butter, oats, chia and baked beans are the easy breakfast wins. For full meals with protein and fibre per serve, see our high protein breakfast ideas, or start with the high protein pancakes (40g protein a serve), protein overnight oats (39g) or protein porridge (40.7g).
How to Actually Use This
Reading a table is easy, changing what you eat is not. Three changes account for most of the gap:
- Add a tin of legumes to something you already cook. Not a new meal, an addition to an existing one. Bolognese, curry, soup and salad all take a tin of lentils without complaint.
- Put a tablespoon of seeds on breakfast. Chia or ground linseed, every day. This is the single highest-return habit on the page.
- Switch one refined grain to a wholegrain. Usually bread, because most people eat it daily and the swap is invisible.
Where protein powder fits
Protein powder belongs on the protein side of this page, not the fibre side, and it is worth being clear about why. Lupin Gold is a single-ingredient lupin protein isolate: around 90% protein and roughly 3% fibre, because refining an isolate strips most of the fibre out. Whole lupin at the top of the legumes table is a genuinely high fibre food. The isolate made from it is not. Use the powder to close a protein gap, and the foods above to close a fibre one. Bottled protein waters sit the same way: protein with little or no fibre, as we cover in protein water: what it is and is it good for you.
At around 90% protein, 20g of powder is roughly 18g of protein. It is unflavoured, so it disappears into the high-fibre foods on this page: stirred through overnight oats, blended into a berry smoothie or baked into high protein bread. More in our protein recipes, or see the lupin protein powder range and the 600g lupin protein isolate.
Allergen note: lupin is a declared allergen in Australia. People with peanut or other legume allergies should review the allergen information page before use.
FAQs
What food is highest in both protein and fibre?
Of the foods on this page (all from the Australian Food Composition Database), dehulled lupin splits lead the legumes at 37.5g of protein and 27.8g of fibre per 100g, and chia seeds lead the seeds at 23.8g of protein and 33.2g of fibre. Among everyday staples, rolled oats and canned legumes are the most practical sources of both.
What are the highest fibre foods?
Of the foods on this page, per 100g: psyllium (88.7g), wheat bran (41.8g), chia seeds (33.2g), linseed (32.9g) and lupin flakes (27.0g). Of the foods people eat by the bowl, rolled oats, pearl barley, wholemeal bread, legumes and dried fruit lead.
What are the highest protein foods?
Of foods as eaten, lean grilled meats lead per 100g: beef rump 32.0g, kangaroo 30.1g and chicken breast 29.8g. Of the plant foods, textured vegetable protein (51.5g), lupin splits (37.5g), soy beans (31.3g) and pumpkin seeds (30.2g) lead, all measured dry or uncooked.
Do any animal foods contain fibre?
No. Dietary fibre comes from plant cell walls, so meat, fish, poultry, eggs and plain dairy contain none or only a trace. This is why diets built mainly around animal protein tend to fall short on fibre unless plants are deliberately added.
Does protein powder count towards fibre intake?
Barely. Plant isolates are refined to concentrate the protein, which removes most of the fibre. Lupin Gold is roughly 3% fibre, well under a gram in a normal serve. Treat protein powder as a protein source only.
How much protein and fibre do Australian adults need?
For fibre, the NHMRC Adequate Intake is 25g a day for women and 30g a day for men, with a higher Suggested Dietary Target of 28g and 38g. For protein, the NHMRC Recommended Dietary Intake for adults is 0.75g per kilogram of body weight a day for women and 0.84g for men, rising to 0.94g and 1.07g over 70. People who train hard often aim higher. Both figures are general guidance rather than individual advice.
Related reading: high protein breakfast ideas (with fibre) · lupin vs soy vs pea vs whey · how much protein you need per day
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and reflects our own research and understanding at the time of writing. We are not dietitians, and information may evolve. It is not individual medical or dietary advice. Please speak with your healthcare professional for personalised guidance.
