Food Lists: Ranked by the Nutrient You Care About
Every list below ranks the 321 foods in our USDA-sourced database by a single measured nutrient per 100 g — so you can find the highest-protein, lowest-calorie or highest-fibre option in seconds.
High-Protein Foods
Ranked by grams of protein per 100 g.
Top pick: Egg, white, dried — 79.9 g / 100 g
Low-Calorie Foods
Ranked by calories per 100 g, lowest first.
Top pick: Pickles, cucumber, dill or kosher dill — 12 kcal / 100 g
High-Fibre Foods
Ranked by grams of dietary fibre per 100 g.
Top pick: Sorghum bran, white, unenriched, dry, raw — 35 g / 100 g
Low-Carb Foods
Ranked by grams of carbohydrate per 100 g, lowest first.
Top pick: Beef, chuck, roast, boneless, choice, raw — 0 g / 100 g
Low-Fat Foods
Ranked by grams of fat per 100 g, lowest first.
Top pick: Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg white — 0 g / 100 g
High-Calorie Foods
Ranked by calories per 100 g, highest first.
Top pick: Oil, coconut — 833 kcal / 100 g
Low-Sugar Foods
Ranked by grams of total sugars per 100 g, lowest first.
Top pick: Almond butter, creamy — 0 g / 100 g
Low-Sodium Foods
Ranked by milligrams of sodium per 100 g, lowest first.
Top pick: Apples, gala, with skin, raw — 0 mg / 100 g
The top three of every list
If you only want the answer, it is here. Each row is the same ranking rule the full list uses, applied to all 321 foods.
| List | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💪 High-Protein Foods Protein per 100 g | Egg 79.9 g | Flour 51.1 g | Egg 48.1 g |
| 🥬 Low-Calorie Foods Calories per 100 g | Pickles 12 kcal | Almond milk 15 kcal | Cucumber 16 kcal |
| 🌾 High-Fibre Foods Fibre per 100 g | Sorghum bran 35 g | Flour 34.2 g | Flaxseed 23.1 g |
| 🥚 Low-Carb Foods Carbs per 100 g | Beef 0 g | Beef 0 g | Beef 0 g |
| 🍚 Low-Fat Foods Fat per 100 g | Eggs 0 g | Apples 0.1 g | Apples 0.1 g |
| 🥑 High-Calorie Foods Calories per 100 g | Oil 833 kcal | Nuts 750 kcal | Nuts 730 kcal |
| 🚫 Low-Sugar Foods Sugars per 100 g | Almond butter 0 g | Almond milk 0 g | Almond milk 0 g |
| 🧂 Low-Sodium Foods Sodium per 100 g | Apples 0 mg | Apples 0 mg | Apples 0 mg |
Which list fits your goal
| If you want to… | Start here | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lose fat without feeling hungry | Low calorie + high protein | Low energy density gives volume; protein gives satiety |
| Build or keep muscle | High protein | Protein intake is the dietary lever that matters most |
| Gain weight or bulk | High calorie | More energy per bite when appetite is the limit |
| Eat keto or low carb | Low carb | Ranked by carbohydrate per 100 g, lowest first |
| Improve digestion and fullness | High fibre | Bulk and slower digestion for very few calories |
| Cut back on salt | Low sodium | Whole foods before any salt is added in cooking |
| Reduce sugar | Low sugar | Total sugars per 100 g, natural and added combined |
| Eat less fat | Low fat | Fat is 9 kcal/g, so cutting it buys the most volume |
What is in the database
Every list draws on the same 321 foods across 11 browsable categories, all sourced from USDA FoodData Central and released into the public domain (CC0). Calories per 100 g run from 12 kcal at the low end to 833 kcal at the high end — a 69× spread, which is why per-100 g comparison is worth doing at all.
Nutrient coverage is not uniform, because USDA records do not measure everything for every food: 321 of 321 foods report dietary fibre, 321 report sodium and 321 report total sugars. Foods without a measured value are left out of that list rather than treated as zero, so a ranking never rewards a missing number.
Browse by food category
Prefer to browse by food type? Each category page lists every food we hold in that group with its calories and macros per 100 g.
- 🥦 Vegetables calories — 80 foods, median 33 kcal per 100 g, average 1.8 g protein
- 🍎 Fruits calories — 44 foods, median 61 kcal per 100 g, average 0.7 g protein
- 🌾 Grains & Pasta calories — 41 foods, median 367 kcal per 100 g, average 10.8 g protein
- 🥛 Dairy & Eggs calories — 40 foods, median 297 kcal per 100 g, average 16.8 g protein
- 🐟 Fish & Seafood calories — 23 foods, median 81 kcal per 100 g, average 17.5 g protein
- 🫘 Beans & Legumes calories — 20 foods, median 132 kcal per 100 g, average 15.1 g protein
- 🥜 Nuts & Seeds calories — 19 foods, median 622 kcal per 100 g, average 17.5 g protein
- 🥩 Beef calories — 15 foods, median 164 kcal per 100 g, average 21.8 g protein
- 🍗 Poultry calories — 11 foods, median 153 kcal per 100 g, average 21.3 g protein
- 🥓 Pork calories — 7 foods, median 168 kcal per 100 g, average 22.7 g protein
- 🌭 Deli & Sausages calories — 6 foods, median 318 kcal per 100 g, average 16 g protein
Turn a list into a plan
Picking better foods only changes your weight when it changes your calorie total. Start with the calorie calculator to find your daily target, use the macro calculator to split it into protein, carbs and fat, then log your day in the free calorie tracker. If you are cutting, the calorie deficit calculator shows how fast a given deficit moves the scale.
A useful habit when reading any of these lists: check the calories column alongside the ranked nutrient. A food can top the protein list and still be calorie-dense, and the lowest-sodium food in a category might be the highest in fat. One nutrient never tells you whether a food fits your day — which is why every entry links through to its full nutrition page, with %DV, net carbs, energy density and ounce-and-pound conversions.
Food list FAQ
How are these food lists built?
Each list ranks every food in our database by one measured nutrient per 100 g — protein, calories, fibre, carbs, fat, sugars or sodium. All values come from USDA FoodData Central (public domain, CC0), so nothing is estimated or invented.
Why compare foods per 100 g?
Serving sizes differ hugely between foods, so per-100 g values are the only fair way to compare them side by side. Once you pick a food, its page scales every nutrient to your real portion.
Is any of this behind a paywall?
No — every list, food page, calculator and the calorie tracker is 100% free with no sign-up and no ads.
Which list should I start with?
If you are losing weight, start with high-protein foods and low-calorie foods — protein for satiety and lean-mass retention, low energy density for volume. If you are gaining, high-calorie foods is the one that matters. For a specific medical reason to limit sodium or sugar, use those lists directly.
Do these lists include every food?
Each list ranks every food in the database that reports the nutrient in question. Of 321 foods, 321 report dietary fibre, 321 report sodium and 321 report total sugars — USDA Foundation Foods records do not measure every nutrient for every item, so foods without a value are excluded from that list rather than counted as zero.
Why is a food I expected to be high in protein missing from the top 40?
Ranking is strictly per 100 g of the food as described, and preparation changes the number a lot. A dry or dehydrated form concentrates protein per 100 g; the same food cooked with water added dilutes it. Check the exact preparation in the food name — each entry maps to one specific USDA record.
How often does the data change?
The lists are generated from the dataset at build time, so they update whenever the underlying USDA values or the set of foods changes. Nothing is hand-maintained, which means the rankings and the individual food pages can never disagree.