Which is cheaper for protein, beef jerky or split peas (cooked)?

Split peas (cooked), at $0.022 per gram of protein against $0.166 for beef jerky (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.65 vs $4.97.

Which has more protein per calorie, beef jerky or split peas (cooked)?

Beef jerky, with 8.1 g protein per 100 kcal against 7.2 g for split peas (cooked), 1.1x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.

Which should I buy, beef jerky or split peas (cooked)?

Depends on your constraint. On a tight budget with room in your calories, split peas (cooked) is cheaper per gram of protein. On a calorie-capped cut, beef jerky gives you 1.1x more protein per calorie and is usually worth its $0.166/g price.

Protein head-to-heads · July 2026

Beef jerky vs Split peas (cooked): which protein is cheaper?

USDA macros joined to current US grocery prices, reduced to the two numbers that decide it: dollars per gram of protein, and protein per calorie.

Split peas (cooked) is 7.6x cheaper per gram of protein ($0.022/g vs $0.166/g), while Beef jerky is the leaner choice at 8.1 g protein per 100 kcal against 7.2 g. Budget favours one, a calorie cap favours the other.

Food	$/g protein	30 g protein costs	You need	kcal that come with it	Protein/100 kcal
Beef jerky	$0.166	$4.97	90 g	371 kcal	8.1 g
Split peas (cooked)	$0.022	$0.65	361 g	419 kcal	7.2 g

Full macros, per serving

Food (per serving)	Price	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Beef jerky (100 g)	$5.50	411	33.2 g	11 g	25.6 g
Split peas (cooked) (100 g)	$0.18	116	8.3 g	20.5 g	0.4 g

A week of protein from each

Hitting a common 100 g/day protein target from split peas (cooked) alone costs $15.18 a week; from beef jerky alone, $115.96. That is a gap of $100.78 every week for the same protein. In practice you mix sources: the planner computes the cheapest mix for your exact target and calorie cap, live from the same dataset.

Budget says one, calories say the other

Split peas (cooked) costs $0.022 per gram of protein against $0.166, so it saves $100.78 a week at a 100 g/day target. Beef jerky answers a different question: 8.1 g of protein per 100 kcal against 7.2 g, which is what matters once calories, not dollars, are the thing you run out of first.

The amount you actually have to eat

Thirty grams of protein means 361 g of split peas (cooked), against 90 g for beef jerky. That is a real constraint, not a footnote: a price per gram only counts if the serving is one a person will finish. Treat split peas (cooked) as the base of a meal that other protein is added to, not as the protein itself.

What the calories cost you

Getting 30 g of protein from split peas (cooked) brings 419 kcal with it. On a 2,000 kcal day, three servings would be most of your budget before anything else goes on the plate. That is fine when you are eating at maintenance or building, and it is the reason this food falls apart on a cut no matter how good the price per gram looks.

The gap here is 7.6x, which is unusual

Most matchups in this dataset land inside 2x. Beef jerky costing 7.6x what split peas (cooked) does for the same gram of protein means you are buying something other than protein: processing, shelf stability, convenience or flavour. Worth paying for sometimes, but name it, because at a 100 g/day target that gap is $100.78 a week and $5240.72 a year.

One of these is a convenience purchase

Beef jerky ranks #25 of 25 on cost per gram of protein, near the bottom. It is not a bad food, it is an expensive way to buy protein: $4.97 per 30 g against $0.65 for split peas (cooked). If it is in your basket for the protein, swap it. If it is there because it travels well or you enjoy it, that is a different and perfectly good reason.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper for protein, beef jerky or split peas (cooked)?: Split peas (cooked), at $0.022 per gram of protein against $0.166 for beef jerky (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.65 vs $4.97.
Which has more protein per calorie, beef jerky or split peas (cooked)?: Beef jerky, with 8.1 g protein per 100 kcal against 7.2 g for split peas (cooked), 1.1x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.
Which should I buy, beef jerky or split peas (cooked)?: Depends on your constraint. On a tight budget with room in your calories, split peas (cooked) is cheaper per gram of protein. On a calorie-capped cut, beef jerky gives you 1.1x more protein per calorie and is usually worth its $0.166/g price.

Prices are representative US grocery prices as of July 2026; your store will differ. Educational content, not medical or dietary advice. Dataset: free download, CC-BY.