Which is cheaper for protein, ground beef 90/10 (raw) or lentils (cooked)?

Lentils (cooked), at $0.022 per gram of protein against $0.055 for ground beef 90/10 (raw) (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.67 vs $1.65.

Which has more protein per calorie, ground beef 90/10 (raw) or lentils (cooked)?

Ground beef 90/10 (raw), with 11.4 g protein per 100 kcal against 7.8 g for lentils (cooked), 1.5x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.

Which should I buy, ground beef 90/10 (raw) or lentils (cooked)?

Depends on your constraint. On a tight budget with room in your calories, lentils (cooked) is cheaper per gram of protein. On a calorie-capped cut, ground beef 90/10 (raw) gives you 1.5x more protein per calorie and is usually worth its $0.055/g price.

Protein head-to-heads · July 2026

Ground beef 90/10 (raw) vs Lentils (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.

Lentils (cooked) is 2.5x cheaper per gram of protein ($0.022/g vs $0.055/g), while Ground beef 90/10 (raw) is the leaner choice at 11.4 g protein per 100 kcal against 7.8 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
Ground beef 90/10 (raw)	$0.055	$1.65	150 g	264 kcal	11.4 g
Lentils (cooked)	$0.022	$0.67	333 g	387 kcal	7.8 g

Full macros, per serving

Food (per serving)	Price	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Ground beef 90/10 (raw) (100 g)	$1.10	176	20 g	0 g	10 g
Lentils (cooked) (100 g)	$0.20	116	9 g	20 g	0.4 g

A week of protein from each

Hitting a common 100 g/day protein target from lentils (cooked) alone costs $15.56 a week; from ground beef 90/10 (raw) alone, $38.50. That is a gap of $22.94 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

Lentils (cooked) costs $0.022 per gram of protein against $0.055, so it saves $22.94 a week at a 100 g/day target. Ground beef 90/10 (raw) answers a different question: 11.4 g of protein per 100 kcal against 7.8 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 333 g of lentils (cooked), against 150 g for ground beef 90/10 (raw). That is a real constraint, not a footnote: a price per gram only counts if the serving is one a person will finish. Treat lentils (cooked) as the base of a meal that other protein is added to, not as the protein itself.

One of these is a convenience purchase

Ground beef 90/10 (raw) ranks #23 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: $1.65 per 30 g against $0.67 for lentils (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.

Compare against other foods

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper for protein, ground beef 90/10 (raw) or lentils (cooked)?: Lentils (cooked), at $0.022 per gram of protein against $0.055 for ground beef 90/10 (raw) (July 2026 US grocery prices). A 30 g protein serving costs $0.67 vs $1.65.
Which has more protein per calorie, ground beef 90/10 (raw) or lentils (cooked)?: Ground beef 90/10 (raw), with 11.4 g protein per 100 kcal against 7.8 g for lentils (cooked), 1.5x leaner. That matters when you are cutting and calories are the binding constraint.
Which should I buy, ground beef 90/10 (raw) or lentils (cooked)?: Depends on your constraint. On a tight budget with room in your calories, lentils (cooked) is cheaper per gram of protein. On a calorie-capped cut, ground beef 90/10 (raw) gives you 1.5x more protein per calorie and is usually worth its $0.055/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.