Phenylalanine is one of the tougher amino acids to get on a vegan diet, but easily done if you focus on the right foods.
I’ve collected nutrition data for over 120 whole foods that are vegan, and compiled a list of the top 30 in terms of phenylalanine on this page.
How Much Phenylalanine Do You Need Per Day?
According to the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), adults want to aim for a minimum of 33 mg/kg body weight/day.
For example, someone who is 77 kg (170 lb) would need 2541 mg (2.5 grams) of phenylalanine per day.
The average adult gets 5-8 grams per day, which far exceeds the minimum. But it’s a bit harder on a vegan diet to get that much.
The Best Vegan Phenylalanine Food Sources
It takes 2-3 servings of the top foods on this list to reach the minimum RDA. Ideally you’ll have more.
| Food | Phenylalanine (g) per 100 grams | Phenylalanine (g) per 100 calories |
|---|---|---|
| Seaweed (dried) | 2.77 | 0.97 |
| Hemp seeds | 1.45 | 0.26 |
| Peanuts | 1.38 | 0.24 |
| Almonds | 1.13 | 0.20 |
| Pistachio nuts | 1.09 | 0.20 |
| Chia seeds | 1.02 | 0.21 |
| Flaxseed | 0.96 | 0.18 |
| Sesame seeds | 0.94 | 0.16 |
| Pumpkin seeds | 0.92 | 0.21 |
| Oats | 0.89 | 0.23 |
| Cashew | 0.79 | 0.14 |
| Walnut | 0.71 | 0.11 |
| Macadamia nut | 0.67 | 0.09 |
| Hazelnut | 0.66 | 0.11 |
| Brazil nut | 0.64 | 0.10 |
| Soybeans | 0.56 | 0.40 |
| Pine nuts | 0.52 | 0.08 |
| Black beans | 0.48 | 0.36 |
| Chickpeas | 0.48 | 0.29 |
| Navy beans | 0.47 | 0.34 |
| Kidney beans | 0.47 | 0.37 |
| Buckwheat groats | 0.46 | 0.13 |
| Lentils | 0.44 | 0.38 |
| Rye grain | 0.43 | 0.13 |
| Pecans | 0.43 | 0.06 |
| Mung bean | 0.42 | 0.40 |
| Adzuki beans | 0.40 | 0.31 |
| Lima beans | 0.34 | 0.27 |
| Fava bean | 0.32 | 0.29 |
| Peas | 0.20 | 0.25 |
| Quinoa | 0.18 | 0.15 |
| Cowpeas | 0.17 | 0.18 |
| Coconut meat | 0.17 | 0.05 |
| Garlic | 0.17 | 0.13 |
| Kale | 0.15 | 0.42 |
| Corn | 0.15 | 0.17 |
| Rice | 0.14 | 0.11 |
| Chestnut | 0.13 | 0.05 |
| Spinach | 0.13 | 0.56 |
| Rapini | 0.13 | 0.58 |
| Water spinach | 0.13 | 0.65 |
| Barley | 0.13 | 0.10 |
| Broccoli | 0.12 | 0.34 |
| Watercress | 0.12 | 0.97 |
| Swiss chard | 0.11 | 0.58 |
| Avocado | 0.09 | 0.06 |
| Turnip greens | 0.09 | 0.28 |
| Green bell pepper | 0.09 | 0.46 |
| Sweet potato | 0.09 | 0.10 |
| Asparagus | 0.08 | 0.38 |
| Brussels sprouts | 0.07 | 0.21 |
| Lettuce (red leaf) | 0.07 | 0.52 |
| Green bean | 0.07 | 0.22 |
| White potato | 0.07 | 0.10 |
| Cauliflower | 0.07 | 0.26 |
| Okra | 0.07 | 0.20 |
| Carrot | 0.06 | 0.15 |
| Leek | 0.06 | 0.09 |
| Grapefruit | 0.05 | 0.14 |
| Bamboo shoot | 0.05 | 0.45 |
| Apricot | 0.05 | 0.11 |
| Jackfruit | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Red bell pepper | 0.05 | 0.19 |
| Ginger | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Banana | 0.05 | 0.06 |
| Date | 0.05 | 0.02 |
| Beets | 0.05 | 0.11 |
| Lotus root | 0.05 | 0.06 |
| Bok choy | 0.04 | 0.34 |
| Eggplant | 0.04 | 0.17 |
| Zucchini | 0.04 | 0.25 |
| Squash | 0.04 | 0.25 |
| Cranberry | 0.04 | 0.08 |
| Radish | 0.03 | 0.20 |
| Cabbage | 0.03 | 0.13 |
| Olive | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Mango | 0.03 | 0.05 |
| Tomato | 0.03 | 0.15 |
| Cassava | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Onion | 0.03 | 0.06 |
| Cherry | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| Orange | 0.02 | 0.05 |
| Cantaloupe | 0.02 | 0.07 |
| Pineapple | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| Nectarine | 0.02 | 0.05 |
| Celery | 0.02 | 0.14 |
| Peach | 0.02 | 0.05 |
| Cucumber | 0.02 | 0.13 |
| Strawberry | 0.02 | 0.06 |
| Grapes | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Tangerine | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Fig | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Melon | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| Plum | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| Pear | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| Apple | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Guava | 0.01 | 0.01 |
Certain types of foods stand out:
- Seeds – Like pretty much every other amino acid or mineral, seeds are an amazing source of phenylalanine too. It’s really hard to go wrong adding more chia, flax, hemp, or sesame seeds to your diet.
- Certain grains – Oats, rye, and buckwheat may not have much protein overall, but they have a lot of phenylalanine. Try to make those your staple grains rather than wheat and rice.
- Legumes – Many beans are rated high on this list (soybeans, adzuki, mung, navy, kidney, etc.), as well as lentils.
Best Vegan Foods for Phenylalanine Per Calorie
If you’re trying to minimize your calories while maximizing the amount of phenylalanine you’re getting, we can sort the above table by the amount per 100 calories.
Note that you’ll need to eat multiple servings of many of the top foods to get to 100 calories even. So you’ll end up eating a higher volume of food, but fewer overall calories to get the same amount of phenylalanine.
Legumes still show up on the list, although much lower, but grains have disappeared.
The most effective foods in term of caloric density are leafy greens like seaweed, spinach, chard, lettuce, and kale.
Having a giant salad made from one of those will go a long way to getting enough phenylalanine, but you’ll still probably have to have some legumes at some point in the day or you’ll get sick of vegetables.
What’s Phenylalanine Used For?
Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, meaning that your body cannot make it if you’re not getting enough in your diet.
It’s an important component when making dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. Both of which are important for energy and enjoyment.
Other Amino Acids Hard to Get For Vegans
There are 3 other essential amino acids that can be tricky for vegans to get.
You might be interested in the best sources of each of them:
