“Peanut butter is a good source of protein.”
Peanut butter is a real, convenient source of protein: 2 tablespoons give about 7 grams, a little more than one large egg (about 6 grams).
Peanut butter is a decent, everyday way to get protein, with about as much in a 2-tablespoon serving as in an egg. Because it is also high in calories, it works best as one protein food among several rather than your main source.
Keep peanut butter in your rotation, and if you want more protein at that meal or snack, pair it with another protein food, such as a glass of milk or an egg.
Safety note: Peanuts are one of the nine major food allergens in the US, and allergic reactions can be severe, including anaphylaxis. People with a peanut allergy should not eat peanut butter.
USDA measurements and food labels agree that 2 tablespoons of peanut butter give about 7 grams of protein, about as much as a large egg, so the claim holds; the limits are that the same serving has about 190 calories and its protein is lower in quality than animal protein. Confidence is strong because these are direct food measurements, not estimates.
Peanut butter is a real, convenient source of protein: 2 tablespoons give about 7 grams, a little more than one large egg (about 6 grams). The limit is calories: that serving has about 190 calories, compared with about 70 for an egg, so only about 15 percent of peanut butter's calories come from protein.
Per serving, peanut butter's 7 grams of protein is close to other everyday protein foods: about 8 grams in a cup of 2 percent milk (about 120 calories), about 7.5 grams in half a cup of cooked black beans (about 115 calories), and about 6 grams in an ounce of almonds (about 165 calories). A 3-ounce serving of roasted chicken breast has far more, about 26 grams for about 140 calories. Like most plant proteins, peanut protein is lower in some essential amino acids, mainly lysine, but the body digests about 93 percent of it.
Under FDA rules, a package can say a food is a "good source" of a nutrient only if one serving gives 10 to 19 percent of the Daily Value. For protein, the Daily Value is 50 grams, and the percent on the label is first adjusted for protein quality. Because peanut protein scores lower on quality, a 2-tablespoon serving with 7 grams of protein is listed at about 7 percent of the Daily Value, below the 10 percent bar. That rule decides what a package may say; it is not a measure of how much protein you actually eat.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018 release): Peanut butter, smooth style, without salt (FDC ID 172470); Egg, whole, raw, fresh (FDC ID 171287); Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat (FDC ID 171267); Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC ID 173735); Nuts, almonds (FDC ID 170567); Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted (FDC ID 171477)
- The J.M. Smucker Company. Jif Creamy Peanut Butter: nutrition facts
- US Code of Federal Regulations. 21 CFR 101.9(c)(7) and (c)(9), Nutrition labeling of food: protein and Daily Reference Values; 21 CFR 101.54(c), "Good source" claims; 21 CFR 101.12, reference amounts. eCFR, as of 2026-10-01. ; https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-101/subpart-D/section-101.54
- Hertzler SR, Lieblein-Boff JC, Weiler M, Allgeier C. Plant Proteins: Assessing Their Nutritional Quality and Effects on Health and Physical Function. Nutrients. 2020;12(12):3704. DOI: 10.3390/nu12123704. PMID: 33266120. PMCID: PMC7760812
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food Allergies