Vegan Protein per Euro: Lentils Beat Most ‘Meat’ Alternatives

If you want the most protein for your money, stop overthinking it: dry legumes win. Across German supermarkets, staples like rote Linsen, grüne Linsen, and Kichererbsen deliver ~70–100 g protein per Euro, while many processed “meat” alternatives often sit around ~28–53 g/€. That’s a 2× (sometimes 3×) difference on the same budget.

Below are quick, verified picks from current store lines (your list). Use them to build cheap, high-protein vegan meals that actually make sense in a weekly basket.

TL;DR

• Dry legumes dominate protein per Euro.
• Textured soy/pea chunks can be decent but are rarely cheaper than lentils on a per-Euro basis.
• If you’re bulking on a budget, build around lentils/chickpeas + a basic carb + frozen veg.

Top vegan protein per Euro (from your data)

Sorted by g protein per € (≈ Protein/100g ÷ €/100g). Price/availability change; check shelf labels.

Item	Store/Brand	€/100g	Protein/100g	g/€
Linsen rot	K-Classic · Kaufland	€0.26	26.0 g	100.0
Linsen grün	K-Classic · Kaufland	€0.26	24.0 g	92.3
Bio Kichererbsen (trocken)	Edeka Bio · Edeka	€0.24	21.5 g	89.6
Pardina-Linsen	K-Classic · Kaufland	€0.28	23.0 g	82.1
Bio Rote Linsen	Edeka Bio · Edeka	€0.33	26.0 g	78.8
Wachtelbohnen (gekocht)	Dilek · Kaufland	€0.27	21.0 g	77.8
Bio Rote Linsen	Rewe Bio · REWE	€0.33	25.5 g	77.3
Bio Berglinsen	Edeka Bio · Edeka	€0.34	24.0 g	70.6

Reality check on “meat” alternatives (from your list):

Item	Store/Brand	€/100g	Protein/100g	g/€
Minced Soy	Vantastic · REWE	€0.93	49.0 g	52.7
Soy Medaillons	Vantastic · REWE	€1.15	49.0 g	42.6
Soja-Schnetzel	Rewe Bio · REWE	€1.23	50.0 g	40.7
Vegane Bio-Frikadellen	K-take it Veggie · Kaufland	€1.06	34.0 g	32.1
Bio-Hackbällchen vegan	Bio Zentrale · Kaufland	€1.00	28.0 g	28.0

Takeaway: Even the better textured soy options struggle to beat basic lentils on price-to-protein. If you care about cost per gram, go classic.

Build cheap vegan meals that hit macros

Use one protein core + one carb base + one veg. Season hard. Keep it repeatable.

• Rote Linsen + Reis + TK-Brokkoli
  100 g trockene Linsen ≈ 25–26 g Protein; add 200 g gekochten Reis + 200 g Brokkoli; finish with Salz, Pfeffer, Chili, Zwiebel, Knoblauch.
• Pardina-Linsen + Bulgur + Paprika/Zwiebel
  Tomatenpassata + Paprikapulver = cheap flavor bomb.
• Kichererbsen + Couscous + Spinat
  Tahini-Zitronen-Knoblauch, Kreuzkümmel, Petersilie.
• Grüne Linsen + Vollkornnudeln + Tomatensauce
  Protein-dense, easy to batch cook.

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Why the price gap exists

• Processing costs: Shaping flavors/texture into “nuggets” or “medallions” adds margin.
• Branding/packaging: You pay for convenience and perception.
• Dry staples scale better: 1 kg bags of lentils are cheap, store-stable, and cook fast.

Quick buying notes

• Prefer dry over ready-to-eat where possible (canned is fine for speed but reduces g/€).
• Store brands (K-Classic, Rewe Bio, Edeka Bio) are often best value.
• Check €/100 g and protein/100 g on the label; ignore front-of-pack hype.
• If you like meat-like texture, keep one textured soy product for variety, but let lentils do the heavy lifting.

Disclosure: Prices change; verify in store. Nutrition values are guides—read the package. Report corrections via the contact form.