How Much Protein in a Sweet Potato? Amounts by Size and Type

A medium baked sweet potato, roughly 5 inches long and about 150 grams with the skin on, contains close to 2 grams of protein. If you are wondering how much protein in a sweet potato shows up per 100 grams, the answer is about 1.6 to 2 grams depending on whether it is raw, boiled, or baked. Sweet potatoes are a carbohydrate food first, so they contribute protein in small, steady amounts rather than serving as a primary protein source.

Protein by Sweet Potato Size

Protein scales with weight, so the biggest variable is simply how large your sweet potato is. A small one from the bottom of the bin and a large one the size of your forearm can differ by two or three times in total grams. Here is a practical reference for baked sweet potatoes with the skin left on.

Sweet potato size	Approximate weight	Protein (grams)
Small (under 5 inches)	60 g	About 1 g
Medium (5 to 6 inches)	150 g	About 2 g
Large (over 6 inches)	180 g	About 2.5 g
Per 100 g, baked	100 g	About 2 g
Per 1 cup, mashed	200 g	About 2.5 to 3 g
Yammy sweet potato sticks	1 serving	3 g

Those numbers are close enough for everyday planning. If you track macros precisely, weigh the potato before cooking and use a food scale rather than eyeballing size. Our breakdown of sweet potato macros covers how carbs, fiber, and fat fit around that protein number.

Does Cooking Method Change the Protein?

Cooking does not create or destroy meaningful amounts of protein, but it changes water content, and that shifts the numbers per gram. Baking and roasting drive off moisture, so a baked sweet potato concentrates slightly more protein per 100 grams than a raw one. Boiling adds water to the flesh, which dilutes it a little in the other direction.

The practical takeaway is that the difference between methods is a few tenths of a gram. No cooking style turns a sweet potato into a high protein food, and no cooking style wipes the protein out either. Cooking method matters much more for texture and how quickly the starches break down, which we cover in the glycemic index guide.

Do Different Varieties Have More Protein?

Orange, purple, white, Japanese, and Korean sweet potatoes all land in a similar protein range, generally 1.5 to 2.5 grams per 100 grams cooked. Purple and Japanese varieties tend to be denser and drier, which can nudge the per gram number up slightly, mostly because there is less water in the same volume of flesh.

Variety differences show up much more clearly in sweetness, moisture, and pigment than in protein. If you are picking a sweet potato for flavor and texture, the variety guide is more useful than a protein chart.

How Sweet Potato Protein Compares to Other Foods

Context helps. A medium sweet potato delivers roughly the same protein as a slice of white bread or a small handful of blueberries and green beans combined. A single egg has around 6 grams. A cup of Greek yogurt can hit 20 grams. So a sweet potato is a contributor, not the main event.

That said, protein from vegetables adds up over a day. Between a sweet potato at lunch, beans in a bowl, and grains at dinner, plant foods can quietly cover a lot of ground. Sweet potatoes also bring fiber alongside that protein, and fiber is the nutrient most people are further behind on. Our fiber breakdown has the full numbers.

How to Turn a Sweet Potato Into a Higher Protein Meal

The easiest approach is to treat the sweet potato as the base and let something else carry the protein load. Black beans, shredded chicken, lentils, cottage cheese, tahini, or a scoop of Greek yogurt all pair well with the natural sweetness and push a plate from 2 grams to 20 or more without much effort.

Nuts and seeds work the same way for snacks. A few tablespoons of pumpkin seeds or almonds alongside sweet potato adds protein and fat, which slows things down and makes the snack feel more substantial. If you are building meals around a specific protein target for training or a health goal, a registered dietitian can set the right number for your body rather than a general chart.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much protein is in one medium sweet potato?

About 2 grams. That is for a baked sweet potato around 150 grams with the skin on. A large one can reach 2.5 grams and a small one lands closer to 1 gram.

Is a sweet potato a good source of protein?

Not on its own. It provides a small amount of protein along with a much larger amount of carbohydrate and a solid dose of fiber. It works better as a base you build protein onto than as a protein source itself.

Do sweet potatoes have more protein than regular potatoes?

Regular white potatoes are actually slightly higher in protein per 100 grams, in the range of 2 to 2.5 grams. The gap is small. The bigger differences between the two show up in fiber, sugar, and vitamin A, which we compare in the sweet potato versus regular potato guide.

Does eating the skin add protein?

A little. Sweet potato skin contributes a small amount of protein and a meaningful amount of fiber, so leaving it on is generally worth it. The difference is a fraction of a gram of protein per potato.

Is sweet potato protein complete?

Sweet potatoes contain all nine essential amino acids but in small and uneven amounts, so they are not usually counted as a complete protein source on their own. Eating a variety of plant foods across the day covers this easily for most people.

A Chewy Way to Snack on Sweet Potato

If you like the idea of sweet potato as a snack instead of a side dish, that is exactly what we built. Yammy sweet potato sticks are made from real sweet potato and deliver 4 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein per serving, slightly more protein than a medium baked sweet potato because the water is gone and the flesh is concentrated. They are naturally vegan and gluten free, never deep fried, and chewy like a fruit leather rather than crunchy like a chip.

Toss a pack in a bag for the afternoon slump, or keep one in the car. For everything else about this root, from varieties to nutrition to storage, start with our complete sweet potato guide.