Foods High in Tryptophan: USDA Values per Serving

The foods high in tryptophan in USDA data are soybeans and tofu, poultry, fish, pork, cottage cheese and other cheeses, and seeds such as pumpkin, chia and hemp. A cup of boiled soybeans supplies about 416 milligrams, according to USDA FoodData Central. Tryptophan is one of the nine essential amino acids, which MedlinePlus describes as amino acids the body cannot make, so they must come from food.

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Foods high in tryptophan: USDA values per serving

The table uses USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy entries from the April 2018 release, each shown with its FDC ID. Per-serving figures are the per-100-gram values multiplied by the gram weight of a common USDA portion, and the list is ranked by tryptophan per serving. FDA’s labeling rule, 21 CFR 101.9, sets a Daily Value of 50 grams for protein but none for individual amino acids, so there is no %DV to show.

Soy foods lead the per-serving list; our guides to soybeans and tofu cover their other nutrients. Among animal foods, chicken breast, salmon, turkey, pork and tuna sit close together, as our chicken breast guide, salmon guide and tuna guide show for protein. Cottage cheese ranks high because a cup is a large portion, not because it is concentrated.

Tryptophan rich foods by food group

• Poultry, meat and fish: USDA lists roughly 200 to 360 milligrams per 100 grams for broiled top sirloin, shrimp, halibut, canned light tuna, pork loin, turkey, sockeye salmon and chicken breast.
• Soy and legumes: USDA lists boiled soybeans at 242 milligrams per 100 grams and firm tofu at 235; boiled kidney beans and lentils fall between 80 and 105.
• Dairy and eggs: hard and semi-hard cheeses run about 480 to 550 milligrams per 100 grams in USDA data, cottage cheese 138 and whole milk 40; one large hard-boiled egg has about 76 milligrams.
• Seeds and nuts: USDA lists pumpkin seeds at 569 milligrams per 100 grams, chia seeds at 436, hemp seeds at 369 and dry roasted peanuts at 230.
• Grains and fruit: cooked oatmeal and quinoa have about 40 to 50 milligrams per 100 grams in USDA data, and a medium banana has about 11 milligrams.

Tryptophan travels with protein, so nearly every entry in our protein foods guide also counts among these tryptophan foods. MedlinePlus names cheese, chicken, egg whites, fish, milk, sunflower seeds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy beans and turkey as sources.

Turkey and tryptophan: what the data show

USDA data do not support the first half of the popular idea that turkey makes people sleepy because it is unusually full of tryptophan: SR Legacy lists 310 milligrams per 100 grams of roasted turkey, compared with 362 for roasted chicken breast, 335 for cooked sockeye salmon and 290 for a broiled pork loin chop. Our turkey guide covers the bird’s other nutrients.

A 2009 paper by Richard and colleagues in the International Journal of Tryptophan Research lists turkey as one common source among many, alongside oats, bananas, milk, tuna, cheese, bread, chicken, peanuts and chocolate. Richard’s team explains that tryptophan in the bloodstream competes with other large neutral amino acids for the same transporter into the brain, so the paper compares foods by the ratio of tryptophan to those competing amino acids. In its table, Richard’s team gives turkey light meat a ratio of 0.043, close to chicken light meat at 0.046 and below whole milk at 0.081. On either measure, turkey looks like other protein foods.

Tryptophan and niacin

ODS, the NIH office that publishes nutrient fact sheets, explains in its niacin fact sheet that the body converts some tryptophan to the niacin coenzyme NAD, mainly in the liver, when more tryptophan is present than protein building requires. For that reason ODS counts tryptophan as a dietary source of niacin, and both ODS and FDA’s labeling rule in 21 CFR 101.9 define 1 milligram of niacin equivalents as 1 milligram of niacin or 60 milligrams of tryptophan. ODS adds that people who get too little riboflavin, vitamin B6 or iron convert less tryptophan to niacin, and MedlinePlus lists the same three nutrients. Our niacin foods guide ranks the direct sources.

MedlinePlus states that the body also uses tryptophan to help make serotonin and melatonin. That describes body chemistry, not an effect of any particular food.

Foods with little or no tryptophan

USDA lists 0 grams of tryptophan for unsweetened gelatin powder (FDC 169599), even though the powder is about 86% protein by weight. The same powder sits near the top of our sibling list of foods high in glycine, a reminder that amino acid profiles differ widely between protein foods; our gelatin guide has more. Fruit is low for a different reason: USDA lists just 9 milligrams per 100 grams of raw banana, because fruit has little protein of any kind.

Per serving versus per 100-gram numbers

The two number columns answer different questions. Per 100 grams shows how concentrated a food is, which is why seeds and hard cheeses look strong; per serving shows what a typical USDA portion supplies, which is why a cup of soybeans or cottage cheese rises to the top. The figures belong to the specific SR Legacy entries named in the table, and USDA values for other cuts, varieties and cooking methods differ.

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Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Foods High in Glycine: USDA Values per Serving, Turkey Meat: Nutrition by Cut, Ground Turkey vs Ground Beef and Safety, High Protein Foods: USDA Values for Meat, Dairy and Plant Sources.