Legumes List: What Are Legumes, With a USDA Nutrient Table

What are legumes? In the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, beans, peas and lentils, “which also are known as pulses, include the dried edible seeds of legumes,” and USDA FoodData Central files them, together with peanuts, tofu and tempeh, in a food group called Legumes and Legume Products. This legumes list ranks 21 cooked legumes from USDA SR Legacy data by fiber per cup, with protein, folate and iron and the FDA percent Daily Value, and explains where green peas, green beans, edamame and peanuts fit.

Peptide Labs does not sell foods. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

Legumes list: 21 cooked legumes ranked by USDA data

The table lists USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy entries for mature seeds boiled without salt, plus frozen prepared edamame, at USDA’s 1-cup portion, ranked by fiber per cup. The percent Daily Value (%DV) uses the FDA Daily Values of 28 grams for fiber, 400 micrograms DFE for folate and 18 milligrams for iron; protein has no %DV here because the FDA labeling rule bases a protein %DV on an amount corrected for protein quality.

In USDA data the white-seeded navy beans lead at about 19.1 grams of fiber per cup, and adzuki beans, split peas, lentils, pinto beans, mung beans and black beans list 15.0 grams or more. Chickpeas, kidney beans and black-eyed peas sit in the middle of the ranking, while edamame, lupini beans and soybeans list less fiber but more protein per cup than most rows.

What are legumes in the Dietary Guidelines?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, from USDA and HHS, say “Beans, peas, and lentils” is a new name for the vegetable subgroup formerly called legumes (beans and peas). It covers beans such as kidney, pinto, white, black, lima and fava; dried peas such as chickpeas, black-eyed peas, pigeon peas and split peas; and lentils. The Guidelines also count edamame, “the soybean in the pod,” even though it is eaten fresh and not dried.

The Guidelines explain the double role: “Because beans, peas, and lentils have a similar nutrient profile to foods in both the vegetable group and the protein foods group, they may be thought of as either a vegetable or a protein food.” Fresh peas sit in the starchy subgroup and string beans with other vegetables, as our guide to starchy vegetables explains, and foods made from processed soybeans generally belong to the nuts, seeds and soy products subgroup of protein foods.

Legumes that sit in other food groups

Peanuts show the split most clearly. USDA files raw peanuts in its Legumes and Legume Products group, the Dietary Guidelines say nuts and seeds “include all nuts (tree nuts and peanuts),” and FDA keeps peanuts and tree nuts as separate entries among the nine major food allergens, a list that also names soybeans. USDA lists an ounce of raw peanuts at about 161 calories and 7.3 grams of protein.

For soy, the Dietary Guidelines say soy in protein foods “includes tofu, tempeh, and products made from soy flour, soy protein isolate, and soy concentrate,” and USDA files tofu, tempeh and hummus in its legume group. Boiled mature soybeans, by contrast, appear in the Guidelines’ own list of beans, peas and lentils.

Folate, iron and protein in legumes, by USDA data

A cup of prepared edamame lists about 482 micrograms DFE of folate in USDA data, 121% of the FDA Daily Value, and cranberry beans, lentils and black-eyed peas list 356 to 366 micrograms DFE. For iron, USDA lists about 8.8 milligrams per cup of boiled soybeans, 49% of the FDA Daily Value. Our lists of foods high in folate and foods high in iron cover other sources, the high protein vegetables list and the high-protein foods guide rank protein, and the high fiber foods guide and our sibling list of whole grain foods cover fiber. FDA’s draft guidance on whole grain labels says soybeans and chickpeas “should be considered legumes” rather than whole grains.

Raw and undercooked beans

Dried legumes are eaten cooked, and FDA explains why for one of them. FDA’s Bad Bug Book says phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin found in many species of beans, is in highest concentration in red kidney beans, and that “as few as four or five raw beans can trigger symptoms.” FDA says raw or under-cooked beans of this kind can cause extreme nausea, severe vomiting and diarrhea, that cooking the beans properly destroys the toxin, and that slow cookers do not get hot enough to destroy it. The same FDA chapter puts the toxin in broad beans at 5% to 10% of the red kidney level.

Gas and other notes

• Gas: NIDDK lists legumes, a group that includes beans, peas and lentils, among foods containing carbohydrates that may lead to excess gas in some people; see our guide to gas.
• Canned beans: the Dietary Guidelines subgroup covers beans cooked from dry or canned, and the Nutrition Facts label on a can is the figure for that product.
• Values vary: USDA SR Legacy figures are averages, and a cup of beans cooked at home can weigh more or less than USDA’s portion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a health condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Whole Grain Foods: A Whole Grains List, Label Terms and USDA Data, High Protein Vegetables: USDA Protein per Cup, Ranked, Lentils Benefits: USDA Nutrition per Cup, Protein and Types of Lentils, Chickpeas: USDA Nutrition, Protein, Fiber and Canned vs Dried, Types of Beans: 22 Varieties With USDA Values per Cup, Types of Peas: English, Snow, Snap and Dried Peas.