Part of being a skilled chef is knowing how to make the most out of the ingredients you have, and this insight is certainly not lost on Gordon Ramsay. The Michelin-starred British chef and television personality may have his pick of the litter in terms of fine ingredients these days, but he’s nonetheless grounded enough to know that not everyone has the kind of access or budget that he does. Ramsay’s advice to many young, aspiring chefs is to get out of your comfort zone, and sometimes that means expanding your repertoire to include some alternative proteins.
In a Reddit ask-me-anything session, Ramsay once responded to a question from a college student regarding budget-friendly proteins by recommending chickpeas, beans, lentils, and even brown rice. Chickpeas and beans often cost between $1 and $2 per can, while lentils and brown rice can be bought in bulk, the former typically available for less than $2 per pound and the latter for less than $1 per pound.
Not only did he highlight these ingredients as being very cost-effective, but he also noted how versatile they can be when cooked in a variety of ways, specifically recommending a pressure cooker and seasonings like chilis and garlic. So whether you’re keeping things simple with traditional baked beans (one of Ramsay’s favorite foods) or something more experimental for you, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to achieve your protein goals while staying within your budget!
How do these proteins stack up?
It’s reassuring to hear from an authority of Gordon Ramsay’s reputation that there are price-friendly proteins available. Better yet, it’s nice to know that you don’t need to sacrifice flavor when you choose these options. Chickpeas, for example, make for a tasty breakfast protein and can even be turned into a delicious crunchy snack food. Beans, meanwhile, give you so many options to begin with — and you can even dress up canned beans with just a little bit of effort. But these wouldn’t be very good protein options if they didn’t actually deliver a solid amount of protein. With that in mind, it pays to compare these to other protein sources and see just how valuable Ramsay’s recommendation is here.
If you crunch the numbers, you’ll see that black beans, pinto beans, navy beans, and kidney beans all have about 15 grams of protein per cup, while chickpeas come in just shy of that at 14.5 grams per cup. Lentils have a staggering 18 grams of protein per cup, cooked, while brown rice comes in at a much more humble 4.5 grams per cup (though this isn’t too shabby since this can serve as your protein-boosted base for other ingredients). Compare this to other common protein sources like eggs (6.3 grams per large egg), lean beef (24.6 grams per 3-ounce serving) and salmon (30.5 grams in half a fillet), and you’ll see that these options can certainly hold their own, especially considering their low price in comparison.
